Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

New South Wales Thank you, Mr President. Now that the rabble has settled down, my question is to the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations, Senator Evans. Can the minister outline to the Senate the importance of the government's skills initiatives in the budget?

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Cameron for the question and his interest in the important issue of skilling up Australians. The most important thing a government can do is to give people the security and dignity that comes with a job, and this government has a very proud record on jobs. During the global financial crisis we saved hundreds of thousands of jobs by our investment stimulus, and since coming to government we have created 750,000 jobs in the economy. abor is the party of work, jobs and opportunity. That is why this budget will get more Australians into work. We will invest in skills, we will let many people keep more of their pay when they take up work and we will require more from those who are not working. Labor believes that those who can work should work and those who want to work should have the opportunity to gain the skills they need to enter the workforce.

Yesterday the government announced a $3 billion investment in skills and training initiatives over six years to ensure Australia has the skilled workers the economy needs and ensure more Australians can benefit from our growing prosperity. Through these measures, we are putting industry at the heart of the training effort with a new national workforce development fund that will be administered by an independent, industry led workforce agency; reforming the apprentice­ship system to make it more modern and flexible, including accelerated apprentice­ships and mentoring support; and increasing access to the workforce for disadvantaged Australians by addressing the barriers that they confront.

Many Australians find themselves locked out of our success, sitting on the sidelines unable to join the workforce for a whole range of reasons. This budget gives them the chance to get off the sideline and get into the game, to share in our nation's success and build a better life through skills development.

Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Minister, can you outline to the Senate the government's changes to the apprenticeship system in this year's budget?

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Gillard government's investment in training has produced outstanding results in recent years, with record numbers of Australians in traineeships and apprenticeships. Numbers are now at historical highs, with around 448,000 Australians undertaking apprenticeships and traineeships.

But, even with this success, the Gillard government recognised the need for reform when we commissioned an independent review of the Australian apprenticeships system by an expert panel last year. That report provides a clear direction for reform of the Australian apprenticeship system. The package announced in the budget this year is the Gillard government's initial direction-setting response to the panel's recom­mendation and is informed by stakeholder consultations. We are investing over $200 million in initiatives to boost apprenticeship completion rates by introducing mentoring support and competency based training that allow us to see more apprentices start and complete their apprenticeships and join the workforce with high skills. (Time expired)

Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Minister, as you are aware, under the Howard-Costello govern­ment leadership, apprenticeships were in decline in this country. Can the minister explain to the Senate how the government is helping apprentices access the training that they need?

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Gillard government has made serious investment in upskilling our workforce and giving young Australians an opportunity to take up an apprenticeship. As I have indicated, we have record numbers of young people in apprenticeships and traineeships. The Kickstart program, which we conducted during the global downturn, saw apprenticeship numbers remain strong for the first time ever, I think, in a downturn, and we have been able to build on that now.

But, equally, we have actually invested in building new vocational education and training facilities around Australia. We have put $700 million into building new facilities, many of which are coming on stream now, including one I opened for TAFE New South Wales last week. These are giving world-class facilities to TAFE and other providers to allow apprentices to get quality training in quality institutions to continue our tradition of having top-class tradespeople to provide the skills we are going to need. (Time expired)

David Bushby (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Finance and Deregulation, Senator Wong. When the minister said this morning that this budget is a 'very Labor budget', was she referring to the fact that net debt is now set to peak at $107 billion next year and will remain above $100 billion for at least the next four years? How does this reconcile with the govern­ment's supposedly 'tight fiscal rules'? Is the minister proud that she has now topped Paul Keating's debt record of $96 billion?

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No wonder they put you fourth!

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was actually going to give Senator Bushby a compliment: at least he has obviously read the budget papers, which is more than could be said for any of the spokespeople who asked questions ahead of him.

In relation to the net debt figures, the budget figures do indicate that net debt peaks at 7.2 per cent of GDP in 2011-12. It might be useful to remember how that compares with the net debt figures of other major advanced economies. The average peak net debt figure of major advanced economies is over 90 per cent of GDP. Ours peaks at 7.2 per cent; the average net debt peak of advanced economies is in excess of 90 per cent of GDP. So let us get a bit of perspective into how much stronger our economy is as a result of where we are in the world, the nature of the terms of trade and the actions of this government to invest in the economy to support jobs, opposed by those opposite. Let us get some perspective of how much stronger our economy is than other major advanced economies.

In terms of this budget, we have delivered a path for a return to surplus. I encourage those on the other side who, like the good senator who asked me the question, actually do care at least a little about the fiscal credentials of the opposition to perhaps suggest to their spokespeople, who are busy wrecking the surplus by opposing some of the savings measures in the government's budget—(Time expired)

David Bushby (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Is the minister aware that taxpayers will have to pay cumulative interest of more than $26 billion over the next four years on Labor's debt? Considering that the budget did not outline a specific strategy to repay that debt, could the minister advise the Senate on what that strategy is?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is very simple: the strategy is to return to surplus, and we have laid out the strategy to do that. We have laid out the details of how we return to surplus. We have made spending cuts and we have exercised substantial spending restraint. As I said, on average over the budget periods real growth in Commonwealth expenditure is one per cent per year. Peter Costello delivered an average of 3.6 per cent per year in his last five budgets. At the conclusion of the forward estimates, Commonwealth govern­ment spending as a proportion of GDP declines under us. That was the test, or one of the tests, that the opposition, in its lead-up to the budget, was propounding. But, if the senator cares about the surplus, he will pass the government savings measures. If he cares about the surplus he will pass the saves. (Time expired)

David Bushby (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Minister, could you explain why net debt is estimated to actually increase from $104.6 billion in 2012-13 to $105.3 billion in 2013-14 despite the government claiming it would deliver surpluses over those years?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The net debt figures are laid out in the budget papers, and they are a function of the calculations that Treasury and Finance undertake. The peak net debt is in 2011-12 at 7.2 per cent of GDP and, as I said, this is a level less than a 10th of the average of the major advanced economies. But if the senator cares about debt levels—and he appears to—then he should be pressuring and demanding that his shadow Treasurer and his leader lay out their path for a return to surplus, because if he does not and if they do not then we will know that what Mr Hockey and Mr Abbott really stand for is wrecking the surplus through opposing savings measures that the government is putting in place. That is what you will be known for, and no amount of rhetoric will get you out of that particular bind. (Time expired)