Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I still have about eight or nine references to the Nationals to go before I get anywhere near the member for Richmond, Member for Chifley! Anyway, I digress. I will continue. Regional communities depend and thrive on educational service providers operating locally, particularly in vocational education and training, because it assists in building and in strengthening our communities, and our communities do need help. As I say, there are certain unique challenges in rural and regional Australia, certain unique challenges facing country kids, and one of those is gaining access to independent rural youth allowance. I know the member for Barker, who is in the chamber, is committed to doing something in that space. One third of Australians choose to live, work or operate their businesses in regional Australia. Those businesspeople, when young people come into their businesses for apprenticeships and the like, want them to be the very best, and this legislation will help that. In the context of this debate, strengthening VET quality standards will benefit regional students, communities and businesses enormously. Regional areas have a vital role to play in overcoming Australia's national challenges and in driving economic development. By investing in employment and workforce skills, we are increasing the potential of our great regional economies and assisting improved productivity, development and economic opportunity.

The Nationals, at our party room meeting last month in Wodonga, collectively agreed to develop further detailed policy and in four key priority areas, one of which is our focus on ensuring we strengthen our regional youth policy by providing quality and improved access to education and jobs in regional Australia. The measures in this bill will play a role in working towards that very aim.

In the Riverina, we have a number of education and training providers, and good ones at that. In particular, the TAFE NSW Riverina Institute offers a wide range of specialist training centres responsive to specific local-sector industry needs. The institute has established long-term partnerships with many businesses and community organisations which are responsive to local needs and provide a tremendous benefit for the local economy, including with both Deakin and Charles Sturt universities, particularly Charles Sturt, which has a huge and growing campus at Wagga Wagga; the Forest Industry Council; and the local Regional Express pilot training academy in Wagga Wagga. The academy is producing pilots not just for Rex but for other airlines as well and giving great incentives to young people, and some not so young, to become pilots for the vital aviation industry. Many of them stay on with Rex, which is a tremendous company, a tremendous airline.

I was pleased early last year to confirm that the Riverina would benefit from more than $5½ million in funding for trades training centres throughout the electorate, and I will say—here you go, Member for Chifley—that this is something that was promised by the previous government that is now being delivered by the coalition government. But I acknowledge the previous government for its initiative in this space.

The schools in the Riverina that will benefit are Ardlethan Central School, which will receive $2,845,000 to establish the Riverina Access Partnership of Schools Trade Training Centre with Ariah Park and Barellan central schools to provide a certificate I in agrifood operations, a certificate II in agriculture, a certificate II in construction pathways, a certificate II in engineering and a certificate II in hospitality; Batlow Technology School, in the Snowy Mountains, $855,000 to establish the HV Smith Memorial Trade Training Centre to provide certificates I and II in engineering; Temora High School—I know that Principal Pat Netherey was absolutely delighted with this, because he mentioned it at his last school assembly, and you never die wondering what Pat thinks—$1 million for the Goldenfields Learning Community Trade Training Centre to provide certificates I and II in engineering and a certificate II in construction pathways; and Tumbarumba High School, that great school up in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains, $1 million for a centre to provide a certificate I in manufacturing and a certificate II in engineering. I know that David Crelley, the Principal of Tumbarumba High School was also absolutely delighted that that money was going to be made possible by the coalition. Admittedly, it was promised by Labor in the last iteration, but it is certainly going to be delivered by the coalition.

As I said, these six schools in the Riverina are going to benefit from that, but it will not be the schools but the kids at those schools and the teachers at those schools who benefit. Some of the children from those schools will leave the area, but many, many of them will stay because of the great benefits of country living, and they will provide the chefs, electricians, painters, construction workers and the people who are going to work in agribusinesses and in food processing. Who knows what they might achieve, but they will achieve it because of the possibilities provided by this funding and the possibilities that are being been provided by the coalition investing in their future, investing in these four trade training centres. That is so very, very good.

This commitment is further confirmation which demonstrates this government is committed to ensuring there are quality education and training opportunities for young people, particularly those in regional areas. We are delivering these vital centres in a challenging budget environment. We have inherited the debt and deficit legacy of Labor, but we are getting on with the job of paying that down while still providing opportunities for young people. It is important that skill shortages are addressed, particularly in country areas, the food bowl of the nation, and these trade training centres will further provide outstanding vocational training opportunities for students.

This Nationals-Liberal government can be proud of the reforms being undertaken and implemented across the vocational education and training sector. The new registered training organisation quality standards strengthen industry engagement, increase requirements for trainers and assessors to improve the quality of training and assessment and increase transparency of information to students. We will continue to crack down on inducements and dodgy marketing practices and, importantly, we will ensure training organisations exhibit a greater duty of care when signing up students to incur a loan. There is much more to undertake; we appreciate that. The government is looking at further reform, in particular to put an end to the abuse of VET FEE-HELP and misuse by providers. The Assistant Minister for Education and Training, who is doing a good job, might I say, appreciates there is further work to be done and has indicated a comprehensive approach to reforming VET FEE-HELP to end the rorting of the current system established by the previous government.

At the end of the day, we want to enable students to gain the very best qualifications to meet the challenges of a modernised world, to strengthen our communities and to ensure the regions gain from the expertise in the employment sector. We are committed to ensuring we have a vocational educational and training system which places students front and centre and provides the opportunity to attain a qualification of a high quality standard. The National Party will help achieve that.

See this speech in context