Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Returning to the question: the press conference by the former Treasurer bears on the question of the skills crisis and investment in education and training because, when he gave this press conference, he said:

Now, I set up the Higher Education Endowment Fund, which would be investing that money to build world-class education.

Here is the former Treasurer taking personal credit for the only major education initiative of the Howard government in its last term—nothing to do with the Leader of the Opposition, nothing to do with the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, but out of the mouth of the former Treasurer, who is there rattling around like Banquo’s ghost, giving his commentary on the budget, whether or not anybody is interested in it. Whilst their track record is one of indifference and neglect and their current contribution to the economic debate is inconsistent gibberish, day by day the government is getting on with the job of resolving the skills crisis. Amongst the important investments being made by the government, we are investing in 450,000 new training places, the first 20,000 of which were available in April. We are delighted by the interest of registered training organisations in the delivery of these places. Already with these training places students are enrolled in areas of skill shortage. Whilst the places go right across the skill shortage spectrum—including mining, construction and other areas—I think it will be of interest to working families who are concerned about getting aged care for their elderly relatives and child care for their children that amongst the skill shortage areas that have had good take-up are childcare and aged-care packages. That means we will have new workforce in our aged-care centres and childcare centres, which desperately need them.

These are the kinds of interventions which were not made by the previous government, which buried its head in the sand when it came to the skills crisis—did absolutely nothing, left a legacy of the highest inflation rate for 16 years—because it never understood the need to invest in future skills training for Australians.

See this speech in context