Matt Williams (Hindmarsh, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It was interesting to hear the member for Bendigo speak about the Victorian TAFE system because the cuts that she mentioned made me remember the South Australian Labor government's TAFE system with redundancies and cuts. I thought she was speaking about South Australia, not Victoria. There are some similarities between the South Australian Labor government and the federal Labor government, as you would be aware, with poor financial management and the huge debt and deficit. In South Australia in the recent budget there is over $1 billion in deficit for the second year running. Interest repayments are a billion dollars a year in South Australia, which is less than we have federally, but it is still an issue for our state. The end of the Labor government in South Australia cannot come soon enough but, unfortunately, we have got four more years.

I am not here to speak about that but about the trade support loans. The education of our next generation of workers is one of the most important investments we can make in our future workforce. When I have gone to various TAFEs around Australia, whether in Townsville, Bendigo, Perth or Newcastle, I have been impressed with the facilities, the operations and the staff. The staff are knowledgeable, passionate what the about what they do and they seem to be reasonably well resourced, which is great to see.

The big problem we have, as we have heard in this debate, is we have only one in two apprentices finishing their training. So when we have a problem, rather than just throwing money at things and wasting money unnecessarily, we on this side of the House take a very practical view to it and think, 'Can we do better? Can we change things and get a better outcome?' That is the position we are coming from. These Trade Support Loans provide ongoing support to help apprentices with one of their greatest challenges—completing their training. It is important. Where we have got these skill shortages out there—whether it be that we need more chefs, mechanics or tilers—we need the apprentices to complete their degree. That is why we have structured the Trade Support Loans in the way that we have.

I was out with the motor trades industry a few weeks ago, and they talked about the numbers of their apprentices not completing certain degrees or programs, as well as the job opportunities that were there. Whether it be the panel beaters or the mechanics, where we have these skill shortages we need to do the most we can to encourage the apprentices to complete their degree. In that respect, the loans have been structured so that apprentices have greatest access to financial support in the early years when they need it most—$8,000 in the first year, $6,000 in the second, $4,000 in the third and $2,000 in the fourth.

The beauty of these loans is that they are also flexible to meet the needs of the individual. If a carpenter knows that he only needs $8,000, then that is what he will take out as a loan. If they need to cover living expenses, then they can take out more. We must remember also that they only start paying these loans back when they earn over $50,000 and, importantly, they receive a 20 per cent discount on their loan when they complete it, so that creates a great incentive for them to finish their loan. The 2,500 apprentices in Hindmarsh—and I have had input from a number of them—know that this is a well-structured program.. They know that this will provide them with some great support throughout their apprenticeship.

We always have to look at why things are not working. There is no point throwing money at something when we are not getting the outcome, and we heard anecdotal stories of how the previous program under the Labor government had waste in it—which is not surprising, given that Labor programs often have waste, but this was another one. There were concerns raised by both employers and apprenticeship centres about how some apprentices were wasting their tool allowances on things like 21st birthday parties or mag wheels. I heard a story once of how an apprentice rocked up with a new surfboard and said, 'This is what I've bought with my $5,000.' That is not what this scheme was designed for. I accept that it often takes a few individuals to wreck it for everyone else, but there were obviously enough of these incidents happening where the money was not being best spent for its purpose. There was concern of the wastage out there where apprentices did not need that $5,000.

We are providing the loans and the necessary support. We are assisting people with their training. There is also some other assistance in the trades and industry sector that I wanted to touch on. In South Australia we have announced a $155 million growth fund to generate the jobs of the future for employees and supply chain businesses that are suffering in the automotive sector due to the closure of Holden and Toyota. This growth fund includes a $30 million skills and training program to assist automotive employees to have their skills recognised and provide training for new jobs while they are still employed. That is real assistance—targeted assistance—for those that need it.

We have also got a $60 million Next Generation Manufacturing Investment Program to accelerate private sector investment in higher-value, non-automotive manufacturing sectors in Victoria and South Australia. Importantly, there will be new opportunities in those other sectors that have a real future, where they can compete internationally and where we are again providing great support for those that really need it across a series of training sectors in our economy.

In closing, Australia can no longer afford unaccountable taxpayer-funded handouts. We are giving people a hand up and assisting them when they need it. It is a responsible program, a well-targeted program and a program that will assist those many apprentices to make sure that they complete their training in courses we need them to complete.

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