Keith Pitt (Hinkler, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Can I say from the outset, as one of the few people in this place that actually holds a trade certificate as an electrical fitter mechanic, as someone who completed an apprenticeship, who had that opportunity in their youth, that we are very keen to see that opportunity extended to the youth of this generation. I notice that it's all about blame shifting and all those other things, but I'd like to point out to the member for Chifley that the assistant minister made a very clear point: a national partnership agreement was signed for five years. It takes five years to expire. This is the ultimate reason why we continue to be affected by Labor's decisions.

Can I also congratulate the Assistant Minister for Vocational Education and Skills. She is doing outstanding work. She is not a mechanical fitter, but she is a mechanical engineer, which is close enough. She has certainly worked with engineering services and trades across a long, broad and very extensive round of experience in that field and many others. She is doing incredibly important work in this portfolio. As part of that role she came to my electorate of Hinkler in recent weeks. We were fortunate to visit a place called Superior Pak and one of their organisers, Mark Hamilton. Can I say how pleased I was to see how successful this business was. A place which used to manufacture harvesters—it was the home of Austoft for many years—is now the home of Superior Pak, where they produce many of the nation's recycling trucks and rubbish trucks. They employ a large number of apprentices. It was good to be back on the ground with oxycutters and grinders and all those things that you see inside those trade related engineering services, and it was good to have the assistant minister with us to demonstrate what we are doing locally.

It's beyond ridiculous that those opposite want to lecture us about what's good and bad inside the VET sector, because the assistant minister was exactly right: Labor's record on vocational education and training is, quite simply, appalling. Because of what was called at the time their grand plan—I would say it was probably a rolled-gold grand plan, given today's theme—

See this speech in context