Gavin Pearce (Braddon, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

One thing I've said many times in this place since being elected is that I'm Braddon's voice in Canberra, not the other way around. This commitment remains my priority. As I move around the electorate, through the north-west, the west coast and King Island, I'm grateful for all those who take the time to update me on how things are going in their local communities. Whether you're representing your own views or those of your business or organisation, it's important that I know and understand what is working and what isn't—what the success stories are and what challenges remain.

Last week's labour force figures show the strength and resilience of the Australian economy. The unemployment rate dropped from a revised 6.3 per cent in January to 5.8 per cent in February. Around 88,700 jobs were created across Australia during the month, all of them full time. More than 80 per cent of these jobs went to women, and more than 40 per cent went to young people—and this is important. It's also important that the participation rate remains at a record high. The level of unemployment is now back to prepandemic levels.

Tasmania's economic recovery is in full swing. The economy is growing. Our state has consistently been rated as the best performing and most confident in the nation. We have the lowest unemployment rate of all of the states. Our job numbers are at prepandemic rates. Our job vacancy ads in February led the nation and were over 52 per cent higher than the previous year, more than double the national growth for that year.

A range of jobs across a variety of sectors are available right now across our region. I encourage all jobseekers to consider the opportunities when they become available and how they can make the most of them. Again, if there are barriers to you getting a job in Braddon then I need to know about it, so please let me know.

The months ahead are going to continue to be challenging for some sectors, but the labour force figures and other economic data should give confidence that the Morrison government's economic recovery plan is working as we emerge from the most significant financial crisis in more than 100 years. Our future looks positive.

As your federal member for Braddon I will continue to listen to you and to raise the challenges that you are facing and represent the needs and interests of the north-west, the west coast and King Island in Canberra. I will continue to fight the good fight and keep fighting for job-creating enterprises and services that our region so desperately needs to regain its full potential.

Education is a key pillar of my region's future prosperity, whether it is schooling, vocational education, TAFE, university or on-the-job training. Ensuring that everybody across the north-west, the west coast and King Island has access to first-rate education is crucial if our region is to reach its full potential. As opportunities present themselves we need to make sure that we're skilled up so that everyone can take advantage of these jobs and prosper.

I'm particularly proud of our west coast study hub. In fact, I was at the opening of this hub in Zeehan. It was one of the first things I did when I was elected to this place. Those who live on the west coast of Tasmania know that there is a significant divide when it comes to accessing higher education. The further you move away from the big capital cities the worse the educational opportunities are. The statistic is that you are 50 per cent less likely to achieve a bachelor's degree by age 35 if you live in a rural or regional community. This is not good enough.

It's a significant financial burden to move away from home to study. There's also the social and emotional toll that leaving families and friends behind brings. Regional study hubs are one way to address these barriers. They allow students to study and to continue to live at home in their own townships. I'm very happy to report to the House that the Morrison government's investment in higher education on the west coast of Tasmania is reaping rewards. It's doing exactly what it was designed to do. It's working. I'd like to see it expanded.

Through the hub there has been a continual flow of students of all ages. There have been locals looking to undertake university courses, vocational programs and upskilling. Critically, the hub has been accessed by many learners who are choosing to access higher education for the very first time. I think this is a great outcome. I'm incredibly excited about what's happening on the west coast. The region is creating a community of learners who are being linked to education and employment outcomes. The west coast hub has proved to be such an effective model and an excellent investment that that centre is now looking to develop outreach programs in Circular Head and King Island, as I said earlier. I look forward to continuing to support these ventures in our regional communities and to work hard to close the gap in the educational outcomes between the city and the bush.

The Morrison government's commitment to education is not limited to the west coast study hub. I'm very pleased to report to the House that the construction of the University of Tasmania's new Burnie campus is nearing completion. It's looking great. This is a once-in-a-generation investment by the Morrison government. It is a crucial element to improving educational outcomes in our region. It will build the north-west region's reputation as a distinctive learning destination.

This investment goes well beyond the educational benefits that it will bring to the region. It will create vibrancy close to Burnie's CBD, it will foster economic benefits and it will pave the way for increased community-industry partnerships that enable the region to prosper and to grow. These new facilities will support and deliver the new degrees and industry aligned courses, increasing opportunities for students right across the region as they graduate from university and gain job-ready qualifications. I welcome UTas's commitment to focusing on leveraging on the strengths of our region. This will ensure that the courses offered meet the specific needs of our regional communities, align with our future workforce needs and continue to attract students from right across Australia and the world.

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of spending a few days on King Island. It was great to see the island bustling. I'm happy to report that the King Island Show was an absolute credit to all those involved. It had everything you would expect, plus more. Congratulations to everybody who was involved in organising the great King Island Show. I had the pleasure of officially opening the King Island early childhood centre upgrade and extension. This investment is another example of the Morrison government linking education and jobs together. This project upgraded the main facility to comply with the current building code. It improved operational efficiency, as well as constructing a new standalone building and increasing enrolment capacity to further strengthen and grow the King Island community. It's a great outcome. Spending time with Murphy Summers and her team at the early childhood centre and seeing how the little ones were thriving under their care reinforced for me the value of our commitment and how critical this is to our small regional communities. More parents are now able to return to work. They know that their child is receiving the care and the early learning that they need to have the best possible start in life. It's so important.

Over the past few weeks I've also had the pleasure of officially opening two new school redevelopments focused on STEM. Burnie's Leighland Christian School and Devonport Christian School received funding through the capital grants program. This investment by the Morrison government reflects our ongoing commitment to today's students. They know we are willing to back them and ensure they are equipped with the skills that they need for the jobs of the future. If the students at Leighland Christian School and Devonport Christian School reflect the students right across the nation then our future is in good hands indeed. Their excitement to embrace this new technology, their willingness to learn and the way they challenge themselves across STEM subjects was absolutely impressive and infectious. I'm so proud of them. No longer is science, technology engineering and mathematics something that is taught from a textbook; it's a hands-on and immersive subject, and students are loving it. Congratulations to the principals—Elizabeth Scheu and Chad Smit—and the teachers, support staff and parents of these great kids, who all play such an important part in the education of these kids. Thank you for making your students' journey through education a positive and exciting one and for ensuring they are ready to take advantage of every opportunity that's laid before them.

Last year the Morrison government and the Tasmanian government signed a state energy and emission reduction deal that will create thousands of jobs and deliver an affordable power supply to Tasmania and the broader electricity market. Under the agreement, both governments will work closely to deliver the Battery of the Nation and Marinus links to better connect Tasmania with mainland Australia and the National Energy Market whilst improving energy security, keeping prices low and reducing emissions.

Delivering the Marinus Link and Battery of the Nation projects is key to the federal government's JobMaker plan to shore up affordable and reliable energy in the east coast energy grid. Both Marinus and pumped hydro will maintain downward pressure on electricity prices and this is one of our government's key priorities. So households can keep more of what they earn. This will also develop the backbone of reliably lower emissions in the National Electricity Market for the next decade and beyond. It is forecasted that these projects will create up to 2,800 jobs, which will be absolutely crucial to my regional communities as they recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Marinus Link will also provide the additional interconnection needed to export the electricity grid to the Battery of the Nation on the mainland. In doing so it will unlock a pipeline of renewable energy investment, including pumped hydro, and create energy storage. Having already achieved more than 100 per cent self-sufficiency in renewables, Tasmania is punching well above its weight when it comes to generating low-cost, reliable, clean energy for the nation. This will help us achieve our target to double our renewable energy generation to 200 per cent of our current needs by 2040. It's a great goer! The anticipated increased energy interconnection between the mainland and Tasmania will also improve energy security, helping put downward pressure and lower prices on our state's domestic electricity market. It will also enhance growing opportunities for renewable generation in our state. The Morrison government has contributed $150 million towards the Marinus Link project to date, guiding it through its development and approval stage.

The Morrison government is continuing to invest in the electorate of Braddon across all sectors, as you can clearly see from my speech tonight. Almost everywhere I turn, every local government area I visit has federally funded projects being undertaken. It's a wonderful thing. From roads and bridge maintenance, large infrastructure projects and smaller capital grants projects that are important to our small regional communities to supporting our volunteer sector—those volunteers are absolutely crucial to our regions—and our local junior sports champions—the list goes on and on and on. Thank you to everyone across the north-west, the west coast and King Island for how you have responded to the challenges we have all been through together in the last year.

Together we are building stronger communities and we are building a stronger Tasmania. Our region has always had a glass-half-full approach. We have taken on our challenges and we have met them with the same determination we always have, and we are winning. I look forward to working with everyone in my electorate in the years to come, working together to realise our goals and seize our opportunities as they present themselves, ensuring everyone is equipped with the skills they need to be the very best Tasmanian they can ever be.

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