Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Hansard source

I appreciate the opportunity to continue my remarks on the Jobs and Skills Australia Bill 2022. We handed the Albanese government a skills and training system, not just training up but powering ahead on the back of record investments guaranteed by a strong economy. Our policies invested over $13 billion in skills over the past two years alone. But we didn't just clean up Labor's mess; we made the most significant reforms to Aussie skills in over a decade. Guided by an expert review that we commissioned, the Joyce review, we got on with bringing our skills system into the 21st century.

We overhauled and put in place industry-led clusters to speed up qualification development so our skill system could keep up with the evolving needs of our modern economy. We established the National Skills Commission to provide evidence based leadership on the skills we need for our workforce today and for tomorrow. The National Skills Commission has not only been instrumental in driving data driven decisions in skilled migration but has exposed seriously concerning differences in the amount apprentices and trainees are getting charged to study across states and territories. The NSC has been unanimously endorsed by industry. The Independent Tertiary Education Council of Australia said that the National Skills Commissioner, supported ably by a professional team, has done some excellent work with respect to skills planning and forecasting, and that it regards Jobs and Skills Australia as the National Skills Commission-plus. In fact, the Business Council of Australia has warned, 'JSA needs to build on this foundation and ensure that the NSC's good work is not eroded.'

We reformed and increased training incentives through our new apprenticeship incentive system, including introducing direct payments to apprentices to see them through their studies and into a job. Our policy settings got apprenticeship numbers up to record levels. For the first time in our history, we hit over 220,000 Australians taking up a trade apprenticeship. We did all of that while saving a generation of Australian workers from the biggest hit to Australia's workforce since the Great Depression.

What does that look like? When I was recently in Lismore, I saw firsthand the importance of trades as that town rebuilds. Many of those tradies had apprentices that were supported through the pandemic. In fact, whether it's round tables that I've held up in Queensland, over in Perth or in Western Sydney, everywhere I have gone people have said that we've got the skills and apprentices supports right, throughout the pandemic.

Reports that Labor is looking for savings in the skills budget are particularly worrying. That is the exact opposite of what the Australian economy needs right now. We've heard a lot of talk about skills from Labor over the past week, but, as any tradie will tell you, talk is cheap. It's getting the job done that matters. And when it comes to this mob, their form does not fill you with confidence. So whilst we accept that the bill will pass, we will be keeping a watching brief on Jobs and Skills Australia, because we know just how vital skills are for the strength of our economy and we desperately want the Labor government to get this right—for once. I thank the House.

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