Andrew Charlton (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the Jobs and Skills Australia Amendment Bill 2023. This bill comes at a critical point in time. Here we are the day after budget day, and we've seen the first budget surplus in 15 years—the first budget surplus that has been delivered since the global financial crisis. One of the features of that budget surplus was the strength of the Australian labour market—the number of people employed and the growth in wages that has been experienced, both of which were critical to delivering the outstanding budget outcome the Treasurer was able to deliver today. This speaks to some of the real challenges and opportunities in our labour market.

This bill comes at a critical point in time. It comes at a time when businesses everywhere are talking about the challenge of skills and employment. Right now, Australia has the second-highest labour supply shortages of any OECD country around the world. Three million Australians lack the fundamental skills needed to participate in training and secure work. It's clear we need real solutions to address the jobs and skills shortage today so that we can build a stronger economy for tomorrow.

This bill proposes to establish a permanent Jobs and Skills Australia. This government acted quickly to establish an interim body last November, but a permanent body is needed to begin the work of building a strong, skilled and secure workforce for our future. Our proposed government amendment will be a statutory body that works with businesses and industry leaders as well as education providers and unions to give independent advice and address the skills crisis being faced by so many businesses across our communities.

One of those communities is the city I am proud to represent. Parramatta is a city of opportunity. Parramatta is a community of aspirational families and individuals all striving for success in the emerging heart of Greater Sydney. It's a city of small businesses, of people who have come from all over the world to build a better life for themselves and their families. Parramatta has a longstanding reputation as a launchpad for first-generation Australians, and that reputation has been founded on the ability of the city to give those who work hard the opportunity to build and find their own success. Parramatta supports this aspiration for its people. It supports it with good infrastructure rivalling that of many cities across the country—a world-class health district in Westmead, an emerging transport hub in Parramatta CBD and no fewer than nine university campuses offering high-quality education to local residents.

With a large and booming economy as diverse as our community, Parramatta today is a city of growth. With regional GDP of more than $30 billion, Parramatta holds the title of Sydney's second CBD. Its economy is even bigger than some of the capitals of other Australian states. But, right now, as strong as Parramatta's economy is, businesses face challenges every day. Cafes face challenges finding workers to keep the doors open. Technology firms are struggling to find the specific skills they need to grow. The four banks that have taken premises in Parramatta's new CBD are all struggling to fill roles in their Parramatta offices. We have a young, vibrant workforce, lots of universities and growth across the city, with companies extending their footprint to have a place inside the geographic centre of the city, and yet many of these businesses can't find the workers that they need. That's why jobs and skills are so important to our community and so important to many communities across the country.

I heard this loud and clear at the Jobs and Skills Summit that we held in Parramatta last year. Over 80 attendees came from across a range of industries, from manufacturers to local educators to unions and peak bodies, and for all of them the skills crisis was a major concern. Not only do businesses have trouble finding the workers they need, but we also have many young people across the electorate who are struggling to get the skills they need to connect into the jobs of the future. We found that local stakeholders were concerned that huge sections of the local community—particularly school leavers, migrants, women and First Nations people—were struggling to participate in mainstream education and employment opportunities. We heard of an enormous desire from participants who were willing and excited to work with the government to tackle these issues. They wanted a government to design a policy that unlocks local talent and lowers barriers to participating in the workforce, starting by addressing the skills shortage in our communities. One of the things that were at the top of the agenda was proper funding to TAFE. People wanted significant improvements to the visa system by improving access and reducing wait times. They wanted more affordable child care to help parents enter the workforce.

I'm proud to say that this government has delivered on many of these aspirations. In the aftermath of the National Jobs and Skills Summit, we announced an additional $1 billion in joint federal-state funding for fee-free TAFE starting in 2023 and accelerated delivery of 465,000 fee-free TAFE places. We increased the permanent Migration Program ceiling to 195,000 to help ease widespread critical shortages, and we halved the backlog of unprocessed visas in March 2023. From July 2023, 9,000 families across Parramatta will benefit from our cheaper childcare plan, helping parents and mums get back into the workforce. We listened and we acted when local businesses and communities spoke to us, and this bill is about going further. It's about addressing the skills and job shortages that we have right across the economy.

It's no surprise that those opposite are opposing elements of this bill, because, after a decade of coalition government, local stakeholders and businesses had deserted them. It wasn't just a decade of delay, decay and denial, but also a decade when the concerns of businesses fell on deaf ears. No wonder businesses and voters across the business community lost faith in those opposite! Nowhere is this more clear than in their proposed amendments to this very bill. Whereas the government's proposed amendments allow for the appointment of a fourth employer representative to specifically cover the interests and voices of small business, those opposite have proposed an amendment which would undermine workers' voices. That's just not the constructive approach that we want to see in this legislation, and it's clear that the coalition have not learned their lesson. Whereas stakeholders and the crossbench have worked with the government to craft an amendment that strengthens small-business representation, the opposition have made it clear that they will not support this bill unless their amendment is successful. The difference couldn't be clearer. While we're taking a constructive approach in tackling the jobs and skills crisis to build a better future, the coalition continue to ignore and exclude the voices of those around them.

We know that business is critical in helping to deliver the government vision for Australia. After a decade in opposition, this government has watched and learned and seen those opposite ignore businesses and pay the price for it. Business has moved forward in so many areas across our economy. They've moved forward towards net zero with concrete plans and targets while the previous government vacated their roles and responsibilities. On gender equity, many businesses have set goals and targets to achieve gender equity in their executive ranks and boards.

When businesses were looking for leadership on jobs and skills; again, we listened and we responded. Jobs and Skills Australia reflects this government's commitment to listening and working with businesses, unions and educators to address the skills crisis. The government's amendment will ensure consultation will be baked into its core functions, ensuring ongoing cooperation with businesses. Under this amendment, Jobs and Skills Australia will be empowered to take on a broader range of functions, helping the government address the skills shortage better. These functions include identifying labour market imbalances and analysis of the role played by demand and supply of skills; building an evidence base on the impact of various workforce arrangements, particularly when it comes to insecure work and how that impacts economic outcomes; and undertaking studies on opportunities to improve employment and education outcomes for groups that historically faced labour market barriers and exclusions, such as women, seniors, those with disabilities, young people and First Nations people.

Finally, a permanent Jobs and Skills Australia will contribute to industry consultation forums and strengthen our ability to listen to business when it comes to key skills and labour shortages in their sectors. Establishing a permanent Jobs and Skills Australia will finally provide the independent advice that we need to address skills shortages. We've shown this government is determined to work with businesses—not against them or in spite of them—to tackle key economic challenges. This bill lays the building blocks for that.

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