Jerome Laxale (Bennelong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Australia's construction industry is the lifeblood of our nation. Construction workers provide the homes that families grow in, the infrastructure that connects our communities and the jobs that underpin livelihoods across the country. The strength and resilience of this industry are critical to our economic prosperity and to ensure all Australians have access to safe and affordable housing. This is why our government has made supporting these sectors a national priority. To build 1.2 million homes we need the workers to do it and that just doesn't happen on its own. From investing in skills and training to tackling the housing crisis with actual policies, not just empty words, we are committed to building a future that delivers for Australia's workers, families and businesses. Our policies are helping to grow the pipeline of skilled workers, creating opportunities for men and women and young Australians, and supporting businesses. A skilled workforce is the backbone of the construction industry. This government is delivering where it matters most, and, unlike those opposite, we are actually doing something about addressing the skills shortage.

Before I go into the policies we have enacted, it is important to paint a picture of the workforce shortage situation when we came to government. When we came to government we inherited the worst skills shortage in half a century after a near decade of fiscal and policy neglect from the Liberals. The OECD said Australia had the second-highest labour shortage per capita among the OECD. So we had to address that near decade of neglect with actual policy and we believe the best way to skill local construction workers is through TAFE.

Since its implementation, our free-TAFE policy has seen over half a million people go to TAFE to reskill. It has opened the door to thousands of Australians to gain the qualifications they need to build futures for our nation. Last year alone, over 24,000 people enrolled in construction, and we have announced plans to roll out an additional 20,000 free TAFE and VET places specifically targeting the construction and housing sectors. We are also funding 5,000 new preapprenticeship places, helping aspiring tradies take their first steps into the industry, ensuring they are ready to tackle the challenges of tomorrow, because to build homes we need the workers to do it. It is not just about the numbers; it is about creating an industry that also welcomes talent from all walks of life and that includes empowering women to take their place in the construction industry, a field where they have been historically underrepresented. We have a $61 million program to help women's careers in construction to address the systemic and cultural barriers that have made it harder for women to enter this industry. The results so far are encouraging. Of the 24,000 Aussies who took up construction in TAFE last year, over 3,000 were women.

This is progress, but we know there's more to do. Empowering women is not just about equality; it's about securing the future of construction itself. If we are to meet the needs of and get more workers into the construction industry, we must harness the potential of every skilled and talented individual.

We inherited the skills shortage crisis. We put in policies to address it. What do you think the Liberals' response has been? Like on most things, they have said no. They refused to back the government's initial free TAFE policy. They refused to support expanded access to new energy apprenticeships. Incredibly, their deputy leader has said TAFE is wasteful spending. Addressing the skills shortage is not wasteful spending because, to address it, you need more than a weak motion in this House like we are debating now; you actually need policies. To help the construction industry you need more than empty words or policies which simply wire-transfer funds directly to developers. We haven't had a single workforce policy from those opposite other than that. There wasn't a single skills policy in the opposition leader's budget reply speech. It's been nearly three years and we haven't heard boo from them about what their plans are.

The contrast between the Liberals and Labor couldn't be more stark on skilling up our young men and women to get into construction. We want more tradies. We want them to build our homes in our cities and our regions. We will address the workforce challenges we inherited with good policy, with free TAFE and with the urgency the country needs to fix the mess the Liberals left us. On this side, we will continue to put up these policies. On that side, they will continue to say no.

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