Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Skills and Training) Share this | Hansard source

When we left government, there were 415,000 apprentices and trainees in the system. Today, just four years later, do you reckon there are more or fewer? There are over 100,000 fewer. Irrespective of the rhetoric that you hear from this government about all things being well and fine and dandy in the skills and training space, I can assure you: we are in a world of hurt. The skills shortages in this country are now at breaking point, and there's no solution coming from those on the other side. Just fathom that: 117,000 fewer apprentices and trainees today than when we left government. Then can you imagine what that transfers to and looks like in the housing construction sector?

When we left office, the Housing Industry Association's Simon Croft's data suggests that, on average, 200,000 houses a year were being constructed across the country. What does a simple Google search now reveal to you about the last reporting period of 12 months? Do you reckon housing construction numbers were up or down? Down again, to 170,000. But the government have got ambitious targets—ridiculously ambitious targets. In order for them to get from the average of where they are at the moment, from 170,000, just back to where we were, they would then have to start building houses at around 125,000 a year, to catch up. But they're not going to do that. To meet their own targets of 1.2 million houses into the future, they'd have to be averaging 255,000. Never before, in the history of the Australian construction sector, have those numbers been met.

But I tell you what they are good at. It takes a special type of incompetence to bring 1.2 million migrants into this country and, either intentionally or through some magic-pudding economics, just happen to leave off electricians, plumbers, roofers, plasterers and tilers—all the people that are on the skilled trades list. You think, 'Why don't they bring these people in to help with the construction sector? Why is it?' And then you think, 'Who runs their campaigns? What power do the unions have in ensuring that these people are not on the list of skills that we need to build the infrastructure required for the future? What power is it that the unions have that stops these people being on the skills list?'

It's only a Liberal government, it's only a coalition government, that will adjust the immigration numbers and have skilled migration targeted to address the housing shortages and the skills that we need. And God help!

You know, there's a reason that we did not support some of Labor's housing plans and, in particular, the five per cent boost-up. It has just gone straight to making it five per cent dearer for people to get into homes, because we've seen the inflationary pressure in housing prices adjust accordingly. And it happens every single time.

But I tell you what: if politics were an Olympic sport, the Australian Labor Party would be gold medallists in taking credit for stuff when stuff's going well! But they've got a list from here to Bourke of people to blame so they don't have to take responsibility themselves. It's always somebody else's fault. This Labor government is appalling, and it's only a coalition government that can get this country back on track.

Tomorrow, our party will be having a leadership spill. I come from a regional seat. I come from a regional community. It's mostly farmers. Agriculture is our largest contributor to GDP. When I shake the hand of my leader and say, 'You have my support,' you can take that to the bank. So, when the deal is on tomorrow, Australia needs to know I won't shirk from my responsibilities to support my leader. It's how I was bred. They are my principles and they will always guide me.

See this speech in context