Dai Le (Fowler, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I'd like to thank the member for Bennelong for this motion about the construction sector. Traineeships matter deeply to me, as does the construction sector, because they're one of the largest employers in my electorate. This matter really goes to the heart of the challenges facing my community in Fowler. The skill shortage is holding us back, and we heard the member for Fisher talking about the housing crisis that Australia is currently facing.

Our national housing target is falling short by around 60,000 homes a year, even as our builders and tradies work tirelessly to speed up supply and delivery. Right now, builders are telling me we face a shortfall of more than 83,000 tradespeople. To put that into perspective, that's enough to fill every seat in Sydney's Olympic stadium, and we'd need each of these people on the tools just to meet today's demand. Those numbers break down to around 22,000 carpenters, 17,000 electricians, 12,000 plumbers, 4½ thousand bricklayers and around 3,000 concreters. Without them, slabs don't get poured, frames don't get built and bricks don't get laid. That means more young Australians stay locked out of homeownership.

It's encouraging to see the government reporting 14,000 new commencements in housing trades under the KAP. But, I have to ask, are these genuinely new additions or simply the normal intake we'd expect in any given year? With an 83,000-person shortfall we need an additional 14,000 trainees on top of the baseline, not just an aggregate number that the government can put in a press release. The Housing Industry Association have told me constantly that they've been begging the government to make KAP permanent. Industry supports KAP schemes and so do I. But, as builders remind me, attracting people into trades is only half the story. Keeping them there is where the real challenges lie, with dropout rates hovering around 40 and 50 per cent. That's why the milestone payments under KAP are so critical. Supporting an apprentice through their full three or four years of training is what truly makes a difference. I'll be watching closely for the next set of data from the government, and I sincerely hope that those dropout rates start trending the other way.

But here's where I'm especially concerned: how are we supporting small builders and the ones doing the heavy lifting when it comes to taking on apprentices and training the next generation? The HIA Small Business Conditions Survey, which I helped launch recently, paints a very troubling picture. Sixty-seven per cent of businesses are struggling to find or keep skilled workers. Seventy-three per cent do not expect to hire more staff in 2026. Sixty-eight per cent have considered scaling back or closing because of red tape, and 88 per cent say red tape has increased their stress and pressure. That's not just a red flag; it's a huge alarm bell.

Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy, and 85.5 per cent of construction apprentices are employed by small firms. Without their willingness to take apprentices on, the system simply collapses. There's no apprenticeship without an employer ready to create that opportunity. The Priority Hiring Incentive for housing and clean energy apprentices is a great initiative, but industry is telling me that they have no certainty about what happens after this year. We've already seen other sectors have their incentives halved. Businesses need predictability to make long-term hiring decisions. Industry is calling loudly for both KAP and priority-hiring-incentive programs to be made permanent, at least at current support levels.

Too often, skills and workforce policy feels like a game of hokey-pokey. One minute, support is in, the next, it's out. That has to stop. Today, I call on the government—and, of course, the member for Bennelong, because of this motion—to make a clear, long-term funding commitment in the 2026-27 budget to keep both schemes going, and to announce the decision from the May budget this year. Don't leave employees and apprentices waiting until the eleventh hour again. If the government wants to boast about the success of KAP, then make it permanent. Make it a genuine, long-term investment in our workforce and our housing future. Our housing targets depend on it. Our small businesses depend on it and young Australians trying to buy their first home depend on it. Let's not cap KAP.

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