Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. What role did regional Australia play in the lead-up to and during the Jobs and Skills Summit?

Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Lyons, a great regional Australian, for the question. I was very proud of the representation we had at the Jobs and Skills Summit from those from regional Australia. I, the member for Hunter, the Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories and the member for Lyons were there. The Leader of the National Party was also there. He knows how important it is to show up when you are given an invitation. There were the National Farmers Federation President, the Isaac Regional Council, the Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia and Cape York Partnerships alongside many Australians who live and work in regional Australia.

The Jobs and Skills Summit was a really important first step of the government's plan to address the skills crisis in regional Australia. What is clear is that there are a wide range of issues behind skill shortages in the regions, whether it is housing affordability and availability, liveability in our regions, lack of training facilities and pathways, construction costs and access to materials, lower wages in some of our regions, competition for skilled workers across industries and the challenges that are in our freight and logistics sector across our regions. These issues can have a significant impact on cost-of-living pressures not only in regional Australia. They add to transport costs in the rest of the country. Our government is working to address these.

Many of the regions will see large investments from the ongoing pipeline of infrastructure investment but also from the renewable energy sector. Regional stakeholders want to embrace this opportunity, but they also want a plan for the workforce and for the pressure on local services. In the lead-up to the summit there were a number of roundtables that my colleagues had. I thank the many participants for that.

In terms of the 36 outcomes of the summit, there are important outcomes for regional Australia. They include strengthening our migration system and actually getting more permanent residents moving into our regions and contributing their skills in our local economies. There were announcements in relation to TAFE—making sure fee-free TAFE places are available to students in regional Australia and strengthening TAFE so that it can provide services into the regions. Those economies that are reliant on resources and tourism in particular are desperately short of affordable housing stock. The Minister for Housing made announcements about making sure we start to get the private sector, in particular the superannuation sector, engaged in building houses in our regions. And there was improving jobs pathways for women. They were all important issues raised in the summit.

Again I would like to thank the many regional Australians who participated in the roundtables and who turned up to the summit, particularly the Leader of the National Party, who knows that the battle for us often is having a seat at the table. He knows that when you get an invitation you actually turn up.