Libby Coker (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the . How did the Albanese Labor government take the views of local government into account at the Jobs and Skills Summit?

Kristy McBain (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question. The member is a former mayor for the Surf Coast Shire and a strong advocate for local government in this place.

The Jobs and Skills Summit provided me with an additional opportunity to engage the sector, which is an important voice, and their views were loud and clear. They are the closest level of government to the people. They reach into every town and village across this country. I know firsthand that over the last nine years local government felt like its voice was not heard by those opposite. It took an Albanese Labor government to prioritise and respect the sector. As a former mayor, I have a unique understanding of the connection that local government have to their community, and they bring the voice of the community to government. They also employ over 190,000 people over 400 different occupations.

In the lead-up to the summit, I hosted a number of local government roundtables and met with representatives from local government, state and territory associations and local government professionals. A key theme that I heard was the lack of training opportunities and course offerings. For example, in South Australia there is no longer a tertiary course for planning. This will lead to the sector suffering wideranging shortages of a number of professions—town planners, engineers, building surveyors and project managers in particular. That was loud and clear in the job summit as well, and one of the outcomes that we are particularly pleased with is the 180,000 fee-free TAFE places that are going to be offered across the country.

Local governments have been very good at being innovative and agile when it comes to meeting the expectations of their communities. And when the Prime Minister announced that he was bringing back that local government voice to National Cabinet, it was well received and I was incredibly proud—proud because collaboration between all levels of government is critical. It is critical in delivering for our communities. What I heard during my round tables is that there is a renewed sense of collaboration and partnership. Indeed, I am incredibly proud to be delivering back the Australian Council of Local Governments, first introduced by the Prime Minister.

I'm excited about the future of collaboration and partnership with local government, a sector that delivers for all of our communities.