Sally Sitou (Reid, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Two hundred and fourteen thousand—that's how many Australians have enrolled under Labor's fee-free TAFE policy. That's 34,000 more than our goal of 180,000 spots, so we smashed it. This tells us two things: firstly it tells us how dynamic and hardworking Australians are and how willing they are to work in areas of critical skills shortages; and secondly it stands as an indictment on the absolute failure of those opposite. Under their watch, Australia was left with the worst skills shortage in decades. Those opposite can never carry the title of good economic managers because, when our economy and our businesses were crying out for skilled workers, those opposite went missing. They ignored the problem, and, worst still, they failed to adequately support TAFE. We are getting on with the job of skilling up and are providing 300,000 additional fee-free TAFE places from next year. That means more early childhood educators, more aged-care workers and even more electricians and arborists—a skill very much in demand. I met with some arborists in Newington last month. It's a great career path, and I encourage anyone who loves the outdoors to look into it.