Leon Rebello (McPherson, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on Australia's need for skilled workers and this government's utter failure to deliver meaningful results. Skilled workers are needed in this country for many reasons. They support our local small businesses, facilitate major construction projects and touch every sector of our economy.

In Labor's first term, Australia welcomed more than 1.2 million migrants. With numbers of that scale, there is no way we should be experiencing the chronic skill shortages that we are seeing right now across this nation. This points to a clear failure of this government to use our migration system in a manner that is strategic and effective in supporting our national interest. The desire to come to Australia, while admirable, should not be the sole qualification. Migration must be better aligned with genuine workforce needs: aligned to our national interest. But this alone is not the answer. We must rebuild domestic pathways into skilled work.

Recently I visited the Gold Coast Trades College in Currumbin, where educators spoke frankly about emerging trends that young tradespeople are seeing. Too many students are deterred from taking up trades not because of a lack of ability or interest but because the system makes it too hard. Apprenticeships can be expensive and overly complex, and sectors themselves are burdened by layers of regulation that discourage both students and employers. Young Australians want clear, achievable pathways into secure work.