Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

Probably the way I would approach that is to say this. There is no doubt there is a significant structural change occurring in the Australian economy, and that is a consequence of a number of things. The first is obviously the global economic shift that we are seeing, where there is a shift in economic power from West to East. Then we also are seeing elevated terms of trade for Australia which, as a consequence, has led to very substantial investment and very substantial growth in investment in the resources sector. We are also seeing historically high levels of the dollar. Those, amongst other factors, are driving some significant shifts in the Australian economy.

There are also substantial opportunities, and the government is very conscious of the importance of putting in place the policy settings which enable Australians both to manage change but also to grasp those opportunities. In terms of the sorts of the policy settings which are important, you will have seen—through you, Mr President, to the senator—the Prime Minister's announcement yesterday of additional investment in skills. That investment coupled with the existing announced funding will see about $9 million, from recollection, over five years invested in the vocational training sector. That is a reflection of both the demand that the economy will generate in terms of the additional need for skilled workers but also the importance of ensuring more Australians have the skills employers need, enabling more Australians to manage the sorts of changes that we are seeing.

We are very conscious of the pressures some sectors are facing and, of course, that other sectors are doing very well. The other substantial policy setting the government has brought forward that has now been endorsed by the Senate, with the senator's support and that of his party, is the minerals tax, which is about spreading the benefits of the boom. (Time expired)