Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Sheldon. The main lesson we have learnt from the past is that, if you want a well-funded training system in this country that meets the country's skill needs, you cannot have a coalition government. We saw the legacy of those 10 years of underfunding and decay in the form of massive skill shortages and holding Australians back. The national skills agreement, which has now been signed, means that the Albanese government and the states and territories can work together in a coordinated way. What a novel concept—cooperation and working together with the states and territories! We saw under the coalition that if you don't collaborate and coordinate with the states and territories, who are responsible for huge amounts of investment in their own TAFE sectors, then it's impossible to get the best outcomes for Australians, businesses and the economy, and poor old Mathias Cormann has to put out a report saying that Australia is experiencing the second-most-severe labour shortage in the developed world.

It's the first time in 10 years that every state and territory has been supported by the Commonwealth in a genuine and collaborative way. We're getting on with delivering funding to deliver the skills Australians need. (Time expired)