Mr REPACHOLI (Hunter) (11:35):

One of the most important investments any government can make is in education. When we invest in education we're investing in the future of our country. Unfortunately, the previous government neglected key parts of our education system, particularly TAFE. The consequences have been clear. When we came into government, we faced nationwide skills shortages.

I'm not an economist, but I am a proud TAFE graduate, so I know that, when you make it harder and less affordable for people to attend TAFE, you end up with Australian businesses struggling to find skilled workers. You end up with skill shortages, but we are fixing this. Fee-free TAFE is helping Australians study in areas where we need skills the most, like future care workers and tradies. The evidence shows that this is working. Fee-free TAFE is on track to boost the supply of skilled workers in critical industries, particularly in care, technology and digital, early childhood education and construction. This policy is nation building and life changing for everyone who is now getting a free tertiary-level education.

Our approach, when it comes to getting people trained in the area of their choice, is quite different to those opposite. Those opposite have never cared about TAFE, and they never will. That's why the Deputy Leader of the Opposition described fee-free TAFE as 'wasteful spending'. But it's not just one of their opinions on that side. Their disregard for TAFE is deeply ingrained. Let's not forget that there wasn't a single skills policy in the opposition's budget reply speech. They have refused to back our additional fee-free TAFE and VET places for construction, our expanded access to new energy apprentices, our expanded capacity for training facilities and the trainer workforce, our support for women's careers in VET, or our increased financial support to prioritise apprentices and their employers.

Every time we have tried to rebuild TAFE, they have tried to stand in the way, but this hasn't stopped us from getting on with the job. We have delivered fee-free TAFE, helping hundreds of thousands of Australians pursue the jobs of their choice. The early data reported by states and territories, up to 30 June this year, tells us that fee-free TAFE has helped create over 500,000 enrolments nationally since it commenced on 1 January 2023. We had a target of 180,000 places in the first year of fee-free TAFE in 2023. But we didn't just deliver on this; we overdelivered. We smashed our target, with over 355,000 student enrolments. This shows that, when TAFE is affordable and accessible, people will seize this opportunity.

Enrolments in fee-free TAFE have been strong across all priority sectors. We've had over 120,000 care sector course enrolments. There were over 45,000 technology and digital sector course enrolments. There were nearly 32,000 early childhood education and care sector enrolments and over 32,000 construction sector course enrolments. Just think about everything that will get done with the extra few hundred thousand skilled workers that we have.

I'm a proud product of TAFE. It taught me the skills that I needed to be able to gain the good, secure employment which has supported me for the whole of my working life. It also taught me the important lessons about life. Leaving school at 15 to do my trade, I was thrown into the real world very quickly. But this has helped shape the person I am today. School was never for me. I never loved it, and I definitely never thought about going to university. I will be forever grateful that I was able to go to TAFE and learn the skills and live the experiences I have had.

If you're a young person right now and don't think school is quite for you and don't want to go to university, that's okay. TAFE gives you the chance to get qualifications in doing something you love. Whether you want to be a chippie, a leco, a plumber, a boiley, a mechanic, a tiler, a plasterer or a childcare educator or to have a qualification in hospitality, or maybe you want to be a fitter and turner just like me, we want to make sure that you're able to go to TAFE and get a high-quality qualification that opens doors for you into the future.

So let's keep pushing to make trades not just a viable option but a sought-after career path. Tradies are cool. Let's make sure we get the next generation on board and keep pushing tradies along. We need them to keep Australia going.