Scott Buchholz
Wright · Liberal Party · Australia
“Scotty, you've got to get rid of this bad government so that our business can survive.' The last one was: 'Scotty, it's like a perfect storm of despair for us—continued interest rate rises with more to come, government policy designed specifically to devalue the family home and crippled consumer confidence.”
“Yesterday, during question time, the Prime Minister was twice asked directly to guarantee that the housing market in Australia wouldn't tank, and twice he refused to do so. I rang a number of real estate agents in my electorate this morning, and I spoke with them. I'm going to record into Hansard what three of their comments were.”
“My electorate is predominantly agriculture; the largest contributor to GDP is agriculture. I live in an electorate where men and women who work on farms often get up before the sun gets up. Their faces are tanned, and their hands are cracked and blackened with earth and soil.”
“We proudly welcome every one of those families that choose to relocate to Wright purely because of the level of representation at federal government. There can be no other reason.”
“It would not surprise anyone within these rooms that, when I take a snapshot of these boards and bring them to the House, the cost of living is far and away the most predominant. I did, however, change my lists of issues that they could raise with me.”
“I also want to acknowledge young Hugh. Over dinner last night, Hugh told me that in his spare time after school he works with his brother who's a couple of years into his diesel mechanic trade apprenticeship. They go out harvesting, and he drives tractors, but he can only just see over the steering wheel.”
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“Or they might give it to the affordable housing sector. But, when I was in Western Australia and I spoke with those from the resources sector, those looking for fitters, mechanics, diesel fitters—there was no support from Labor for those; zero. When I speak to the hospitality sector—the chefs, the caterers, the bakers, the sous-chefs, the apprentices—there was no support for those. When I talk to the car manufacturing sector, when I talk to the car dealerships—there's no support for the mechanics apprenticeships. There's no support for those that we need to train to accommodate the next wave of electric car fleet. The recent ABS data in September shows total dwellings approvals are down 8.2 per cent and private apartment approvals have fallen by a staggering 22 per cent.”
“I've been meet being employers, apprentices and training providers all around the country, and, everywhere I go, they're telling me the same thing. They are desperate for skilled workers. Builders can't find enough tradies. Civil contractors can't find enough plant operators. Electricians, plumbers and mechanics are stretched thin. In the regions, it's amplified. It's even worse. We're facing a skills drought, and this is a direct result of this government's neglect. At the very same time, Australia's housing approvals have collapsed. We have seen Labor make some attempts to put some incentive programs in for apprentices. But they're very narrow; they're not for all apprentices. As Labor pursues their net zero targets, they'll give it to the apprentices that might be involved with building solar panels or windmills in that sector.”
“But, I can tell you, these numbers from the pre-eminent independent body do not lie. When we left office—when we left government—the sector was healthy. We had over 428,000 apprentices and trainees in the sector working and contributing to our country. Today, after four years under this leadership, we have 107,000 fewer. Let me repeat that: there are 107,000 fewer apprentices—fewer younger Australians getting the training they need for skills, fewer jobs and fewer decent careers. How can that be? This is not a statistic; this is a Labor failure. This is a homegrown crisis, either intentionally or unintentionally grown by the policy failings of this Labor government—a failure of policy, a failure of leadership and a failure of vision. I've been on the road right across our country from Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth to Darwin.”
“I move this motion out of deep, deep concern for the sector, deep concern for our young people, concern for our tradies, concern for the employers and concern for the future of the skills pipeline for this country, because, under this government, we're watching a collapse of Australian apprenticeships and trainees that we have never seen in our history. It's having a devastating consequence for our economy and the workplace and, more particularly, the housing market. The national pre-eminent body, the National Centre for Vocational Education Research—they're the pre-eminent body that capture the data. You will hear those on the other side of this chamber come in and make these flippant allegations that, when they took over in government four years ago, the economy was terrible and everything was upside down.”
“I move: That this House: (1) notes: (a) the National Centre for Vocational Education Research advises that there are 320,830 active apprentices and trainees in training, representing a drop of 107,320 apprentices and trainees in training compared to when the Opposition was last in office; (b) that new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released in September 2025 shows Australia's building approvals are collapsing, with total dwelling approvals down by 8.2 per cent and private sector apartment approvals down by 22 per cent; and (c) the critical link between the collapse in apprentice and trainee numbers and the shortage of skilled workers needed to address Australia's growing housing crisis, with fewer tradespeople available to build the homes Australians desperately need; (2) recognises that the housing crisis is being compounded by this failure in skills and training, leading to higher costs, longer delays, and fewer Australians able to achieve the dream of home ownership; (3) condemns the Government for failing to ensure an adequate pipeline of skilled workers to meet Australia's needs, and for overseeing a collapse in both apprentice numbers and housing approvals at a time when the nation can least afford it; and (4) calls on the Government to take immediate and urgent action to: (a) rebuild apprentice and trainee numbers across the economy, particularly in construction and housing trades; (b) work with industry and employers to support real pathways into skills and training; and (c) develop a credible strategy to ensure Australia has the skilled workforce required to meet current and future housing demand.”
“It's united, and, under the coalition, we will deliver cheaper energy, a stronger economy and a brighter future for the next generation of all Australians. In conclusion, I want to acknowledge my mother, who's sitting in the gallery today, Veronica. She's 82, has travelled all the way down from Boonah and just had a cup of tea with the Speaker. I love you, Mum. Thank you for making the effort to come down.”
“Labor is failing. Labor is failing Australians. It's failing on energy. It's failing on the economy and it's failing our next generation. Energy prices are up 32 per cent. We were told that, when the wind blew and then the sun shone, everything was going to be for free. You're paying 32 per cent more. When it comes to the economy, government spending is growing four times the rate of the growth of the economy. That means that, for each of you in the gallery today, by the time question time concludes, you'll owe more money by the time you walk out than when you walked in. For the next generation, when we left office, there were 428,000 apprentices and trainees in the system. Today there are a hundred thousand less. Shame! The coalition is united and fighting for all Australians. It's united in fighting Labor.”
“It's always a privilege to make a contribution on the consideration in detail process. Traditionally, I would come and make a contribution, the other side would be adorned with the coinciding ministers, and we would ask a series of questions. On an issue as important as workplace relations, skills and training, you would think the minister would have put in an appearance. Geographically, his office is closer to this chamber than mine—but nothing! There is nothing from that on the other side. But guess what? These cameras here are broadcasting right around the country—”
“There is not an original farm in my electorate—of which the largest contributor to GDP is agriculture—that still does not have a windmill on it. Southern Cross Windmills are celebrating 150 years here in Australia. They're situated in my electorate. So I won't be told by the richest postcodes in our country that we need to have an environmental conscience, that we need to be doing more to accept renewables. We are the early adopters of renewables and, when those windmills collapsed, we replaced them with solar pumps. But we didn't do it because we had a burning desire to save the environment; we did it because we had a burning desire to save our wallets. It was the most efficient type of energy. Unfortunately, renewables are far too expensive at the moment. That's a conversation this place needs to have about helping the people of Wright.”
“We were told that electricity prices were going to be cheaper.' And I'll have to apologise to them, because I know it's hurting their family budgets. I know that electricity prices have gone up 39 per cent, and I know that only 40 per cent of the retail market goes to households. The remaining 60 per cent of energy production goes into the manufacturing sector; that's the cost of fertilisers and the cost of tractors. When you go into Woolworths and you buy items on the shelf, like a tin of baked beans or a frozen food product, everything has a component of electricity tied to it. That has had an inflationary pressure on our economy which has inhibited the Reserve Bank and led to their decisions to not give rate relief as quickly as they would have otherwise.”
“This weekend, when I return back to my electorate, I'll have the great pleasure of being part of the opening ceremony at the Beaudesert Show. Located in the middle of my electorate, Beaudesert is probably one of the larger communities. It's a great day out. There's cattle, transport, agriculture, show bags. Kids bring their photos to exhibit. There are honey producers, and the ladies bake. It's a typical outback regional show. What won't be typical about it this year will be the conversations I'll have with the people I represent. I'm confronted by it time and time again when they ask me: 'What are you doing about electricity prices? Why aren't you holding those guys on the other side of the chamber down there in Canberra to account?”
“There's nothing wrong with that; that is the privilege of government. But don't come in and be the virtue of all things transparent when debate is being shut down and bills are being sent to the other place while we continue to debate what we'd hopefully think would be an outcome. They've slashed staff for those parliamentarians tasked with holding officers in government to account, and they've ignored the report of the parliamentary inquiry into access to information. This is a real issue for the Australian Labor Party, and I would suggest that, while we agree on all things transparent, you revisit this for the sake of our nation.”
“It's the biggest attack on freedom of information in over 15 years, as I just mentioned. Since assuming office, Labor has presided over a massive spike in freedom of information requests and a massive spike in their refusals. They've pioneered widespread non-disclosure agreements on stakeholder consultation. I was not aware that we had ever participated in that type of activity in government. I will stand corrected, but, for the public record, governments having non-disclosure agreements with working parties coming into open forums is just beyond the pale. They've produced a secret manual which they've circulated to public servants on how to give acceptable answers in estimates and repeatedly flouted Senate orders on the production of documents. They've limited parliamentary scrutiny through changes of standing orders.”
“The Albanese government wants to introduce what the previous speaker has referred to as a 'truth tax', charging fees on an FOI request that should be made public. I thought the previous speaker made a very valid and salient point about vexatious freedom of information requests, particularly if they were made by an anonymous party. I would agree. If they're anonymous, they're not going to put their name to it and we don't know what it's for, I wouldn't be giving them any credence. But, for those bodies that sit up there and are asking questions that should be made available, I would ask genuinely for the Australian Labor Party to reconsider their position. Plans to roll back scrutiny and normalise the use of fees for freedom of information are the latest in a series of attacks on transparency and accountability.”
“I think that was back in 1887. It has stood fast for that amount of time. With the numbers that are in this place, it is incumbent upon us, as an opposition, to shine a light when the light cannot get in. I come to the dispatch box on behalf of our fourth estate, who are raising this discussion, this matter of public importance, as a real concern. If those members in this house are genuine, they will have the conversation with the people who wrote their speaking points to revisit this. In opposition, Labor promised to shine a light on politics and bring back accountability, but now it's rolling out the biggest attack on freedom of information that we have seen as a country in 15 years.”
“It's always a privilege to be able to make a contribution to the matter of public importance. I thank those that have made a contribution to this debate. Any time we have a conversation about transparency and openness it's a good thing for the Australian public, and I am happy to be able to engage in this debate. I have taken away a couple of points from the debate that I want to share with the room—in light of thanking those members who have made a contribution. We, as an opposition, need to make sure that we keep a light on the government. We need to make sure that the overwhelming numbers within the Australian Labor Party that exist in this chamber, which were so overwhelming and celebrated as a great victory—I think it was Lord Acton who once said: Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
“You watch; before this afternoon you'll see them introduce a fairness tax, a truth tax. They've racked up the highest levels of spending since 1989. They've failed on productivity, they've failed on energy and they've failed to spend responsibly. People ask, 'How could they have done that?' The Department of Defence annual report states that there are 120 fewer personnel than there were 12 months ago. Accordingly, the bureaucracy has gone up—wait for it—by 1,700 people. You've got a spending problem. (Time expired)”
“Australians know that, when Labor run out of their own money, they'll come looking for yours. Labor's so-called economic talkfest was nothing but a fizzer—hand picked participants trotted out while real Australians continue to suffer. But here's the reality. We've got the lowest productivity rates in 60 years and electricity prices are out of control. The talkfest came up with a whole new bucket of taxes—starting with the unrealised capital gains tax—with leaked documents from Treasury saying that taxes had to go up. A plan to increase the GST was discussed—and the spare bedroom tax, an increase on fringe benefits, an increase on capital gains and abolishing negative gearing. And Labor loves the death tax. They're going to disguise all of this as an intergenerational fairness tax.”
“I just want to thank my family and, on the public record, let them know that I am immensely proud of all them and I love them dearly. Thank you for the time.”
“We have the housing growth, the schools and the businesses motivated to see that precinct expand. I'm sure there are those who will be offended by the fact that I have omitted them from my speech. That has only happened as a result of the restrictions on time, because, hopefully, all and sundry can get a sense of how passionate I am and how proud I am to be the federal member for Wright. The position that I hold in this place as the shadow minister for skills and training is a great privilege, and I cannot do that unless I am re-elected at each election by our wonderful people. In closing in the last couple of seconds, I will say that our families pay an enormous sacrifice for the time that we spend away, both in the community and down here.”
“Unfortunately, we were looking for a funding partner in the then Queensland Labor government, and they wouldn't have a bar of it, so our community missed out on the money that we had on the table, and that money was repurposed. So we will continue to try to find a solution for the great people who use that intersection—most likely the people who work onsite at Amberley. Of course, there is the Bromelton precinct just outside Beaudesert. They're greenfield sites, and we have an enormous capacity. I will make a prediction today, without putting a timeframe on it, that there will be up to 10,000 permanent jobs in that precinct in the long term on hard-to-place industries. Our council is motivated to facilitate it. Our community is ready to harness it.”
“Then they'll come and say to me, 'The block doesn't have any power.' Well, that's why you bought it cheap, my friend. It may not have power and it may not have mobile phone reception. We will continue to negotiate with our telecommunications operators and telcos to address those inefficiencies as we grow as a community. In Beaudesert, there's a motivated group within our community, particularly through the Beaudesert Chamber of Commerce, who are adamant that we work towards building our own police citizens youth club so that it can work with our children to prevent crime. We'll continue to work on Mount Lindesay. There's an intersection near the Amberley Interchange for which we had $75 million on the table some years ago.”
“There are a couple of places where the highway is blocked, and we need to upgrade one of the intersections so that Brisbane and our far west still have connectivity to markets and to the greater Brisbane area. We will be pursuing and doing early costings on what that project looks like with our state colleagues. In Tamborine Mountain, as I mentioned before, there's a sporting association that has an incredible vision for their community, and sport is at the heart of it. They want to get a business plan done, so we'll work with them to try and find some money to assist them. We will continue to pursue the roll out of telecommunication towers to try and fix the inefficiencies. We have come a long way. People will buy blocks for many thousands of dollars cheaper, and they'll think they've got a good deal.”
“As I said in my opening comment, my communities are growing, and with that come growing pains. People are choosing to come out, which means I've got more commuters on the road. They're potentially still working in Brisbane and choosing to live in the electorate of Wright. So, I'm committed to partnering with the state government and making sure that we're making the right funding decisions today and into the future to deal with those infrastructure problems—to address those pinch points which can make what should be a pleasant drive to work often frustrating, because of the time delays. There are a couple of spots on the Warrego Highway between Brisbane and Toowoomba that, when we have considerable rain in the Lockyer Valley, are no stranger to substantial flooding.”
“I want to acknowledge and say thank you to our agricultural shows. From Mudgeeraba to the smallest show we have, the Ma Ma Creek Exhibition, every one of the 10 that I have in my electorate has a different appeal. It's like trying to pick your favourite child. Every agricultural show has its strengths. Unfortunately, I'm not able to attend all of them every year, just by the nature of scheduling and the parliamentary commitments. It's not my intention to bore the House with the amount of infrastructure that I have delivered in the last term, because I think that is our job. It is our job, as federal members, to do that. What I want to do with the time that's left is share my vision for the electorate. There is still work to be done—on the Mount Lindesay Highway, for example.”
“She's part of the church group, she's part of a walking group and a couple of day of the week she goes and does craft, and then somebody else roped her into going and doing something for another organisation that does women's packs for the Pacific islands and sends them off. I said, 'Mum, you're never home,' and she said, 'Well, I'm too busy.' I just love my mum. Occasionally, she might iron a few shirts for me. I love you very much, Mum! I thank all of our business owners that put their houses up as collateral to go and borrow capital to employ the kids leaving school in our community. I thank them for what they do—for the risks that they take, can I say. All strength to your arms. Coming from a small-business background myself, I know the challenges but I also know the rewards the small-business sector can bring.”
“When I make consideration for the Speaker of the House when he travels to schools to spread the good word, it is a difficult deliberation to try and work out which are the best schools for him to visit because I'm so blessed with the skill sets and the development of these kids. We have an enormous number of service groups. I know they have these in the city as well, but our service groups and our volunteer base—you can tell the quality of your community by the quality of your community service persons and your volunteers, from your rural fire brigades to the people who'll go up and help clean the pool even though it's the council's. There are our churches. My mum, who is 83 this year, is part of mahjong.”
“I just think a child who competes in a team sport on a regular basis and attends training develops qualities and skills that advance their communication techniques, their confidence and their social skills to interact. So, to all of our sporting organisations, who potentially run on volunteer hours, I thank you for the work that you do. I've got 86 different schools across my electorate, between high schools, private schools and state schools. Our teachers do an amazing job. Some schools can have up to five deputy principals, like Beaudesert State High School, which is an extremely large school, and I've got other small schools that might have 18 kids.”
“We host a number of gliders who come down and take advantage of the thermal springs that are present because of the topography of the region. Tom is a tireless workhorse for the region. He's getting his feet under the desk and getting some real wins on the ground. Over on the Gold Coast, Tom Tate is a well-known political identity on the landscape down there and an enormously big thinker when it comes to infrastructure. In the city of Logan, Jon Raven is filled with energy, and you walk away from every engagement with Jon enthused and energised. His commitment to the city of Logan is absolutely commendable. I want to acknowledge in my area the amazing work that our sporting organisations do and just how important it is for our children to be involved in sports. It's too easy for a child to be armed with wi-fi and a phone or a PlayStation.”
“It's becoming increasingly difficult to procure labour for family farms, and often mums and dads are encouraging the next generation to pursue a career that's not farming. The way we entice the next generation back to farming is to make it profitable, and then they'll return overnight. Tanya Milligan, who is the Lockyer valley local mayor, does an amazing job. She has served in the council for over 20 years, and she is a well-known identity. There's nothing in that community that she is not across, with her entire council. Tom Sharp is the newly elected member for the shire of Beaudesert or Scenic Rim. It's aptly named because it is truly a scenic rim, as the rim part of the descriptor is the Great Dividing Range. The cracks around the Lamington National Park and Tamborine Mountain are truly spectacular events.”
“When you come to Lockyer Valley, you can smell the soil and you can drive along and see the tapestry of different vegetable varieties when we're in full production of cauliflower, broccolini, carrot and lucerne. It is such an evocative view, and, because of the odour, you can nearly pick the vegetable as you drive past at 100 kilometres per hour. Often I just pull over and get out of my car to go and feel the quality of the soil and its moisture content. It really connects you to the amazing work that our local farmers and growers do to feed our country. Unfortunately, in the Lockyer Valley at the moment, there are a lot of farmers that are choosing to back out of the high-value crops and grow lucerne because it's just too hard to do business with our large retailers. The cost of production is spiralling.”
“Encompassed in my electorate, which is just under 8,000 square kilometres, are a number of state seats, and I want to acknowledge the state members who worked so hard alongside our campaign: Jon Krause, who was the deputy speaker in the Queensland parliament; Jim McDonald, who heads up most of the committees in Brisbane on infrastructure, policing and state development; Ros Bates, who is the Minister for Finance, Trade, Employment and Training; and Linus Power, from Logan, who predominately sits within the electorate of Wright as well. Encompassed in that geographical footprint are four shires. I have the Lockyer Valley shire, who boast to have the seventh most fertile valley in the world.”
“They didn't do it because they were looking to save the planet; they did it because it was the most efficient and cheapest way to pump water for stock and domestic usage. We're very proud to have Southern Cross Windmills celebrating their 150th anniversary in our electorate. To be returned to this place is a great privilege, and it's not something that you can do on your own. I am very humbled by the 400-plus volunteers that helped me get re-elected. I'm also very blessed that nearly all 400 of them will give their advice freely to you with their recommendations on what's best for the great region of Wright.”
“They converse with the locals and the community. They bring out their chefs and their waitstaff, and they sell tickets. It's such a popular event. You have to be very quick to get into the pop-ups that you want; otherwise they disappear very quickly. Agriculture is still the largest contributor to GDP in my electorate. This year, over in Withcott, a company that is probably not known to many people in Australia, Southern Cross Windmills, is celebrating its 150 years of manufacturing here in Australia, in my electorate. It's worth noting, given the current debate in the other house, that every single one of my original farms, the original blocks, would at some stage have had a windmill on them. When the windmills broke down, we went to solar pumps. That makes my growers and farmers the early adopters of renewable energy.”
“There's another cohort as well. Those who have lived in the cities all their lives are taking the opportunity to downsize, cash out of high-value properties, come and buy a property, which is often superior with regard to its age, in my region and seek to retire. It is an absolutely picturesque region, from the Gold Coast hinterland and Tambourine Mountain to the Scenic Rim, which Lonely Planet says is one of the top 10 destinations in the world to visit. We have some of the most exquisite restaurants. We have an eat local campaign that goes for an entire month, where restaurants in Brisbane and the Gold Coast that buy local produce from our community—pork, cheese or honey—bring their clients out and set up pop-up restaurants on the farm where the honey, cheese or pork is grown. There are long table lunches in the spring.”
“I see the member for Forde in the room. Are you over as well? 135,000, for the benefit of Hansard. So it is very likely that our boundaries will not look the same in a future redistribution, but we will work actively with the Australian Electoral Commission to secure what hopefully is the best for our local communities. Our regions are growing. In terms of numbers, they are expanding, and with that come growing pains. The communities of Yarrabilba, Plainland and other communities right across my electorate are experiencing urban sprawl, as we're located just on the outskirts of Brisbane and the Gold Coast. As the entry points into the housing market are becoming more and more difficult, people are choosing to come and live in the regions and commute a little further because it makes sense from a price point perspective.”
“In 2010, the electorate of Wright was first formed as a byproduct of a redistribution. I am the inaugural member for the seat of Wright, and it is a privilege. I feel immensely proud to be able to represent the good people of Wright. This is the fifth time I have been returned to this amazing building to be their voice, to carry their concerns, to come and lobby for the infrastructure that's required and to speak with our ministers and departments down here about the reduction of red tape for businesses so that mums and dads and families can end up with more money in their pockets and so that businesses can become more profitable. This year, it is more likely that we will have another redistribution. The average electorate size is around 100,000 to 120,000. I am at over 140,000 people, and my next-door neighbour of Blair is very similar.”
“Can I suggest that to you, as new members, particularly in the skills and training sector. The pre-eminent research body that captures the data for skills and apprenticeships is the National Centre for Vocational Education Research. When we left office, there were over 412,000 skilled apprentices in the workforce. Today, there are 100,000 fewer. These guys are failing the system. The same research centre, yesterday, produced additional data to say that in the twelve-month period between 2023 and 2024, under these guys' watch—and they'll continue to say it's our fault—there are 32,000 fewer apprentices. They are failing the country. They are failing the skills sector.”
“We give sugar hits to the billionaires who go out and invest them in failed hydrogen projects right around the country. It's a sugar hit, but who's paying for it? Where is the money coming from when there's a sugar hit to the bureaucracy of an extra 77,000 bureaucrats? We gave sugar hits out to the HECS students. My daughters were great recipients there. If you're receiving the sugar, it's pretty good. It was a good policy for them, but it's not a good policy for those who have to pay it back. There's an extra $32,000 of extra debt that has to be paid back dumped onto every household. That's an extra $2,000 in interest since these guys walked through the door. It's a bitter pill to swallow. I'd also encourage those on the other side, particularly the new Labor members: don't trust the speaking points that Labor give you. Don't trust them.”
“It was once said by a prime minister in this chamber that if it's free it just means that somebody else is paying for it. Too many times we see this government failing Australians by giving away sugar hits—the sugar hits to disguise the failures of their policy settings. Australians can see right through them. Since coming to office, this government has proven one thing: they can manage neither the truth nor the economy. When it comes to sugar hits, those on the other side lead the charge with quick fixes to cover up their failures. We were told that there'd be a $275 reduction in electricity prices but, instead, we've seen a 32 per cent increase. We get a sugar hit. We get a rebate or something that comes down from the government. In fact, we've had two of them.”
“It reminds us that the task before us is urgent—to ensure that there is no business held back for want of a skilled workforce and that no Australian misses out on chances to build a strong, secure career.”
“We will focus on those young people; we will focus on policies that deliver lasting results. We will focus on giving Australians the skills to succeed and giving businesses the confidence to grow, because, if we're serious about building the homes that Australia needs, powering the nation into the future and caring for our ageing population, then we must be serious about the skills. That means focusing not on slogans or spin but on the hard, practical work and on training a workforce that is fit for purpose. National Skills Week reminds us of what our task is. It reminds us to have an interest in people and it's about investing in Australia's future.”
“While government talks about partnerships, too often the partnerships put the interests of unions ahead of those of small businesses, employees and apprentices, who are actually on the ground, making it happen. The result is a system that looks good in press releases but doesn't deliver the pipeline of skilled workers that we desperately need for our nation. Australians are paying the price of the ongoing skills shortage, with slower productivity and a higher cost of living, and industries struggle to keep up. That's why the coalition will continue to stand for real apprentices, real jobs and real training. Participation rates in Australian government funded training are down across the board since we were in office, but especially in the 15- to 24-year-old bracket.”
“Free TAFE has become a bandaid. I spoke with a guy at the table at that breakfast this morning, and he said, 'If you go back and have a look at the budget papers and the completion rates at TAFE, it's just over $60,000 of completion per student.' I'm happy to have the conversation offline with the minister about how we can get greater value for money. It's a costly, poorly targeted, bandaid approach, which is ultimately failing to solve the shortages that matter most to Australians. The National Centre for Vocational Education Research, the pre-eminent body that does the research, released data just yesterday that said there are 32,000 fewer students studying in government funded schools in 2024 than there were in 2023. Labor's $1.5 billion fee-free TAFE project has delivered a completion rate, to date, of just 26 per cent.”
“But taxpayers deserve to know that the billions of dollars being spent are delivering outcomes: real apprentices, real completions and real jobs. Unfortunately, we're seeing billions invested without tackling the apprenticeships crisis head-on. MEGT, the country's largest apprenticeship provider network, revealed earlier this month: As a share of the working age population, commencements are at their lowest point on record. That clearly tells us the current approach is not working. We're keen to work with the government to find solutions. Instead of targeting solutions to boost productivity and meet industry demand, too much focus is being placed on headline numbers and political spin. Instead of them supporting quality providers and cutting red tape, we will see uncertainty and dodgy operators undermine confidence in the system.”
“More than one in three occupations, 36 per cent, are assessed as being in national shortage. Since the coalition left office, there have been100,000 fewer apprenticeships in training. That means fewer Australians on the pathway to skilled, secure employment and fewer businesses able to find the workers that they need. Now, the government has put forward fee-free TAFE as an answer. On the surface it sounds attractive, but the reality is that it's more complicated. Too often the courses are short, low level or not aligned with the skills our economy desperately needs in construction, energy and care. They are training for training's sake and not for jobs' sake. We all want integrity in training; we all want that.”
“This is why National Skills Week matters, and I'm proud to be associated with it. It reminds us that skills are not just abstract policy issues. They're about real people, real jobs and real futures. They're about giving young Australians trades that set them up for life. They're about reskilling workers who want to adapt and succeed. They're about ensuring that industries have the confidence to grow because they know the workforce is there to back them. However, the truth is that we're not where we'd like to be as a country. Australian businesses are struggling, Australian industries are falling behind and too many Australians are missing out on opportunities that should be there. That brings me to the reality of where we are today. The skills crisis didn't happen overnight, but it's worsened in recent years.”
“On a recent visit to Bundaberg with my colleague the member for Hinkler—wasn't that a good trip?—I saw firsthand the challenges that local businesses in regional Australia are facing. These are businesses that are the lifeblood of their communities. They're at the front line of the skills shortage and unable to find the apprentices and trained workers they need. It is in regional Australia where the skills crisis is most acute. But, most of all, it's hurting us. It's here that you can see so clearly the importance of getting the policy right, because, when businesses in Bundaberg, Western Sydney or outer Melbourne cannot put on an apprentice, the impact is not just economic; it becomes social. It means fewer people in the workforce, fewer opportunities for families and slower growth for Australians.”
“We create real jobs, careers and futures. Importantly, we give businesses, from small family operations through to major multinationals, the workforce they need to keep moving, innovating and competing in the global market. As shadow minister for skills and training I've had the privilege of travelling across this great country and hearing directly from businesses, industry groups and training providers. No matter where I go, the message is very similar. They're crying out for skilled workers. That's across every sector. It's the finance sector, the resources sector, the agricultural sector, the transport sector, the civil sector and the tourism sector. They are all looking for skilled workers.”
“Our people are our greatest resource, and ensuring Australians have the right skills, the right training and the right opportunities is absolutely vital to our shared prosperity and national productivity. National Skills Week is not simply about celebrating vocational education and training. It's looking to identify future requirements, future needs, particularly in my state of Queensland, where the pipeline of construction as we enter into a sense of readiness for the Olympic Games is even more paramount. We need to be training the people today to build those future projects. It's about highlighting the real value of apprenticeships, traineeships and skills development and bringing them to individual businesses and communities right across the country, because, when we invest in skills, we invest in Australians.”