Page 1776 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 4 May 2005
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
numbers commencing new apprenticeships and in training are increasing in the ACT while they are decreasing nationally.
The ACT training sector has been addressing the majority of skills shortages as they emerge, with significant growth in training in these identified areas. We are continuing to work with industry groups, unions and stakeholders to address skills shortage areas as they emerge. We are addressing the supply side of the skills shortage equation through programs such as user choice, which provides funding to all apprentices and trainees in the ACT. Our VET in schools program continues to introduce young students to a future career in a trade or an interest in an apprenticeship. All ACT government senior secondary colleges are also registered training organisations, which strengthens our capacity to offer training programs in schools. We have put in $14.1 million in new money since the 2004 budget to address areas of skills shortage. We do this because we know there are areas of skills shortage that we have to invest in to ensure that young people have access to the opportunities and career opportunities that they seek but also that we can meet labour shortages being experienced by businesses in the ACT.
MS PORTER: I have a supplementary question. Minister, could you outline the commonwealth’s response to the pressures being experienced in the area of skills shortage? Could you also provide detail of the complete failure of the commonwealth to adequately resource the VET sector in the Canberra region?
MS GALLAGHER: The very short answer to the commonwealth’s response to the pressures being experienced in the ACT is that they are doing absolutely nothing to assist us in our programs to ensure that we are meeting the needs of young Canberrans. The commonwealth government provides about 28 per cent of the funding to training in the ACT—around $17 million. We are currently negotiating the national training agreement and the commonwealth is offering us $500,000 next year to meet the needs of young Canberrans seeking training and people seeking to upskill. All they can afford next year in new money to the ACT is $500,000. That is not even indexation: it is the base level of 2004. There is not even any money to index their grants from last year. It is an absolute disgrace.
The Prime Minister, the education minister and the training minister are all the time on national TV and in the papers talking about skills shortages and how the country needs to work together to make sure we are addressing skills shortage—and $500,000 is what they will give us to make sure that we can meet the needs of training in the ACT. They want to provide us with 28 per cent of the funding for training yet they want a 100 per cent say in how that money is spent—not only their money but our money as well.
At the ANTA meeting last month, states and territories were asked to sign up to a new ministerial council. Now, this is a very interesting new ministerial council. Get this: the states and territories all get one vote, and that’s fair, but the commonwealth gets two votes and they get to chair the council and the chair gets another vote. So they get three votes on this new ministerial council—the states and territories get one vote—and they provide less than 30 per cent of the money going into training in the country. States and territories will provide $20 billion in training funding over the next four years and the commonwealth will provide $4.7 billion. They are providing 30 per cent of the money yet will have 100 per cent of the say.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .