Doorstop Interview - Canberra

DAVID SMITH, MEMBER FOR BEAN: The Federal Government over the last year and a half has made amazing investments into not just the physical infrastructure here, but in terms of the number of students that we're seeing across the territory getting access to TAFE education, I think 4,500 students since 2023. 

It's exciting to be at the launch of national centres like this, which are not just about numbers of students, but actually about students who can do both critical, important and extraordinarily rewarding work here right in the heart of Canberra. So it's great to be with my colleagues, the Federal Minister for Skills and Training, Andrew Giles, and my good colleague from the ACT, Minister Pettersson, the ACT Skills Minister as well. And I'll pass to my colleague, Michael Pettersson.

MICHAEL PETTERSSON, ACT MINISTER FOR SKILLS, TRAINING AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS: Good morning, everyone, and welcome to beautiful CIT Woden, the home of our brand-new Centre of Excellence. We know that Canberra is a wonderful centre of innovation in our country. 

It's a place that's on the forefront of cyber security and it has been for a long period of time, which is why we are well positioned to be the home of this Centre of Excellence specialising in cyber security. 

We know that we're roughly 60,000 digital workers short of where we need to be in 2030 to ensure that our economy and systems of government are protected from the risks of cyber infiltration, which is why the partnership between the ACT Government and the Commonwealth Government to develop a Centre of Excellence is so important. 

Not just like we've seen with electric vehicles, but in other industries that that the ACT is already leading the way. This partnership with the ACT Government contributing $2.5 million and the Commonwealth contributing $2.5 million as well under the National Skills Agreement is important not just for CIT, for Canberra, but the entire country.

This Centre of Excellence will lead the way in developing courses, micro-credentials, undertaking research and making sure that we are on the forefront of cyber security. This is only possible because we have a Commonwealth Government that wants to work with the states and territories, that wants to invest in skills and training. 

So I'm very grateful that we are joined with Minister Giles here this morning. I invite him to say a few words.

ANDREW GILES, MINISTER FOR SKILLS AND TRAINING: Thanks very much Michael. It's really great to be here at CIT's amazing Woden campus which we opened just a little while ago on a much colder Canberra morning. So it's great to be back here in spring. 

It's also great to see what amazing facilities there are in this space, in particular the Lego Canberra, which we've just been checking out, which will be a key feature, a key training tool at the Centre of Excellence. And as Minister Pettersson just said, this Centre of Excellence is really another step in the wonderful partnership between the Albanese Labor Government and the Barr Labor Government when it comes to skills and training.

This Centre of Excellence builds on a couple of themes that I just want to touch on very briefly. Firstly, the recognition through the National Skills Agreement, this five-year landmark partnership between the Federal Government and all of the states and territories that recognises that skilling Australians is absolutely fundamental to securing our prosperity and meeting all of our national ambitions. 

One of those national ambitions is making sure that we have a skilled workforce that's fit for the future. And as Minister Pettersson just said, we are around 60,000 workers short when it comes to the critical areas of information technology, cyber security and related areas. And that's the advice that we've been given by our relevant Jobs and Skills Council, which is represented here by Patrick Kidd. 

So thinking about how we meet that challenge, one of the things that we need to do is build those skills. When it comes to cyber security, part of that is recognising this is a landscape that's evolving. Technology is obviously evolving, but so are the threats and the actors that are seeking to undermine our systems and to manipulate our systems to their own benefit.

So, this Centre of Excellence, a $5 million joint investment by the Commonwealth Government and the Barr Government, will enable us to have a national centre to build those skills and to make sure they are flexible and adaptive to the needs of today's workforce but also the need of tomorrow's workforce. 

This Centre of Excellence will bring together expertise in industry as well as that that's held in CIT Canberra. It's really critical, I think, that this national centre is located right here in the ACT, because what we've seen through Free TAFE in particular is huge uptake in cyber security skills. There's huge interest out there and of course the industry partnerships here with government and private sector are very, very strong.

This Centre of Excellence is well positioned to make a real contribution, opening more doors to more Canberrans to develop skills in this really vital area, but also to ensure that those skills are pushed out there, and on that I want to recognise the leadership already of the CIT Centre of Excellence that exists in electronic vehicles. 

This is something that has already made a big difference on the national stage, opening up doors again to Canberrans but pushing out the knowledge that's been developed there right around the country.

Michael, you'll be pleased to know that when I was in Queensland last week people were talking up the CIT EV Centre of Excellence. I'm sure we'll see something very similar in this one. It's incredibly exciting to think about what this will do, the skills that will be developed, the cutting-edge technologies that will be made available to develop micro-credentials and to build on the Cert IV and the other qualifications that are there, in strong partnerships with industry, leveraging the wonderful skills that exist in this community.

So I'm thrilled to be here to officially launch this Centre of Excellence between our two governments and CIT with so many experts here today. And if there are any questions that go to Commonwealth responsibilities, I'm here to answer them before passing over to my friend Michael.

JOURNALIST: How important is, I guess, cyber security and training up the next generation? We've obviously had – DFAT has come out that there is some level of urgency. How important is it for Australia to train up?

GILES: It's absolutely vital. There are the raw numbers of the skills gap that we face and of course you'd be well aware that when the Albanese Government came into power, into office rather, we faced the worst skills crisis in 50 years. 

In areas like this where the skills needs are constantly evolving, it's absolutely critical not only to get more people into cyber security, and I might say in particular more women, because this is an area that's been gender stratified as well, we also need to make sure that those skill sets are fit for purpose, and as the threats evolve, the skill sets need to evolve too, and that's why this Centre of Excellence is so absolutely important, nationally as well as here in the ACT.

JOURNALIST: Ten years ago, we wouldn't have seen a full centre like this. So how far has that sort of changed? Like, the world has changed where we are requiring full cohorts to graduate in this sort of area?

GILES: Yeah, the world's changed in a few respects. I mean, firstly, we're rebuilding TAFE. We understand and it's been great to talk to some of the trainers and lecturers downstairs about the industry ready graduates that are being produced by CIT. 

So rebuilding TAFE is actually fundamental, recognising that vocational educational pathways are critical as well as degree pathways. But also this is an area where the technology is changing day by day, probably even faster than that. 

So we've got to make sure to keep Australians safe, to maintain confidence in our systems, that we're equipping people at every level to make sure that they have the skills to face the future.

JOURNALIST: Will this be a pipeline mainly to government or government security agencies given it's here in Canberra?

GILES: It will play an absolutely critical role in supporting the work of government but it's across every industry that cyber security is fundamentally important. 

So the impact that this centre will have will obviously be Canberra-focused because that's the physical location, but it will be distributed around the nation particularly as the National TAFE Network gets up and running, so that the learnings that are being developed here, the partnerships that are being formed through the proximities and these wonderful facilities here can be distributed to government departments and businesses and individuals right around the country.

JOURNALIST: What's the capacity here, Michael? How many students can you put through?

PETTERSSON: I'm not sure off the top of my head. We can take that on notice though for you.

JOURNALIST: What are the skills gaps that are being identified?

PETTERSSON: Well, it's very clear that we have a shortfall in the total number of digital workers across our economy. Canberra has been on the forefront of cyber security for some time. I recall, I think roughly eight years ago or so, launching the cyber infrastructure at CIT Reid. So Canberra Institute of Technology has been on the forefront of cyber security for some time. 

That, I think, echoes what has been happening within the Canberra community for some time. The defence industry, as well as Government, for a sustained period of time has been investing heavily in cyber security which is why we are so well placed here in the ACT to be the home of the Centre of Excellence.

JOURNALIST: What are the emerging gaps in cyber security? Things that are coming to the fore that people aren't really aware of?

PETTERSSON: I think we're currently experiencing a tsunami of cyber vulnerability. I think most Australians can either speak their own experience or the experience of someone they know who've had their personal information breached. 

They're aware of mechanisms of government or corporate entities that have been exposed to cyber attacks. This has real consequences in our economy, has real consequences for national security and has real consequences for the way that we as individuals interact with each other online and through digital infrastructure. So we need to make sure that as a city, as a society, as a country, that we are equipped for the emerging threats that are online.

JOURNALIST: What should we be worried about our EVs?

PETTERSSON: Say that again?

JOURNALIST: What about our EVs? What should we be worried about there?

PETTERSSON: I'm not going to speculate too much on some of the chatter that I think is popping up in national security circles in regard to electric vehicles. I think there's an interesting conversation as our vehicles become more advanced, more connected, more online, the possible vulnerabilities that might exist for that technology. 

I'm confident that greater minds than mine are turning their attention to it and the people that will be coming here, learning at CIT Woden that I hope will be able to provide some guidance to us.

JOURNALIST: Would you expect or are you hoping for not just Canberrans – Canberra students to come, also age-wise as well, but nationally and regional as well to get them to come to Canberra?

PETTERSSON: The Canberra Institute of Technology is a wonderful place to study and whether you're a Canberran, in the greater region or maybe further afield across the country, if you are interested in undertaking a skills journey, then the Canberra Institute of Technology is a wonderful place to do it. 

Canberra Institute of Technology for a long time has been a place of learning for all age cohorts. So I suspect that there'll probably be a tendency more towards a younger cohort. But that's not to dissuade anyone of any age to come, sign up at CIT, learn here. This is a wonderful place to learn. It's brand new facilities and this will be the heart of cyber security learning in our country.

JOURNALIST: What about a pathway to higher levels of cyber security education? CIT, it's a vocational level. Where can a course like this take someone?

PETTERSSON: Well, we're in early conversations but there is an important piece of work to be done across the country to ensure there's harmonisation across vocational and tertiary education in this country. We want to make sure that the skills needs that our growing and shifting economy requires are responded to, and that increasingly will require coordination across higher ed.

JOURNALIST: This is a hub, so one wouldn't necessarily have to come to Canberra to be a part of it, to study at CIT?

PETTERSSON: No. The Commonwealth, I think has shown great vision in their approach to Centres of Excellence. 

Whilst the Centre of Excellence will be located here in the ACT, it has important work to do, leading work across the country, providing resources, guidance in courses to the TAFE network, to make sure that regardless of where you are in Australia, the studies you undertake in cyber security are world class. 

The work to make sure that is world class will be done here, but we're hopeful that all of Australia will benefit from the work that happens right here at CIT Woden.

JOURNALIST: Could I just, I've just been sent some questions to ask the Minister on a slightly different matter. Just today the ABC is reporting that customers of an Australian company using financial service, that's financial service licence, have been subjected to alleged fraud and millions of dollars have gone missing. The customers thought they were buying legitimate bonds but feared they'd been, they were never purchased. 

Will you demand answers on how this could have happened?

GILES: This is obviously very concerning. I'll raise this obviously with my colleagues who've got relevant portfolio responsibilities. As you can imagine, these are issues that obviously go very close to some legal matters, and I don't want to prejudice the outcome of any of those.

JOURNALIST: Does this show the system overseen by the corporate watchdog ASIC is failing to protect the investors and needs to be strengthened?

GILES: Well, I think what I'd say at the outset is my colleague, the Assistant Treasurer, Minister Mulino, who has been doing a fantastic job in making sure that all of our enforcement and regulatory bodies are doing the work that they are required to do to keep the community safe in all respects, particularly in terms of their long-term financial circumstances. 

We've always got an open mind as to how we can better improve the regulatory environment. Again, I don't want to say anything that might cut across the work of our enforcement bodies, the important work they do when it comes to an individual case though.

ENDS