Doorstop interview, Parliament House, Canberra

ANDREW GILES, MINISTER FOR SKILLS AND TRAINING: In the Albanese Government, we've been really pleased at the response amongst Australians to our Key Apprenticeship Program, particularly since we extended it to the trades relevant to building the homes Australians need. 11,000 enrolments in this program in its first six months. 11,000 people picking up the tools, making a contribution, and starting to build a career and building homes, overwhelmingly employed by small businesses. 

So it's really important, given a program like this in its significance to our national ambitions, that there's no confusion about the future of the program. And unfortunately, there has been some confusion. Senator Price, the new Shadow Minister for Skills has made a couple of comments about the program. She described it, and I quote, as ‘inflationary’, as ‘wrong’, said that it ‘isn't the answer’ and ‘throwing good money after bad money once more’.

Now having said this I want to be really clear, Senator Price has put forward the view that she didn't mean these comments to mean that the Coalition doesn't support the program. Of course, I accept her at her word, that is important. But what is missing, at least on all the evidence I can see, is a clear statement from the Shadow Minister or indeed the Leader of the Opposition that an Opposition led by Angus Taylor will support this vital program. We need to have a statement like that. 

The thousands of apprentices, and the thousands of small businesses who rely on it deserve clarity about this program and its future. So we need that. And if they did, it would be I think just about the first cost of living measure that's actually been supported by the Opposition. An Opposition that continues to be focused on themselves as we've seen this week in the Parliament, not on the Australian people. We see the same old Liberals even when the people in the Liberal party room didn't arrive in Parliament as Liberals. So, there's an opportunity here to clarify this issue, but perhaps to take a few more steps forward, to think also about Free TAFE.

Free TAFE is an important cost of living measure that’s also seen more than 725,000 enrolments in areas where Australia needs jobs done. Angus Taylor though has not even said the word TAFE in Parliament since 2015, when his idol, his role model, Tony Abbott was Prime Minister.

So perhaps when the Leader of the Opposition clears up their position on the Key Apprenticeship Program, they can also clarify their position on Free TAFE and back it in, and back in the hundreds of thousands of Australians who have taken up Free TAFE and made their contribution.

JOURNALIST: On cost of living, does there need to be a cut to the fuel excise?

GILES: Well, that's not something that we're talking about at the moment. Obviously, we’re monitoring really closely events in the Middle East as every Australian looks to the significant events overnight again with the IEA that we’re considering as well. 

JOURNALIST: Dennis Richardson quitting as well, is that embarrassing for the Prime Minister or for the Government?

GILES: Mr Richardson has made an enormous contribution to public life in Australia and I think his work here will prove to be significant. You’ll appreciate that I'm not here to speak on behalf of Mr Richardson, he’s entitled to that himself.

JOURNALIST: Matt Canavan's ascension to the leadership, we've already heard them, the Coalition, now floating income splitting. Are they borrowing policies from One Nation? 

GILES: What we’re seeing from the Coalition in both sides is complete chaos. They’re focused on themselves, that’s been absolutely constant over the life of this Parliament. What we need are fewer thought bubbles and fewer leaning in to the Pauline Hanson approach, and a clearer focus on listening to the Australian people and trying for once to be constructive about coming up with answers to the problems that Australians are facing.