Interview - ABC Newcastle Drive with Paul Culliver

E&OE Transcript 

PAUL CULLIVER, HOST: Andrew Giles is the Minister for Skills and Training. He has actually been in Newcastle today to spruik Fee-Free TAFE, and we'll talk about that too. But first of all, I say, Minister, good afternoon to you.

MINISTER FOR SKILLS AND TRAINING ANDREW GILES: Good afternoon, Paul. Great to be with you.

CULLIVER: Let's talk about the big talking point, which is negative gearing, to be clear, and to back up the Prime Minister's statements here, is negative gearing off the table?

GILES: Well, Paul, our housing policy is very clear, and it does not include that change. We've got a really broad, ambitious set of policies for housing, particularly proposals which have been stuck in the Senate due to the refusal of the Greens and Liberals. We want to get more supply going, we want to give more help to renters. These are our focuses.

CULLIVER: Ok, so just to be clear, the negative gearing changes are not in any way being considered by the Labor government in this term, or indeed to take to the next election?

GILES: This is not something that we are proposing, Paul.

CULLIVER: Ok. And we're not going to find out, say, you know, in March next year, when we're in a federal election campaign, that it actually is part of the policy platform?

GILES: No, I want to be very clear. This is not something that we're proposing. The Prime Minister made that very clear today.

CULLIVER: Okay. One element of this, though, is that certainly, as you talk about, there's various housing schemes and legislation that Labor is seeking to get passage in the Senate. Not having a whole lot of luck with it as yet, and certainly understand negotiations continuing with the Greens, and I dare say the Coalition too. The Greens would love some change on negative gearing. Is that a place where maybe there could be some negotiation?

GILES: No, I think the Greens should stick to a range of elements that have been in their platform and support our Help To Buy Scheme. We know what we need to do is to get more stock. It's about supply is the fundamental challenge. The parties that are in the parliament have all at various times said this, but they don't vote that way. What they seem to be much more interested in is having a political argument rather than taking practical steps to resolve issues on behalf of Australians.

CULLIVER: I dare say the argument can be made, and certainly in terms of a change to negative gearing to the suggestion that perhaps anyone that already has an investment property you grandfathered in, but for any new property purchases, it might only apply to new homes, that you would imagine would certainly help stoke supply in the market. Is that not considered?

GILES: Well, the Prime Minister touched on this in his comments earlier and the evidence runs differently. I guess what we are saying is that we took a really comprehensive suite of housing policies to the last election and we've been focused on implementing them. Certainly for my part, as Minister for Skills and Training, I'm focused on making sure that we've got the workforce that can train the workforce we need to get these ambitious housing targets met,  so that we can enable more Australians to buy their homes and more Australians to be able to rent more securely.

CULLIVER: Well, maybe that segues quite well into what you were in Newcastle for today. Certainly, spruiking Fee-Free TAFE. What was the purpose of your visit, Minister?

GILES: Well, I guess there's a couple of reasons. I should, firstly apologise for bringing Melbourne's weather. I don't know if I'd be forgiven for that in a hurry, but look, my colleagues who represent the area in the Federal Parliament, Pat Conroy, Sharon Claydon, Dan Repacholi and Meryl Swanson, are always keen for me to come up, so I'm pleased to spend time in the Hunter. But I was also invited to share some thoughts at a really important conference at the University of Newcastle on how we build a skills agenda that contemplates both university pathways and vocational pathways. So, that opportunity, plus the fact that we've got more data, which is telling us how Australians right around the country are responding to what Fee-Free TAFE offers. An opportunity to upskill or reskill, help with the cost-of-living and meet skill shortages. 150,000 enrolments in the first six months of this year, smashing the targets that we have set. That's a really good news story in Newcastle and right around the country.

CULLIVER. So, what are people studying at TAFE? What are people keen for?

GILES: Well, so many courses. One thing that's particularly striking is the interest in the care sector, in being an early educator or an aged care worker. And I think what we're seeing here is two policies running together. The support we've had to value these elements of our workforce in terms of the wage commitments that we've made as a government, plus, Fee-Free TAFE means that many people see this as an option which who haven't had previously. We're also seeing a range of skills in technology being developed and indeed in construction as well. So, in a range of areas where we know we've got workforce and skill shortages, we're seeing people rush to embrace the promise of Fee-Free TAFE.

CULLIVER: And so, I suppose, looking to the future, what are the TAFE courses that you actually do want people to be signing up for? Are there shortages in particular areas or courses that are left, maybe with a few places that you'd really like to be filling?

GILES: Well, yeah, there's more work to be done, always in Fee-Free TAFE, obviously looking at boosting apprenticeships as well, and elevating vocational education and training more broadly, which is one of the messages I was really keen to deliver while I'm here. I think Australians understand that so many of the jobs that have been generated in the economy now require a post school qualification, but I think it's less well appreciated that half of these require a vocational qualification rather than a degree. So, that's the high-level message. But within that, we know that there are so many areas of shortage, and the electrical trades is one of the ones that's most prominent in my thinking. We need 30 - 42,000 in the next not too many years. And I was really pleased to visit with Pat Conroy to TAFE campus in Belmont and meet a group of apprentices in their training and to hear from them about what this means to them.

CULLIVER: And if I can just understand, if I'm reading between the lines of what you're saying there, Minister correctly, is it that too many young people get out of school and think they have to go get a university degree instead of considering TAFE?

GILES: Well, there's never going to be a one size fits all in terms of any person's life trajectory. But what I think we need to do, and what the University Accord that Minister Clare's done a great job in bringing together, says, is that we need to equally value the two pathways. I think we've also got to do a better job at being clear about the sort of jobs, the sort of careers that different qualifications open up. One of the things we've also done as a government is by putting in place Jobs and Skills Australia. So, we have a really clear picture of where the jobs demand is likely to be. We can engage young people, but also people thinking about changing careers with a sense of where there will be good job opportunities in the future, such as in becoming an electrician, where we know we will have a shortage, such as in early education and care.

CULLIVER: Andrew Giles is your guest this afternoon. The Minister for Skills and Training, as you're hearing, has been visiting the region today. Look, yesterday we had the news, or certainly it was actually late the day before, that we had the news that three coal mine extensions had been granted by Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek. Now, certainly, Dan Repacholi was on this radio station, spruiking the jobs that would come out of this and the jobs that would continue is the problem that the Labor government more or less has to continue to approve these Labor coal mines - sorry, these coal mines, because Labor has not done good enough job in finding new jobs for coal miners?

GILES: Well, I think they're two separate questions. Obviously, the decision of the approvals about the application of the law, and I think that's been well canvassed. I think another part of the story is making sure that we do have the capacity to open up good jobs of the future in areas where there is transition taking place. And as we move towards a net zero economy, obviously, the Hunter is one of the regions where we're really focused on thinking about, again, the jobs of the future. There are so many opportunities out there in the region. Minister Conroy has obviously been responsible for a really significant investment when it comes to high-tech missile manufacture. I also met some other young people, including some fantastic young women. One in particular, Nikita, dealing with engineering apprenticeships, in particular in boiler making, where there are great opportunities in the manufacturing sector, thanks to our Future Made in Australia policies. So, there are really great opportunities here. One of the challenges is to make sure that workers who are already somewhere into their career can take advantage of these opportunities to reskill and that we can have a regional approach. A big part of that is putting together plans that bring people together. And I was really pleased today also to speak to some of those who are responsible for bringing all the parties together so that we can have a real vision for regional economy in which everyone has a sense of the shared future.

CULLIVER: Who are those people? What were some of those conversations you're having, Minister?

GILES: Well, you're probably aware, and many of your listeners will be aware, that we've set up the Net Zero Economy Agency in the Commonwealth Government to think about the opportunities and also the challenges in moving towards that national goal, recognising that there are transition points on this road, and we've got to deal with them in a clear-eyed way. What we do need to do is to think about where the opportunities lie and where the skills that exist can be matched to some of these opportunities. I touched earlier on the need for an increased electrician workforce because we're obviously changing the way in which the transmission system will work and so much of our economy is being electrified. That's one really obvious example. When I think about some of the opportunities of advanced manufacturing, again, that's another area where I think there are really significant opportunities.

CULLIVER: We obviously had a speech from Peter Dutton earlier this week outlining the argument for nuclear power. Should more people be signing up to learn more about nuclear power, because that could be a job in the future?

GILES: Well, if you listen to or you read Mr Dutton's speech, you won't see much in the way of an argument for it. Once again, here we are, many days, many months down the track since we were supposed to get our costings. We know really nothing about it, other than he wants to build seven nuclear reactors. He seems entirely unconcerned with grappling with any of the issues that any reasonable person would want an alternative Prime Minister to start considering. It's a thought bubble. It's not a policy.

CULLIVER: All right, so not a job prospect that people should be considering?

GILES: Well, I think you'd have to direct all your inquiries to Mr Dutton about the timelines, about the costings, about the scale. But really, once again, he has delivered absolutely nothing beyond a thought bubble and a distraction from the real issues that Australians are facing.

CULLIVER: Minister, thanks for visiting the region today. We'll forgive you for bringing the weather with you and appreciate your time today.

GILES: Cheers. Great to be speaking with you. And great to spend time in Newcastle.