Press conference, Canberra

ALICIA PAYNE, MEMBER FOR CANBERRA: Hi, I'm Alicia Payne, the Member for Canberra, and it's my great pleasure this morning to have my friend and colleague, Minister, Andrew Giles, Minister for Skills, here at CIT, Bruce in Canberra, and we've been talking this morning with some students who are studying early childhood education and nursing. It's been so inspiring to hear their passion for what they're learning and the careers that they're going to have, and that we have opened that up for people with Fee-Free TAFE, and that we are going to make that permanent if re-elected. This is really exciting news for Canberra. We've seen great take up of this, but also all around the country and for CIT here, where we're seeing wonderful education and the wonderful facilities they have here for students in these critically important areas. So great to be here with you. Andrew.

MINISTER FOR SKILLS AND TRAINING ANDREW GILES: Thanks very much Alicia, to be here with these students at this beautiful campus is a privilege. It explains that Fee-Free TAFE is about more than numbers, though the numbers are really impressive. The fact that more than 508,000 Australians have embraced the chance to get a skill they want in an area of workforce, demand that we need is a big thing, but the numbers only hint at the real story and to meet people today has been simply inspiring. A Navy veteran on her way to becoming a nurse, refugees from Sudan and Afghanistan desperate to give back to this community through undertaking studies in early education and care, a young man, similarly, being a ground breaker in that area. Other nursing students, incredible people, all with amazing stories and all with one message for me: we need to make Free TAFE permanent. The opportunities that they have they want others to have. To break down the cost barriers to education that have denied too many people the chance to undertake the career they want and to make the contribution they want to make to our country. This is really why this week, I'm so proud to be part of a government that is committing to the legislate free TAFE to become an enduring feature of the Australian education and training system. Awesome. Thank you.

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