Radio Interview - 4CA Breakfast with Murray Jones
MURRAY JONES, HOST: Cairns house prices in the last year alone have actually surged by about $78,000. And of course, that's rising more than the average salary and hitting a new record as the chronic shortage takes hold, according to a story in the Cairns Post this morning. And the average house costing around about $727,000 – I mean, it's not a lot compared to a lot of the big cities, but certainly for regional areas, it continues to be a real issue. And of course, with the cost of living, when it comes to the energy prices, that's an ongoing concern as well.
To deal with the issue, we've got the KAP. No, it's not a political party. It's the Key Apprenticeship Program, and joining me this morning to talk a little bit more about it, the Federal Minister for Skills and Training, it's Andrew Giles. Good morning, Andrew. How are you today?
ANDREW GILES, MINISTER FOR SKILLS AND TRAINING: I'm really well, thanks, Murray. Great to be talking with you and to your listeners as well.
JONES: You too. And look, as you've heard just here in our local area, $78,000 on average. Obviously, the housing crisis continues to bite hard right across the country. But of course, dealing with this issue, the key thing that we need to do is not obviously just deal with supply, but to deal with supply, we obviously need a lot more people in the construction industry. Tell me some more about this program, Andrew.
GILES: That's exactly right. I don't think it's going to surprise anyone to hear that everywhere I go, people are talking about housing issues. And the work that my colleague and friend, Minister O'Neil, is doing to really get more houses built is at the core of what our Government's trying to do to deliver for Australians right around the country. I hear those numbers in Cairns, and I think about how do we make a difference to young people thinking about getting into the housing market.
A big part of it is of course about getting more tradies on the tools, and we've done quite a bit in that regard. In fact, I was up in Cairns a little while ago when I announced our Government's commitment to some additional Free TAFE places specifically targeted at construction. And since then, we've rolled out this Key Apprenticeship Program, offering apprentices in housing related trades a $10,000 incentive to start and to finish their apprenticeship, $5000 for their employer too, because we know, and in fact research from the Master Builders is really persuasive on this, for every qualified tradesperson, 2.4 additional houses get built. It's pretty simple. More tradies equals more houses being built and making a real difference in terms of housing affordability right around the country.
JONES: And it's fairly significant, $10,000 there. So that's in the housing construction section, which is obviously essential moving forward. It's all great to have all these plans when it comes to housing, but you've got to get it across the line. And, I guess, you've got to look at the holistic picture there when it comes to actually getting people on the ground. But also energy, I mentioned that. That's obviously one of the key issues moving forward for Australia. Renewables, despite the rhetoric, are definitely their weight. But the new energy stream is also part of this KAP program as well.
GILES: That's right. This program started in clean energy. We've seen more than 17,000 apprentices sign up through that stream. And what's really encouraging about this is the way it's been structured, and we've seen this in clean energy, is not just encouraging people to get into the trades, it's showing great retention. There's been a big debate going back a very long time about apprenticeship completion rates. What we're seeing with these payments that are staggered over the life of the apprenticeship is they're really helping people not just start but to finish, to deal with those cost of living pressures that arise whether it's for tools or otherwise. And one of the things that's great to see about these programs is that Queensland has been leading all of the states when it comes to the clean energy apprenticeships, more than 5,000 of that 17,000 nationally. So Queenslanders have really leapt at the opportunities here.
JONES: And look, it's a great opportunity because it's one of those industries moving forward, as I said, despite the rhetoric that I talked about just a few minutes ago. It is one of the real growing areas of opportunity, and particularly during the peak of summer, renewables basically are responsible for keeping the energy prices as low as possible and also feeding the grid as well. And it's interesting because sadly, a lot of people kind of dis the kids, ‘they just all want to be TikTok influencers’. But when they've got these opportunities, obviously big numbers of kids are actually jumping at these opportunities, Andrew.
GILES: Well, definitely. When I look at the stats we've got for this housing program after only six months, we're seeing 50 per cent of the apprenticeships are aged 19 and under. They're young people, and about one in six are school-based. So we're seeing young people really jump at the opportunities here because these are great jobs, really satisfying. I vividly remember when I was in Cairns talking about a similar program about 18 months ago, a young man telling me how he wanted to tell his kids that he'd been part of building the complex we were looking at there. That sense of contribution to community is so important to young people, and I think you see that in the housing trades and also in the clean energy trades too, as well as a pretty good wage.
JONES: Well, look, one of the ongoing concerns here in this country is keeping inflation down. And I do note that since we've been talking about this just in the last couple of days, the Opposition has come out and said that it is going to contribute to inflation. What's your response to that?
GILES: Well, it's a pretty odd critique because, of course, the former government spent $7 billion on the untargeted BAC and CAC wage subsidy schemes going back, $7 billion which led to programs like the infamous Hamburger University traineeships at Grill’d. They were focused on hamburgers. We're focused on houses. And we're spending much less money in a much more targeted way to meet demand in skills and across the economy, to boost productivity, to make a real difference to the growth of the Australian economy and to living standards. So I'm a bit perplexed by this criticism, but I'm perplexed more broadly because only a couple of weeks ago under the former shadow, they were urging us to spend more on training in an untargeted manner, now they're saying less.
The Albanese Government inherited from our predecessors Australia's worst skills crisis in 50 years, and this is something that affects everyone, obviously in housing as we've been talking about, but right across the economy. So they left us with that and they seem determined to stop anything that might fix it, whether this fantastic Key Apprenticeship Program, whether it's Free TAFE, which they say of Australians, ‘if they don't pay for something, they don't value it’. It's really concerning to me that we have an Opposition that's concerned with opposition for its own sake, not supporting policies that are driving the national interest and supporting Australians, and particularly in this case, supporting small businesses who have been eight out of 10 the employers engaged in this scheme.
JONES: And look, even if there was some impact on inflation as a result of this program, at the end of the day, the needs are there. They're very much, I guess, identified. So at the end of the day, you've got to find that balance and you've got to at least open up these opportunities, particularly for young people and to deal with the energy and, of course, the housing issues, Andrew.
GILES: Well, that's exactly right. And it comes back to it. I don't know if Senator Price appreciates this in her comments or Angus Taylor, but if we don't have tradespeople, we won't get houses built. It's that simple. So what is her alternative? Because she doesn't seem to be a particular fan of skilled migration. She doesn't like free TAFE, it appears – they certainly don't as a party. So what is the pathway that's going to deliver the tradespeople to build the homes that Australians need and deserve? Australians are entitled to hear a bit more from Angus Taylor on this, I think.
JONES: Great to hear from you this morning. Now, look, just a reminder, it came up this morning, the boss, 63, don't tell him that I told you that he was 63 years of age today. So don't forget to send a message to the boss for his birthday today.
GILES: I have sent him a message. It's Jim Chalmers' birthday as well today.
JONES: Is it? Oh, I missed that one.
GILES: It's a big birthday up here, and where else to spend it but hard at work in the nation's capital.
JONES: And certainly an interesting weekend internationally as well. Great to talk to you about an important program moving forward. He’s the Federal Minister for Skills and Training – Andrew Giles, thank you so much for your time this morning. Cheers.
GILES: Thanks, Murray.