Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2025-2026
Mr VENNING (Grey) (17:34): Education and skills are the foundation of both opportunity and national prosperity, and I'm not talking about the law and arts degrees that litter the halls of Canberra and the electoral offices of this government. I'm talking about the vocational and technical skills that drive economies, spark innovation and build the productivity that underpins great societies.
Every investment we make in education pays dividends in productivity and social cohesion, and a strong education system is what makes Australia not just a lucky country but a smart one. But I rise today because the promise of education is not being delivered equally. Students in regional South Australia face barriers that city students do not—distance, staffing shortages and limited access to specialised subjects.
It is not fair. It is not equal. Put simply, the arts, law and politics students in inner-city Melbourne who will go on to join their union and work for the Labor Party for the rest of their lives have it much easier than the young regional Aussie battlers who want to learn a trade or upskill to be able to get a job that pays fairly.
An honourable member: Free TAFE. Mr VENNING: I'm getting there. Teachers in the regions deserve the same professional support and access to resources as those in metropolitan areas, yet too often they are left to do more with less.
Connectivity and technology remain real barriers. The digital divide isn't a slogan; it's a lived reality. There are still communities, like the District Council of Elliston, that are not even connected to the NBN.
It is 2025. Imagine if the Minister for Early Childhood Education in her office in Lygon Street in Brunswick East didn't have the NBN. How on earth would staffers be able to read digital versions of the Guardian and the ABC online?
For many rural families, access to secondary or tertiary education comes at an enormous cost. Boarding fees can exceed more than $20,000 a year on top of tertiary expenses. That's a barrier city families don't face, and it's one more reason why too many young people leave our regions to pursue opportunities elsewhere.
We need to make vocational pathways and apprenticeships every bit as respected as university degrees. Rebuilding TAFE and strengthening the links between schools, industries and training providers should be a national priority. But instead this government seems to believe that simply making TAFE free will fix the problem, when only 25 per cent of TAFE students actually are finishing their courses.
Giving something away for free doesn't increase its value. It totally decreases it. You don't need to be an economist to work that out.
I've used this analogy before and I'll use it again. If you try to pump water to a community and you find there's a gaping hole in the pipe, do you (1) fix the hole or (2) just pump more water through the pipe? This government is buying a bigger TAFE pump and running on the maxed-out government credit card.
Education policy must be aligned with the workforce planning and regional economic development, not run as a headline generator for the next press conference. With respect to early childhood education, the earlier we invest the greater the return. Quality early learning has lifelong impacts, and yet, in my electorate of Grey, we have the worst access to child care in the entire country.
I've mentioned the office of Senator Walsh, Minister for Early Childhood Education, and, let me tell you, the realities of early childhood education in my electorate could not be any further from leafy, leftie, latte Brunswick. Around one-third of families don't have access to child care at all, and, given this Labor-fuelled cost-of-living crisis where you need two incomes to raise a family, it is very difficult to employ young parents or even keep them in our regional towns.
Access to early childhood education in small towns is patchy, with long waitlists, and the funding models must ensure the sustainability of rural childcare centres and kindergartens. And let's not forget the basics. Literacy and numeracy must remain at the core of our education system, supported by evidence based teaching methods not ideologies.
Before we can teach Billy from Brunswick about coding or AI, every child must first be able to read, write and count confidently. A fair go starts in the classroom. Education isn't an expense.
It's the most strategic investment we can make in Australia's future. Let's make sure that every Australian child, regardless of their postcode, whether they live in Port Augusta, Port Parham or Port Adelaide, has the same opportunity to learn, to grow and to thrive, because that's how we build not just a lucky country but a smart, fair and united one.