QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
Mr GILES (Scullin—Minister for Skills and Training) (14:56): Thank you to my friend the member for Bean for his question. He's a huge supporter of the work this government, under this prime minister, is doing to ensure that Australians can get the skills they want so that we can do the jobs that we need. In particular, he's a big supporter of free TAFE, which has been life changing for hundreds of thousands of Australians.
It's this government saying to Australians that it will back them to further their training in those critical industries where we need more workers. A couple of weeks ago, I had the great honour of attending the graduation ceremony of Caitlin, who now has her Diploma of Nursing, thanks to the Albanese government's support of free TAFE. Caitlin's a legend.
She's a single mum. She's a Navy veteran. For her, free TAFE meant that she could follow her dream of becoming a nurse.
Caitlin said that getting that backing meant so much to her. She told me that free TAFE meant less stress on providing for her son's schooling and his after-school activities too. It means that she's been able to start her job at a hospital right here in Canberra, working with her brother, without a student debt.
Caitlin's one of 245,000 free TAFE course completions. That's in just over three years of the program, and there are plenty more to come, as members opposite will be interested to hear. That's more nurses like Caitlin, more aged-care workers and more tradies to build homes for Australians—something we are passionate about on this side of the House.
That is why the Albanese Labor government has made free TAFE permanent, because we want to ensure that every Australian can follow their dreams just like Caitlin did. Sadly, however, we know that not everyone in this place supports free TAFE. Those opposite voted against making free TAFE permanent.
The Liberals voted no to free TAFE. The Nationals voted no to free TAFE. One nation over there voted no to free TAFE.
That's every one of the extreme right-wing parties in this place. And let me tell those opposite that Australians have noticed. When the leader that you axed said of free TAFE, 'If you don't pay for something, you don't value it,' not a single member opposite said anything.
The silence was noticed. On silence, the current Leader of the Opposition hasn't used the word 'TAFE' in this place for more than a decade, not since his idol and his new boss, Tony Abbott, was prime minister. Australians know that only Labor stands with them to get the skills they want so that we can get the jobs we need done now and into the future.
Labor delivered free TAFE and Labor will always stand up for free TAFE and for Australians like Caitlin getting the opportunities that come with it. Aspiration for all, not just for some.