PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS

Ms COMER (Petrie) (13:03): I rise today in strong support of this motion, and I thank the fantastic member for Moore for moving it. At its heart, this is about something pretty simple: Australia needs more tradies. We need more carpenters, more plumbers and more electricians, and we need to make sure that Australians who choose those careers know that their government backs them.

For too long, there's been the idea that, when you finish school, the pathway to a good career has to mean going to university. University is a fantastic option for many people, but it is not the only option, and it's not the option that suits everyone. You can go to TAFE.

You can start an apprenticeship. You can earn while you learn, build a great career, start your own business and one day employ and train the next generation. In my electorate of Petrie, we are fortunate to have TAFE campuses at both Redcliffe and Bracken Ridge.

I want young people across our community to know that walking through the doors of TAFE and learning a trade can open the door to a secure, rewarding and well-paid career. That is why our government established the Key Apprenticeship Program. New apprentices in housing construction can now receive up to $10,000, paid across their apprenticeship, to help with the real costs of getting started—buying tools, transport and other equipment that they need to complete their job.

Importantly, that support continues as they progress through their apprenticeships, helping more people reach that finish line. Early data shows that around 89 per cent of apprentices supported through the program are still in training. In this first year, more than 30,000 apprentices have been backed into the housing construction sector.

In Queensland alone, that program has supported more than 7,400 commencements, including more than 3,000 carpentry apprentices. This is more than just training; it is about housing. We can invest billions into housing.

We can release land. We can support first home buyers and build more social and affordable homes. But someone still has to pour the slab, someone has to frame the house, somebody has to install the plumbing and someone has to wire it.

We cannot build more homes without more tradies—more tradies means more homes. That is why backing apprentices is so important. We are backing young Australians into good careers, backing the small businesses that train them and building the skilled workforce that Australia needs.

This is something every member of the House should be able to support. When Labor came into government, Australia was facing skills shortages at a 50-year high. We've been working to turn that around, and the Jobs and Skills Australia data shows the proportion of occupations in shortage fell from 36 per cent in 2023 to 29 per cent in 2025.

There is more work to do, and we are heading in the right direction. Free TAFE is part of that work too. There have now been more than 814,000 free TAFE enrolments in courses supporting the skills Australia needs, from tradies to nurses and early childhood educators.

The Key Apprenticeship Program makes sure that we are targeting support where Australia most needs workers. The 2026 budget has locked the program in until 2029, including the $10,000 incentive for apprentices and targeted incentives for small and medium-sized employers and group training organisations, because apprentices do not train themselves—behind so many apprentices is a small-business owner giving someone their first opportunity, teaching them the trade and investing their own time in the next generation of skilled workers.

That is why I was so disappointed to see the shadow minister for skills and training describe the program as 'wrong' and accuse the government of 'throwing good money after bad money'. Backing an apprentice is not throwing money away. Helping a young electrician afford their tools is not throwing money away.

Supporting a small plumbing business to take on an apprentice is not throwing money away. The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Mr Wilkie ): The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.