QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
Mr GILES (Scullin—Minister for Skills and Training) (15:10): Can I thank my friend the member for Bendigo for her question and for her advocacy for her community on the ground and in this place. Last week, I was absolutely thrilled to join her to see firsthand how the Albanese Labor government's free TAFE program is working on the ground, how it's ensuring that all those Australians who want good, secure jobs in those critical industries that keep our country going can get the skills they want.
There have been 850,000 enrolments so far and 275,000 course completions. That's growing every single day. Hundreds of thousands of Australians have directly benefited from free TAFE, including in regional Australia, which makes up a third of free TAFE enrolments.
We know that in regional communities there's a need to keep growing the workforce in the healthcare sector, as the Minister for Aged Care and Seniors made clear just a moment ago. Free TAFE is playing a really big part in making this happen, including for people like Nerissa, Chelsea and Evie, who the member for Bendigo and I met with again last week. They're just three of the 37,000 enrolments in the Diploma of Nursing who've been backed in by free TAFE.
It was great to hear that Nerissa is getting very close to graduating. Free TAFE helped her pursue her goal of becoming a nurse, and paid prac helped her through her placements. Chelsea told me that free TAFE enabled her to make a career change in her late 20s, and she gave out some advice to anyone thinking about free TAFE.
She said to me, 'Definitely do it.' We've made free TAFE permanent so that every Australian can definitely do it, just like Chelsea, and set themselves up for a great future through free TAFE. Real support for real skills. But we know this future remains under threat because those opposite, the Liberals, the Nationals and, over there, One Nation too, continue to talk it down.
They voted against making free TAFE permanent. They talk it down and, in so doing, talk down those hundreds of thousands of Australians. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition is just the latest example of this.
When she was asked on the ABC where her coalition cuts would take place, she specifically called out free TAFE, and not for the first time, because she's got form, does Senator Hume. She called it a slogan. She asked, rhetorically, I think, 'Why would you continue it?' Meanwhile, the shadow minister for skills called it a headline and talked about money buying votes.
Well, she should say that to Nerissa. She should say that to Chelsea or to Evie. It's clear as day that those opposite, all of them, hate free TAFE.
They refuse to see the opportunities that it's opening up for Australians. On this side of the House, we're backing Australians to get good skills, great qualifications and a career that will set them up for life.