Mr VAN MANEN (Forde—Chief Government Whip) (10:51): As much as it pains me and as much as I like the member for Cooper, I will say that once again it's fascinating to reflect in this House historically on what's happened in this sector. And I'd be interested—because I didn't hear them—to hear the comments the member for Cooper raised in relation to the VET sector when it was decimated by a previous Labor government in her time as leader of the ACTU. I'm delighted in this opportunity to speak on the skills sector on which this motion has been brought forward. But much of the crisis in this sector has its genesis in Labor's making, and I will not take lectures from Labor on spending over the past six years, on the mess of our vocational education sector that they left behind. In fact, the decline in apprenticeship commencements began under the former Rudd-Gillard government. The largest fall in apprenticeship numbers on record occurred in 2012-13, and the number of apprenticeships and trainee commencements fell by 85,000 in a single year. Those opposite—Senator Wong as well as the member for Sydney, the member for McMahon and the member for Grayndler—were all sitting around the cabinet table at that time, and what did they do? Absolutely nothing. And while I'm at it, the member for Rankin, who was then chief of staff to the Treasurer, also did nothing. Over just two years, from those opposite we saw over $1.2 billion gutted from employer incentives to take on apprentices. Nine times in two years those opposite wielded the knife against apprenticeship incentives. Every time they needed a cut because they couldn't manage their budget finances they came straight for apprentices. This is a consequence of the failure of budget management by those opposite when they were last in government. When the Leader of the Opposition was the Deputy Prime Minister he, along with Senator Wong as finance minister and the member for McMahon as Treasurer, cut over $240 million out of apprenticeship incentives in a single year. This is just the beginning of the mess Labor left behind and the work we've been doing over the past six years trying to fix it. It is this government that has sought to rectify the damage done by those opposite. The latest national apprenticeship data shows the number of apprenticeship opportunities actually increasing. In the March 2019 quarter the number of commencements for Australian apprentices increased by some 2.2 per cent compared with the same quarter in 2018, and the commencements have increased across both trade and non-trade occupations. It is this government that is focused on getting young Australians into jobs. Is there more work to be done? Absolutely. But that doesn't take away from the achievements we've already seen occur. VET and vocational education training and apprenticeships are critically important. As I mentioned last week in consideration in detail on another matter, it's critical that we help young Australians to receive this experience in the workplace and give them the training opportunities, because, as I talk to the small business owners around my electorate of Forde, frequently the discussion is about how we get new employees in at the bottom and start to train them up to be long-term employees for the business. There are many good businesses that are already doing this. It shows that our programs and our focus on getting young people into work, particularly young Australians, is working. We've introduced the Youth Jobs PaTH to incentivise employers to give young Australians experience in the workplace, and then to hire them. But I note that those opposite want to abandon this program and stop young Australians from receiving this valuable workplace experience. The previous Labor government did not have any commitment for funding the ongoing national partnership for skills and training. It is this government that is committed to a quality apprenticeship system that allows Australian apprentices to be trained for the jobs of today and tomorrow— (Time expired)