Hi everyone. My name is Mary Doyle and I am the Member for Aston, although this is technically Deakin. So, I'd like to kick off by welcoming the Prime Minister back to the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne that I've called home for 38 years now. And a big thank you also to Swinburne TAFE for hosting us here today. So, across the course of the 2025 election campaign, we heard loud and clear how Free TAFE is changing lives of people right across the country. The thing about Free TAFE too is that it's helping people from all walks of life get the skills they need for the jobs they want, and also, too, it's creating local opportunities and also delivering local workforce, which is fantastic as well. So, it's wonderful to be here with the Prime Minister, and without further ado I'll hand over to the Prime Minister.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Thanks Mary. Well look, it's fantastic to be back here at Swinburne TAFE. I was here a little over a year ago, and I'm back again after the election, because Free TAFE is something that's absolutely central to what my government wants to deliver. Free TAFE is making an enormous difference in encouraging people to go into apprenticeships such as construction, electrical but also in the care sector such as nursing and aged care. The apprentices here are eligible, not just for Free TAFE, as one of the 725,000 Australians who have enjoyed Free TAFE since we introduced it in our first term, we've now made it permanent going forward, so that each and every year there'll be 100,000 Free TAFE places in areas of skill shortage, targeting areas such as plumbing, construction, electrical, nursing and the care sector making a difference, but what the Australian economy needs. But also importantly, like the young people that we've met here today at Swinburne, making a difference for them, they can enjoy a good career with high wage, high skilled jobs, getting a great deal of satisfaction over being able to see the difference that they make in homes and construction in their local communities. And here, everyone we spoke to here today in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne is a local. This is providing an opportunity for those career paths to travel through in a way that makes an enormous difference. And in areas such as electrical and construction, we also have a $10,000 cash incentive as well paid on the way through to encourage people to stay in those apprenticeships for the four year period, to make sure that they get their qualifications going forward. This is an enormous difference, making a difference for cost of living, helping to build the skills base that we need for the 1.2 million homes that we want to see constructed between now and the end of the decade, but also providing for a real career opportunity. The people who are doing construction apprenticeships here today will have good, secure jobs for the rest of their working life, being able to make a contribution to their families whilst getting a great deal of satisfaction going forward. Thanks.
