Weeks into his leadership of the Liberal Party, Angus Taylor and his Shadow Ministry have let slip their plan to axe training opportunities for Australians, with housing apprentices first on the chopping block.
Angus Taylor's hand-picked Shadow Minister for Skills and Training, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, believes the Government's $10,000 incentive payments to housing apprentice tradies 'increases inflation' and has vowed to scrap the Key Apprenticeship Program.
The Liberals' plan calls into question their commitment to more housing for Australians, given Australia can't build more homes without more tradies to build them.
The Key Apprenticeship Program, which offers $10,000 incentives to support apprentices over the life of their apprenticeship with costs like tools and fuel, recently marked six months with more than 11,000 new apprentice commencements in housing construction as carpenters, electricians and other critical workers - all playing a part in building the homes Australians need.
Meanwhile over three years the new energy stream of the program has seen more than 17,000 new apprentices entering fields like solar, automotive and smart technology, powering Australia's efforts to make the most of the opportunities of renewable energy.
Support for apprentices isn't the only target for cuts, with Angus Taylor vowing to cut what he labels 'wasteful government spending' - chief among them programs like Free TAFE, which the Liberals have previously primed for cuts on the false basis that Australians don't value it because they don't pay for it.
And Deputy Liberal Leader Jane Hume said before the last election the Liberals would ditch Free TAFE, saying 'why would you continue it?'
All of this reflects a Liberal Party that is out of touch with the needs of Australians, and focused only on pursuing ideological crusades that cut support for Australians and leave them worse off.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Skills and Training, Andrew Giles:
"Angus Taylor was part of a government that oversaw billions in cuts to TAFE and training - a decade of neglect that left Australia the worst skills shortage in 50 years. Now he wants to make it even worse.
"It's clear from their comments that the Liberal Party want to cut the opportunities that are setting Australians up for the future like Free TAFE and $10,000 apprentice incentives - these are programs that are growing the pipeline of workers in critical industries like housing construction, including Xander from Launceston who has said the apprentice incentive is "brilliant to give a head start" to apprentices in the industry.
"The Albanese Labor Government wants to ensure every Australian has the opportunity to get the skills they want for the jobs we need. Angus Taylor's Liberals only want cuts."
