Assistant Minister for Social Security, Assistant Minister for Ageing, Assistant Minister for Women
‘If you don’t pay for something, you don’t value it’. That’s what the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party said in Parliament last month, speaking about the Albanese Government’s plan to expand Free TAFE.
And in that statement lies the complete failure the Coalition has when it comes to understanding education reform.
Good policy doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when governments put in the work to listen and understand to the needs of the people they represent.
The Albanese Government – the first majority female government in Australia’s history – has done the work to make sure we are supporting Australian women when it comes to higher education reform.
Our Government’s decision to make Free TAFE permanent will benefit women right around the country. In fact, six in 10 learners in Free TAFE are women, doing courses like nursing, cybersecurity, carpentry, mental health and early childhood education.
Sussan Ley might want to ask those taking up Free TAFE about how much they value it. Women like Michelle, a personal care worker on the Sunshine Coast who, thanks to Free TAFE, is now studying a Diploma of Nursing to further her career.
The Liberal-³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Member for Dawson might also benefit from talking to women studying at TAFE. When he spoke in Parliament to oppose Free TAFE, one of his key takeaways was that ‘…the beauty attendants, who keep our wives and girlfriends happy, are certainly worth the money.’
I will happily agree that people studying and working in beauty industries are worth our investment, but what about the nurses, the teachers, even the (gasp) female bricklayers and electricians? They don’t get a look in under the Liberal-³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Opposition.
It’s not only TAFE that we’re focused on, with the recent announcement of our commitment to slash a further 20 per cent of all student loan debts if our Government is re-elected. Again, this will significantly benefit women- 61.2 per cent of Australians with a student loan debt are women. In teaching, 76 per cent of students who incur a debt are women. In nursing, it’s 87 per cent.
Our decision to wipe what amounts to $16 billion in student debt will make a real difference to women. I’ve spoken with many women, including single mums trying to get a fresh start for themselves and their children, who say a reduction in student loan debt will help with the financial stress of balancing this debt against other bills, rent or home repayments.
Many of the students undertaking practical placements as part of their study are women too, in female dominated disciplines like teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work. And placement poverty is very real for these students.
So we’re introducing Commonwealth Prac Payments for students during mandatory placement periods. Eighty-two per cent of the students eligible for this new payment are women.
Post-school education doesn’t just benefit the person studying, it benefits the whole country. To make the most of these opportunities, our Government has set a target to see that 80 per cent of the workforce has a university or VET qualification by 2050, making our economy about $240 billion better off due to additional income.
Investing in education just makes sense. While the Liberals and ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾s may not get it, our Government certainly does. And that’s why we’re proudly putting education reform at the forefront of our work.
Also published on Women’s Agenda(link is external) on Wednesday 18 December 2024.
