After nine long years of failed Liberal government, Australia is in the middle of a skills crisis. There are 70,000 fewer apprentices and trainees today than when Labor left office in 2013. The result is building projects that face lengthy delays and higher costs. We don't have the nurses, the aged-care staff, the childcare staff, the engineers that our community and our economy need. The Liberals' neglect of Australian skills and training, their overreliance on shipping in overseas workers on short-term visas, has led directly to this skills crisis and they should stand condemned for it.
An Albanese Labor government will fix Australia's skills and training crisis. Labor will make 'fee free' 465,000 places at TAFE in courses that address areas of critical skill shortage and we will create 45,000 new TAFE places. Under Labor, TAFE will become the trusted cornerstone of Australian training and skills. Labor's plan will ensure hundreds of thousands of Australians can earn a qualification or upskill for the jobs of tomorrow. Only an Albanese Labor government will deliver a better future made in Australia.
Australia must be a country that makes more things here. For nine long years of failed Liberal government, our manufacturing has been encouraged to go offshore. We've all seen the consequences: fewer jobs for Australians, missed opportunities, and our national interest left exposed when global supply chains were cut throughout the pandemic. The Liberals have failed the test of looking after our national interest. Only Labor has a comprehensive plan to get Australian manufacturing back on track. Our A Future Made in Australia plan will create jobs, boost skills, bring back industry expertise and supercharge our national productivity. To learn more about Labor's A Future Made in Australia plan, visit alp.org.au.
Under the Liberals, child care is too expensive—it's gone up 39 per cent while they've been in power—and household budgets are higher than ever. Family spending power is going backwards, with flat or falling wages simply not keeping up with the rising cost of petrol, groceries, insurance and housing. An Albanese Labor government will ease the squeeze on family budgets by making child care cheaper. We will lift the maximum subsidy rate of 90 per cent, making life that little bit easier for four in five Australian families. This isn't welfare. It makes good economic sense lifting workforce participation and increasing GDP between $4 billion and $11 billion every year. Only a Labor government will make child care cheaper and grow the economy. To find out how much your family will benefit under an Albanese Labor government, visit alp.org.au.
