The Hon. MARK BUTTIGIEG (21:21): I move:

(1)That this House notes that:

(a)1,300 new apprentices and trainees will be hired in the local government sector across New South Wales following a significant $252.2 million investment by the Minns Labor Government;

(b)the boost to local government will assist in addressing the ageing workforce and the skills shortages faced across the State, especially in rural and regional areas, while importantly keeping council jobs in council hands; and

(c)the first apprentices and trainees under this program are expected to start work in early 2025.

(2)That this House commends Graeme Kelly, OAM, and the United Services Union for their strong advocacy on behalf of workers in the local government sector.

Last month Premier Chris Minns announced at the New South Wales State Labor Conference—and later with Minister Ron Hoenig and Minister Steve Whan—a whopping $252.2 million investment to employ 1,300 new apprentices in local government.

The ASSISTANT PRESIDENT (The Hon. Peter Primrose): Order! There are too many audible conversations in the House. Members who wish to engage in conversation will leave the Chamber quietly.

The Hon. MARK BUTTIGIEG: The first batch of new apprentices and trainees are set to start work early next year. The type of apprenticeship available will depend on the workforce gaps at the specific local councils. It could include plumbers, engineers, civil construction workers, mechanics, planning cadets and electricians like me. This announcement is important as there are widespread skill shortages. The most recent Local Government Workforce Skills and Capability Survey, compiled by the Australian Local Government Association, found that over 91 per cent of participating councils were experiencing skills shortages. Across Australia, half of the technician and trade occupations are categorised by Jobs and Skills Australia as short-staffed. Technicians and trades are the most common category experiencing shortages.

I note that electricians are among Australia's top 20 occupations in demand. Let me take this moment to say that working as an electrician is a fantastic job that I can vouch for firsthand. As a public service announcement, anyone out there considering a trade should definitely choose to become a tradesperson, and if they are lucky enough they should become a sparky. The survey also found that the local government workforce is aging. As workers retire, we need to ensure that there are others ready to fill their roles. The 1,300 new apprentices will assist in addressing this. These apprenticeships offer an important way for new generations to learn from experienced workers. The investment in apprentices will positively impact regional communities in particular, as councils are the major employers in many regional areas. Skills shortages are felt more in our regions in comparison to our cities. Local training facilities will receive a boost as a result of these newly created jobs.

Training gaps also exist across Australia. There are many wins in this investment. It creates new opportunities for young people while addressing critical local workforce training gaps. None of this would be possible without the strong advocacy of the United Services Union [USU]. The USU has been running the "council services by council workers" campaign since 2021. It has called for a stop to the privatisation of council services. This campaign highlights the need to support secure work. Unlike the Opposition, this side of the House is anti‑privatisation. We are creating more jobs for the people of New South Wales. I congratulate Graeme Kelly and the USU on this long-fought campaign to keep council jobs in council hands. Their continued advocacy and work to protect council jobs is very important. I also congratulate the Minister for Local Government, Ron Hoenig, on this important announcement.

This is a classic example of a Labor Government doing Labor things. We came to power on the promise of solving the skills shortages. By using the power of local government—a tier of government which we still have influence over because the Coalition has not had the chance to flog it all off—to enter the marketplace in partnership with the unions, we will make sure that employers provide those first-class apprenticeships. I was lucky enough to have a first-class apprenticeship from the then Sydney County Council, which was 100 per cent owned by the State Government. This is an example of those things coming back into the economy because a Labor Government is addressing the skills shortage and using its market power to influence the market for the better.

The Hon. AILEEN MacDONALD (21:26): The Opposition supports the motion. In doing so, however, I want to expose the Minns Labor Government's smoke and mirrors when it comes to jobs for apprentices and trainees. On one hand, it says it is all for creating opportunities to hire apprentices and trainees in the local government sector but, on the other hand, it is planning job cuts at TAFE and causing widespread concern among staff about their future and the impact on essential services. The proposed restructure targets crucial departments, including administration, IT, facilities management and accounting, putting the quality of education and support for students at risk. To quote my colleague the shadow Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education, Justin Clancy, this Government has taken a knife to TAFE NSW at a time when the State faces unprecedented challenges with skills shortages impacting housing and productivity.

Just look at the facts. The former New South Wales Coalition Government invested $80 million in the purpose-built training hub to skill up the trade workers needed to support the pipeline of major infrastructure projects, civil construction works and residential developments. This signature construction training facility fosters connections between TAFE, universities and industry. But under the watch of New South Wales Labor, the number of students starting a construction apprenticeship across the past year has dropped by 13.5 per cent. This Government sees an issue and responds by pumping money into the public service. It does not prioritise working with industry to enable and drive apprenticeships. It does not consider our small and medium enterprises [SMEs] as the engine room of the economy.

In fact, this Labor Government does not see our SMEs—full stop. How can it be serious when as many as 200 TAFE job losses have been foreshadowed, creating uncertainty for all staff? Does the Government not realise that slashing support staff roles will have significant flow‑on effects to students, potentially making enrolments more difficult and impacting student support? Labor claims to be rebuilding TAFE, but this action by the Minns Government is a blatant betrayal of the entire TAFE organisation and the people of New South Wales. There is too much sleight of hand going on here. We need urgent transparent communication about these restructuring plans. Otherwise, the only conclusion that can be drawn is that the New South Wales Labor Government has no long‑term plan to support, nurture and grow our skills sector.

Dr AMANDA COHN (21:29): The Greens welcome the announcement of $252 million for 1,300 new apprentices and trainees to be hired in the local government sector. This is a step in the right direction to redress years of cost shifting and brain drain of skilled public servants out of local government. In my own experience as a former councillor in a regional city, I have seen the critical workforce shortages that impede councils from doing the work they need to do in communities, as well as the barriers for would‑be apprentices from the sector. The challenges of an ageing workforce and skills shortages hit rural and regional councils particularly hard. Non‑competitive salaries are a disincentive for skilled workers to work for councils and mean councils struggle to deliver projects in‑house that should be their core business. For example, the Local Government Engineers Association has estimated local government salaries to be 15 per cent lower than comparable engineering salaries.

I am a member of the current Standing Committee on State Development inquiry into the ability of local governments to fund infrastructure and services. The inquiry heard from two representatives of the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia, Will Barton and Josh Devitt, who proudly identified themselves as "products" of cadetship programs and fortunate to have developed their skills during the decades where "State and local government were the proving ground of young engineers". Mr Barton said, "with that taste of public service, a lot would come back". Of course, this program will not, by itself, address the many issues impacting the local government workforce or the local government sector, nor do we have the time to discuss those issues today. But funding for the local government sector is welcome, as is building the skills of young people. It is a step in the right direction and The Greens support it.

The Hon. STEPHEN LAWRENCE (21:31): I speak in support of the motion and commend the Hon. Mark Buttigieg for moving it. Having served a term in local government myself, I recall that one of the real pressures that can lead to outsourcing or privatisation is skill shortage. It creates a situation where council staff, who are balancing all sorts of things, will have a tendency to suggest to councillors that outsourcing might be the best way to provide a particular service because they are struggling to find the necessary skills inhouse. That is one reason why I think the policy being endorsed by the motion is such a good thing, because it will build the capacity of local government to provide important services and, therefore, put pressure against the inevitable tendency to outsource.

Outsourcing has a damaging effect on local governments but also on workers' wages and job security. Outsourced workers often fall outside of the government award, and this cuts their wages. That happened recently in Dubbo where construction of the local pool was outsourced to a big international company that brought in many of its own staff, and so people lost their jobs. It also struggled to find people to fill skilled positions, and there was a detrimental effect on service. These pressures to privatise and outsource can be driven by skill and labour shortages. That is why I think this investment in local government apprentices and trainees is so important. Obviously, it is going to be a diverse scheme. We are going to see a range of apprentices and trainees hired because local government has such a diverse range of functions.

I commend Graeme Kelly, the General Secretary of the United Services Union, for his work and advocacy on behalf of workers in the local government sector. The first time I recall the need to inject money into local government sector apprenticeships being raised was in a conversation with Graeme in late 2022. I had called Graeme to discuss another topic, from which he quickly moved on to talk about the urgent need to boost the apprentice system in local government. He has been pushing for it for a long time. He deserves a lot of credit for this policy, because it is going to train up the next generation of skilled labour, address the skill shortage in local councils, boost regional workforces and, most importantly, boost council capacity and head off the threat of privatisation and outsourcing, which must be resisted.

The Hon. SUSAN CARTER (21:34): I support apprenticeships and I endorse the public service announcement that the Hon. Mark Buttigieg has made in terms of apprenticeships. Apprenticeships are a tremendous training path for a whole range of skills, from hairdressing to bricklaying. We should have more young Australians engaging in apprenticeships. The wonderful thing is that after they complete their apprenticeship, having studied and learnt on the job, many apprentices go on to become the real engine of the Australian economy by starting their own small business. There are probably more apprentices who graduate into running small businesses than most people who have been at university. In fact, apprenticeship is the engine of small business growth and small businesses are the engine of job and wealth creation for Australia. I commend anything that will increase the number of apprenticeships. Any growth in apprenticeships is welcome.

The Hon. Stephen Lawrence: Even the local government ones?

The Hon. SUSAN CARTER: It is good to see all apprenticeships growing, and it is good to see some action by this Government to address the fall in apprentice numbers under its watch. Under Labor, the number of students starting a construction apprenticeship dropped 13.5 per cent over the past year. That not only represents lost opportunities for many of our young people, but it also creates major downstream problems for the construction industry. How will we build the houses we need with no skilled tradies to frame the timbers or lay the bricks? This is one issue I have with the announcement that has been made. It is tremendous and we have heard people involved in local government talk about the importance of having local government apprentices, but is it local government building our houses? We have this great need for carpenters, electricians, bricklayers—for all skilled workers—in our housing industry. Not much housing is built by local government. Houses are built by small and large businesses, and these are also great places for apprentices to learn their craft.

An apprenticeship is a great educational pathway. That is why the former New South Wales Coalition Government invested tens of millions of dollars into a purpose‑built training hub. It supported the pipeline of major infrastructure projects, civil construction works and residential developments that we undertook. These infrastructure projects, as well as being great improvements to the standard of living for the people of New South Wales, were great opportunities for our apprentices and trainees to learn on the job. It is a shame that under this Government there will be no new infrastructure projects on which our apprentices can learn, because this Government appears to be without imagination and a vision for our infrastructure future.

The Hon. EMILY SUVAAL (21:37): I am pleased to speak in support of this motion. I acknowledge my colleague the Hon. Mark Buttigieg for moving it. I join with others in extending recognition and thanks to the General Secretary of the United Services Union, Graeme Kelly, for his advocacy for local government sector workers. I also acknowledge the President of Local Government NSW, Darriea Turley, AM, and Jamie Chaffey, Chair of the Country Mayors Association of NSW Inc, for their advocacy for the local government sector. The need for skilled workers was something that we heard about extensively during the recent Standing Committee on State Development inquiry into the ability of local governments to fund infrastructure and services. This is a welcome announcement—an initiative of over $250 million generating 1,300 new apprentices and trainees for the local government sector. That is particularly important in regional areas, where local governments are at times the largest employer. Local government was also described as the nursery of the State, a place where young workers could gain skills and sometimes stay. Local governments have a very good award. I again give a shout‑out to Graeme Kelly and Stephen Hughes for all their work negotiating that award over the years. But young workers would also often go on to other careers.

Local government workers are crucial, and I think it is important to name a number of the different trades that work on local councils. It is not just engineers, planners and other roles. They have electricians, who are needed to build new homes. They have plumbers; they have sewer operators. In regional areas the local council is often the water utility provider. It operates the water and the sewer in the local town, and you cannot have a new home without both of those things. I also extend my commendation to Minister Ron Hoenig in the other place for his work in delivering this announcement. It will benefit the 128 councils across the State. Those 128 councils may have far fewer Liberal councillors after 14 September. Nonetheless, we will continue to make responsible, better choices to improve standards for the people of New South Wales, and that includes ensuring infrastructure is in place to maintain their standards of living.

The Hon. WES FANG (21:40): I make a contribution to debate on the motion and thank the Hon. Mark Buttigieg for bringing it forward. It is important to talk about local government and local jobs. I encourage those members who are considering apprenticeships in local government to look hard at this scheme and make sure that they get their applications in on time. When considering a local government position, it is important to know when the apprenticeships are opening and when applications open and close. Getting paperwork in on time is particularly important in local government.

There are 1,300 positions, so there is the potential for many rural and regional people to apply for jobs. Some of those positions are probably in Sydney. A number of councils have positions such as electricians, road workers and, potentially, councillors. They are all jobs for which people should have their paperwork in on time. I hope that members who are considering those positions realise that getting the paperwork in on time is important. If it is not done, then they will not be in the running for the role.

Whilst this is a good initiative from the Government, these self-congratulatory motions can be a bit tiring. What we need from this Government is funding not only for apprentices but also for roads. We need funding to make sure that other services that the Coalition provided when in government, such as the Stronger Country Communities Fund, are also extended to local government. There is no point having those jobs there if there is no funding to build, do or fix anything. That is the real test for these positions. Again I emphasise that, in thinking about one of these positions, it is important to get the paperwork in on time, because we all know what happens if you do not.

The Hon. BOB NANVA (21:43): I also welcome the announcement that the Minns Government will invest $250 million directly into councils to recruit 1,300 apprentices. It is long overdue. Obviously the problems to do with the cut to training and the loss of so many apprentices over the last decade were not caused by the Minns Government, but certainly it has rolled up its sleeves and found a resolution. The good news from this announcement is that we will see the next generation of mechanics, engineers, early childhood educators, plumbers, construction workers and planning cadets all find their way through local councils, particularly those in regional areas. With councils having experienced such a decline in workforce numbers over so many years in what are effectively essential services, it is clear the situation needed to be fixed. We needed a circuit breaker. We needed to stop the haemorrhaging—which is what this announcement does.

The other issue of concern to advocates in local government—including the Australian Local Government Association, and particularly Graeme Kelly from the United Services Union—is that a huge proportion of the workforce in local government that has worked in the sector for decades is likely to retire within the next five years. What is already an acute workforce shortage is going to become even more problematic in the next five to 10 years, particularly as we experience even more knowledge gaps, especially in regional areas. This is a very worthwhile program and much‑needed funding. It will address the shortages we have now but also the shortages we will likely see in the future. When people go through these apprenticeships in local councils in regional areas, they can move on to bigger and better things. For many this is just a first job, but they will progress from those apprenticeships into high‑skilled jobs where there are significant shortages, such as in housing. It is great to get them on that trajectory and into the workforce—and to do it with some government support, for a change.

The Hon. PENNY SHARPE (Minister for Climate Change, Minister for Energy, Minister for the Environment, and Minister for Heritage) (21:46): I too lend, obviously, the Government's support but also my personal support to this motion. As I have listened to this debate I have heard a bit of rewriting of history regarding what happened to TAFE in the 12 years those opposite were in charge. Members may remember that those opposite introduced this thing called Smart and Skilled, which saw literally thousands of teachers lost to the system and thousands of students lost to the system, with fewer commencements across the entire TAFE sector than ever before.

We have the fewest students with disability actively involved in TAFE. Surprise, surprise, there was a huge loss of apprentices taking up these incredibly important and valuable training opportunities as a result of the "reforms" those opposite washed through the system. We inherited a massive skills shortage in a range of areas, partly due to the total run down of TAFE. The Government's announcement is one of those significant bricks in its rebuilding. It is not just about apprentices in local government, although it means that every local council will be able to start putting apprentices on, providing the training in their local community and providing opportunities for younger people—but also older people and, I hope, women—who are taking up trades. It will also help the TAFE system because it will mean the demand for those places is there.

Unfortunately, if some of those apprentices want to be a welder, plumber, sparky or gasfitter, they will find the courses have collapsed so far that they have to travel a long way to actually do that work. It was very interesting to hear those on the other side of the House suggesting that skill shortages came out of nowhere and that the challenges we face with the economy had nothing to do with the actions taken by the former Government over the past 12 years. I simply could not sit through debate on this motion and not point the facts out.

This is not a congratulatory motion for the Government. It refers to the action the Government is taking. It commends the union and the leader of the union who campaigned relentlessly for a very long time. That is not something that we do lightly. It is something that is done when it is well deserved. This has been a long campaign. It is an incredibly important initiative that starts with the rebuilding of TAFE, the rebuilding of skills in communities, good jobs and pathways for people who are looking for a great job. I really hope that many people take them up.

The Hon. MARK BUTTIGIEG (21:49): In reply: I am heartened by the number of members who have supported the motion. I thank the Hon. Aileen MacDonald, Dr Amanda Cohn, the Hon. Stephen Lawrence, the Hon. Susan Carter, the Hon. Emily Suvaal, the Hon. Wes Fang, the Hon. Bob Nanva and Minister Penny Sharpe for their support. I will make a couple of points about some qualifications that were made during the debate. I remind the House that 50,000 people are employed across 128 councils. Councils manage $150 billion in infrastructure, which includes pools, libraries and roads. Every year, councils spend $15 billion on delivering local services to their communities. The footprint of councils in the economy is substantial. If we are going to act as a market leader in providing skills, qualifications and good apprenticeships for SMEs and for small businesses, it makes sense to use that footprint in the economy to provide training—as we used to do 30 and 40 years ago in conjunction with the railways, Sydney Water and the electricity industries. It is simply this Government using its economic power for the benefit of the community.

In respect of TAFE, as the Minister outlined, it is disingenuous to say that we have neglected TAFE. The truth is that members opposite undercut TAFE over the 12 years of the previous Government with the Mickey Mouse scheme of Smart and Skilled where a third party shonky provider was paid $10,000 to do a tick and flick and the poor kids would not have a clue when they finished the training. Meanwhile, funding was being ripped out of TAFE. This Government's promise was to restore TAFE to 70 per cent of all VET funding. The money allocated to TAFE in the recent budget by the Treasurer was $2.5 billion, so the Government has made good on its promise. It is a dual approach of using the Government's footprint to foster good quality apprenticeships—as I mentioned, I have had the benefit of experiencing first‑class training that has set me up for life—and complementing it with first‑class training by restoring TAFE to its pre‑eminent position as the training organisation that teaches kids the theory and the practice.

It is good that the Government is doing this. We are making good on our promises. I again thank the House for supporting the motion, but I do not accept the criticism based on the arguments that have been outlined during debate. Notwithstanding all those qualifications, I thank the House for its support. I commend the motion to the House.

The ASSISTANT PRESIDENT (The Hon. Peter Primrose): The question is that the motion be agreed to.

Motion agreed to.