LISA CHESTERS: Good afternoon and welcome to all those visiting Bendigo. I am Lisa Chesters, the proud federal member for Bendigo, and so pleased to be able to welcome the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Minister for Skills and Training, Andrew Giles, back to Bendigo. It's an important visit. It's a visit where the PM said he was coming to Bendigo. I said, we are going to TAFE, and for good reason. This campus is doing extraordinary things and training the next generation of tradespeople that our community desperately needs, whether it be for home construction, road civil construction, or for any number of the community projects that we are building right now in this town. Before I hand over to the PM, can I give a huge shout out to all the students that we have met today, the amazing men and women, locals who have said we want to be part of the change and that are on a pathway to a job and a skilful life. And can I give a shout out to our hosts, Bendigo TAFE, who are growing, and to the amazing TAFE teachers for what they are doing. There's a real sense of energy here at this campus and that's why I was so pleased to be able to welcome our Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, to Bendigo and to Bendigo TAFE. So, welcome, Prime Minister.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much, Lisa. It's fantastic to be back in Bendigo. The last time I was here was, of course, to deal with the fires that this community overcame. You know, this is a tough community. It's a resilient community. It's one that has a real sense of pride. And you can see that right here at Bendigo TAFE, to be able to meet students studying, whether it be electrical or construction, making a difference, making a future for themselves. We now have had something like 750,000 Australians enrolled in Free TAFE in order to make a difference. Free TAFE is something that the Coalition said was a waste, that you don't value it if you don't pay for it. Well, I tell you what, these students we've met today value it. They're making a future for themselves. And the year 10 students, of course, being able to spend two days here, as well as time at school, what that does is make sure that they complete their schooling, make sure that they get real value out of it. And students, of course, if they're not enjoying the other curricular activities in School can often fall behind. What the connection between school and TAFE will do is to give them that positive opportunity going forward. In addition to that, our $10,000 scholarships, effectively payments for students doing electrical or construction is making a real difference as well. Encouraging people to go into apprenticeships, encouraging employers to take on those apprentices as well, giving skills that we will need for construction, to build the homes that we want to see built for Australia. But in addition as well, the energy transition that's occurring. The students we met here are learning about how to install solar energy on rooftops, making sure that batteries can be charged, that cars can be charged as well through the systems, are all really positive. And so we think that the turnaround since 2022 that we've done, working in partnership with state and territory governments to rebuild public TAFE, is public TAFE that makes a difference. And can I give a shout out as well to whenever you go into a TAFE, what you see is people who've been, in this case, had a career in electrical or in construction or other areas as well, including the care sector, and they want to pass on their experience and skills to the next generation. It's something that they don't do for financial gain. It's something that they do out of pride of the skills that they have, and they want to see that the next generation will be able to receive that as well. So, a shout out to the teachers who've shown us around here today as well. I'll turn to Andrew and then we'll hear from the TAFE, and then we will take some questions.
ANDREW GILES: Thanks very much, Prime Minister. It's great to be standing next to you, hearing your passion for TAFE and training, responding to the skills crisis that your government inherited and the work that we've been doing to turn it around. And I'm particularly pleased to be having this conversation in Bendigo with my great friend Lisa Chesters, who is not only an extraordinary advocate for this community, but someone who's done really significant work when it comes to rebuilding vocational education and training in Victoria. The Prime Minister talked through some really significant numbers, the three quarters of a million enrolments we've had in the three years that free TAFE has been underway. The huge impact of our incentives to get more people into jobs in national priorities like clean energy and housing construction. But these things only hint at the real meaning, because rebuilding TAFE, putting TAFE at the heart of vet, is also about changing communities and changing lives. The young people we've met today, whether they're school Students seeing opportunities open up to build a future while they are literally building Australia's future is absolutely inspiring. Similarly, to see the impact that we've seen of the incentives we've had to get people into TAFE courses, whether it's in caring or technology, is not only meeting skill shortages around the country, it's opening up really meaningful careers of contribution, people who can point to the house that they've helped build in their community and think about the difference that they are making, all the while earning a really good living. We've seen amazing outcomes when it comes to the incentives around housing, construction apprenticeships and also clean energy apprenticeships. It's been great to talk to some of the apprentices about the difference those payments, $2,000 at various increments to keep them going through their apprenticeships. So, we don't just get people starting, we get them to finish. And, of course, all of this is only made possible by the partnership we have with our Tafes. I'm really pleased to be here with Laura and to hear a little bit about what she's doing at Bendigo.
LAURA, BENDIGO TAFE CEO: Excellent. Thank you. It's a real pleasure to be here today welcoming Prime Minister, Minister Giles and of course, Lisa to our wonderful campus here at Bendigo TAFE. At Bendigo TAFE, we have about 3700 students every year that come through our doors wanting to reskill, upskill or create new skills for the jobs that they know are going to be in the region. We also know that Bendigo is growing and we talk a little bit around Bendigo in 2050, and what that means is needing a really strong and thriving TAFE to support those skills, to support that workforce for the future. At TAFE, we are here for everybody. Access and equity is at the core of why we exist and who we are. And we're really proud of the students that come through our doors. Across Bendigo, we have about 9,000 students and a third of those are coming through the free TAFE program. We've had over 6,000 students since 2023 that have undertaken free TAFE, really removing barriers to education, which we see is really critical. At Bendigo TAFE, we see our purpose as being changing lives through the power of skills and education. That is who we are, that is what we're about, and every student that comes through our doors is better off for it, and we're really proud about that. Thank you very much.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks so much. Thanks so much, Laura. Happy to take some questions,
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, the federal seat of Bendigo had an almost 10% swing against it in the federal election, the Premier's having some unique competition, I guess, in her election, coming up against the same candidate. Are you here to, I guess, share some Labor support?
PRIME MINISTER: I'm here because I love regional Australia and I think that Lisa Chesters is an amazing local member. Lisa has been talking to me about TAFE. She's very passionate about it. And this is, I'm a regular visitor to Victoria and indeed, one of the distinctions that has been drawn, I think, between me and my three predecessors is I'm not the Prime Minister for Sydney, I'm the Prime Minister for Australia. And what that means is coming to Bendigo, coming to Ballarat, going to regional Victoria, but going to every part of Australia but in this area. I know how passionate Lisa is as a local member. She is such a strong advocate for this community. She's a good friend of mine, but importantly, as well as someone who really has their finger on the pulse of this local community and I'm sure will continue to represent this community well into the future.
JOURNALIST: So you’re not here lending a helping hand to the Premier?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the Premier is doing a great job and the Premier is a proud regional representative as well. It's a great thing that a local MP here in Bendigo is the Premier of Victoria and Jacinta is doing a great job
JOURNALIST: Is Jacinta the best person to lead Labor at this year's state election?
PRIME MINISTER: She absolutely is the best person not to lead Labor, to lead Victoria, because Victoria needs a strong Premier. They need someone who is a strong advocate who's built up the health system here in Victoria. Who’s continued to be an advocate for students here. I have finalised deals with Victoria from the Commonwealth level as part of the $25 billion additional investment we have in health and hospitals here in Victoria, but right around Australia. Premier Allan was one of the first Premiers to sign up to ensure that every school in Victoria, public and private, received full and fair funding from the Commonwealth Government. That was a partnership that we signed up to. Victoria also was one of the first states to sign up to our program, which will see the objective of 1.2 million homes being built as well. We're partnering with Victoria in transport and that stands stark contrast to the previous government, where infrastructure investment in Victoria from the Liberals and Nationals fell to about 8% of the national level, even though Victoria represents one in four Australians. Projects like the Melbourne Metro, which we had $3 billion of Commonwealth funding included in the 2012 budget, was ripped out by Tony Abbott in 2014. And that meant that a wonderful Melbourne Metro project, which is now opened, but it would have been opened much earlier had the Coalition government not partnered with the Liberal Party here in Victoria to cut that funding. The question for Jacinta Allan's opponents in the Victorian election is what will they cut? What will they cut? Will they go back to cutting education and health and services? Which is what Liberal governments do.
JOURNALIST: Talking about opponents, do you have any comment regarding Andrew Lethlean running against the Premier locally, I guess, is Labor bit nervous about that?
PRIME MINISTER: We're very focused on our candidates who have a record of delivery. Jacinta Allan. I've known Jacinta for a long period of time. We were both Infrastructure Ministers when in the former government, when I was the Minister in 2007. Jacinta Allan has a record of delivering for this local community. I know that she's so passionate about it and she'll continue to do so.
JOURNALIST: Why isn't she here today, Prime Minister, have you reached out to her? Will you see her at a different time on this visit?
PRIME MINISTER: I'll see her tomorrow at the memorial for Neale Daniher. I spoke with the Premier last night. She's undertaking her duties in Melbourne. We speak regularly. We have a very positive and good relationship, as I do, with premiers right around the country.
JOURNALIST: Mr. Prime Minister, in regards to the number of young offenders here in Bendigo, including last weekend, there was a brutal stabbing where allegedly four teenagers were involved. Is the Federal Government doing enough to promote what TAFE has to offer to get youths off the streets and into a stable education?
SPEAKER C: Well, what we've seen here is how positive TAFE is. I met young people here who are taking the opportunity, while they're still at school, to do that, pre apprenticeship courses, getting a taste for what they might want to do with their lives in the future, whether they want to go into construction or go into electrical, that's a really positive thing. TAFE has such a positive role.
JOURNALIST: One Nation, we know that they're gaining support all around the country. And Mr. Taylor today hasn't ruled out potentially joining forces with them to try and oust the government next election. Is that a concern?
PRIME MINISTER: The Liberal One National Party are indistinguishable these days. And the problem for Angus Taylor is that if he tries to out One Nation, One Nation, then they become indistinguishable and people more and more will go towards what they see as the real thing. The problem is when it comes up to solutions. And we certainly know that people are under pressure, but if you're serious about government, you've got to come up with solutions. Angus Taylor and the Coalition. You know, Angus Taylor went to the last election as the Shadow Treasurer of the country, proposing higher taxes, higher deficits, no real plan at the moment. He's saying that he'll abolish the Housing Australia Future Fund, the build to rent scheme, the help to buy scheme, everything that will be positive for building more homes for Victorians and for Australians. Angus Taylor is someone who was a failed shadow Treasurer at the last election and nothing has been learnt. He's still continuing to put forward a negative agenda and we will continue to put forward the real change that people need.
JOURNALIST: One Nation and Liberals preferencing each other, is that any different from Labor and Greens preferencing each other? And is the solution to put One Nation last?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, John Howard used to put One Nation last. It says something about how right wing the Liberal One National parties have become. Three right wing parties, all with a very common agenda, not supporting things like Free TAFE. They have opposed it. Free TAFE, they have opposed. They've opposed the $10,000 construction and electrical incentives for apprentices. They are not putting forward any positive plans for the nation. They've opposed all of our agenda.. Strengthening Medicare. On Sunday, just two days ago, I was in Queensland for the opening, being foreshadowed of the 137th urgent care clinic in this country, something that's made an enormous difference. Strengthening Medicare. If you want to strengthen Medicare, build more homes, deal with young people getting the opportunity into home ownership, then you need to have Lisa Chesters as an advocate here as part of our strong Federal Labor Team.
JOURNALIST: Mr. Prime Minister, in regard to your comments about more housing, a local homeless support group I spoke to earlier said they're not seeing enough transitional and some support houses being built in the Bendigo area and as a result they're seeing more homeless people assaulted. Can the Federal Government act quickly on this or what else needs to be done?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we can if the Coalition and the Greens got out of the way. We had the Housing Australia Future Fund that was held up in the Senate for two years and now we have, as part of that, is emergency accommodation as well, the Housing Australia Future Fund, a $10 billion fund for more social housing, more emergency housing, more housing that Australians really need for workers in essential services has all been opposed and the Coalition is saying that they will abolish it. It is extraordinary in Angus Taylor's budget reply, he wants to reinstitute the taxes that will advantage investors over first home buyers and in order to fund that, he will abolish these programs that build social, affordable and public housing, or build incentives for people to own their own homes, such as Help to buy and the 5% deposit scheme that's seen 250,000 Australians be able to own their own home. Angus Taylor and the Coalition as well as One Nation are good at grievance, is what they focus on. They don't come up with real solutions. They just come up with cuts that will make a difference and make it just so much harder for people. Thanks very much.