SUBJECTS: Fee Free TAFE, HECS and HELP fees, Reliable renewable energy, Net Zero Economy, Energy Statement of Opportunity, The Coalition’s Risky Nuclear Plan. 

SHARON CLAYDON, MEMBER FOR NEWCASTLE: Thank you for coming this morning. It's pretty dismal weather in Newcastle outside, and I appreciate TAFE being able to host us in this lovely workshop this morning. I'm really delighted to be here with a dear friend and colleague, the Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Senator Jenny McAllister. Jenny was very quick to contact me. We've just come off the back of budget last week, and some really important announcements for carbon intensive regions like Newcastle, that are in the midst of very important transition as part of our global transition to a net zero economy. And we've had a great opportunity to meet with students this morning who stand to benefit from a lot of the great initiatives that we've bedded down in the budget last week. Jenny will talk to that detail. But that includes the Fee-Free TAFE places, additional places that are coming into the pipeline,  the significant wavering of,  a wiping of student loan debts that impact students in tertiary education, whether that's university or TAFE, and the great injection into the new energy apprenticeship schemes. And that's what we've had an opportunity to discuss here today at Hunter TAFE, and on that note I'm going to hand it straight across to Jenny to take us through some of those details over to you. 

​SENATOR JENNY MCALLISTER, ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE: Thank you, Sharon. It is terrific to be here in Newcastle TAFE with my dear friend Sharon Claydon. Newcastle couldn't ask for a more energetic, committed representative local member. And it's always a pleasure to be with Sharon, because she's so knowledgeable about our local area here. We've just had a chance to speak with a couple of the students that are undertaking their apprenticeship to become an electrician here at Newcastle TAFE. It's really clear that they are aware that this region and country are undergoing a substantial transformation, arguably the most important economic transformation since the industrial revolution, the transition from old fuels to new fuels. And at a very practical level what that means is an enormous demand for electricians and a range of other trades. Our government is determined to make sure that regions like Newcastle and Hunter more generally, that have powered Australia for generations, continue to perform this role, the nation's powerhouse and that's why so much of our budget is focused on a Future Made in Australia, focused on hydrogen, the opportunities in clean metals, the opportunities for ammonia production, the opportunities around critical minerals processing. These are all areas where Australia's innate natural advantages, lots of land, skilful people, a stable investment environment, and of course abundant wind and sunshine can help us take advantage of this transformation. Not just decarbonising our own economy, but supporting the world as it decarbonises. 

​I was speaking just before to the head teacher here who was saying that in the last 18 months, they put on seven new teachers to work in the trades areas. Students understand the opportunities that are before them, and our budget really seeks to back this in.. We've had tremendous success in New South Wales with the Fee-Free TAFE arrangements, more than 180,000 students enrolling and taking advantage of this program to upskill and become part of providing the skills that our country needs to grow and prosper. We're expanding that and we expect to benefit more than 140,000 people again here in New South Wales. We have particular focus on the clean energy sector, and we continue to roll out the 10,000 places in the New Energy Apprenticeships, a financial support for students who are taking up an apprenticeship in this growing area of the economy. And of course, as Sharon said wiping $3 billion of student debt and reforming the processes for HECs and HELP to make sure that they are fairer, and that students can cope financially when they undertake this important work, this investment in their own future but an investment in the country's future. I feel incredibly optimistic about this community, it's a community I know really well. The people of Newcastle have experienced change before, the people of Hunter have seen change before. But everywhere I go, I see people energetically engaging with the opportunities of the future and our government is determined to support this community in that transition.

​JOURNALIST: Speaking of expanding this apprenticeship program, how is it expanding that new programs coming on board or allowing more students in? How is it, how is, what is the extension? 

McALLISTER: So the key initiative in the budget is to extend the Fee-Free TAFE arrangements. We've already seen many students take advantage of this across a wide range of areas. This budget ensures that those arrangements can continue. We've seen tremendous uptake, we want to make sure that as many Australians as possible are investing in themselves and investing in the future of our country.

​JOURNALIST: We've heard from students in the Upper Hunter before who just find it difficult to be able to get to the TAFE they need to be able to do some of these programs. They're living in areas where the coal mines currently are and we're trying to transition away from that, how is the government helping those students go “Yes you can do an apprenticeship, it is feasible,” because some students are saying it's just at the moment too hard for them to get to the tape that they need to get to to be able to do that?

​McALLISTER: I think we're conscious that there are a range of things that we can do to rebuild that capacity in the vocational education sector and provide opportunities for students right across the country, including here in the Hunter. Some of those things go to fees, and the Fee-Free TAFE is very important. Some of those initiatives go to supporting people financially, when they undertake apprenticeships in key areas, like the new energy areas or in construction.  Some of them go to expanding the facilities that are available to train, and expanding the training workforce so that there's a greater availability of training opportunities. More broadly, here in the Hunter and in other carbon-intensive regions across the country, we are determined to work with communities on specific needs in these local areas through the transition. We'll be bringing through the Parliament, we hope this year, the legislation that will establish the Net Zero Economy Authority.  Its role, of course, will be to work with communities like this and make sure that we are pulling all of the levers to prepare communities for the transition that's before us. Did you want to say anything else Sharon?

​CLAYDON: It's an issue that Net Zero Authority, under Greg Combet’s leadership was acutely aware of. And it's been a point of discussion about ensuring that there are good kind of outreach, education opportunities, whether they come from university or TAFE. I think they are both institutions that have an important role to play. The university has already set up a program at Muswellbrook, there's room for growth there. I will continue to be a strong advocate in making sure that they do so 

​JOURNALIST: Do you think there's enough to sort of, to incentivize people to reskill into the new energy economy. There's a little bit of hesitancy [inaudible].

​CLAYDON: The students that we were just speaking to have all – they’re all in retraining, right – they've all come out of other sectors. They pointed to, there are some really good employer incentives out there. The head teacher from TAFE also made that comment. The – you know – why they're able to put on additional teachers here at this TAFE is because we've removed the price barrier for students to enrol. So they're not incurring so much debt themselves. We've provided incentives to students in the form of a $10,000 new apprenticeship, a new energy apprenticeship program. And there are good incentives for employers now. So the uptake is not an issue, definitely not in this part of the region. I think the challenge before us will be ensuring that everybody that wants to be at TAFE and university gets a place to be there.

​JOURNALIST: Could we potentially expect any more financial incentives in this region in the future to try and increase that uptick of people getting into trades locally? 

​CLAYDON: Yeah, look, I think this region is ideally placed for, you know, we will play a lead role. There's nothing I'm more certain of than the fact that Newcastle will be a lead runner in the way of doing the transition to a net zero economy. I think they, you could not find a policy that was more suited to our region, then a Future Made in Australia.There are so many opportunities before us now, and my local small, medium-sized manufacturers, super excited about that. Students very excited being able to tap into new jobs, new opportunities that they can see going forward. So there's a lot of a lot of enthusiasm. And our government policies that have just been backed in again by the budget last Tuesday night, are almost tailor made for Newcastle. So I think I'm very excited about what lays ahead for Newcastle. And, you know, that's not without challenges, but we've been there before. Novacastrians know that, you know, there is always light at the end of that tunnel in transition. And we will grow to be a very prosperous region that continues to make power and energy as we have for more than a century. But it's so many different thoughts on the new energy.

​JOURNALIST: We've heard today out of the energy market regulator, the latest report is saying that renewable energies are not quite on track enough that they're predicting blackouts, potentially next summer, next year. Does that concern you? Obviously, you can only speed up, you can only have the training happen at certain speeds. But is that a concern that we’re – we're not getting those renewable energies on market quick enough to be able to service supply?

​MCALLISTER: AEMO are not predicting blackouts. The report that's out today sets out any of the reliability challenges and takes a very conservative approach, and that's entirely appropriate. AEMO’s job is to deliver a reliable electricity network, and they are doing that work. More broadly, we are in the throes of a very big change. Under the last government, 24 coal fired power stations announced or brought forward their closure date. But there was no plan to deal with that. And our government is working methodically, carefully and with some urgency to remedy the problem that was created by the lack of energy policy under the Liberals. The report that's out today makes clear that when factoring in the policies and program settings being delivered by the Commonwealth Government, and the State and Territory Governments, we are able to manage most of the reliability challenges between here and 2030. And even that analysis doesn't take into account all the measures that have been put in place by the Australian Government. We're working hard to secure reliability, there's a lot of work to do, and much of what is a consequence of the 22 failed policies, none of which landed under the previous government. I'll add one thing. There are a few things that this report today doesn't say. It doesn't call for a pause or a moratorium on large scale renewables, like David Littleproud calls for. And he doesn't call for a slow and risky rollout of nuclear capability, like Mr. Dutton calls for. Rather, it emphasises the need for continued investments in renewable generation and in storage, firmed by gas. That is what the Albanese Government's reliable renewable strategy is structured to deliver. 

​JOURNALIST: Obviously, it's in the hands of the State Government. They're currently still in talks with the Origin to whether Eraring is extended, that life is extended. We were told it was going to close next year, but as they say [inaudible]. Would you support Eraring being extended for a little bit longer?

​MCALLISTER:  Questions around Eraring are a matter for  the New South Wales State Government, and I think Minister Sharpe made it clear that she's in those discussions. And she's also made it clear that she's not in a position to talk about them while they're ongoing. More broadly, I would say, of course, we all have to do everything we can to maintain reliability in the system during this transition. And our reliable renewable strategy is structured around this objective, delivering the Capacity and Investment Scheme to bring the new generation and Rewiring the Nation scheme to provide lower cost finance filled out the transition that's required. There are other things we need to do to make sure the transition goes smoothly. In part, it means dealing with some of the legacy problems, again created under the previous government around the way that landholders are interacting with projects. We've been working with the Australian Infrastructure Commissioner to address those, and the budget contains funding to make sure that the voluntary code that he recommended is able to be put into place. 

​JOURNALIST: So just briefly on, on gas, there is some concern amongst local agricultural industries that that could disrupt things like water table with exploration, is there anything either of you would say in relation to gas exploration could put people's minds at ease locally in the agricultural sector?

​MCALLISTER: I think the thing I would say is that all projects undergo rigorous environmental approval. And that won't change. But we are going through a period where we're going to need to work with communities. These are significant transitions, and whatever the project is, we need to make sure that communities are involved and have the information they need to engage with projects and project proponents. Thank you.