Will Labor deliver a fair and just transition for workers?

Today in Parliament, Abigail grilled the NSW Government on whether they will prioritise reinstating TAFE courses to ensure a smooth transition for workers shifting away from closing coalmines and coal-fired power stations.

Abigail said:

I make a contribution on behalf of The Greens as spokesperson for industry, jobs and trade. We are not opposed to the motion but note that it is a motion of congratulations on having designed something that will occur at some point in the future. It raises more questions than it answers, and perhaps the mover could answer those questions in his reply. When will construction be completed?

The Hon. Mark Buttigieg: In 2027.

Ms ABIGAIL BOYD: I acknowledge that interjection—2027. I thank the Minister. How much will fees be for the courses? Will they be subsidised by the Government in some way, or will they be set by the industry? Has the Government conducted a skills audit of all of the jobs that will be required in renewable energy industries and what training will be required in what parts of the State? What has been done to identify workers coming out of closing coalmines and coal‑fired power stations and to upskill them into renewable energy jobs? What are the existing skills of those workers, and what courses will they need to complete in order to have new jobs in renewable energy industries?

The biggest question for us is this: Why not TAFE? The Greens have lobbied for TAFE for a very long time. We are not taking away from the idea of having some sort of union and industry participation in providing the skills that workers will need. But under the previous Coalition Government we saw a real gutting of TAFE, which was once a world-class institution. We had hoped that Labor, when it got back in power, would seek to restore TAFE. We will need skills in plumbing and other related fields in order to fill jobs in renewables across the whole State, and it would seem that TAFE is the more appropriate place for the courses to be run. The question is why not? What will the Government do to ensure that there are TAFE courses for all of the workers coming out of the closing industries and going into the new industries, in order to ensure that we have not only a quick transition but also a fair and just one?

Read the full debate in Hansard

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Will Labor deliver a fair and just transition for workers?

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