Mr RICHARD EVANS —My question is directed to the Minister for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs. Minister, many young people in my electorate of Cowan have welcomed, and are quite excited about, the new opportunities and careers that have been opened up for them by the government through its new apprenticeship scheme. Could the minister inform the House about the success of new apprenticeships and the number of new opportunities being offered to young people this year?

Dr KEMP (Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs;Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service) —I thank the member for Cowan for his question. I know that he is dedicated to expanding apprenticeship opportunities for young people. He himself left school, I think, at 16 to take up an apprenticeship, and many like him have gained a wonderful start to their careers through apprenticeships. Unfortunately, the message that the Labor Party gave young people in this country was that it was all right to drop out of school and live on the dole.

This government has made a major commitment to the 70 per cent of school leavers who are not going on to university, and we have put the resources into backing that commitment—$187 million over four years. In fact, during the first term of this government, we put four times as much money into supporting vocational education opportunities in schools as Labor put in in its entire 13 years of government.

As a consequence, in the last year of the Labor Party, there were only some 3,000 students in Australian schools actually undertaking industry endorsed programs of vocational education. In 1997, as a result of this government's policy, there were 38,000 students in schools—a 12 times increase. We put our money where our mouth is. In 1996-97, there were some 98,000 commencements in new apprenticeships, and I am very pleased to be able to inform the House that this year the government will more than exceed its promise to create 100,000 new apprenticeships.

This is a wonderful opportunity for young Australians with a commonsense, down-to-earth, practical policy that provides them with opportunities. The only regret we have is that, while everyone in Australia is pleased with this, there is one group who is not—that is, the Australian Labor Party. The member for Werriwa said on ABC radio in South Australia on 15 October last year:

I really fear, particularly under this federal government, that the balance is tipping away towards the vocational end.

Make no mistake: the member for Werriwa has let the cat out of the bag. If Labor gets back into office, it will take away these apprenticeships and it will cut opportunities for the 70 per cent not going on to university. Labor tried to kill the apprenticeship system when it was in office in favour of the schemes favoured by its union mates, and it will try to do it again.