DOME Funding

Mr MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Leader of the Opposition) (14:12): My question is again to the Premier. In light of the COVID-19 crisis being likely to have a substantial effect on mature age workers who are made redundant, will the Premier now reverse the $400,000 funding cut to DOME?

The Hon. D.G. PISONI (Unley—Minister for Innovation and Skills) (14:13): One of the things that we are all learning about the COVID-19 pandemic is that things are changing. Things are changing and we need to do things differently.

Mr Brown: No, they're not. You're still cutting funding.

The SPEAKER: The member for Playford is warned for a second and final time.

The Hon. D.G. PISONI: We have started a process for mature age workers. On the other side, for 16 years they talked about a transitioning economy. They never did anything about it: they just talked about it.

The SPEAKER: Minister, there is a point of order.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: The minister entered into debate almost immediately, in talking about the opposition.

The SPEAKER: I have the point of order. To be consistent, I have allowed ministers to provide some relevant preamble, but I am not going to just allow them to tee off and not come to the substance of the question. I am going to listen carefully. I don't want this to get out of hand.

The Hon. S.C. Mullighan: The flu shot has gone to his head.

The SPEAKER: I have had my flu shot, too, today, member for Lee. I am going to listen carefully to the Minister for Innovation and Skills. Minister.

The Hon. D.G. PISONI: Thank you, sir. I think the important thing here is that we are working with industry. The Skilling South Australia model has proven that it works. And why does it work? Because we have recognised, as a government, that there is a cost to on-the-job training, one that has been ignored by those opposite because of their ideology for so many years. We are working with industry. Our Skilling South Australia model allows us to work with industry to remove those barriers that industry tells us stops them from engaging in training.

Don't just take my word for it: look at the NCVER figures. The latest figures are a 107 per cent increase in the number of mature age apprentices and trainees being paid to learn under contracts of training—a 107 per cent increase. What was the national increase? It was 3.8 per cent. As a matter of fact, I understand that some states even went backwards. Here in South Australia, we are leading the pack. We are getting double-digit growth in our skills training. We are fixing the mess left by those opposite. The fact that the skills of South Australians were not matched to the industry needs here in South Australia—

The SPEAKER: Minister, be seated for one moment. There is a point of order for debate.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Relevance and debate, sir. The question was: will the funding be reinstated?

The SPEAKER: Yes, I have the point of order. I am listening carefully and if I feel the need I will bring the minister back into line. Minister.

The Hon. D.G. PISONI: It is very relevant to talk about skills training in this time because we need to make sure—

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: Answer the question.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. D.G. PISONI: —our workforce is skilled to come out the other end of this pandemic.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: It's just yes or no—a very simple question.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. D.G. PISONI: We want our businesses to come back stronger than before when this is finished. We need our businesses to do that. We have started that process. We identified skills gaps or a misalignment of skills here in South Australia.

Mr Malinauskas: Are you going to reinstate the funding?

The SPEAKER: Leader!

The Hon. D.G. PISONI: They spoke about a transitioning economy; we are actually doing it. We have apprenticeships in cybersecurity. We have apprenticeships or traineeships in aged care and disability care. Under the previous model, people had to learn skills in aged care and disability care in their own time and then work for free under a—

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order: I hate to labour the point, but the minister is now completely debating the question and not answering the substance.

The SPEAKER: You have made the point. I am going to caution the minister. I am listening to him and I would like to hear his answer in silence.

The Hon. D.G. PISONI: I think that the public of South Australia would want to know and would be very interested to know that we have made it much easier now for people to move into aged care. And who is taking those options up? Many of them are mature age workers. They are looking for a change in their careers, or circumstances have put them back in the marketplace and the skills that they gained 20 or 30 years ago, that were very relevant 20 or 30 years ago, are not as relevant now.

We have been working with industry through our Skilling South Australia model to make sure those mature age South Australians have the skills that they need so that they have what business needs, what industry needs to hire them. It's a pretty simple market mechanism. They have something to sell because of the Skilling South Australia program, and employers are buying it. That's why we are seeing a 107 per cent increase in a number of mature age paid skilled contracts here in South Australia—apprenticeships and traineeships here in South Australia. The process is working and we are getting on with the job.

The SPEAKER: I just have to remind certain members that they have been called to order: the member for Kaurna, the member for Playford is on two warnings, the member for Ramsay is also called to order, the members for Lee and West Torrens are called to order and the leader. The leader has the call.