Mr PITT (Hinkler) (10:03): I table a petition from the Wide Bay Burnett Regional Dive Wreck Advisory Group, local residents, business owners and tourists concerning the need for a new tourist attraction to increase domestic and international visitations to the Wide Bay Burnett Region to stimulate the local economy and create jobs. The petition has been approved by the Standing Committee on Petitions.

The petitioners, led by Ed Gibson, are asking the House to gift, remediate and scuttle HMAS Tobruk, or a similar decommissioned military vessel, in waters between Hervey Bay and Bundaberg to create a ‘diving into history’ experience. Tourism operators need another water-based attraction, an attraction that will keep boats in the water during the months that humpback whales and loggerhead turtles are not present. It is estimated that a military dive wreck will contribute between $1 million and $4 million each year to the local economy. This would be a great rate of return for a one-off investment estimated at just $6 million.

I would like to congratulate all of those involved, who have managed to collect 4,042 signatures in less than three weeks, in order to have it tabled before the parliament breaks for the year. The idea of a military dive wreck was first floated with me before the last federal election by well-respected local fisherman Nicky Schulz. Not long after being elected I contacted local business owners, recreational scuba divers and my state and council counterparts to gauge their interest in the proposal. I was absolutely overwhelmed by their positivity. I wrote to the Assistant Minister for Defence, Darren Chester, to seek advice on which military vessels were due to be decommissioned over the next few years. In November last year, Mr Chester visited the electorate to see firsthand why the Wide Bay-Burnett is an ideal location for a military dive wreck. A Wide Bay-Burnett regional dive wreck advisory group was formed to assess the project’s feasibility. The advisory group includes a variety of key local representatives, including a marine biologist and experts who have established dive wrecks in other locations. I have met with Attorney-General, Senator George Brandis, to discuss any potential legal impediments or public liability issues for the government. Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister Senator James McGrath, who is highly supportive of the project, has questioned senior Defence personnel during committee hearings. Local media coverage has been overwhelmingly positive.

The Fraser Coast Regional Council has committed $1 million towards the project. The Bundaberg Regional Council, however, has declined to contribute, and so, on 20 November, I wrote to Bundaberg’s mayoral candidates to seek a commitment to allocate $1 million if elected in 2016. Without that funding, we risk losing this vessel to another region. I have sought an urgent meeting with the Queensland Premier.

I believe that Defence assets that are paid for by the Australian people can, and should, continue to serve the community long after they are no longer of use to the military. HMAS Tobruk should not be sent to the scrap metal yard. The Wide Bay-Burnett is an ideal resting place for HMAS Tobruk. We are a region who admire our veteran community, and we will treat the Tobruk with the greatest of respect. The project will boost the local economy and create jobs in my region.

Mr PITT (Hinkler) (13:37): I table a petition containing 606 signatures which draws to the attention of the House the severe lack of mobile phone coverage in Doolbi, Horton, Abington, Goodwood, North Isis and Redridge in my electorate of Hinkler. The petition has been considered by the Standing Committee on Petitions and certified as being in accordance with the standing orders. In August this year, I met with the principal petitioner, Jennifer Symons, to discuss the fact that areas surrounding Childers do not even have SOS phone coverage. The region is home to many seniors and some of our biggest farms. They are unable to call for help in an emergency and are asking the House for funding to co-locate mobile phone equipment on the recently constructed NBN towers. This is an issue I have raised with my ministerial colleagues on numerous occasions. In April last year, Paul Fletcher, the then Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Communications, visited the electorate. We met with residents and businesses to discuss mobile telephone black spots across the region. We encouraged locals to make submissions for round one of the coalition’s $20 million Mobile Black Spot Program before 28 February, 2015. On 7 July last year, I formally nominated several Hinkler locations for the program. This included areas near Childers, such as Goodwood. From the public submissions and sites nominated by MPs, the Department of Communications compiled a database of locations that was shared with mobile network operators to help them prepare their proposals for funding. I was deeply disappointed that no Hinkler locations were successful under round one of the program. I look forward to round two opening and I look forward to a much better outcome in securing something for Childers.

Mr PITT (Hinkler) (10:09): I am angry. I am absolutely fed up with people who are talking down my region. Confidence breeds confidence. As far as I am concerned, I am raising my family in the greatest region in the greatest country in the world. I am fortunate to represent a region that has a perfect climate year-round. Hinkler is a place where loggerhead turtles come to nest each year. Humpback whales play in our waters when they make their annual migration. We are one of the largest producers of fruit and vegetables in the country and we are renowned for our fresh seafood. We are also home to some of Australia’s most iconic brands. Housing and land are affordable.

Now, I acknowledge there are challenges. Our local unemployment rate is historically high. Earlier this week, though, national media reported that Wide Bay has the worst unemployment rate in the country at 10½ per cent. Some local media followed suit. They referenced other media reports as their source. They quoted local commentators who were willing to add their two cents worth without first checking the figures themselves. Was it a 10½ per cent increase? Was that an increase or a decrease? The reports did not say. If only headlines reporting a decrease in the local unemployment rate attracted the same level of interest as headlines like ‘worst in the country’. But good news does not sell—and shame on our national broadcasters.

Anyone who has even a basic knowledge of data collection understands that small sample sizes can result in substantial fluctuations month to month, making the data unreliable. Using the more reliable three-month average to October 2015, what the ABS data actually showed—if they had looked—was an unemployment rate of 8½ per cent. That is an annual drop in unemployment of 2.4 per cent compared to the same three-month period in 2014. Out of the 87 ABS statistical regions, this puts Wide Bay in 11th position. That is still unacceptably high, but it is not first.

I am angry about this because unemployment is the single biggest issue in my electorate. It is an issue that I am passionate about. Attracting investment to create jobs and helping people to find work is my No. 1 priority. I have written countless letters to the editor. I have pointed out that unemployment is too important an issue to be used as a political football. As a community, we need to work together. Media outlets have also called for the blame shifting to stop, and yet, in their selective reporting, they are effectively doing exactly the same thing. The coalition government is doing everything it can to help through incentive programs, relocation systems, wage subsidies and training. Hinkler has been prioritised for programs like Work for the Dole. But the bottom line is that there are not enough jobs locally. That is the bottom line.

Together, as a community, we need to attract investment to the region by telling everyone how great it is. We need to shop locally and support businesses so that they have the confidence to create new jobs. That is why I am trying to create a military dive wreck. It will attract more tourists to the region. It is why I have launched the hashtag bundybayandbush for a local campaign, and in January next year I will host a community jobs forum in Hervey Bay. Together, with positivity, we can make Hinkler an even better place to work, raise a family and do business.

Mr PITT (Hinkler) (20:05): Border protection, national security and respect for the Australian way of life and our cultural values and beliefs are among the top issues of concern among Hinkler constituents. From the outset, I say that this government’s tough immigration policies carefully balance the national interest with our humanitarian responsibilities. ‘Stopping the boats’ is not just a three-word slogan; it is backed by a policy of tough measures that have deterred people from risking their lives at sea. In the 12 months before the coalition introduced Operation Sovereign Borders, there were 401 illegal boat arrivals carrying some 26,542 people. This compares with only one illegal boat arrival in 2014.

Since coming to government two years ago, our policies have resulted in the closure of 13 immigration detention centres, saving the 2015-16 budget some $500 million. We have reduced the number of children in detention by 90 per cent. As a result of Operation Sovereign Borders, we have been able to increase the humanitarian program from the current level of 13,750 places per year to 18,750 places per year by 2018-19. It has also enabled us to take 12,000 additional Syrian refugees through proper channels, in addition to the 4,400 we settled last financial year.

I strongly support the measures contained in the Australian Citizenship Amendment (Allegiance to Australia) Bill 2015 which strip dual passport holders of their Australian citizenship if their actions do not demonstrate an allegiance to Australia. I emphasise that these laws only impact dual passport holders and do not render a person stateless. The bill applies regardless of how the person became an Australian citizen, including a person who became an Australian citizen upon birth. Similar laws have been enacted in the UK and Canada. Australian citizenship should be respected and not taken for granted. As the bill states:

… Parliament recognises that Australian citizenship is a common bond, involving reciprocal rights and obligations, and that citizens may, through certain conduct incompatible with the shared values of the Australian community, demonstrate that they have severed that bond and repudiated their allegiance to Australia.

The new powers in this bill are a necessary and appropriate response to the evolution of the terrorist threat.

A review of Australia’s counter-terrorism machinery found that the terrorist threat in Australia is rising. Specifically, the number of Australians joining extremist groups overseas is increasing; the number of known sympathisers and supporters of extremists is increasing; and the number of potential terrorists is unfortunately rising. Our security agencies are currently managing over 400 high-priority counter-terrorism investigations. This number has more than doubled since early 2014. Since September last year, when the national terrorism public alert level was raised to high, 26 people have been charged as a result of 10 counter-terrorism operations. That is more than one-third of all terrorism related charges since 2001. Around 110 Australians are currently fighting or engaged with terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq.

Since it came into force in 1949, the law has enforced the automatic loss of citizenship where a person serves in the armed forces of a country at war with Australia. This bill expands section 35 to provide for automatic cessation of Australian citizenship if a person is also a citizen of another country and is overseas fighting for a declared terrorist organisation.

But what about dual passport holders who are living in Australia? About 190 people in Australia are currently known to be providing support to individuals and groups in the Syria-Iraq conflicts through financing and recruitment, or are seeking to travel. Proposed section 33AA provides that a dual passport holder renounces their Australian citizenship if they act inconsistently with their allegiance to Australia. Such conduct includes engaging in terrorist activities, including the use of explosive or lethal devices; providing or receiving training connected with a terrorist act; recruiting for a terrorist organisation; and financing terrorism.

Proposed section 35A gives the minister power to determine loss of a person’s citizenship when they have been convicted and sentenced to at least six years imprisonment for a relevant offence that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years or more. Loss of citizenship is not automatic, and the minister must revoke a determination if the conviction is overturned. Dual passport holders who are stripped of their Australian citizenship have the right to judicial review. The minister must table a report in parliament every six months outlining the number of successful and unsuccessful notices given and a brief explanation of the basis for those notices being issued.

Also relevant to this debate here today is the current community discussion and media coverage surrounding the deportation or visa cancellation of foreign criminals. My office has been contacted in a relation to a number of foreign nationals caught up in the unrest on Christmas Island who had been living locally. Their visas have been cancelled after committing a violent or serious offence. It would be inappropriate to comment on individual cases, for privacy reasons. I simply make the point that it is not unreasonable to expect people who enjoy the benefits of living in this country to obey Australian law. The government makes no apologies for cancelling the visas of noncitizens who commit serious or violent criminal offences in our country.

In December last year the coalition made amendments to the Migration Amendment Act to ensure that noncitizens or foreign nationals who commit crimes, pose a risk to the Australian community, or are of integrity concern are able to have their visa refused or cancelled. Mandatory cancellation was also introduced for noncitizens in prison who do not pass the character test to ensure those who pose a risk to the safety of the Australian community remain in detention until that risk has been assessed and their immigration status has been determined. Why should Australians pay to keep noncitizens in prison? Why shouldn’t they be returned to their country of citizenship?

In 2014, the United Kingdom passed legislation which expanded the government’s power to revoke the citizenship of a naturalised person. Under the new laws, a person can be deprived of citizenship if the Home Secretary is satisfied that it would be conducive to the public good to deprive the person of their British citizenship status and to do so would not render them stateless; or if the person obtained their citizenship status through naturalisation, and it would be conducive to the public good to deprive them of their status because they have engaged in conduct ‘seriously prejudicial’ to the UK’s vital interests and the Home Secretary has reasonable grounds to believe that they could acquire another nationality; or if the person acquired their citizenship status by means of fraud, false representation or concealment of any material fact.

Canada recently passed legislation expanding the basis on which citizenship may be revoked and the process by which this may happen. The new laws were passed by parliament in 2014 and came into effect on 28 May 2015. Under the new legislation, the citizenship and immigration minister may revoke the citizenship of a dual national who is convicted of terrorism, high treason or spying offences, depending on the sentence received.

In conclusion, the legislative changes we have made in Australia are not about race or religion. They are about protecting and upholding our country’s beliefs and values from terrorists and serious criminals. The government’s amendments to the bill are in response to the 27 recommendations made by the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Intelligence and Security on Friday, 4 September 2015.

Since 1945, 4.6 million people have become Australian citizens, including 136,000 in 2014-15. Most immigrants are extraordinary people who have helped make our great country what it is today: our history, our art, our cuisine and our social fabric. Over the past two years, my office has helped secure visas for literally dozens of people, including doctors, nurses, graphic designers, farmers and tradespeople. Many others we have helped are also making valuable contributions to our community through volunteer organisations, paying taxes and spending money in local businesses.

In my role as the federal member for Hinkler, I often have the pleasure of attending citizenship ceremonies in Bundaberg and Hervey Bay. All of the people I have met to date are excited, optimistic, positive and proud to be making their pledge of allegiance to our nation, to Australia. Their oath goes like this:

From this time forward, under God, I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people, whose democratic beliefs I share, whose rights and liberties I respect, and whose laws I will uphold and obey.

Our nation’s greatest strength lies in our diversity and the Australian way of life. That strength and culture is provided by our people. Our people’s safety and security will always be, first and foremost, our No. 1 priority. I commend the bill to the House.

Mr PITT (Hinkler) (13:46): The last shot of World War I was fired on Monday, 11 November 1918. Three hundred thousand Australians went to the Great War: 60,000 died and 156,000 were wounded or taken prisoner. On the first anniversary of the armistice, in 1919, one minute’s silence was instituted as part of the main commemorative ceremony.

The Flanders poppy, which many of us are wearing here today, became accepted throughout the allied nations as the flower of remembrance. The red poppies were among the first plants that sprouted from the devastation of the battlefields of northern France and Belgium. Folklore suggests the poppies were vivid red from having been nurtured in ground drenched with blood.

The 11th of the 11th was the day the Great War ended. It was meant to be the war to end all wars. It was a day to remember what had passed, to show our appreciation and to celebrate peace. After the end of World War II in 1945, the Australian and British governments changed the name to Remembrance Day to commemorate all war dead. Unfortunately, there have been many wars since the Great War, and today many conflicts are ongoing.

As I and many of my colleagues paused for a minute’s silence in Canberra today, I thought about the many men and women in my electorate who have served. I would like to thank the people who laid wreaths on my behalf at services across the electorate of Hinkler. In particular, I thank my wife, Alison—who continues to put up with me—who laid a wreath at the Bundaberg service today, and Peter Carey, who laid a wreath at the service in Hervey Bay at their new memorial.

Mr PITT (Hinkler) (17:04): I am very pleased to be speaking here today in support of the Higher Education Support Amendment (VET FEE-HELP Reform) Bill 2015. This bill will strengthen the protections for students in the vocational education and training sector and push unscrupulous training providers out of the market. This bill addresses issues that are well known to my office. I will not name the students or organisations for privacy reasons, but I would like to share a couple of their stories.

I had a young woman who contacted the Hinkler office after she withdrew from studying a Diploma of Management and the college tried to charge her $12,000. She was led to believe the cancellation costs were just $600 and that she would have to return the so-called ‘free’ laptop she received. She had cancelled her enrolment because she felt the method of delivery and standard of content was poor. When my office contacted the college they advised that because the young woman had not withdrawn within the required two weeks or census date she would have to pay $6,000 in course fees she had incurred and would have to purchase the laptop. The laptop could not be returned because the young woman had used data and the device now contained her personal information and documents.

Another common problem in my electorate affects temporary foreign workers who enter Australia on student visas. When they get here their passports are confiscated and they never see the inside of a classroom. They work in the horticulture sector, where they are exploited by unscrupulous contract labour hire firms. I congratulate the government on forming Taskforce Cadena to address just this type of exploitation. Some registered training organisations are complicit in this exploitation because they take the foreign workers’ money in exchange for silence. They know full well that those students will never set foot inside a classroom or submit an assignment.

Another example relates to the aggressive and false marketing of courses. A gentleman contacted my office in July concerned that when his son applied online for what he thought was a vacant job in warehousing with a contract labour hire firm, he was instead contacted by a registered training organisation. Their email confirmed he was registered to attend an induction session to enrol in a certificate III in logistics and warehousing. There was no job vacancy. I share his concern that these online job advertisements are completely misleading. To quote the gentleman directly:

These ads are making the Registered Training Organisations rich, while leaving people with a debt and no job.

What is also concerning is that the email from the RTO contained all the documentation that the job seeker would need to provide for enrolment but did not disclose any information about the course content, the course outcomes, the course costs or the course cancellation fees.

These kinds of unscrupulous training providers have been allowed to flourish since Labor made changes to the VET HELP loans scheme in 2012. Providers are preying on vulnerable people and signing them up to courses of dubious quality that they do not want and do not need. People in my region are particularly vulnerable, given the high unemployment rate and low job vacancy levels.

Between 2012 and 2014, the number of approved VET providers increased from 119 to 254, and the number of students increased from about 55,000 to 202,000. The total value of VET HELP loans increased from $325 million to $1.75 billion. That is in someone’s pocket. To quote Chris Robinson from ASQA, the Australian Skills Quality Authority, the expansion ‘precipitated unprecedented examples of unethical student recruitment practices and astronomical fees as dodgy operators jumped into a new and easy government supplied pool of money’.

In March this year, the government announced a suite of reforms to the VET FEE-HELP scheme to protect students, taxpayers and the reputation of Australia’s VET sector. These reforms spanned areas such as marketing and inducements, consumer information, debt processes and provider standards. The first of these changes included the banning of inducements such as free laptops, cash or vouchers, and that came into effect in April this year. The second tranche of reforms came into effect on 1 July this year.

Since then, providers have been banned from charging a withdrawal fee. Costing several thousands of dollars in some cases, the fees acted as a barrier to some students withdrawing from a course before the census date, which is when the loan is levied. In addition, training providers and agents can no longer market VET FEE-HELP supported training as ‘free’ or—in italics—’government funded’ or mislead students in any way into believing that VET FEE-HELP is not a loan that is expected to be paid back.

Providers must now publish on their websites which agents and brokers they use and are responsible for the conduct of their agent or broker. Agents must now disclose to the student the name of the VET provider and the course they are marketing, and they must also disclose that they will receive a commission for any referred student enrolment.

The government has also announced that, from 1 January next year, providers cannot levy the full debt load up front and in one hit. Instead, students will have a number of opportunities during a course to confirm if they wish to continue to be enrolled, and their debt will be levied accordingly.

This bill now implements the remainder of the government’s announced changes. For example, the bill introduces changes that will protect vulnerable students at the starting point, before they incur a debt, by requiring providers to establish minimum prerequisites for enrolment for each course. This ensures that a student’s capacity to complete the course—including language, literacy and numeracy proficiency—is properly assessed before they are enrolled and before they incur a debt.

The bill makes a number of technical amendments to enact a two-day cooling-off period, ensuring that students have time to make separate study and payment decisions. Students will, from 1 January 2016, have two days after enrolment before they are allowed to submit a request for Commonwealth assistance—the VET FEE-HELP loan application form. No longer will course enrolment be confused with the loan application. The bill ensures that this cooling-off period is in place even with late enrolments close to the census date, which is when students incur the debt.

The bill also increases protections for students under the age of 18 by requiring a parent’s or guardian’s signature before the student can request a VET FEE-HELP loan. Can you imagine if you rolled down to the bank to sign up for an $18,000 loan to buy a car? That certainly would not be as simple as this has been in the past, and we are addressing this problem. This is an appropriate protection to ensure that young people, who may lack the necessary life experience and financial literacy, are not being signed up to courses and debts they do not need. An exemption is provided for minors who are deemed independent under the requirements of the Social Security Act 1991.

The bill broadens the circumstances in which students can have their loan cancelled where inappropriate behaviour has been used in their recruitment. This is a cost that taxpayers should not have to bear, which is why the government will be requiring providers to repay the costs of any loans that were signed under inappropriate circumstances. It may impose additional penalties on providers such as fines or conditions on approval.

The bill introduces a scheme of infringement notices attached to civil penalties for VET FEE-HELP training providers that engage in improper conduct. In the 2015-16 budget, we allocated $18.2 million to strengthen compliance. The Department of Education and Training will now have a full suite of powers available to it to deal with inappropriate behaviour by providers or brokers. This ranges from cancelling student debt and forcing providers to repay the cost to the Commonwealth, to administrative action such as the suspension or revocation of approval, or civil penalties including infringement notices. The bill expands the department’s and the Australian Skills Quality Authority’s powers for monitoring and enforcement action against providers and brokers who are doing the wrong thing.

As well as protecting students, this bill also lifts the standards of organisations that are approved to offer VET FEE-HELP funded courses. Approved providers are entrusted by students and taxpayers with potentially millions of dollars in tuition fees. The government believes that VET FEE-HELP providers should meet a high benchmark of financial viability and training quality. That is why this bill introduces a new minimum registration and trading history requirement for new VET FEE-HELP provider applicants. This ensures that all new providers offering VET FEE-HELP have a proven track record in delivering high-level qualifications.

As the former owner of an RTO, I can tell you that the standards are incredibly strict, particularly for certification. Unfortunately, on entering this place, I had to sell that business because there were far too many conflicts, but I am very proud of the fact that I had it for over 10 years, and it continues to function on the basis that it provides quality training to real people for a real price. The fly-by-nighters I have had an enormous amount of experience with. I have seen them everywhere. I lost jobs all over the country in my previous life against the people who show up, who might be subsidised or who can track down government funding. It certainly is wrong. I would encourage all of those organisations out there—and they are out there—which are good, quality organisations which have been around for a long time and which continue to do the right thing. I would encourage them to hang in because we certainly need them to continue doing that. They provide good training to students with good trainers for a reasonable price.

I certainly heard the contributions from the two previous speakers about TAFE. Whilst TAFE do provide a good service, the issue that I discovered in the many years that I was involved was that TAFE simply do not have the ability to be flexible. They certainly did not at that stage; they may well have shifted now. They need to be able to provide services to people who work on shift, people who work away, people who work on site. They need to adjust their business model; otherwise, they simply will not survive.

There are positives, Mr Deputy Speaker. There are positives. The vocational education and training sector is a vitally important part of Australia’s economy. It is a sector that has a long and proud tradition in Australia. For many young people, it provides the bridge between school and work. For unemployed people, it often provides a pathway back into employment and a life off welfare. And for people in work, it can be the mechanism by which they can expand their skills and progress in their careers.

I was certainly one of those. I completed a trade before going to university—before doing all sorts of things and then ending up in here, would you believe, Mr Acting Deputy President—it has been a very long and torturous path! But I understand the training sector, particularly for VET, and we desperately need those trade skills in Australia.

The coalition government is committed to ensuring that we continue to have a strong VET sector—a sector that helps students to develop the skills they need for the jobs of today and to adapt to the work of the future. That is why we have introduced programs like the $20,000 trade support loans for apprentices. As someone who undertook an electrical apprenticeship, I know how much difference such a loan would have made to me. Certainly, as I recall it, my first pay packet was some $63—

Mr Irons: $39!

Mr PITT: I hear $39 from my good friend and colleague! The government supports the principle of VET students being able to access a loan so they may undertake quality training in the same way that a university student is supported through HECS-HELP. Certainly, the tradespeople of Australia are just as valued as those who do a university degree.

Unfortunately, Labor failed to put in place sufficient controls and safeguards to protect students and taxpayers’ money when they introduced the VET FEE-HELP scheme. In typical fashion, they did not have an eye to the implementation risks. They are well aware that this is a problem of their own making. The shadow minister for higher education, research innovation and industry acknowledged as much only a few weeks ago. Senator Carr, from the other place, was quoted in The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper:

Labor Senator Kim Carr said Labor introduced VET FEE-HELP with good intentions but the scheme contains “fundamental weaknesses” that need to be fixed.

We are fixing those weaknesses. This bill is necessary to address Labor’s failure with regard to VET FEE-HELP and to put in place proper controls and safeguards to protect students and taxpayers from the unscrupulous behaviour of some providers.

I commend the bill to the House.

Mr PITT (Hinkler) (16:30): I had the great pleasure last week of opening the Mount Sion trade training centre at Shalom Catholic college. I congratulate Principal Dan McMahon, who has done a fantastic job to secure funding for over $11 million worth of buildings which were opened last week at Shalom College. The trade training centre will be able to turn out students with a high level of vocational education and training before they go into the work force, skills which are essential to help them secure the thing which is most important to them, and that is a job.

Principal McMahon in his speech spoke about the combination of professionalism and humility. As an example, he spoke about the All Blacks. Whilst I was disappointed in the loss, as all Australians were, this was something I did not actually know about the All Blacks. They have a tradition that after each and every game two All Blacks, regardless of their seniority, clean out the dressing sheds—they rake up all the bits and pieces of strapping and boots and mud and bits and pieces—to demonstrate that all players in the team are equal. So professionalism and humility, which I am sure will come from the students of Shalom, will serve them well in the future.

But the trade skills that they will learn will teach them to be able to secure positions as tradespeople, as trainees, and they will then go on to provide desperately needed skills in this country. There is a shortage, right now, of successful tradespeople, people who know their jobs. These things are absolutely critical to the future of the nation. I certainly congratulate Principal McMahon and all of the team at Shalom, and I wish them all the best with their new trade training facility.

Mr PITT (Hinkler) (11:37): My region is in need of a new tourist attraction—one that will increase domestic and international visitation, stimulate the local economy and create jobs. Wide Bay Burnett includes Lady Musgrave, Lady Elliot and Fraser islands. The region is renowned for its fresh seafood, perfect climate and awe-inspiring marine life. Yet it has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. Tourism operators say they need another water based attraction that will keep their boats in the water during the months that humpback whales and loggerhead turtles are no longer present.

The idea of a military dive wreck was first floated with me before the last federal election by Nicky Schulz. Nick is a very well-respected commercial fisherman from Hervey Bay, who is passionate about protecting and celebrating our marine environment. Not long after being elected to represent the people of Hinkler, I contacted local business owners, recreational scuba divers and my state and council counterparts to gauge their interest in the proposal and was overwhelmed by their positivity. I wrote to Assistant Minister for Defence Darren Chester to seek advice on which military vessels were due to be decommissioned over the next few years. In November last year Mr Chester visited my electorate to see firsthand why Wide Bay Burnett is the ideal location for a dive wreck. Hervey Bay Whale Watch owners Brian and Jill Perry took Mr Chester out on the water and expressed their support for the proposal.

A Wide Bay Burnett regional dive wreck advisory committee was formed to assess the project’s feasibility. The advisory group includes representatives from the Hervey Bay Boat Club, the Hervey Bay Chamber of Commerce, three locally owned scuba diving and whale watching businesses, the regional development authority and the Department of State Development, as well as the Bundaberg, Fraser Coast and Gympie regional councils. The group also includes experts who have established dive wrecks in other locations.

In August this year, the advisory group met with several share-holding ministers in Canberra to outline the details contained in their business case. They are asking the federal government to approve the gifting, stripping and scuttling of the recently decommissioned HMAS Tobruk in 34 metres of water at a site midway between Bundaberg and Hervey Bay. Communities like Burrum Heads would benefit as well. Burrum Heads is soon to get a new boat ramp, which will be ideal for launching dive boats to take the shortest run to the proposed wreck site. The advisory group have held community information sessions, and they have established a Facebook page which has attracted some 730 ‘likes’ in just a few short weeks. I encourage business owners, history buffs, water sport lovers, recreational fishers, tourists and of course locals to support the advisory group, to ‘like’ their Facebook page and to share it with their friends.

Local media coverage has been overwhelmingly positive, and I expect that that will continue as the advisory group’s campaign escalates in coming weeks. The advisory group estimates that a military dive wreck would contribute between $1 million and $4 million each year to the local economy. This will be a great rate of return for a one-off estimated investment of approximately $6 million. It would create additional breeding habitats for local fish stocks and other marine life. An HMAS Tobrukmilitary dive wreck would complement the Rats of Tobruk Memorial in Bundaberg, the HMAS Brisbane dive wreck at Mooloolaba and the Fraser Coast Military Trail, which is currently being developed by the Fraser Coast Regional Council.

Local RSL sub-branches are very supportive of the project. Hinkler has a larger than average veteran population and an impressive ADF recruitment application rate, but it receives the lowest annual Defence spend of any federal electorate in the country. I have met with Attorney-General George Brandis in regard to the project and to discuss any potential legal impediments.

Before it can formally seek funding for the project, the advisory group needs a clearer picture of the remediation work that will need to be done to enable the vessel to be scuttled. The advisory group is seeking approval for McMahon Services to board HMAS Tobruk at Garden Island to formally assess the likely costs. McMahon Services have completed two significant vessel dismantling and disposal projects. They scuttled both the ex-HMAS Hobart and the ex-HMAS Adelaide to create military dive wrecks.

I am pleased to advise that the Fraser Coast Regional Council has just this week committed $1 million towards the project. That is from a local government authority. I hope that Bundaberg Regional Council will soon follow their lead and that the Queensland state Labor government will get on board. I would like to thank our patron senator, Senator James McGrath, now Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, for his longstanding support of this project.

I believe that the Defence assets paid for by the Australian people can and should continue to serve the community long after they are no longer of use to the military. Make no mistake: HMAS Tobruk should not be sent to the scrap metal yard or to a freezing, dark, watery grave in a place like Tasmania. The Wide Bay Burnett is the ideal resting place for HMAS Tobruk. We are a region that has great respect for the veteran community, and we will treat the Tobruk with the respect that it deserves. The project will be an economic injection and add desperately needed jobs into our region now and for decades into the future.

Mr PITT (Hinkler) (11:21): I would like to thank the member for Macarthur for his good grace in allowing me to get a brief opportunity to speak. I rise to speak in support of the bill to enact the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, or ChAFTA, as it is more commonly known.

China is Australia’s largest trading partner. It buys almost a third of all Australian exports, valued at nearly $108 billion in 2013-14, and is our top overseas market for agriculture, resources and services exports. Chinese investment in Australia has been growing strongly in recent years, reaching almost $65 billion in 2014.

But I know there has been some concern in my community about Chinese investment. Since coming to government, we have strengthened Australia’s foreign investment framework. The Australian government has the ability to screen Chinese investments at lower thresholds than ever before for agricultural land and sensitive sectors like media, telecommunications and defence-related industries. Previously, foreign purchases of agricultural land were only subject to the national interest test and close scrutiny if they were worth more than $252 million. On 1 March this year, we reduced that screening threshold from $252 million to $15 million. That means that any agricultural land purchases worth more than $15 million are now subject to closer scrutiny.

I want to emphasise the fact that the China FTA will not threaten Australian jobs. Chinese investors will only be able to temporarily bring in skilled overseas workers when suitable Australian workers cannot be found. They must receive the same pay and conditions as Australian workers, and Australian workers must be given the first opportunity, unless there is evidence of a genuine labour market need. For example, the companies must provide evidence of their domestic recruitment efforts and why applicants were unsuccessful.

As a former engineer and someone who ran a safety inspection and training business, I know just how important it is that people actually know what they are doing. Contrary to what the scaremongering unions would have us believe, the China FTA will not allow electricians to work in Australia without any skills assessment. All applicants for subclass 457 temporary work visas will still need to have the requisite skills, qualifications and work experience. I would like to briefly mention the contribution from the member for Bendigo and suggest strongly to the member that the member actually looks up the definition of statute law and the application for training, for licensing, for workplace health and safety inside state boundaries, because quite simply that is the place where these things are enforced.

Another myth surrounding the China FTA is that it will allow businesses to import dangerous substances such as asbestos. Under the agreement, all of Australia’s safety regulations and prohibitions on imports and exports remain in place. The ChAFTA does not allow food importers to bypass Australia’s food safety standards and import contaminated foods. Our science based biosecurity system remains in place.

Importantly, this agreement is a significant win for all the producers of fresh and processed food in my electorate. China buys more of Australia’s agricultural produce than any other country, and that is only expected to grow with this landmark agreement. China is Australia’s largest agriculture and fisheries export market, worth $9 billion in 2013-14, up from $5 billion in 2010-11. The absence of a bilateral FTA with China has meant Australian producers and exporters have faced significant tariffs on agricultural products and have been at a competitive disadvantage to countries that have an FTA with China, such as New Zealand.

The ChAFTA gives Australia a significant advantage over larger players such as the US. Let me give you some brief examples. Tariffs of up to 65 per cent on spirits, like the famous Bundaberg Rum, will be eliminated within four years. There will be elimination of the 10 to 25 per cent tariff on macadamia nuts within four years, and elimination of the 10 to 30 per cent tariff on all fruit, except citrus, within four years, with the tariffs on citrus eliminated in eight years. It also means the elimination of the 10 to 13 per cent tariff on all fresh vegetables within four years. Tariffs will also be eliminated on canned goods, fruit juices, chocolate and honey.

Australian seafood exports to China totalled $37 million in 2013-14. Tariffs will be eliminated progressively over the next four years on all Australian seafood exports, including crabs, scallops and prawns, which is good news for the people in my electorate.

China has guaranteed that Australian service suppliers are able to construct, renovate and operate wholly Australian-owned hotels and restaurants in China. Australian medical service suppliers will be able to establish wholly Australian-owned hospitals in China. China has made its first ever commitment in an FTA on aged-care services, allowing Australian medical service suppliers to establish wholly Australian-owned profit-making aged-care institutions in China with no geographical restrictions.

What all this means is that our local businesses will find it easier to break into or expand within the Chinese market. Growing their businesses ultimately leads to the creation of more local jobs—jobs that are desperately needed in my electorate. They are jobs for current and future generations, and I am absolutely delighted to be part of a government that has delivered such a landmark agreement. I commend the bill to the House.