Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Small Business) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Calwell for her question and her dedication to vocational education and training, and her support for the Kangan Institute of TAFE in her part of Melbourne. Vocational education qualifications are a passport to a better job, to a higher pay packet and to a secure future for so many Australians. Skills training is, of course, vital for our economy to ensure we have the skills we need. Of course TAFE is at the front line of this. The government are introducing reforms to create a more accessible and equitable training system, a more transparent vocational education system and a more efficient VET sector that responds to the needs of students, employers, and industry. We have invested at record levels to make this happen. We will invest more than $15 billion over the next four years in skills and training, and that compares to $9 billion for the last four years of the Howard government.

I have been asked by the honourable member about the importance of training and about the implications of cuts. This is not a hypothetical question. We are seeing the implications of cuts to vocational education right up and down the eastern seaboard of Australia. Victoria has cut $300 million from the TAFE system. This will see campus closures, staff redundancies and course fees increase. The New South Wales government is sacking 800 TAFE teachers and students will be hit with a nine per cent TAFE fee increase. In Queensland, 13 campuses are being closed and Premier Newman is threatening to close 25 more TAFEs. These cuts represent a real risk to our economy and are affecting thousands of people.

There are examples in the electorate of the member for Calwell and the member for Wills, who I know are very concerned about the threat of closing 52 courses at the Kangan Institute in areas like building, hospitality and business. To use just one example: the implications for Nadine, from the Member for Holt's electorate, a mother of twins from Cranbourne North who has had all her night classes cut in a diploma for community services. She now has to make the difficult decision about whether to work or study. These are the implications of the cuts. All members of this House should oppose these cuts and members on this side of the House do. But, alas, it is not the case for all members the House. The member for North Sydney has said Campbell Neman's cuts were 'pretty reasonable' and more power to his right arm. That shows you what will happen if he gets his hands on the purse strings. He has to find the $70 billion from somewhere and he will have vocational education and training in his sights because that is what Liberals do.

See this speech in context