Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Education) Share this | Hansard source

Those sitting behind me are saying, 'It was your scheme; it was your scheme.' Let's have a look at the facts. This was something that was created under the Howard government, and in 2012, when the Labor government expanded the scheme, this mob supported it. This mob actually supported it in 2012, but then they sat back and did absolutely nothing when they were in government. The problem here is one of maladministration and a terrible lack of oversight and accountability. Five ministers over three years sat there, enjoyed having their new title, but did not do any work and clearly had absolutely no idea what was happening on their watch.

This amendment makes sure that what happened on their watch can never happen again. It ensures that the government have to publicly release the data on the number of students, on the courses that are in, on how much the loans have grown and on the amount of the fees. They have to release this data every six months, because we know that, whilst we cannot trust this Liberal government to do their job and provide adequate oversight, if it is publicly available we will stand up and do it ourselves. When it comes to supporting vocational education it is Labor who will stand up and fight for a strong sector and a strong TAFE system. We know that the sector, academics and the parliament will be able to keep a close eye on the job that five liberal ministers have shown they are too incompetent to do if this amendment is supported. I commend it to the House.

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