Sharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Vocational Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak today in support of the committee's report TAFE: an Australian asset. This report by the House of Representatives committee was convened to finish an inquiry that was started during the 43rd Parliament, referred by Labor minister at the time, the Hon. Chris Bowen. The 44th Parliament committee was re-established in November last year, and in February this year Minister Ian Macfarlane referred the issue to the committee again with amended terms of reference.

There has been some comment about the decision of the Senate committee to also take up the commenced inquiry of the previous House committee and to conduct their own inquiry, which tabled its report in May this year. It is my view, I have to say, that the critical point we have reached in many states regarding the need for support of TAFE into the future means that the dual inquiries should only be viewed as a positive, as they have allowed multiple opportunities for stakeholders to put forward their issues and their concerns.

The 172 submissions and transcripts from the previous parliament were brought forward for the current inquiry, and the current committee held eleven hearings and inspections across capital cities and regional areas. I would like to also thank the committee for taking up an idea I had to conduct an online survey. This ensured the maximised opportunity to hear directly from students—current and past students as well as those who may plan to study in the future. This was a significant task, and I would particularly like to thank the committee secretariat for their work in undertaking and assessing that survey.

The survey was launched in May and closed at the end of July. It received a total of 6,635 responses, which covered both quantitative and qualitative feedback.

The report title very appropriately identifies that TAFE has a broad social and economic task that is unique to a public provider and that this has made it an important national asset for decades. In the report's introduction it references the Kangan report. The Kangan report underscored the recurrent nature of the themes that recur with TAFE. In 1974, the Kangan report said:

The main purpose of education is the betterment and development of individual people and their contribution to the good of the community. Technical and further education should be planned accordingly. Emphasis on the needs of the individual should lead to easier access to learning, to better physical conditions of learning, to suitable student and teacher amenities, to welfare facilities, and to the highest standards of health and safety in workshops and laboratories.

It went on to say that the demand for education throughout life can be expected to grow, not simply because of changes in technologies and social organisation but also because people will become increasingly aware of the practical advantages that it gives an individual in respect of employment and livelihood. Forty years later, it would be hard to argue that those themes are not as important to communities now as they were in the seventies.

The committee took extensive evidence of the value and trust that many individual learners and employers place in TAFE and heard many examples of situations where TAFE was the critical provider in ensuring, in particular, that thin markets were covered and accessibility and affordability were ensured.

The first identified task in the committee's terms of reference was to consider 'the development of skills in the Australian economy'. The committee concluded:

While the COAG framework broadly recognises the important role of public VET providers, the crucial position and role of TAFE within VET is not explicitly recognised. For the Committee this is integral to the issues raised in the inquiry and is a deficiency that should be rectified. As stated above, it became evident to the Committee over the course of the inquiry that a foundational articulation of the role and function of TAFE is necessary.

The first task was obviously a particularly important one to the committee, and the evidence pointed quite clearly to the need for a nationally recognised agreement on the role of TAFE. This is encompassed, I would argue, very effectively in the first recommendation of the report, which says:

The Australian Government should, through the Council of Australian Governments, make a value statement comprehensively defining the role of TAFE within the VET sector together with its future direction in the competitive training market, from a national perspective.

This statement should recognise that the affordability and accessibility of the training market is underpinned by a strong public sector provider and acknowledges the following functions that TAFE, as a major and significant not-for-profit public provider, can uniquely bring to the VET sector …

It then goes on to outline nine specific, unique contributions that TAFE, as a public provider, makes and that need to be protected. The importance of this recommendation is that it identifies the unique role that TAFE, as the public provider, plays. It begins the task of identifying, from the evidence presented to the inquiry, the efforts that would be lost if TAFE were only required to operate simply as another competitor in a privatised market. I have said before—and I will put it on the record in this debate—that there would be nothing more tragic than for all of us, at all levels of government and across community and industry sectors, to only appreciate the true value of TAFE once it was lost.

The first recommendation calls on the federal government to take responsibility for coordinating an agreed national statement—between federal and state governments—that defines this role and outlines the future direction for TAFE in any competitive market with a view to protecting, if not enhancing, the capacity of TAFE to do the many public-good tasks that we ask of it. It is, therefore, critically important that the minister and the government accept all the recommendations of the committee and urgently seek to implement them.

The second and third terms of reference required an investigation of the pathways that TAFE provides for further education and employment. The survey of students, in particular, contained powerful evidence of the transformative role that TAFE had played in connecting vulnerable learners, or those who needed a second chance at education, with appropriate courses and significant support services. The report contains much evidence directly from students on this issue. This is, in itself, a good reason for many of those listening to take the opportunity to read the report of the committee.

It would be fair to acknowledge that, in many of these submissions, survey responses and direct evidence to the committee, the affordability of TAFE—and more recent changes to fee structures—was consistently raised as a barrier issue for students. This led to recommendation 3, which encourages governments to look at how these price structures might be acting as barriers.

The other persistent theme that came consistently through the evidence was the negative impact of aggressive behaviours by some private providers in the sector who are using unscrupulous marketing and recruitment practices and delivering poor-quality training and assessment. While the private sector was not a referred issue in the terms of reference, the committee did feel that the evidence directly impacted the fourth term relating to the role played by TAFE in 'the operation of a competitive training market'.

This led the committee to recommendation 2, providing options for tightening the content and assessment of national training packages; recommendation 4, supporting strengthening of the role of the regulators; and recommendation 5, where the intention is to be able to identify through an independent source, such as the NCVER, the funding efforts of all governments for the VET sector but TAFE in particular.

TAFE is a highly valued and trusted provider of education and training across all communities and states. Its importance can be seen in the significant place it fills in current debates in pending state elections—in particular, Victoria on Saturday. I am pleased that the Labor shadow minister in Victoria, Steve Herbert, has outlined a strong Labor policy for the election on TAFE, in particular the important task of rebuilding the TAFE system, which has been decimated under the Napthine government. On the weekend the Labor shadow minister in New South Wales, Ryan Park, also outlined a very strong TAFE policy to also take to the next election there.

I would like to finish by thanking the committee chair, the member for Herbert, Ewen Jones; the deputy chair, the member for Perth, Alannah MacTiernan; and all my committee colleagues who worked in a very bipartisan way to produce what I think is an excellent report. I would also like to sincerely thank the committee secretariat—secretary, Dr Glenn Worthington; inquiry secretary, Mr Robert Little; research officer, Ms Rebeka Mills; and administrative officers, Ms Katrina Gillogly and Ms Jessica Ristevska—for their dedicated and professional work. (Time expired)

Matt Williams (Hindmarsh, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the Standing Committee on Education and Employment report, TAFE: an Australian asset, and acknowledge the comments by my committee colleague, the member for Cunningham. I appreciate her input into the inquiry as I do the many valuable contributions by other committee members in the inquiry this year.

It is commonly recognised that TAFE is a great national asset. The message of the value of TAFE in the Australian community was very strong throughout our various discussions, and as such we believe that the Australian government should acknowledge this value with a statement through the Council of Australian Governments. TAFE has unique functions out there in the community as a major public provider that contributes to our society and economy. It has got an invaluable role in reskilling and providing, often mature age workers, new opportunities. As our economy transitions, this becomes more prevalent. It is an important provider for second-chance education and is often a pathway to employment and university, avenues which are frequently supported through partnerships with industry and universities.

Skills development is a clear focus of TAFE and always has been. Can I just say on this issue that the skills and training that TAFE provides in Australia is internationally recognised. We heard from many industry associations and bodies about the high regard of TAFE in Australia from international experts and others. It was often compared to the tertiary system in Germany in terms of the quality of courses and outcomes.

The significant role played by TAFE as a provider of opportunities for those in positions of disadvantage and vulnerability was also a clear message that we heard and acknowledge. In some cases we heard stories of students where TAFE had literally turned their lives around. These were inspiring stories of how they undertook a course in various TAFEs around Australia and the transformation of their lives was significant.

We also took evidence in relation to the unscrupulous marketing practices by private training providers and other practices of concern. This is something that needs addressing going forward for there to be a more level playing field in the tertiary education system. How to do this is the next question. We met with ASQA, the Australian Skills Quality Authority, a number of times. We support the continued work of the Australian government through ASQA and other parties involved in addressing loopholes that allow high-risk and unscrupulous practices to endanger the experience of students, and in particular the reputations of training providers and outcomes. Too many times we heard, for example, of those who work in the resources sector having to climb and jump on a huge grader yet there had been no testing in that area by the training provider. So their training was not aligned to the actual job. There were times when there were hairdressers who came through some short course offered by a private training provider and they also failed a basic test of skills. There were too many stories. It was too common to hear of such instances, and this needs to be addressed.

In terms of the way that TAFE worked with industry I would like to raise a few points. It was widely acknowledged when we were in Adelaide that TAFE had close links with industry, with companies like Redarc. I acknowledge the member for Kingston, whose electorate covers where Redarc is based. I know Redarc has been a star in the South Australian economy. We need more stars like that. We need more Anthony Kiddles and more Redarcs around Australia and the same growth in small business.

Also, we had hospitality—Cordon Bleu and international hospitality schools that were based at Regency Park, linking well, using the facilities, training great chefs and those involved in hospitality management. There is potential growth in our economy coming from Asia, especially given the number of tourists, whether it be out of China, India or other areas of the world. They see Australia as a great tourist destination. There will be more jobs in hospitality and we will need more courses. We heard of examples where some courses for those involved in patisserie and other highly skilled areas in hospitality were not being adequately funded. This is a major deficiency. Some state governments, and I refer in particular to the South Australian state government in this respect, were not identifying and adequately funding the need.

I would like to say a few words about ASC, the Australian Submarine Corporation, because they were another industry participant that worked very closely with TAFE to get some great outcomes. I want to put on record my support for the workers at ASC, many of whom reside in my electorate. I know they do some good work there. They do have some challenging projects, whether it be the air-warfare destroyers. We know there are some improvements being made and there is much work to still be undertaken. But I reiterate that I have been down to ASC and I respect the work they do.

Moving to the South Australian government and the way they have treated TAFE, I want to quote from a few recent articles in the media. In July, retired TAFE chief Jeff Gunningham commented that the South Australian government was ripping resources out of TAFE. He said they were being driven by Treasury in South Australia and were 'all about reducing costs … At the end of the day, quality costs money.' He said, 'TAFE lost 18 per cent of their revenue and 15 per cent of their staff over the first 18 months of the reform …' How can the South Australian Labor government be serious about resourcing the necessary courses at TAFE by ripping resources out of the system.

We see this translating into jobs. With the South Australian government and economy crying out for opportunities, TAFE are being devastated by job cuts. David Pisoni, the shadow minister for education, who holds the government to account extremely well, made the good point recently on morning radio when he said there were cuts of around 500 jobs by 2018, again, directed by the South Australian state Labor government and their Treasury. They have had six training ministers in six years. It resembles the previous Rudd-Gillard-Rudd government in respect of the turnover and lack of stability. Also, there is $90 million less in the training budget because the South Australian state government cannot manage money and cannot fund the necessary social infrastructure that is needed.

I closing I want to pay tribute to the committee. The chair, Ewen Jones, did a great job. I also thank the secretariat, Robert, Rebeka and others, and, importantly, the TAFEs around Australia. Those service providers do such a great job. I have met many of the administrators of TAFE around Australia during this committee. I congratulate them on their efforts and their work—continue to keep up the good work. The Australian government recognises what you do and supports you all the way because of the vital role you play in the Australian economy.

Alex Hawke (Mitchell, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! It being 12.30, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.