Lee Rhiannon (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) Crows Nest TAFE is to be closed down and the Cammeraygal High School is to be expanded onto the site,

(ii) the New South Wales Government is planning to sell or partially sell 27 campuses in addition to Crows Nest TAFE,

(iii) increasing privatisation of technical and further education (TAFE) funding and the consequent increase in fees has been linked to a substantial drop in enrolments,

(iv) the closure of Crows Nest TAFE is a direct consequence of the 2012 National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development which has significantly damaged the public TAFE system, by accelerating public funding of private sector involvement in vocational education and training, and

(v) while the development of new high school capacity in North Sydney is urgently needed and the creation of a new school campus welcome, it is not in the interests of the North Sydney community to trade off education sectors against each other; and

(b) calls on:

(i) the Federal and New South Wales governments to restore secure funding for TAFEs in New South Wales,

(ii) the New South Wales Government to reopen a TAFE institution in the Crows Nest area, and

(iii) the Turnbull Government and the Labor Opposition to revisit the 2012 National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development to ensure that public institutions remain the core of education in Australia.