Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

This is pretty typical of the coalition. They try and find some area where there is a problem and then they say that applies across the industry. Well, it does not apply across the industry. We see the coalition do this for the trade union movement. They try and find a problem and then they say that is the issue across the whole trade union movement. It is pretty typical of how that mob over there operate.

If you want to talk about fees, let us talk about fees at former Senator Bob Day's college in Adelaide, which you have provided with $2 million. At $90,000 per student, it took $2 million to train 20 students over four years. If you want to talk about rip-offs then I think you should have a look closer to home and not attack the TAFE system. There is a lot more to come out about that, as you are well aware. To stand there and attack the TAFE system when you are involved in an absolute rort with your former mate, former Senator Bob Day, I think beggars belief. Do not stand there holier than thou—than anyone—on the basis of the TAFE system having a problem when you are establishing problems in the training system yourself. Two million dollars to guarantee votes in the Senate was what you were about, and what the coalition were about, and money was no object in terms of that. So I am not going to have the TAFE system slandered by a minister who is prepared to pay anything to guarantee a vote in this place.

You have actually indicated yourself that TAFE would get special treatment because they were not the big part of the problem, so, in my view, this request that we are putting forward is consistent with what you have said. TAFE are not the problem. You are about creating problems, not fixing them. We stand by these requests, and we think it is the appropriate and proper thing to do to back the community sector system, to back the state systems, to back the system that has proved its worth over decades in this country and to make sure that we give them an opportunity to operate effectively and that the students in the TAFE system are properly looked after.