Michael Ronaldson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Special Minister of State) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to speak tonight about a matter of great concern in the Geelong region. It involves two members from the other place, Mr Marles and, in particular, Mr Darren Cheeseman, the so-called member for Corangamite. I will provide a quick potted history because I have a short period of time tonight. On 4 September 2007 the Prime Minister and Ms Gillard made a lightning visit to the Oberon High School in Belmont, promising $600 million for secondary schools in Victoria to build trade training centres. I note this was the only visit to Corangamite by the now Prime Minister. It is reported in the Geelong Advertiser that as a result of this visit:

The leaders were also thanked by the Corangamite candidate Darren Cheeseman and Corio candidate Richard Marles.

“For us this is practical business, it’s core business. It’s the education business, it’s the training business. And it’s very good also to be able to partner with school communities like this one at Oberon to make sure each young person can realise their potential.”

There is no potential being realised down there as a result of the complete inactivity of the member for Corangamite, Mr Cheeseman, and the member for Corio, Mr Marles.

On 15 July 2008, Minister Gillard announced successful schools for phase 1 of round 1 of the Trade Training Centres in Schools Program. According to the official documentation, no schools in Corio or Corangamite received funding for this program. However, on 18 July in the Geelong Advertiser it was reported that five Geelong and Bellarine Peninsula schools had together successfully applied for a trade training facility at one of their campuses. It was reported:

It was not yet known how much money … will be granted.

That was fascinating, because at the same time the member for Corangamite, Mr Cheeseman, was complaining that people had not put in for this particular program. But, rather than doing something about it, Mr Cheeseman chose to have a whack at the regional education authorities in Geelong and blame them for not doing the work to make sure that the schools were applying. He was given a lesson in politics by the senior education officer with the state education department in the Geelong region, Peter Brain. He said:

We don’t apply, a cluster of schools applies to the Federal Government directly, and each year the Federal Government will approve which ones get up and which ones don’t … 

So it was nothing to do with the state education department and nothing to do with the regional office but, again, everything to do with Mr Cheeseman, the boy wonder from Geelong, who has been an absolute failure as a member, again blaming someone else for his own inadequacies. Then we get to an op ed in the Geelong Advertiser on 23 July, again from Mr Cheeseman. It starts off:

THEY wouldn’t have a clue, mate.

Please excuse the stereotype. But I’m sure a lot of tradies in our region reading the news, fully aware of the chronic trade skills shortage, must be eating their pie, shaking their heads, and saying ‘They wouldn’t have a clue, mate.’

Later on in this article he says:

It’s time to get on with it and boost our trade school training capacity in this region.

Let’s give the next generation of kids a chance to buy a more affordable home, to get a trade behind them and work locally if they want.

At the same time, he was talking about this huge project at Armstrong Creek which was going to require tradies. Funnily enough, it actually did not get up under the Housing Affordability Fund. And what did Mr Cheeseman do? He blamed everyone—everyone except the very person who should have taken some ownership of this, the great buck-passer from the Geelong region himself, the member for Corangamite. In a newsletter in September 2008 the member for Corangamite was at it again, talking about:

… the $2.5 billion Trade Training Centres In Schools Program and Skilling Australia … which will deliver an additional 630,000 training places over the next 5 years.

At it again: talking the talk but not walking the walk. I go on to 12 February and again a report in the Geelong Advertiser. The report said that the Australian technical college at Geelong was going to be rolled into the Gordon Institute of TAFE. So they were closing down the Australian technical college and rolling it into the Gordon institute. It said:

It’s understood teaching staff will keep their positions but that some administrative staff will lose their jobs.

Well, lo and behold, a letter to the editor on Monday, 16 February, from the wife of one of these teachers, said:

I am writing in regards to the closure of the Australian Technical College in Geelong.

The college was originally started by the then Liberal Government when in power and since the change of government, the college is now about to close.

Many of the current teachers, my husband being one of them, have moved to the area under the incentive of a two year contract until December—

I think it says 2010; I can’t quite read this photocopy. It continued:

This has been terminated.

So the teaching staff have been terminated. This is all about the Australian Labor Party’s hatred of a very successful program: the Australian technical colleges program. That is not just from me. The member for Corio, Mr Marles, said:

While the Government focus in trade training will be through the $2.5 billion trade training centres in schools program, the Geelong Technical College has worked well, particularly with industry. We want to preserve what they have achieved …

Preserve it? They are getting rid of it, because they do not like the notion of success. They do not like the notion of the Australian technical college in Geelong working, so they have completely disregarded the views of the students, the teachers and others. While we are on that subject, there was also a quote from some students at this college, who said:

We’ve made such a good connection with the teachers, our understanding is that everyone’s getting sacked and whoever the Gordon—

as in the Gordon Institute of TAFE—

wants back they re-hire …

Mr Marles could not be contacted to comment on this. But again there is the banging on about this $2.6 billion program. The trouble with the $2.6 billion program is that none of it has gone to Corio or Corangamite—not one red cent of it. So we have all the talking the talk in relation to it but not one place delivered. Mr Cheeseman is happy for the ATC in Geelong to be culled, taken out and all the teachers sacked, and apparently rolled into the Gordon institute, but there is not one place. Where is this man when it comes to standing up for Corangamite? What a disgrace. He was elected a year and a half ago and he has done nothing. It is a pitiful record for a new member of parliament. I also note the comment of the Chairman of the ATC, Mr Michael O’Brien, in the Geelong Advertiser online version. He said:

We have been regularly advised the Geelong Australian Technical College has been among the best in Australia. This success has largely been due to the contribution of the staff and huge support and interest from industry partners …

That is what this is all about. This is about partnerships. That is why the ATCs have worked so well. That is why the 260 young people who had gone through the Geelong ATC thought it was such a success.

Then on 5 March, last week, it is revealed that the ‘education revolution’ has completely bypassed Geelong, with no schools receiving funding under round 1, phase 2, of the Trade Training Centres in Schools Program. It also now turns out that the cluster that apparently had been given funding has been unsuccessful. So it was reported that they had got it and now it has been reported that they have not got it. This is a huge slap in the face for Geelong. It is another example of the total inadequacy of the member for Corangamite, and quite frankly it is about time we had someone there who was prepared to stand up for the people of Corangamite and not someone who constantly buck-passes responsibility to other people. (Time expired)