Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today is National TAFE Day, a day to stop and think about all the good work that TAFEs have done. My mum went to TAFE, I went to TAFE, my son went to TAFE. TAFE was a godsend for someone like me—someone who may not have been the best at school, but who likes to get stuck in and do things, practical things. Back in the day, TAFE was where things were at, but we've let things go over the years and now TAFE is a far cry from where it was. It's time to give TAFE a facelift and bring it back into the modern world, to make it 21st century.

The government made some announcements recently: 180,000 new fee-free TAFE places and $3.7 billion funding over five years to reform the VET sector. That money is a bit funny, given that Labor and the coalition teamed up three years ago and ripped the guts of $4 billion out of the future education fund. These announcements are all very well and good, but we need to overhaul how TAFE works and make sure it's effectively plugging the gap of our skills shortage. We need to look at the core structures. Some of the courses are outdated, or they take too long and have unnecessary red tape. We need to think about TAFE relationships with industry and how to add value with the private sector.

Don't get me started on the need to invest far more money into our TAFE schools. They're not fit for purpose. Every year that the schools are left without money, it's going to cost more money to get them up to scratch. We've got schools with rust on the floors and asbestos in the ceilings, and equipment dating back to the Cold War. One Tassie TAFE even has a bit of rabbit play going on. We can't provide proper equipment and classrooms to learn in, and that's if you can learn at all. A teacher shortage is causing courses to be cancelled left, right and centre. Twenty apprentice electricians on Tassie's north-west coast have had their training blocks cut because there isn't anyone to teach their course. The course won't start again until next year.

I'm sick of standing up here like a broken record banging on about this. We know these problems exist. Get them prioritised and get them fixed.