Parliamentary Speeches
Australian Technical Colleges ( 09/05/2006)
Mr DONALD PAGE (Ballina—Deputy Leader of The Nationals) [4.50 p.m.]: Firstly, may I say what a disappointing contribution that was from the Minister for Education and Training in New South Wales, given that we have some genuine issues with skills shortages in this nation and in this State. I am particularly disappointed with the political nature of her comments. The Minister accuses the Federal Government of being narrow and ideological, but she is just as narrow and ideological in relation to Australian workplace agreements [AWAs]. The Federal Government set out the criteria for these Australian technical colleges at the very beginning of the exercise. The New South Wales Government can be under no illusion as to what the criteria were.
Essentially, the sticking points are threefold. Firstly, the Federal Government rightly insists that there be local control and local influence in relation to the governance of these Australian technical colleges and that the business community in particular, but also the local community, will drive the agenda. The New South Wales Government knew that right from the start and yet the applications that came forward from the New South Wales Government were from the Department of Education and Training, which was never going to meet the criteria because it is not the local business community. Let us have some honesty in the debate.
Australian technical colleges [ATCs] have had to be set up largely by the Federal Government because of the failure of the States to deliver what the market requires in relation to skilled labour. There are widespread skills shortages right across the range: in automotive, building construction, electrotechnology, manufacturing, commercial cookery and engineering. The Federal Government has committed $343.6 million until the end of 2009 to establish 24 colleges across the nation. Eight Australian technical colleges are proposed in New South Wales. Far from the situation being a crisis, nationally four colleges are already open and another is due to open in August this year. The remaining colleges will open in 2007-08, as originally planned.
In New South Wales we have only one funding agreement out of a possible eight, and 11 funding agreements have been signed off nationally. The issues in New South Wales revolve around three points. First, governance. As I indicated, the Federal Government wants, justifiably, a strong local business capacity for control of governance on the board and does not want the Department of Education running the show. Secondly, the Federal Government wants to see school-based apprenticeships conducted in our schools. I want the Minister for Education in New South Wales to acknowledge that she has the capacity to enable school-based apprenticeships, certificate 3 level, to be conducted in schools. In fact, the Minister signed up to it under the Council of Australian Governments [COAG] arrangements. Students in New South Wales do not have that opportunity, unlike students in every other State. If the Minister is serious about supporting our students, instead of playing politics she should adhere to the COAG agreement that has to be put in place by the end of this year—in fact, she does not have to wait until the end of the year to do that. If the Minister does that she will remove one of three impediments.
The third impediment is this difficult issue of the AWAs. I hope we can find a way through this impediment, but certainly nothing the Minister has said gives me any confidence whatsoever. It is true that the Ballina bid was a very good bid. It was put in by TAFE North Coast, which won the national award for a large provider of technical education in 2004, and Ballina High School—an excellent high school—won the national award for the best vocational education training [VET] high school in Australia. There is no question of their ability to deliver. In her comments the Minister implies that I am suggesting we have got to have AWAs through our secondary schools. That is not the case. But we do have to have AWAs with the proponent—the TAFE college in this case.
My understanding was that when the Federal Government put the weights on the Minister last year in relation to the funding of $300 million from the Federal Government across to the State Government—and a condition of that money coming across was that the State Government would at least offer AWAs—the New South Wales Government indicated it was prepared to have AWAs within the TAFE system. No-one is arguing that we have to have an AWAs within the secondary system. In the case of Ballina, it is bloody-mindedness on the part of the State Government that it is not prepared to move to an AWA within the TAFE system or to at least offer that, knowing full well it is the major sticking point in relation to these ATCs in New South Wales.
Going back to the first sticking point, the issue of governance, it is my strong view that if the New South Wales Government was serious about trying to get these ATCs established in New South Wales, the first thing it would do is back off in relation to the governance issue and accept the fact that the criteria does not allow the Department of Education to control the show. A board could be set up where the Department of Education could be represented, but the controlling vote—should it come to a vote—would be with the local business community and the local education community. The Federal Government is saying it does not want the Department of Education to be running the ATCs because traditionally the State Government is supply-oriented in relation to the skills shortages issue whereas the Federal Government is demand-oriented—it is looking to meet the demands of the business community. The Minister for Education has the capacity to pick up the ball and say, ``Okay, we do not have to have the Department of Education running the show but we can have a board where it has representation and the local and business communities will have a controlling interest in relation to these boards that govern the colleges.``
In relation to the second of the three sticking points, the Minister has the capacity and the obligation to allow certificate 3 level apprenticeships to be introduced into New South Wales schools. Students in New South Wales do not have that opportunity because the State Government will not move to fix the problem. Instead of the Minister coming in here and bagging out the Federal Government, why does she not do what she has to do to introduce apprenticeships within the school system in New South Wales?
Thirdly is the issue of industrial relations where, again, some progress could be made if there was enough goodwill on both sides of government. The Minister for Education asks why I do not talk to the Federal Government. I have been talking to the Federal Government. I wrote not only to the State Minister for Education about the issue but I wrote also to the Federal Minister, and I have been talking to his staff about how some of these things might be sorted out. I have probably done more than the Minister for Education to try to get some sort of solution in New South Wales. New South Wales is dragging the chain with one college out of eight operational. There were 70 expressions of interest. There is a lot of interest nationally for these Australian technical colleges, with 70 expressions of interest, yet the Minister for Education comes into the House and plays politics at the expense of the students.
I suggest the Minister puts on her thinking cap and thinks about how she can meet the Federal Government's criteria, because those criteria were set out right from the beginning, and the Minister knew what the rules were. The Federal Government is providing the money; there is not a State dollar in this. Given the fact that the States have failed to meet the demand to overcome skills shortages and the Federal Government is putting up $345 million, why should it not have the right to set the criteria?
Knowing the criteria, the Minister has an obligation to put up proposals to meet those criteria. She did not do that because she is driven by an ideological, narrow focus that is driven by the unions to not have an AWA, come hell or high water. Last year the Minister said she would have an AWA in order to attract $300 million from the Federal Government under the TAFE system. She has a big credibility issue with respect to apprenticeships in schools. She will not allow certificate III level apprenticeships in New South Wales schools because teachers do not like it. The Minister must grasp the nettle and show leadership. I have given her a solution to governance. She should set up a board to enable the local community and the business community to have control. If the Minister was fair dinkum she could do much to solve this problem. [Time expired.]
