This speech was delivered on 19/06/2014 in the NSW Upper House. You can read the full debate online here
Mr DAVID SHOEBRIDGE [12.17 p.m.]: I support and endorse the terrific work of my Greens colleague Dr John Kaye in bringing forward the TAFE Changes Moratorium (Secure Future for Public Provision of Vocational Education and Training) Bill 2014 to protect TAFE and to ensure that we continue to have a world-class public provider of vocational training in this State. I have heard a number of Government members suggest that the bill will place a limitation on TAFE. The only limitation will be an obligation on TAFE NSW to continue to exist and to be the primary vocational education and training provider in this State. That is a limitation that everyone involved in the TAFE system will be hoping this Parliament embraces.
The bill will secure the public provision of vocational education and training by reducing TAFE fees and charges, guaranteeing levels of TAFE staffing and resources, and imposing a moratorium on the Government’s damaging Smart and Skilled competitive vocational training market. If the bill is not passed, we will see TAFE not die the death of 1,000 cuts but over the next two years die the death of two gross and appalling cuts inflicted by this Government upon TAFE. The specific provisions in the bill to which I draw the attention of the House are to return TAFE NSW’s per student hour funding by the Government to a minimum of the 2010 levels, adjusted for inflation. What will that cost the State? Protecting TAFE will cost the State an estimated budget impact of $119 million. The bill will also, crucially, remove the ability of the Baird Government to go ahead with its plans to cut approximately $800 million out of the forward estimates for TAFE—$800 million out of the world’s finest public vocational education provider. If those cuts are allowed to go ahead it will be the death of TAFE. In fact, TAFE stands and falls on whether this legislation succeeds in its path through Parliament.
The bill will also freeze funds to private providers of vocational education and training at 2010-11 levels, adjusted for inflation. That will have a positive benefit on the budget, which will more than make up the increase in funding for TAFE proposed in this bill. The estimated positive impact on the budget of freezing the funds to private providers will be about $131 million—$131 million will be saved—and, instead of being spent on an array of private providers without the history, the structure and the obligation to provide services across the State that TAFE has, the money will go back to the public provider and ensure that TAFE has a secure future in New South Wales. The bill will also require the Government to maintain TAFE as the principal provider of technical and further education in New South Wales. It has such a fine history and reputation that providers and governments from around the world have traditionally come to New South Wales to see how good TAFE is; to see how it is that the New South Wales Government has such a fine world-class provider of vocational education.
Tragically, unless this bill succeeds, that reputation will be ripped to shreds. Requiring the Government to maintain TAFE as a principal provider of technical and further education in New South Wales is essential for the future of TAFE and it would consequently impose a block on any government policy that would increase competition with TAFE for the provision of vocational education and training. In particular, it would stop Smart and Skilled. Smart and Skilled would have to be the world’s worst euphemism for such a vicious attack on TAFE. Smart and Skilled is neither smart nor skilled. Smart and Skilled, which the Government has been pumping this year, proposes substantially increasing fees to students. Students will, under Smart and Skilled, contribute between 25 per cent and 45 per cent of the cost of their skills education. That will see 20 per cent of students having fee increases of more than $1,000 and approximately one in eight students having fee increases of more than $1,500.
Some courses under Smart and Skilled will attract fees of up to $8,490, which is the cost of an Advanced Diploma of Electrical Engineering, while certificate IV courses will have fees of up to $4,920 for things such as industrial electronics and control, and renewable energy. These fees cannot be covered by the Higher Education Contribution Scheme. This is money that students will have to pay up front before they can even enrol at TAFE. Smart and Skilled is a dangerous proposal for New South Wales and is disturbingly similar to the Victorian training market that we have seen drive that State’s TAFE system literally into the ground. A series of false claims have been made about the impact of this bill, including that it will put at risk hundreds of millions of dollars in Commonwealth funding. The fact is that it will not.
The Northern Territory in its negotiations with the Federal Government managed to retain a clause that provided that every dollar of Commonwealth funding under vocational education and training went to its public provider, and New South Wales can do the same. It allows the responsible Ministers at State and Federal levels to come together and negotiate to protect the public provider. This bill is an essential measure to protect States. My colleague Dr John Kaye has visited more than 20 TAFEs around the State in the past 12 months. He is a fabulous advocate for public education and a wonderful advocate for TAFE. I commend his work and I commend the bill.