Parliamentary question without notice | TAFE SA
18/03/2015
The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills a question about vocational training in our agricultural sectors.
Leave granted.
The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: Despite the government’s frequent claims of supporting premium food and wine and job training opportunities in this state, we constantly see examples of how the government fails to match its rhetoric with concrete actions to benefit South Australians looking for work in the food and agricultural sectors. One such example has been brought to my attention recently by a farming family in the South-East.
In this example a young woman and her family are having to undertake fundraising activities in order for her to successfully complete her final year of Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing. The reasons she and her family have undertaken the fundraising is a 476 per cent increase in the fees being charged by TAFE SA to complete her course. My questions to the minister are:
1.How can she justify the increase of TAFE SA’s price for Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing from $1,595.90 last year to $7,600 this year?
2.Given her government’s commitment to premium food and wine and job training opportunities across the state, why is she allowing such exorbitant increases in prices to occur for agricultural training courses?
3.What is she doing in order to support affordable training places in our agriculture and food sectors?
The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers): I thank the honourable member for his most important questions. The Hon. David Ridgway knows only too well that questions about operational matters in relation to TAFE SA activities should be directed to them. He knows very well that the setting of fees and how they are allocated are matters for TAFE and for other training providers. I would encourage the Hon. David Ridgway to direct those operational questions to TAFE SA. This state government does indeed ensure that our government priorities are reflected in all government activity, including our training activities, and that is why so many—
Members interjecting:
The PRESIDENT: The minister is on her feet trying to answer a question. Please have the decency to allow her to give the answer in peace. Minister.
The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Thank you, Mr President. That is why this government continues to provide significant subsidisation of VET courses right across, and we particularly ensure that those areas that align with the state’s priorities are reflected in the way we subsidise. We know—and I have been in this place before and indicated on numerous occasions—that, in terms of Skills for All, additional once-off funding was made available to enable this government to reach its target of achieving 100,000 additional training positions in South Australia.
We did that. In fact, we exceeded that target and not only did we do that, we delivered that earlier than anticipated. We delivered it within the first three years. Those funds have been expended on achieving that target, and we know that the levels of funding are returning to the pre Skills for All levels, which did not include that once-off additional funding. It is not surprising that TAFE SA and other training bodies reflect those changes in the way they are describing their fee structures into the future.
The PRESIDENT: Supplementary, the Hon. Mr Ridgway.
The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition): Has the minister ever been briefed on the operational matters that see price rises of some 476 per cent?
The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers): I have said time and time again in this place that the setting of fees is an operational matter and a matter for TAFE. I was made aware of the fee structures that were being put in place, but I was not consulted about that; that would be completely inappropriate. I did receive information about that but, as I said, these are not matters for me to interfere in. The board is an independent statutory authority and is responsible for the day-to-day management decisions of TAFE SA, and they do that extremely well.
The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition): Further supplementary: given that the minister has just admitted that she has asked questions and been provided with some answers on the fee structure, did she inquire as to why the fees had gone up some 476 per cent for this particular course?
The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) ( 14:23 :59 ): Yet again, we see the Hon. David Ridgway come into this place and deliberately mislead this place. He knows he is misleading this place. He knows that in my answer, I did not in fact say that I had asked questions about the fee structure. He knows I did not say that. What I said was that I had received some information about proposed fee structures but was not consulted. He knows that was the language I used. He knows that, and yet he comes into this place day after day and misleads this place, and it is a dishonest way to be using language and information.
Again, I can say I was given information, Mr President. Part of that information in relation to the fee structures was that there were, if I can recall, in some areas and there were decreases in others that reflected the costs associated with the delivery of those services.
The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition): Final supplementary: will the minister commit to asking her agency for a breakdown of why the fees have gone up 476 per cent and supply that to the chamber?
The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers): Mr President, the Hon. David Ridgway is just lazy; he is just a lazy, lazy opposition spokesperson. Bone lazy and bone idle, that’s that he is. He knows that it would be relevant to direct those questions to the TAFE board. These are operational matters and it is completely inappropriate for me to interfere in day-to-day operational matters.
The Hon. David Ridgway knows that and he is so bone lazy he can’t even get off his backside and pick up the phone or write an email to TAFE SA and request information around these matters. That’s how lazy he is—bone lazy. He wants to be spoon fed; he wants someone to go and get that information for him and bring it back. Well, Mr President, it is an abuse of this chamber. It is an abuse of each and every one of us and our important time.
The responsibility lies with the board of TAFE SA; they are responsible for the day-to-day operational matters. I have, on several occasions, invited honourable members that have got queries or questions, or want information or advice, to approach TAFE SA directly, as they should be doing.
The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: For future reference, could the minister tell us what, if any, are the non-operational matters relating to TAFE, so what can we actually ask the minister about in relation to TAFE?
The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers): I have already indicated in this place what the responsibility of government is in terms of broad policy and I have also indicated that we are the funding provider and that TAFE is the service provider. It doesn’t take rocket science to be able to work out which questions would be relevant to ask the minister and which questions would be relevant to send on to the board.
