Sarah Courtney,Minister for Skills, Training and Workforce Growth
Tasmania is now another step closer to delivering a more future-focused TasTAFE, with the TasTAFE (Skills and Training Business) Bill 2021 passing the Lower House tonight.
The Bill passed despite Labor teaming up with the Greens to vote against it, with Labor’s position on this important legislation now officially completely at odds with feedback from local businesses.
It was extremely disappointing that Labor did not appear willing to listen to the commitments made throughout the debate, or prior to the debate, and continue to use this Bill as an opportunity to undermine the confidence of TasTAFE.
That Labor would prefer to continue their failed scare campaign from the election rather than engage in a meaningful conversation about the future of training in our state speaks volumes for their priorities.
In stark contrast, this Government is committed to building a better TasTAFE by delivering on the recommendations made by the Premier’s Economic and Social Recovery Advisory Council earlier this year.
This is why our plan has the strong support of industry – because we are committed to securing opportunities for Tasmania’s learners, as well as our workforce, local businesses, and our economy for years to come.
The TasTAFE transition was committed to by the Government in March, before being taken to the 2021 State Election where the community had their say.
Let me be crystal clear for Labor once again – TasTAFE will never be privatised under this Government, and there will be no staff member worse off under our changes.
Our plan for TasTAFE will deliver the flexibility and investments it needs to recruit more teachers, deliver more training, develop new courses, build new facilities, and enable more access for rural and regional areas.
Labor now has one last chance to back local industry and deliver better training outcomes for our community when the Bill is debated in the Legislative Council.
