Vocational Education and Training

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:09): Is the minister suggesting to the house that somebody who is—

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Is this a supplementary or a new question?

Mr MARSHALL: Absolutely.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Alright, just asking.

Mr MARSHALL: Is the minister suggesting to the house that, in fact, somebody who is studying certificate II in year 11 this year may be forced to pay the full amount for certificate III for their year 12 studies next year?

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Minister for Education and Child Development, Minister for the Public Sector) (14:10): As I thought I explained yesterday and the day before, there will be a large number of courses that are available completely free for students to undertake—

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The leader is called to order.

The Hon. P. Caica: He's being rude.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: And so is the member for Colton.

The Hon. P. Caica: Well, I'm not being rude; he is.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: But you're being called to order.

The Hon. P. Caica: Yes, that's alright.

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! No, the Speaker would do what I have just done—that's called him to order and written it down. If you could all just keep a grip, the minister is answering the question.

Mr Marshall: Not very well.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Well, the leader is being disrespectful, I think.

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Question time can stop straightaway, if you would like it to. Minister.

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Well, don't be rude. Minister.

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE: From the briefings that I have received, it is relatively unusual for students to go from a certificate II in one particular subject to the certificate III in that particular subject. There are some where that is a clear progression, and the ones that we have identified are, indeed, on the free list, and that's where I have said that, although the briefings to date have given me some assurance that there won't be a challenge that has been identified, I am prepared to look at any anomalies that do crop up. I am not comfortable with the suggestion that is implied in the nature of the question, that I disregard this is an important matter—

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member for Unley is called to order.

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE: It matters extremely to me that students both have the opportunity to finish school and that they finish school with the kind of qualification that will get them jobs. I will therefore be monitoring this extremely carefully over the next few weeks. As I say, the subject choices I believe start in about six weeks' time. We will be working very closely with the Department of State Development to ensure that students have the choices that are consistent with their existing study and that provide them the best chance of both completing school and getting employment.

Mr MARSHALL: Supplementary.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Leader, and this is the third supplementary.