TAFE SA

Mr GARDNER (Morialta) (15:02): Excellent. I will see if I can do two in one, sir. My question is to the Minister for Higher Education and Skills. Will TAFE SA be commercially competitive in 2018, as has been stated as a target by the minister and former minister Gago? Can the minister provide clarity as to which services will be protected from commercial competition to enable it to meet its social community and equity roles?

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Minister for Education and Child Development, Minister for Higher Education and Skills) (15:03): The target, as I understand it, is that from 2019 TAFE will be competitive in those parts of its business that are appropriate for competitive action and that there is a transition that begins at the beginning of the next financial year this calendar year, a transition where there is the beginnings of the steps towards that.

The task that we've set TAFE is a reasonably stiff one, a difficult one, and we will need to handle it with enormous delicacy in order to make sure that we support our public provider and that we make sure that the infrastructure and training in this state are well supported for the students of this state.