TAFE SA

Mr GARDNER (Morialta) (14:38): A supplementary: the minister has just said that she is going to make a public statement in due course, at some time. Why hasn't she come into the house and given a ministerial statement when she found out the information she has just provided?

Mr Knoll: Just hoping we didn't ask questions.

The SPEAKER: The member for Schubert is warned for the second and final time.

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Minister for Education and Child Development, Minister for Higher Education and Skills) (14:39): Not in the least. I am delighted by your questions. The matter is now a matter of public record. Although occasionally ministerial statements are used to repeat information that is already on the public record, it's not always necessary in the sense that as long as the public is aware that's what this institution is for.

This is moving reasonably quickly, so the advice was provided to the chief executive on Monday afternoon. I have been given a very preliminary briefing on the content of it. I have provided a comment to the media. What is really important is that we focus on the comments by ASQA itself, the authority that has undertaken this audit, that it is not unusual for an organisation the size of TAFE SA to have some noncompliance questions and that they are waiting for TAFE to respond in the allotted time.

Without wanting to create any sense of panic, what we need to do is pay serious attention to it and make sure that TAFE is responding in an appropriate way. I will be undertaking that. At a time when there is a need for a public statement, I will be making that statement.