TAFE SA

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (15:00): My question is to the Minister for Education, Training and Skills. How many fee-free TAFE places will go to non-government providers out of the 15,000 announced for South Australia earlier this week?

The Hon. B.I. BOYER (Wright—Minister for Education, Training and Skills) (15:00): I thank the member for Morialta for the question. It is very pleasing to get a question from the opposition about fee-free TAFE, I must say, because it is such an important policy and investment for this state. Already I have been on my feet in this place during this question time talking about workforce challenges, as has the Premier.

We know we have skills pressures and professions in demand in a whole variety of areas, not just here but right around the country as well. We were very quick to sign a one-year partnership with the new federal Labor government last year that delivered twelve and a half thousand fee-free places, and a number of those were for non-government providers as well.

I said from the outset it was important that, if we are to actually make a dent in the skills shortages we have here, we need to have all parts of our skills and training sector pulling together where we could, and I thought we were pretty generous in the way we did that with the first tranche of fee-free TAFE positions. I am happy to come back to the member for Morialta around what will be provided in this next tranche of fee-free TAFE positions, which is 15,000 across three years.

So many of the jobs and qualifications that have been provided on that list, that people can access fee free, are areas that are in incredibly high demand and sought-after by a full range of industries. An example I gave when I stood with the federal Minister for Skills and Training at the Tonsley Innovation Precinct this week, and at Urrbrae TAFE, was that in the case of a Diploma of Nursing, for instance—a two-year diploma which is on the fee-free list—the saving to a person who could access that fee-free course would be in excess of $11,000.

For someone accessing early childhood education and care, one of the critical qualifications we need to build the workforce to deliver our three-year-old preschool, the saving would be close to $5,000 over the life of that degree. These are really important investments—

An honourable member interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: As the Premier has said, from day one, in the very first press conference I did with the Premier upon coming into government, at the TAFE CBD campus, where we went to announce that we were returning degrees in disability individual support, ageing—

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Point of order, sir.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister, there is a point of order.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Standing order 98: the question was rather narrow. How many places were to be provided to non-government providers? The minister is nowhere near it; he is debating.

The SPEAKER: Very well. Minister, I bring you back to the question. It may be that you are coming to your conclusion.

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: Thank you, sir. As I said, I greatly appreciate the member for Morialta's interest in this topic—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister has the call.

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: The member for Unley, the architect of TAFE's demise, has chimed in. It is always fantastic to hear from him.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: How does the saying go? There is no 'i' in team, but there are three in 'David Pisoni'.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: That is exactly right.

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister, that is close to the line.

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: As I said earlier in my answer, sir, I will come back to the member for Morialta—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Members interjecting:

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: I will just sit down then, that's fine.

The SPEAKER: Has the minister concluded his answer?

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: No, I haven't, sir.

The SPEAKER: Then you have the call. The minister has the call.

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: If only they could find this passion at other times, sir, it would serve them very well. As I said at the start of my answer, I will come back to the member for Morialta with specifics around this tranche; I didn't say that I didn't know. But this is a government that has committed from day one—

The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Morialta!

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: This government has committed from day one to rebuild TAFE after four years of cuts.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: Four years of cuts—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Morialta is warned!

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: —by the member for Morialta and the member for Unley.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: That is exactly what it was.

The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Morialta!

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: Now they are trying to rewrite history. No-one is buying it.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: You can keep shouting in your echo chamber, nobody cares.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister—

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: We are going to get on with rebuilding things, and you will be a little footnote on history.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Morialta! The minister has concluded his answer, and question time has also concluded.