Legislative Council Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1) 53 1 Parliament of South Australia Legislative Council published Question Time TAFE SA TAFE SA The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS Legislative Council TAFE SA The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (14:26): My questions are to the Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills. My questions are: 1.	What is the operational status of TAFE on the APY lands and in Coober Pedy? 2.	How many full-time employee positions are filled and are there any vacancies? 3.	How many students are enrolled in both places and in what courses? The Hon. G.E. GAGO Legislative Council Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers TAFE SA The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (14:26): I thank the honourable member for his important questions. They are all day-to-day operational matters. As members in this place know, TAFE SA is an independent statutory corporation, and the board is responsible for its day-to-day operations. They are all detailed issues, and I invite the honourable member to write to or contact the chair of the board or the chief executive officer. They would have all of that detailed information at their fingertips. But, from a general policy point of view, this government is committed to ensuring that we have our VET services operating right throughout the state, including our regions. We provide extra incentives, if you like, additional funding, for our regions to assist TAFE to operate in the regions to help overcome some of the economies of scale that are lost by those sometimes smaller campuses and having to meet challenges, like the tyranny of distance.