TAFE SA

The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS (14:56): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Treasurer regarding TAFE SA.

Leave granted.

The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS: I wish to expand on the story of Jessica shared by my colleague the Hon. Emily Bourke. Jessica has shared her views and stated that she just wants people to know how much people will suffer if this TAFE closes, and this is something many would appreciate further information about. My questions to the Treasurer are as follows:

1. What will happen to the staff of regional TAFEs earmarked for closure?

2. Will redeployment and/or redundancies be provided to staff who are now surplus to requirements?

3. Has there been discussion with local TAFE management?

4. Are the services provided by regional TAFEs to be retained or privatised?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (14:57): Broadly, my answers to the honourable member's questions are the same as the earlier answers I gave; that is, we will adopt the same processes that the former Labor government adopted when they closed 14 TAFE sites in regional areas and in the metropolitan area. If the honourable member was happy with those processes that the former Labor government utilised then she will be very happy with the processes that the Liberal government is going to utilise.

If the honourable member was unhappy with the processes the former Labor government utilised then I would invite her to stand up and say that she was unhappy with the processes the former Labor government utilised and she would urge the new Liberal government to reject those practices of the former Labor government and adopt new ones. I am quite happy to accept that sort of advice.

The Hon. I. Pnevmatikos interjecting:

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: I am quite happy for me to accept that sort of advice and convey that to the minister in charge of TAFE. In relation to the general question about TAFE staff, where there are no longer jobs within TAFE, as occurred under the former Labor government, separation packages have been made available under the former Labor government and separation packages will be made available to staff under the new Liberal government in exactly the same way as occurred under the former Labor government. So if there is no longer a job for somebody within TAFE, that's how the former Labor government handled it and the Liberal government would handle it in much the same way.