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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-06-04 Daily Xml
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Vocational Education and Training

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:27): My supplementary question is to the Premier. Has the Premier received any contrasting or mitigating advice to that of the Crown Solicitor when he corresponded with the government in July 2014, and I state:

The application of a differential subsidy to TAFE SA as part of the Skills for All funding arrangements also appears to be contrary to the principles of competitive neutrality which exposes TAFE SA to complaint and possible investigation.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier) (14:28): I think I have answered this question, sir. The risks that have been identified from a whole range of different areas were taken into account by cabinet when it reached the decisions that it took. Can I say that, when we wrote to the federal minister about this, and actually the Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, when we met with him on 31 March where we advised of the WorkReady policy to be announced on 1 April and the principles and intent, including all of the principles which bear on this question of competitiveness—

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Unley is very close to leaving.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —when on 8 May 2015 the Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills provided information to the Council of Australian Governments' Industry and Skills Council on the WorkReady policy, when the deputy chief executive of the relevant department wrote to the deputy secretary of the skills training department (the federal department) on 13 May providing and attaching a copy of the WorkReady policy, and on 29 May when we had a telephone conversation between senior state and commonwealth officers responsible for the National Partnership on Skills Reform, where we inquired, 'What was your minister talking about?', and they confirmed, 'We don't know what Senator Birmingham was talking about' when he was talking about withdrawing funding on the basis of our Skills for All announcements—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: When all of those things are said to you, I think you can naturally assume that it is politics that is being played on the other side of the debate about this important reform.

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The leader is warned a second and final time and now may ask a question.

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