TAFE SA

The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:27): I seek leave of the council to give an explanation before asking a supplementary question.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: I refer the minister to the submission of the South Australian government to the House of Representatives' committee on the South Australian government's response to the inquiry into the role of the technical and further education system and its operation in Australia dated May 2014, which reads:

It is to be noted that whilst TAFE SA is established as a Statutory Authority, from a financial accountability perspective it remains under the portfolio of the Minister of Employment, Higher Education and Skills, the same portfolio as DFEEST, the funding agency responsible for all of VET in South Australia, inclusive of private providers.

In that context I ask the minister why has she not sought a briefing on the TAFE redundancies to the Mount Gambier TAFE?

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) (14:28): I can only reiterate and I would have thought that the honourable—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Minister, sit down for a second. The minister is trying to answer a question from the Hon. Mr Wade. It is an important question and it is going to be an important answer so please let her do this in silence. The honourable minister.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Thank you, Mr President. The honourable member fails to grasp a very basic concept. I have explained it in this place several times before. There is a TAFE Act of 2012 that is available for the honourable member to read. The TAFE Act SA 2012 was brought into operation on 1 November 2012 and establishes TAFE SA as a statutory corporation. The legislation separated TAFE SA from DFEEST resulting in a more commercially autonomous position for TAFE SA, transparency between the public provider and the purchaser, and funder of training and access to income-contingent loans for eligible vocational education and training students.

As I have said, it is important to make it very clear: TAFE SA is a statutory authority governed by a board that is independent of government. This is not rocket science, and I have provided this information ad nauseam in this place, but the opposition just fail to grasp that the world has moved on; the previous modelling for TAFE has changed. It changed in a way that we made perfectly, publicly clear.

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Will the honourable member please allow the minister—

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Yes, well, you don't talk while the answer is being given.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: We were publicly accountable for the changes that were made. Legislation was passed through both houses of parliament. The world has changed, but the opposition just can't get it and they can't move on. Those changes mean that the day-to-day decisions of the TAFE SA board, including things like courses, the fees it charges, the student services and staffing issues are made by the board, not the government.

The government remains responsible for the strategic direction and framework of TAFE SA's operation to ensure that our strategic objectives are fulfilled, and that TAFE SA fulfils its statutory obligations. That is the different roles of the government and TAFE. I have explained it time and again. It is not rocket science, it is just that life has moved on. TAFE from 10, 20 years ago has changed. It is not the responsibility of the government, it is its own independent statutory authority. It is the service provider, the government is the service funder.