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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-06-02 Daily Xml
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The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:52): If the minister claims that she is not aware of the TAFE job impact, why is it reported in the InDaily of yesterday that she said that she did not believe the impact would be large?

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The honourable minister, the opposition spokesman had the floor, so it would be good if you refrained from making comments. Do you want to repeat that question?

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Given that the minister has advised the council that she does not know the TAFE job impact, how did she come to be quoted on ABC radio yesterday—

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Mr President, can I have the call, please?

The PRESIDENT: Minister, please show the same respect I expect from the opposition to ministers answering questions. So, just desist from interrupting when a member is asking a question. The Hon. Mr Wade.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Given that the minister—

The Hon. G.E. Gago interjecting:

The Hon. S.G. WADE: I think the minister might find it harder to respond to my question if she didn't hear it.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Wade.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: My question to the minister is: given that she says that she does not know the impact on TAFE of this decision, in terms of employment, how did she advise ABC radio yesterday morning that she does not believe the impact will be large?

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) (14:53): Both of those assertions are incorrect, so I refute those. What I did say on radio was that I didn't believe that the impact would be as large as what some were indicating—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Is something funny?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: I can't believe that the Hon. Rob Lucas is laughing at these challenges that the private sector is facing. I cannot believe that he sits there, smirking and laughing, at this really challenging time that this sector is facing. He thinks it's funny; he's giggling away. I can't believe that, Mr President. It's absolutely hideous. They should show some respect.

What I did say on radio was based on the fact that we have already met with a number of private providers who have raised concerns. They have indicated a particular impact they believed the changes were going to make on them and, when we unpicked their particular business case, it was found that it was going to have nowhere near that impact because there were elements they have not taken into consideration and there were elements around the pipeline subsidy that had not been taken into consideration as well, particularly in relation to Jobs First, which is a separate bucket of money.

When we were able to make these providers aware of that, it certainly had the potential to lessen negative impacts on their businesses. They obviously need to go away to rethink and redo that. Clearly, we're not going to be able to eliminate all of that challenge but, where we have been able to, we have sat down and worked through specific business cases and have been able to minimise the impact wherever we can.

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