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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-10-13 Daily Xml
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Skills for All

The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:47): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills a question relating to Skills for All.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: By way of background, I draw the minister's attention to two emails. The first email is between the board secretary of TAFE and the director of human resources at TAFE, dated 16 April. It reads in part:

Thanks Alex.

I am of the firm view that we need to submit a separate submission as TAFE. It is important that the federal government hears the TAFE experience from TAFE SA as a statutory authority.

The second email is from the chief executive of TAFE to Ms Denley dated 16 April, which again in part reads:

Thanks Jo.

Yes, there is a bit of funny business going on re our submission to the TAFE inquiry. I've sent the Minister's Chief of Staff an email asking her to clarify matters as to what Ray is saying is quite different to the process agreed (in writing) with the Minister's office…If they do change their minds, I would recommend you having a conversation direct with the Minister as this does undermine the authority of the board which is an important principle to get straight with a new minister.

Did the minister have a conversation with the TAFE board as foreshadowed in the email? Secondly, in relation to a written submission, not any possible oral appearance, did the minister or her office have any discussions with 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) (14:49): What was that?

The Hon. S.G. WADE: That they couldn't make a written submission.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Sorry?

The Hon. S.G. WADE: That they couldn't make a written submission.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Like I said, this is just a waste of our time in this place. I have already answered these questions. It is just like a tautology, one opposition member after the other asks the same question in a different way, and I have already answered them. I am happy to continue to work the clock down.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: It is a free world. People are free to communicate. We do not cover up and hide things. There are people who have different views that do not necessarily always concur with ours, and so be it. But there is nothing in this that is new, absolutely nothing that the opposition have put forward that adds anything new to this whatsoever. I think the first question was: did I discuss something with the TAFE board?

The Hon. S.G. Wade: No, did you have a conversation? They said they wanted to speak to you the next day, 17 April.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: The TAFE board?

The Hon. S.G. Wade: Yes.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: About? About a TAFE submission?

The Hon. S.G. WADE: About the fact that Ray Garrand, who is presumably the departmental secretary, was telling them to do something that was contrary to what had been agreed in writing with your office.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: To the best of my recollection, absolutely not. As I said, I have made it very clear that I categorically did not direct or request that the board either not make a written submission or not attend the hearing. What I did indicate quite clearly, and I don't recall how I did this, whether it was through my monthly meetings with the chair and the chief executive of TAFE or how, but what I did indicate quite clearly to them was that this government had made a decision that it was going to make a whole-of-government response to this inquiry and that TAFE could submit matters for consideration to be included in that but the government had made a decision there would be one whole-of-government submission. So, that information was certainly passed on but how it was passed on, I can't recall. The former question I have already answered several times today and in the past.

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