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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-06-04 Daily Xml
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National Partnership Agreement on Skills Reform

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (15:04): My question is directed to the leader of the government. Can the minister explain why a greater guaranteed share of subsidised training places is required for TAFE in years 4 and 5 of the national partnership agreement when measures to assist TAFE to adapt to contestability were meant to have been applied from the start of the national partnership agreement?

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) (15:05): I thank the member for his questions. Indeed, they were applied from the beginning of the partnership agreement and they continue to apply right throughout the agreement, and we believe that WorkReady fully complies with all aspects of the national partnership agreement.

As I put on the record in this place before, the contestability component of WorkReady for 2015-16 continues to remain at 25 per cent, and that still exceeds that which most other jurisdictions have ever achieved. We have successfully met all our national partnership agreement milestones—not only met them all but exceeded them in most cases. I am absolutely assured that WorkReady continues to comply with that agreement.

It is a absolute disgrace, an absolute disgrace, that Senator Birmingham, a South Australian senator, would indicate that he is prepared to renege on the commonwealth government's commitment to that national agreement; prepared to renege—he is prepared to just walk away. What does he think that will do? Not only is it an incredibly treacherous thing to do, to renege on an agreement, but what does he think that will do?

Does he somehow think that will hurt the government? That money is training money that goes to students to help prepare them for jobs. So, Senator Birmingham, a South Australian senator, is prepared to punish South Australian trainees or students. It is an absolute disgrace, because that is what that partnership money is spent on: it is spent on providing subsidised training to South Australian students to better prepare them for employment outcomes. What an absolute disgrace Senator Birmingham is!

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