Mr ANOULACK CHANTHIVONG (Macquarie Fields) (19:52): I speak in debate on the Apprenticeship and Traineeship Amendment Bill 2017 and join my colleagues in defending one of our great and valued institutions—our education and vocational training system. This bill is yet another example of this Liberal-Nationals Government's destruction of TAFE in New South Wales. Piece by piece, it is wearing down TAFE; its functions, its teaching staff and its campus sites, and courses have all been reduced. A number of my colleagues have outlined the facts and statistics on how TAFE has been diminished and devalued under this Liberal-Nationals Government. Compared to 2012 yearly enrolments are down by more than 175,000. There are now fewer than 5,700 teachers, and support staff have also been sacked. The so-called Smart and Skilled plan was neither smart nor skilled. This bill is another example of the Government's insidious intention of wearing down TAFE's valued reputation.
Luckily for the people of New South Wales, for students and families who want to skill up and have a better chance in the employment market, my good friend the member for Londonderry and shadow Minister for Skills is ready to defend TAFE at every point from the continued attack of this Liberal-Nationals Government. For many months she has travelled across New South Wales listening and talking to communities, teachers, students and families about the importance of TAFE and the need to defend it as an institution that our community greatly values—one that continues to give to people, especially young people, hope and an opportunity to skill up and enter the job market.
I commend her for her ongoing fight to save TAFE and create a vocational training system that is well resourced and, more importantly, valued by government. We went to Macquarie Fields TAFE last week and discussed the need to ensure that TAFE is not further diminished under this Liberal Government. It seems that $1.7 billion worth of cuts since 2011 is not enough for this Government; it keeps coming back for more. At the rate it is dismantling TAFE, it will not be too long before TAFE becomes a relic in a museum of historic educational institutions. It was of great concern to us both that there are fewer enrolments in TAFE across the board. What is more concerning is the number of students with a disability enrolling in TAFE. Since 2012, 14,567 fewer students who are most disadvantaged or disabled enrolled in TAFE. That is a concerning statistic. The continuous attacks on TAFE are reducing the opportunities for people to obtain adequate training and skills to enter the workforce. We need those skills for a working environment in which automation is changing the skills that are required.
The bill aims to abolish the Vocational Training Review Panel [VTRP] and transfer it to a government‑appointed bureaucrat, all in the name of cutting red tape. At the same time, it inserts more bureaucratic hurdles by allowing appeals to go to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal. It appears that by cutting red tape, we are adding more red tape. It shows that the bill is not about improving administrative efficiency or streamlining processes. It is masquerading as doing so but it has the insidious intent of breaking down TAFE and privatising its entire function. We have seen how the privatisation of vocational training service providers has worked out. Evocca College is a good example. Its students spent a lot of time and energy enrolling in the college, only for it to be closed, thereby leaving students and their families stranded. It has put unnecessary stress on their learning capabilities because they potentially have to start again.
It is fair to say that vocational training is often perceived as the second cousin to a university education. This view is wrong. Receiving vocational training and having a TAFE education is not a lesser qualification; it is different. They service different industries and the skills that are required. We must improve the perception of having a TAFE and vocational training education. We do not do that by attacking the institution of TAFE, its valued teachers and staff, and its reputation in the marketplace, which is what this Government has done since it came to office. The VTRP is an important element in the partnership between industry, employers, TAFE teachers and union representatives. Having a partnership with all the different stakeholders will no doubt produce a better outcome than solely transferring it to a single bureaucrat.
In Germany, TAFE and vocational training are extremely valued and well supported by all levels of government. In that system, there is a true partnership between industry, employers and students. They are well supported. There is no continuous ideological attack on TAFE as a public institution. TAFE provides jobs and its courses are often reviewed with the input of employers and its students. Under this Government, we have an incremental and insidious attempt to ensure that TAFE and public education are not supported with resources and, therefore, becomes worthless.
If this Government is serious about defending TAFE and defending its reputation to make sure that vocational training is equivalent to any university education, then it needs to accept Labor's amendments on the VTRP and ensure that TAFE is not continually sliced, piece by piece, starting with staff cuts and ending up with nothing at all.
Labor's amendments are sensible amendments based on the principle of defending public education and vocational training with a view to creating better partnerships within the system. I hope that Labor's sensible amendments will be accepted, but I know the record of this Government. When it comes to defending public education, TAFE and vocational training, those opposite will never listen. They do not listen to the community, the teachers, the students or the parents, and they are certainly not going to listen to members on this side of the House even though our amendments are sensible and based on good, solid consultation with the stakeholders in our local areas. I commend my colleague the member for Londonderry, the shadow Minister, for her efforts and hard work to defend TAFE and the opportunities it provides to our local communities.
