Tuesday, 22 March 2022

Ministers statements: TAFE funding

Mr ANDREWS (Mulgrave—Premier) (14:06): I was very pleased last Sunday to be at Kangan TAFE with my honourable friend the Assistant Treasurer as well as the Minister for Training and Skills from the other place to make a very significant announcement in vocational education and training—so jobs, but also a very important announcement for health and mental health— 10 000 additional TAFE places, many of which will be free because the enrolments will be off the free TAFE course list, together with substantial changes to the way people can access subsidised and indeed free skills. Previously we would take account of a person’s qualifications before they were seeking to enrol. Under these new places, the courses you have done in the past—your qualifications before this most recent interaction with TAFE—will not be relevant, and that is a reflection of the fact that circumstances have changed. The pandemic means that many people want to reskill, need to reskill—10 000 additional places.

So TAFE on its knees, TAFE gone, TAFE almost dead and buried: we have repaired the damage, and now we are making TAFE better and stronger than it has ever been because we need to provide people with alternative pathways but we also need to recruit in health and mental health, particularly mental health, thousands of additional staff. That was one of the recommendations of the royal commission, all of which have been supported by our government from day one. There has been no Damascus-like conversion required on this side of the house because what we know is that if you cut health funding you hurt patients. There can be no reform unless there is substantial funding. Victorians know who cut hospital funding, and it is no-one on this side of our chamber.