Wednesday, 19 March 2025

 Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:06): I am delighted to advise the house that as of this month 200,000 Victorians have signed up for a free TAFE course right here in Victoria. It might be a young person, a mum or a dad kickstarting their future. They could be training to become nurses. They could be training to become builders or plumbers or early childhood educators – the kinds of people in our workforce that our state needs. They might also be upskilling to pursue that career they have always wanted to have but not been able to access without the support of my government’s free TAFE program. They could be other Victorians that want a bit of spice in life, want a bit of an adventure. They might want to go and study a certificate III in tourism, for example, and go and find work travelling on the high seas. But most importantly, what our free TAFE program means is there is $600 million that is sitting with families right now because of our free TAFE program.

Contrast that to a different approach, which was cutting TAFE, shutting TAFE and locking the door. We remember well in Lilydale how we had to literally unlock the gates and invest in an important institute for our city and state. And because of that we can now see, as I said at the outset, 200,000 ‍Victorians signing up for free TAFE to go and pursue their careers, to pursue their aspirations. We have supported TAFE, we have saved TAFE and we have made it free for those Victorians who want to pursue their career.