Thursday, 14 November 2019

 Ms TIERNEY (Western Victoria—Minister for Training and Skills, Minister for Higher Education) (12:06): Today is a historic day for adult community education in this state. At lunchtime today I will officially launch the ministerial statement on The Future of Adult Community Education in Victoria 2020–25. The ministerial statement will give the sector the acknowledgement and recognition it deserves as a key part of Victoria’s post-secondary system. It will properly define the sector’s role in supporting those in Victoria who most need foundation education and training to support their participation in work and further study and to participate in the local community as valued citizens. The statement will also set out ambitious goals for the Adult, Community and Further Education Board to deliver on in order to realise the vision put forward.

The ministerial statement has come about as a result of widespread consultation with the sector, culminating in the ACE Summit that I hosted in the middle of the year. This will be the first time since 2004 that a Victorian government has released a ministerial statement on adult community education. It was a Labor government that recognised the value of the sector last time, and it is again a Labor government that is giving adult community education the recognition it so rightly deserves. I regularly visit adult education providers and see firsthand the transformational impact that they have on people’s lives. While we still have work to do, I am proud that this government has put record funding into the adult community education sector. I look forward to working hand in hand with the sector to deliver the ministerial statement and continuing Victoria’s work to be the Education State.

Ms Wooldridge: On a point of order, President, under standing order 5.14, ministerial statements, there is a form in relation to the minister notifying the opposition in relation to ministerial statements 2 hours in advance of the debate being undertaken in the house. I seek some clarification as to whether that constitutes notification from the minister of a ministerial statement under the standing orders.

The PRESIDENT: Thank you, Ms Wooldridge. I was looking at that standing order just before question time, and the way I interpret it is that it is a completely different procedure to what has been prescribed in the change to the sessional orders to interweave 2-minute ministers statements into question time.

Ms Wooldridge: Further on the point of order, does that mean that the minister is not doing a ministerial statement or is doing a ministerial statement? She said she was undertaking a ministerial statement, which has a very clear process outlined under the standing orders.

The PRESIDENT: I think the semantics of it are that statements interweaved during question time, in between questions, are called ministers statements, not the prescribed ministerial statements. I know people might be laughing, but I have to say that we all own this book, not just me. We had an opportunity to adjust it at the start of the year, and that is exactly what is prescribed in the standing orders.

Ms Wooldridge: Sorry, President, but the minister got up and used her ministers statement to announce that there would be a ministerial statement. Ministerial statements are a longstanding process in this Parliament and are prescribed under standing order 5.14. I am just trying to seek clarification if it is actually a ministerial statement or it is not a ministerial statement.

The PRESIDENT: My understanding is that the minister was flagging she was going to make a statement external to the Parliament. Getting back to what is prescribed with the change to the sessional orders, during question time ministers are invited to make a ministers statement, and what is prescribed in the standing orders around ministerial statements is a different process. But, Ms Wooldridge, I am happy to go away and consider your points of order, and if we need to do a definitive ruling to clear up any concern, I am happy to do that. I always invite ministers to make a ministers statement in question time, which has been prescribed. As I said, we all own this book, not just me, and that is what it prescribes.