Are more TAFE sell-offs underway in the Upper Hunter?

SHADOW Minister for Skills and TAFE Jihad Dib called on the Government to rule out any TAFE campus sales through a Public Interest Debate however the attempt to introduce an amendment to ensure TAFE campuses could only be sold with the approval of both Houses of Parliament fell flat.

Labor’s motion to stop further TAFE campus sales resulted in an extraordinary tied vote in the Legislative Assembly last night, with the Liberal Speaker using his casting vote to defeat the motion. Currently, the TAFE Minister Geoff Lee is the sole decision-maker over the sale of TAFE campuses.

Earlier in the evening, during Question Time, Mr Dib Called on the Government to rule out any TAFE campus sales through a Public Interest Debate and says he called on the government to debate this issue after it “virtually gave Scone TAFE away”.

He has asked the NSW Auditor-General to investigate the sale price of Scone TAFE and said the government has little belief in the public TAFE system.

“The amendment was quickly blocked by the Government before it could be put to a debate or a vote, in yet another demonstration of the Coalition’s unstable numbers in the Lower House,” he said.

Liberal Leader of the House Mark Speakman said the amendment would be a “significant fetter on the ability of the Minister” to sell TAFE land.

Mr Dib said the Government’s decision to block this important amendment is devastating for the future of publicly-owned TAFE campuses in NSW.

“It makes you think, which campuses are they so desperate to sell that they felt the need to block this?” Mr Dib said.

“It is obvious this Government is not going to stop with the sale of Scone TAFE, and today’s decision has reaffirmed this,” he said.

“The Government is systematically taking our TAFE system apart. Labor will continue to pursue this issue and fight against the Government’s agenda of privatisation and TAFE campus sell-offs,” Mr Dib said.

“They’re using the Connected Learning Centres as an excuse to sell off these community assets. A Connected Learning Centre is a complement to a TAFE, it’s not a full-blown TAFE. You can’t do animal husbandry, carpentry and other hands-on courses at a Connected Learning Centre,” Mr Dib said.

Labor fears Quirindi TAFE which has been closed for two years, and Singleton TAFE which is listed on the government’s portal as an asset of interest for private developers will further exacerbate the lack of skills training in the Upper Hunter.

Mr Dib said the Government’s privatisation agenda was once again highlighted during the debate.

“The Government sold Scone TAFE for $4 million. Will Quirindi TAFE now be sold? What about Singleton TAFE? We can’t rule out further sales of these types of assets,” he said.

“This government doesn’t care about TAFE, they see a Connected Learning Centre as an option, it is not. It’s a complement to TAFE, not a replacement. My advice to any Member of Parliament is if someone wants to give you a CLC and you have a TAFE there, then you can kiss your TAFE goodbye.

“They run TAFEs down, then start cutting courses, then when there are few courses, they sack staff, then sack support staff, then it’s ‘let’s sell this property.”

Mr Dib pointed to the skills TAFE equips students with and with an emphasis on more ‘hands-on skills required in the Upper Hunter, it is imperative to retain TAFE courses throughout the Upper Hunter.

NSW Labor Leader Jodi McKay said the vote last night showed that the Liberals and Nationals would go to any and all lengths to forge ahead with their agenda of TAFE sell-offs.

 “We’ve seen this Government lie to communities on this issue already, with Scone TAFE being sold less than a year after the Minister guaranteed it wouldn’t be. Who’s to say this won’t happen again at Quirindi or Singleton?” Ms McKay said.

Labor candidate for the Upper Hunter, Jeff Drayton, also weighed in warning more Upper Hunter TAFE campuses face being sold after the National Party voted in Parliament against keeping them in public hands.

“A Labor motion to stop further TAFE sales resulted in a tied vote in the Legislative Assembly yesterday, with the speaker’s vote defeating the motion. Every single National Party MP voted in favour of selling more TAFE campuses,” Mr Drayton said.

“They should tell us which campuses are in their sights. Scone TAFE has already been sold; Singleton TAFE is listed on a privatisation hit list for property developers,” he said.

“They won’t rule out replacing Quirindi TAFE with online learning. The National Party reckon selling Scone TAFE was a ‘great deal’ but I know we need hands-on skills training to support our kids and our local industries.

“Fully-equipped TAFE campuses are not too much to expect when we send $800 million to Sydney each year in mining royalties.”

The Shadow Minister for Property Yasmin Catley said TAFE helped boost jobs with the skills gained through TAFE courses in employment growth areas such as social services, disability, aged care and care.

She also says instead of planning a pipeline of new housing stock for vulnerable people across the state, the Berejiklian Government has outsourced the public housing issue to the private sector. 

“The online property portal they’ve published sets in train a statewide fire-sale of every public building, open space and government asset and it will achieve absolutely nothing for housing affordability or reducing homelessness,” Ms Catley said.

“There are over 50,000 applicants on the public housing waiting list facing up to 10 years of couch-surfing and homelessness before they are provided with permanent accommodation.”

The Labor Opposition has repeatedly called upon the State Government to invest in new public housing stock, first as a stimulus measure during COVID-19 but also as a long-term solution to the housing affordability crisis gripping metropolitan and regional New South Wales.

For more information on where candidates stand: Voting 101: Upper Hunter by-election.