❓ Ms. Hamilton asks about the impact of reduced TAFE fees on training accessibility and the local economy. The Premier highlights the government's investment in TAFE, contrasting it with the previous government's policies.
AnsweredQoN 863Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
TAFE FEES
863. Ms E. HAMILTON to the Premier:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's significant investment in TAFE and its commitment to
helping all Western Australians get the skills they need to get into the
workforce.
(1) Can the
Premier outline to the house how this government's decision to reduce
TAFE fees for high priority courses will make it easier for Western Australians
to get into training?
(2) Can the
Premier advise the house how the government's lower fees, lower skills
policy will help support the local economy?
863. Ms E. HAMILTON to the Premier:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's significant investment in TAFE and its commitment to
helping all Western Australians get the skills they need to get into the
workforce.
(1) Can the
Premier outline to the house how this government's decision to reduce
TAFE fees for high priority courses will make it easier for Western Australians
to get into training?
(2) Can the
Premier advise the house how the government's lower fees, lower skills
policy will help support the local economy?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Joondalup for
the question.
I also acknowledge John and Kate De'Laney
and their daughter Mary-Jane, who are here this afternoon, and thank them for
their contribution to the very important issue of stillbirths in our community.
(1)–(2) Yesterday
we saw an important announcement by the state government that was all about
creating jobs and opportunities for our citizens. We know, and I think the
evidence is there, that it is only when Labor governments are in power that our
training system is properly supported and Western Australians get the best
opportunity to undertake training for the jobs this state provides. Yesterday,
we announced that we would slash TAFE fees by half—a 50 per cent
reduction for 34 important courses across the state offered in every TAFE
college across Western Australia. This builds on the freeze on TAFE fees we put
in place when we came to office.
The
fee reductions announced yesterday equate to a $53.5 million investment in TAFE
over the next two years to support over 3 000 predominantly young, but
not always, Western Australians getting the training they need to get into
important jobs in Western Australia. The fact of the matter is we would like to
have done more but, of course, we inherited record deficits and record debt
from the Liberals and Nationals when they were in office. Getting the state's
finances back to surplus and getting our financial health back in place has
been a priority for the government. However, creating jobs is also a high
priority for this government and this TAFE initiative will do that.
The courses in which we have
halved the fees include child care, aged care, tourism, hospitality, disability
care, defence, rail construction and agriculture. We took the advice of the WA
State Training Board and other organisations in targeting these initiatives at
these courses. Among the 34 courses, for instance, a certificate III in engineering for the mechanical and fabrication trade
has been more than halved as part of this process; the same will occur
for certificate IV in ageing support; and certificate III in civil construction
fees will be hugely reduced. These are all important courses in helping people
to get jobs within Western Australia.
Contrast this with the opposition's
approach when it was in office. I know members are all waiting for this. When
the Leader of the Opposition was training minister, she put up TAFE fees
enormously, for some courses by over 500 per
cent, and she gloated about it. When confronted on radio, the answers, it is fair
to say, were convoluted. Some would say they were nonsensical. The crux of it
is that she has admitted that the former government, the Liberal Party in
office, wanted TAFE fees to be cost reflective. If TAFE fees were cost
reflective, it would squeeze most Western Australians out of the training
sector. That is what it would do: it would squeeze young Western Australians,
particularly those from modest or working backgrounds, completely out of the
training sector. Her way of doing things when she was the training minister was
basically to squeeze Western Australians out of training. That is some record
that the Leader of the Opposition has! She acknowledges it. In fact, she gloats
that her intention was essentially to make TAFE unaffordable for ordinary Western
Australians.
What
has this government done? We have done the opposite. Yesterday, we cut TAFE
fees by 50 per cent. That is a $53 million investment for Western Australians
to get into training. If there is one thing that is in the DNA of Labor Party
members and, I think, Western Australians themselves, it is that we want Western
Australians to be trained for the jobs that are on offer in Western Australia.
That is exactly what this government is doing.
the question.
I also acknowledge John and Kate De'Laney
and their daughter Mary-Jane, who are here this afternoon, and thank them for
their contribution to the very important issue of stillbirths in our community.
(1)–(2) Yesterday
we saw an important announcement by the state government that was all about
creating jobs and opportunities for our citizens. We know, and I think the
evidence is there, that it is only when Labor governments are in power that our
training system is properly supported and Western Australians get the best
opportunity to undertake training for the jobs this state provides. Yesterday,
we announced that we would slash TAFE fees by half—a 50 per cent
reduction for 34 important courses across the state offered in every TAFE
college across Western Australia. This builds on the freeze on TAFE fees we put
in place when we came to office.
The
fee reductions announced yesterday equate to a $53.5 million investment in TAFE
over the next two years to support over 3 000 predominantly young, but
not always, Western Australians getting the training they need to get into
important jobs in Western Australia. The fact of the matter is we would like to
have done more but, of course, we inherited record deficits and record debt
from the Liberals and Nationals when they were in office. Getting the state's
finances back to surplus and getting our financial health back in place has
been a priority for the government. However, creating jobs is also a high
priority for this government and this TAFE initiative will do that.
The courses in which we have
halved the fees include child care, aged care, tourism, hospitality, disability
care, defence, rail construction and agriculture. We took the advice of the WA
State Training Board and other organisations in targeting these initiatives at
these courses. Among the 34 courses, for instance, a certificate III in engineering for the mechanical and fabrication trade
has been more than halved as part of this process; the same will occur
for certificate IV in ageing support; and certificate III in civil construction
fees will be hugely reduced. These are all important courses in helping people
to get jobs within Western Australia.
Contrast this with the opposition's
approach when it was in office. I know members are all waiting for this. When
the Leader of the Opposition was training minister, she put up TAFE fees
enormously, for some courses by over 500 per
cent, and she gloated about it. When confronted on radio, the answers, it is fair
to say, were convoluted. Some would say they were nonsensical. The crux of it
is that she has admitted that the former government, the Liberal Party in
office, wanted TAFE fees to be cost reflective. If TAFE fees were cost
reflective, it would squeeze most Western Australians out of the training
sector. That is what it would do: it would squeeze young Western Australians,
particularly those from modest or working backgrounds, completely out of the
training sector. Her way of doing things when she was the training minister was
basically to squeeze Western Australians out of training. That is some record
that the Leader of the Opposition has! She acknowledges it. In fact, she gloats
that her intention was essentially to make TAFE unaffordable for ordinary Western
Australians.
What
has this government done? We have done the opposite. Yesterday, we cut TAFE
fees by 50 per cent. That is a $53 million investment for Western Australians
to get into training. If there is one thing that is in the DNA of Labor Party
members and, I think, Western Australians themselves, it is that we want Western
Australians to be trained for the jobs that are on offer in Western Australia.
That is exactly what this government is doing.
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