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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 04 Hansard (Wednesday, 31 March 2004) . . Page.. 1397 ..

years. In that time, the former Carnell Liberal government’s way of assisting vocational education and training within the ACT was to send funds which could have been providing real industry advice to government off to the ACT Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Mrs Burke: We now have a federal government that puts into ITABs for the first time ever.

MS MacDONALD: Those funds were never transparent, were never accountable. The ITABs could never actually get information about where the money was going, Mrs Burke.

Mrs Burke: Have you restored the funding?

MS MacDONALD: Mrs Burke talks about whether or not we have restored the funding. We provide $500,000 to the ITABs, which is something the previous government never provided. We provide $500,000—half a million dollars—which your former government never provided to vocational education and training.

Mr Pratt also talked about the federal government giving support for vocational education and training. As Mr Corbell has pointed out, it was the Keating Labor government that introduced the Australian National Training Authority. It was the Keating Labor government that made a difference by providing the links between industry, government and students in terms of getting up industry training advisory boards and setting up ANTA. It is the current Liberal government, under the so-called stewardship of Brendan Nelson—the fantastic minister we have looking after those areas!—that is allowing the Australian National Training Authority to die a very slow and painful death.

Mrs Burke: That is a ridiculous statement.

MS MacDONALD: It is dying a very slow and painful death, Mrs Burke. The Australian National Training Authority has had no real increase in its funds since the current federal government came to power, Mrs Burke.

I thank Ms Dundas for her support for this motion, but she said that it was ironic that the Labor Party was introducing the motion. Ms Dundas should be aware that the Labor Party is actually supportive of students. She made the claim that the ACT government was washing its hands of the student debt problem, as it had done with student accommodation, and that it was laying the blame at the feet of others. Ms Dundas, I have news for you: the finances for higher education and for vocational education and training in terms of funding TAFE in the main come from the federal government.

The other thing I would like to mention is that the Stanhope Labor government, far from washing its hands of this issue, is doing what it can where it can. As I am sure Minister Wood would attest to, the ACT government is providing student housing in the Currong Flats, delivered by Havelock Housing. Yesterday I was told that 14 or 15 students are being provided with accommodation in Currong Flats. We also provide between 30 and 40 postgraduate students with accommodation in ACT government housing. The ACT government is well aware that there is a problem with student housing. We are doing

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