Page 2814 - Week 08 - Thursday, 24 August 2006
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I am not sure if that is the case throughout the CIT or if it reflects a view inside government that it would rather shut down that high school than use the site more effectively. Mind you, I have also said that if the ACT government wants to compete directly with private schools, as is sometimes suggested, it could consider making Kambah high a selective academic high school and links with the CIT could be built in other places. Finally, I hope that the new chief executive can offer CIT both stability and vision. I am confident that this government, in the lead-up to the next election, will move into another expansionary strategy and it is important that the CIT is well positioned for that.
MS MacDONALD (Brindabella) (4.02 am): I promise that I will not take up even the first 10 minutes allowed and I do apologise to the house for standing up at all. It was not my intention to do so, but Dr Foskey made me get to my feet because she devoted several minutes of her speech, which was supposedly about line item 1.17, relating to the Canberra Institute of Technology, to Mission Australia in an area which has to do with the federal government awarding contracts.
I understand the frustration with that and I accept, acknowledge and heartily endorse the fact that the CIT was doing an excellent job in providing an English for migrants program. However, I think it would be erroneous to allow the perception to go forth that all private providers are bad and that everything should be provided by the public service as far as vocational education and training programs are concerned. Members of this house will be aware that I worked within the vocational education and training sector for two years in a paid capacity and for five years in a voluntary capacity on an industry training advisory body board, seven years in total, and, of course, I was chair of the education and training committee in the last Assembly.
The fact is that it is too late to say that all VET courses should be provided by TAFE. That argument happened a decade ago. We have had private providers in the field for a long time. Ms Porter is nodding because she has been involved with at least one of those private providers. I have to say that there are areas in which the CIT does not offer courses and has never offered courses and that it has been only because of the private providers that the courses have been offered. I would also say that in lots of cases the private providers have made sure that the CIT has kept its game up.
I am not saying that the CIT does not do a good job. I think that it does an excellent job in a number of areas. But there are some areas where it is not the best registered training organisation to provide the training, where it is better provided by other registered training organisations. Mr Speaker, I have spoken for coming up to 3½ minutes and I think that is probably enough time to take up.
MR SPEAKER: That sounds about right.
MS MacDONALD: Yes, it sounds about right. This line item is, after all, on the CIT, not on private providers, but I felt that it was necessary to say that.
MR BARR (Molonglo—Minister for Education and Training, Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation and Minister for Industrial Relations) (4.06 am): Mr Speaker, I will be very brief in responding to Mrs Dunne and Dr Foskey on the issue of the fee increase.
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