Page 3957 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 25 November 2014
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The Greens are happy to support this bill today.
MS BURCH (Brindabella—Minister for Education and Training, Minister for Disability, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Racing and Gaming, Minister for Women and Minister for the Arts) (11.39), in reply: I thank members for their comments in relation to this bill today. When I introduced this bill to the Assembly last month I outlined how important skills education is to the continued economic prosperity of our community and that the Canberra Institute of Technology is critical to ensuring Canberra has the skills it needs to thrive.
The bill we are debating today contributes to both significant VET reform, which is increasing access to quality training for Canberrans, and this government’s approach to streamlining service delivery. Ultimately, the result we all want is improved educational outcomes for the Canberra community.
Today I want to emphasise to members the main focus of the bill, which is to establish a new governance framework for CIT. The primary feature of this new governance framework is that CIT will be a statutory authority with a governing board, able to make its own decisions in the best interests of CIT and the community and students it serves. The bill will not change the current employment arrangements for staff or enable the governing board of CIT to establish its own industrial regime.
I want to remind members of the important role played by governing boards in the ACT. While the delivery of services by the government is largely done through the established directorate structure, there is a need for other structures to be established which operate in a completely different way to the directorates.
Different models have been put in place by various governments to respond most appropriately to the circumstances at hand. The creation of statutory office holders, commissioners, boards and other entities are all established models which provide a degree of independence from the government and the public service when that is preferred.
In the ACT we have utilised governing boards to deliver outcomes. The Land Development Agency board and the Cultural Facilities Corporation would not have been able to operate as successfully as they have from within the public service. That is not to say that there should be no involvement from government or the public service in the management of these organisations, but it is important to get the balance right.
In the case of CIT and the bill before us, establishing the CIT governing board is the most appropriate way to obtain the benefits of public and private sector expertise and to make financial and other decisions in the best interests of CIT. This governing board will provide greater flexibility and agility in decision-making, which is appropriate for CIT when competing with other training providers.
In particular, I draw members’ attention to the breadth of the membership of the governing board prescribed in the bill. The board will have between nine and 11
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