Page 1921 - Week 06 - Thursday, 9 June 2016
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I am not satisfied that CIT has treated the committee’s request with the appropriate level of respect and a timely response. I hope that it is not a portent of things to come under CIT’s new management and board. I had hoped for better. It may be appropriate that CIT be referred to the Auditor-General so that we can all be satisfied it is performing at its best and in the best interests of industry and its students. That is an option open to us.
CIT does important work. Training apprentices for the future growth of Canberra is an important task. Industry must have confidence in the apprentices it takes on and that the tradespeople that CIT ultimately qualifies, who are installing electrical cabling, building houses, erecting scaffolding, pouring concrete and installing plumbing and gas lines, are all competent and trained to industry standards and community expectations.
I would like to thank the incoming chair of the committee, Mr Hinder, for his willingness to find a pathway through the myriad of evidence to come to a conclusion that satisfies all committee members. He came late to the committee and has had a lot of material to cover. I thank the committee secretary, Andrew Snedden, and his staff for their work in support of our deliberations.
I would also like to acknowledge Mr Ian Dunstan and his continuing efforts to get the electrotechnology course at CIT back on track. He believes passionately in and understands the importance of having properly trained electricians. He was, and I suspect still is, concerned that there have been too many shortcuts taken and too many mistakes made in ignorance at the CIT management level.
CIT were presented with a difficult task when an RTO that was training electrical apprentices closed their doors, and it is to the credit of CIT that they took them on. But it is now obvious that it was beyond CIT’s capacity at the time to do so within their then-existing resources, and they perhaps should have taken more advice as to how best to manage it.
If this report does nothing else, it should serve as a lesson to CIT and other RTOs that there can be no shortcuts when training in such vital and dangerous trades. I commend the report.
MR HINDER (Ginninderra) (12.18), in reply: I would like to add to my previous comments. It would be remiss of me not to note the contributions of my fellow committee members—Mrs Jones, Ms Burch and Mr Doszpot—and also former members who took part in this inquiry—Ms Berry, Ms Fitzharris, Mr Coe and my predecessor Ms Porter. Thanks also, of course, to the secretariat staff, Mr Snedden and Ms Chung.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Health, Ageing, Community and Social Services—Standing Committee
Report 8
MR WALL (Brindabella) (12.19): I present the following report:
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