Page 2132 - Week 10 - Thursday, 26 October 1989
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greater usage of public transport or of the many under-used public car parks in the city?
MRS GRASSBY: I thought that would have been Mr Moore's question, but as it was not asked by Mr Moore I will give you the answer. You will be very happy with the Chief Minister's statement that will be made in the house later. As I do not wish to pre-empt her wonderful statement, part of which I have been working on with my department, I would ask the member to please wait until that statement is made. He will be given a lovely copy of it and he will be able to have some very good bedtime reading.
TAFE Administration
MR MOORE: My question is directed to the Minister for Industry, Employment and Education. I refer to reports about the creation of an additional high-level administrative position worth about $70,000 per annum in the TAFE sector. Will the Minister give this Assembly an assurance that the traditional union principle of last on, first off will apply if cuts to the TAFE budget are contemplated in future so that this position is cut before any established teaching positions are lost?
MR WHALAN: Mr Speaker, the TAFE system in the ACT, as a result of changes in the legislation, has gone through a fundamental and important stage of improvement. We are all aware that TAFE was identified by the Grants Commission as being one of those areas of overfunding compared to the standard States throughout Australia, and that area has been addressed in a number of ways. Until recent times we had in TAFE in the ACT three separate institutions, each with its own council and management structure. We have now had those three institutions amalgamated into one to form the ACT Institute of Technical and Further Education, the ACT TAFE.
That has gone through a period of change in the management structure and the location of courses. There has been a rationalisation of courses and a rationalisation of the sites upon which the TAFE operates. The ultimate aim of the Government is that over a long-range period - and that could be up to 10 years, taking us through to the turn of the century - we would like to see the TAFE consolidated on two, maybe three, campuses. The indications are that that would result in substantial efficiencies and improve the delivery of TAFE education. As part of that process there have been ongoing changes in the management structure, and the current position is related to those evolutionary changes as a result of the development of TAFE.
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