TIERNEY (Western Victoria – Minister for Skills and TAFE, Minister for Regional Development) (12:04): I thank the member for his question, and I do find it really interesting that they have a play on words with ‘saving TAFE’ given that they shut down 22 campuses and they sacked over 2000 workers and TAFEs were just hanging in there – it was just a matter of flicking the switch off. It was our government that was elected, and we were elected on a saving TAFE platform, which we have been able to do. Not only have we saved TAFE, we have rebuilt TAFE and we have rebuilt the whole vocational education and training system. Four billion dollars has been invested into the Victorian skills and training system, and we have seen Victorians save something like $436 million in tuition fees.
So there is a lot that we are proud of, complete with a determination to ensure that there is an alignment between what is delivered and the jobs that are out there in the labour market. That is exactly what we are doing, and that is exactly what we saw at William Angliss Institute this morning with the Premier. The fact of the matter is that the ROGS data showed Victorian growth in VET expenditure per hour had outpaced the national average since 2014. The real recurrent expenditure increase from 2014 to 2022 for Victoria went from $11.65 to $17.19; that is a 48 per cent increase. During the same period the national average only increased by 27 per cent – that is, $16.39 to $20.86 per hour. Since 2014, as I have said, this Victorian government has invested over $4 billion in our TAFE system. That has been not just in terms of free TAFE, it has also been in the whole Skills First contract system, not to mention the capital works that we have invested in. You only have to go down to Collingwood and see that fantastic facility being built, which will be opened shortly. Member Sheena Watt will be with me shortly with respect to that. There is a fantastic new facility at Broadmeadows, three storeys high, which will complement the health and allied health courses that need to be delivered, particularly for our local Broadmeadows multicultural community. We have also built brand new campuses at Morwell and Sale. We have also undertaken massive refurbishments right across the state.
