Rowan Ramsey (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to take the opportunity to express my frustration with the announcement to students and parents last week that the Spencer Gulf and Outback Technical College is to close at the end of the year. I raised this matter in question time today, inquiring about the value the Deputy Prime Minister would put on the $75,000 she granted to the school under BER program for a building upgrade when she in fact intended to close the school at the end of the year. But as serious as this question was, the real tragedy here is the minister’s ideological decision, according to the minister, to not yet announce the closure of the college but in fact bring it forward. This is despite the fact that the students have been told not to come back next year.

It is misleading and confusing for the students of the Spencer Gulf and Outback Technical School for the minister to claim no decision has been made, when in fact the students have been informed that they should not come back. The school will close because the minister has said it will not be funded next year. To pretend the decision has not been made is totally misleading. Of course the decision has been made and she should come into this place and say so. It is the middle of September, so when could we expect the minister to inform the school they have funding for next year?

The college has been a unique success story. With enormous local support and consultation, it was set up with three campuses to primarily service the cities of Whyalla, Port Pirie and Port Augusta and the surrounding regions. It is a personal disaster for those students who are currently at the school to find they will not be able to come back next year. Some who have dropped out of the mainstream schooling system will be forced to go back to their old schools where they were struggling. Others will just give up.

This Australian technical college presented great value to the taxpayer. It did not waste money on facilities, developing instead a partnership with TAFE and renting facilities in both Port Augusta and Whyalla. They have excellent staff, strong endorsement of local industry and a can-do approach. The closure of this college has more to do with the government’s intolerance of anything which does not conform with their dogma than any serious appraisal of the college’s capability and performance. The Labor Party opposed these colleges from day one and following their election set about dismantling them. I have a continuing complaint about governments who have one-size-fits-all policy and will not allow centres and projects with individual excellence to flourish.

The tri-city campus has achieved an engagement of many disenfranchised students who had been left behind by the state school system, encouraging them to complete their secondary education, complete their SACE, whilst indenturing them with employers and allowing them to complete the first year of their trade qualifications while still attending school. Industry has been extremely enthusiastic about the approach the ATC has taken, delivering apprentices with a year of their trade completed, equipped for an immediate start and a work orientated attitude. In many cases, they have already had a chance to observe them firsthand in the workplace. They cannot believe the college is being shut down.

The former coalition government established this technical college, working with the local community and business to address local needs. It is a tragedy to see it dumped. It seems it is largely because it is a creation of a coalition government. There have been so many success stories of young people who were lost in the mainstream accomplishing their dreams and fulfilling their potential through the college. My office has received a steady stream of contacts from angry and disillusioned parents and employers who cannot believe that, while the government talks about a skills training agenda, it is closing this success story which has climbing enrolments, strong support from local business and in many cases has provided a new start for those who have dropped out of the secondary schooling system.

Throughout the year, I have been aware that the college board has explored every possible option to keep operating, and I have provided assistance wherever I could. Despite making encouraging noises, the government has in the end not lifted a finger to help. This is more than a shame. It is not only a slap in the face for the Upper Spencer Gulf and the electorate of Grey; it is also an unfortunate victory for politics over good sense. One of the things I had hoped to be able to achieve in politics is to persevere with common sense when you know it is right and see that good sense overcome the politics of the day. On this occasion, it seems that I have been unsuccessful.