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Australian Technical Colleges (Flexibility in Achieving Australia’s Skills Needs) Amendment Bill (No.

House of Representatives, 2007-08-15. affirmative: ayes 77, noes 52.

Question

Debate resumed. Harry Jenkins The original question was that this bill be now read a second time. To this the honourable member for Perth has moved as an amendment that all words after ‘That’ be omitted with a view to substituting other words. The question now is that the words proposed to be omitted stand part of the question. Chris Bowen As I was saying before question time, the example of Western Sydney is a very good one when it comes to this government’s failure in the matter of technical education. On 23 June 2006, the government announced to great fanfare a new Australian technical college for Western Sydney. The then Minister for Vocational and Technical Education announced that the Catholic Education Office, with industry partners, had won the tender to construct and operate a Western Sydney ATC. He said: ‘I look forward to the college opening in early 2007.’ But the facts have not matched the press release and the reality has not matched the then minister’s expectation. That bid process fell apart and the Catholic Education Office was, in my view, treated in a less than ideal manner. The people of Western Sydney have been dealt a blow in that they now have a technical college with a student body of 20 out of a possible 25 students. For the entire Western Sydney region we have 20 students in the ATC, which is in Rouse Hill. I have nothing against Rouse Hill, but anybody who would suggest that people from greater Western Sydney—from south-west Sydney or other parts of Western Sydney—would be able to easily get to Rouse Hill is clearly having themselves on and has no knowledge of how Western Sydney works or of the importance of more technical education places in Western Sydney. This has become an annual debate, with the government bringing in more legislation, more appropriation bills and more amendment bills to fix up problems with ATCs as we go along. This debate happens around this time of year every year. It is always useful to go back and say what you sa

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How each member voted

How each party voted

Party labels are those recorded for this division, rather than current affiliations. The member list is partial: 79 recorded ayes and 54 recorded noes; the official tally above remains the source total.

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