MEDIA RELEASE
QUEENSLAND REJECTS $593.9 MILLION FOR TRAINING
16 December, 2003 MIN 568/03
Today Matt Foley, Queensland Minister for Employment
and Training, accused the Howard Government of threatening to cut
training funding for Queensland.
The truth is Minister Foley is playing politics with
training in Queensland and attempting to divert attention from his
failure in this area.
Queenslanders should know that Minister Foley has in
fact rejected the Howard Government’s offer of $593.9 million for
vocational education and training in Queensland over three years –
which includes $42 million over and above current funding levels.
The Howard Government’s offer represents a 2.5%
increase in real terms in Australian Government funding for training
places under the next Australian National Training Authority
Agreement.
By contrast, Queensland has only been asked to
increase its funding by 1.5%.
If accepted by the States and Territories, the
Agreement would provide a 4% real increase in funding for training
nationally, which would meet the growth forecast by Access Economics
of 2.9% over the life of the next three-year Agreement.
The Australian Government’s offer was made to
Queensland on 13 May this year. Minister Foley has had more than
seven months to accept the offer.
The State and Territories again failed to move on
the Federal Government’s $3.6 billion offer at the last meeting of
all State and Territory Ministers of Training in Queensland on 21
November 2003. At this meeting I flagged a process by which
indexation on growth money, as well as funding available under the
Australian Government’s Welfare Reform measures would be allocated
to States and Territories which accept the Australian Government’s
offer. I have asked the States and Territories again to accept the
offer by Friday 19 December or this process will begin.
At the last meeting of all State and Territory
Training Ministers, I supported Minister Foley in his determination
to have Queensland’s growth recognised in the next ANTA Agreement.
Minister Foley however failed to gain the support of other Labor
state training Ministers of NSW, Victoria, South Australia,
Tasmania, ACT and Northern Territory. His motion was therefore lost.
The ANTA Agreement allocates funding according to a
mechanism which reflects the contribution of each State and
Territory to training funding in the early 90s, when ANTA was
created. Queenslanders should be aware that as Minister for
Employment, Training and Industrial Relations between 1992 – 1995,
Minister Foley oversaw the funding formula which today deprives
Queensland.
Minister Foley refers to calls by Queensland
industry to revise the funding formula. But he conveniently fails to
mention desperate calls from Queensland industry for him to reverse
changes to his New Apprenticeships policy which will drive 10,500
New Apprentices out of the system in Queensland.
Since 2002 Queensland has slashed 3,800 New
Apprenticeship opportunities. In the last year alone, Queensland has
cut 1,930 training places from its system. Most places have been
axed in desperately needed skill shortages areas such as automotive,
building and construction and engineering and mining. In its planned
activity for 2004, Queensland has revealed its intention to cut a
further 12.5% places in automotive and 4.4% in building and
construction.
In the last State budget, the Queensland Government
announced a 0.2% decrease in funding for vocational education and
training. Allowing for indexation of around 2.4%, this amounts to a
decrease of 2.6%. Since 2002 Queensland has taken out 3,800 New
Apprenticeship opportunities. In the last year, 1,930 training
places have been removed from the system, despite $19.5 million in
growth funding in 2003.
Media contact:
Dr Nelson’s Office: Ross Hampton 0419 484 095
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