Hundreds of TAFE courses have been cut at regional TAFEs since the Nationals have been in Government. For example, there is no bricklaying TAFE course taught in-person between Newcastle and the QLD border. Instead they tell students to do a bricklaying course online! 

The Nationals sold off Scone TAFE. They said there wasn’t enough people using Scone TAFE. That’s because they stopped offering many of the courses people need to skill up for work (like bricklaying). We already have too many young people leaving the Hunter and heading to big cities for work. Selling Scone TAFE and moving to online-learning-only will make this situation worse.

While the Nationals have been in Government more than 5,700 TAFE staff have been sacked. That averages about 500 people losing their job every year for the 10 years the Nationals have been Government.

The NSW Government promised in Parliament in 2018 that they wouldn’t sell off Scone TAFE. A month ago they sold it. Now the Nationals are promising they won’t sell off Qurindi TAFE. A vote for the Nationals is vote for more TAFE campuses to be sold off.

TAFE provides opportunities and skills so people can get a decent job. Businesses need skilled staff and staff need quality training. But the staffing cuts, course cuts and campuses closures reduces quality, demoralises teachers and leaves students worse off. We need to send the Nationals are clear message to stop cutting TAFE.