Media Releases

Gippsland is set to become a leader in the delivery of tertiary education if the recommendations of an expert panel are adopted by the state and federal governments.

Among a number of innovative recommendations the Gippsland Tertiary Education Plan, released today in Moe by Higher Education and Skills Minister Peter Hall, has recommended the establishment of a network of technology enabled learning centres throughout the region.

Bairnsdale, Sale, Traralgon, Churchill, Warragul, Leongatha and Wonthaggi are all named in the report as possible sites for the centres. It is proposed the centres be co-located with existing university or TAFE campuses.

Mr Hall said the establishment of technology enabled learning centres had enormous potential to improve opportunities for Gippslanders.

“With state-of-the-art facilities, Gippsland students could be technologically linked to interact with other students on multiple sites all connected to a lecture delivered from Melbourne or Moscow,” Mr Hall said.

The recommendation is just one coming out of a report commissioned by the Minister to examine ways to identify immediate higher education issues within the region.

“Gippsland faces unique challenges, including a combination of low school retention rates, ageing population, distance and isolation and low higher education participation rates,” Mr Hall said.

Commissioning an expert demographic, economic and educational analysis of the region, chaired by Professor Kwong Lee Dow, Mr Hall said the report provided a holistic overview of needs specific to Gippsland and identified ways to meet these challenges to ensure the region and its people continue to thrive into the future.

Mr Hall said the report and its recommendations represented many ‘firsts’, including the first tertiary education plan for a regional area, the establishment of the first regional Tertiary Education Council – comprising of education and training providers – and the first pilot of technology enabled learning centres.

“The two most frequently raised issues in the submission process were the need for greater connections between tertiary education providers and local industry, and employment in Gippsland,” Mr Hall said.

“The education plan looks to address both these issues with a number of long-term strategies.”

The report also addresses key issues such as developing ways to improve tertiary education and training opportunities within the region, increasing skill levels and retention rates and recognising existing issues in the area.

Among the panel’s 10 key recommendations are:

·     establishing a Gippsland Tertiary Education Council to promote collaboration between existing education providers and attract other providers to deliver in areas of skills shortages and course demand;
·     that providers across Gippsland establish a common framework and language for pathways; and
·     that linkages between schools, industry, tertiary education and
training providers and Local Learning and Employment Networks be increased.

Mr Hall said the panel report also identified industries that were projected to grow in Gippsland.

“In order for industries such as agriculture, essential services, forestry, healthcare and tourism to be catered for into the future, it is important we have a coordinated approach that taps into the strengths of the region and prepares local Gippsland people with the skills they need to take
advantage of this growth,” Mr Hall said.

Mr Hall welcomed a recommendation for greater involvement in schools by tertiary education providers.

“I am pleased the report recommends extension programs from tertiary providers into schools to increase the visibility and understanding of tertiary education among students and help boost the wider community aspirations. I encourage all people with a stake in the future of education
in Gippsland to read the report,” Mr Hall said.

“I would also like to thank Professor Kwong Lee Dow and panel members Dr Michele Allan and John Mitchell for bringing their expertise to bear in proposing a comprehensive plan for the Gippsland region”.

Mr Hall said he was confident the report would also play an important role in addressing similar educational needs in other regional areas.

Mr Hall said he would consider the plan in detail and release a response to the report early next year.

The report is available online at www.skills.vic.gov.au

East Gippsland Institute of TAFE in Bairnsdale has a new name to reflect its dynamic role in the region.

Minister for Higher Education and Skills Peter Hall today announced Advance TAFE as the new name for East Gippsland TAFE during a visit to the Bairnsdale campus.

“Advance TAFE will continue to build on its proud tradition of educational excellence in the East Gippsland region supporting the vocational and training needs of business, industry and the local community,” Mr Hall said.

“Today’s launch is a milestone for vocational education in Gippsland and comes at an important time for the region with the development of the Gippsland Tertiary Education Plan, which provides for a major expansion of tertiary education and training across the region.”

Member for Gippsland East Tim Bull also praised Advance TAFE for its commitment to innovation and community engagement.

“The review and design process to arrive at the new name and brand has been more than two years in the making and involved extensive consultation with around 1,500 current and past students and business and industry representatives,” Mr Bull said.

“The new corporate design reflects the vision of a dynamic, professional educational organisation focused on growth within and beyond the region.”

Both Mr Hall and Mr Bull paid tribute to the role played by the institute since it was formally established in 1986.

“This region has a rich history of vocational education and training extending over more than 100 years with the former Bairnsdale School of Mines and both the Bairnsdale and Sale technical schools. This wonderful tradition continues today with Advance TAFE,” Mr Hall said.

During his visit Mr Hall also discussed progress on the Gippsland Tertiary Education Plan and a range of other government led initiatives to boost vocational education and training in the region.

The Victorian Coalition Government will make a record investment of around $1.2 billion in vocational training this year, with the figure expected to increase to around $1.3 billion in 2012.

Minister for Higher Education and Skills Peter Hall has announced more than 80 Learn Local organisations will share in $3.78 million as part of Round 2 of the Adult Community and Further Education (ACFE) Capacity and Innovation Grants.

Mr Hall made the announcement at the Moe Life Skills Community Centre today. The group is a recipient of two of the grants.

“Adult Community Education plays a vital role in Victoria’s education and training system and in achieving our social and economic success,” Mr Hall said.

“In the coming days more than 80 Learn Local organisations across Victoria will be notified of their success in gaining funding worth $3.78 million.”

The ACFE Capacity and Innovation Grants help Learn Local organisations, including neighbourhood and community houses, develop new programs to boost participation and learning.

“I am particularly pleased today to be announcing grants to a local organisation, Moe Life Skills, which is receiving $127,506 for two innovative and exciting projects,” Mr Hall said.

“The first is a project where people with a disability learn real skills in hospitality through setting up and running a coffee bar at Narracan Garden in Newborough.

“The cafe will be run in partnership with Narracan Garden Aged Care Facility and MECRUS – an Australian owned company that supports and retrains staff and managers to work productively.

“Their second project will see the development of new curriculum resources and assessment strategies to support learners attaining new skills at the Baw Baw and Latrobe pre-accredited network of 11 Learn Local organisations.

“Today’s announcement comes hot on the heels of the 2011 Victorian Learn Local Awards where Moe Life Skills won an award for Outstanding Pre-accredited Program for a theatre program designed for adults with an intellectual disability.

“There are great projects up and running in Moe that seek to improve the employment prospects for people who need support.

“As a knowledge-driven economy, Victoria will increasingly need an inclusive workforce with higher levels of qualifications and skills.”

Regional students will enjoy easier access to higher education opportunities under a new $20 million fund officially launched today in Bendigo by Minister for Higher Education and Skills Peter Hall.

Mr Hall said the $20 million Regional Partnerships Facilitation Fund would increase alliances between universities and Vocational Education and Training (VET) providers in regional Victoria.

“This initiative aims to increase alliances between TAFE institutes and universities to deliver a greater range of higher education programs in regional centres, giving more students the option to study in their hometown,” Mr Hall said.

“In particular, this program aims to increase the number of TAFE campuses providing degree level courses to make higher education opportunities more accessible for regional students and boost participation rates across the state.

“It will also encourage greater use of existing infrastructure and resources between institutions in regional Victoria.”

Mr Hall said the establishment of the fund was a key recommendation of a 2009 report advising on the development of the Victorian Tertiary Education Plan.

“The report found the lack of access to higher education was exacerbating the trend of young regional Victorians leaving their communities to access education,” Mr Hall said.

“Higher education enrolment statistics show a significant disparity between regional students and their metropolitan counterparts. Only 30.5 per cent of regional students who completed year 12 last year enrolled in a university course, compared with 50.7 per cent of metropolitan students.“

Mr Hall said funding for the Regional Partnerships Facilitation Fund would be provided through the Victorian Coalition Government’s $1 billion Regional Growth Fund.

“Launched earlier this month, the Regional Growth Fund is the Coalition Government’s commitment to creating new prosperity, more opportunities and a better quality of life for regional Victorians over the next eight years through initiatives like the Regional Partnerships Facilitation Fund,” Mr Hall said.

The Regional Partnerships Facilitation Fund is a competitive fund that will support the delivery of projects that contribute to increasing the rate of higher education participation, attainment and achievement.

Over the next month the first of two $10 million application rounds opens to eligible higher education and vocational training providers, and partner organisations, including local government, schools and industry.

Funding application guidelines were released today as part of the launch and are now available on skills.vic.gov.au

Nationals Member for Eastern Region Peter Hall has vigorously defended the Coalition’s decision to return cattle to the Alpine National Park, amidst the Federal Government’s fight to reintroduce a grazing ban.

Speaking in parliament Mr Hall rejected claims that the Coalition’s trial to return grazing as part of a bushfire mitigation study, was not based on scientific research.

“It is absolutely based on scientific research; it is genuine; it is well founded; it is totally necessary,” Mr Hall said.

The trial which has reintroduced 400 cattle into Victoria’s Alpine National Park from January to April each year for six years to see if grazing helps reduce fuel for bushfires, is modest, Mr Hall said.

The Alpine National Park is Victoria’s biggest national park comprising an area of 646,000 hectares. The trial provides for 400 head of cattle to be grazed on six sites within those 646,000 hectares.

“The application of 400 head of cattle over those six sites means they are pretty hard to find,” Mr Hall said.

 “This is a modest research trial on a very big piece of land with a very small number of cattle.”

Mr Hall said the trial would help the State Government achieve an appropriate balance between cattle grazing as an effective bushfire mitigation tool and the protection of the environmental assets of the park.

He said the areas and ecosystems in the high country that the Opposition claimed cattle were damaging, were the exact environments where controlled burning was not an appropriate tool to reduce bushfire risk.

“While some would claim that cattle, no matter how small in number, have the potential to do significant damage to the environment, I say: so too do bushfires,” Mr Hall said.

“Above a certain altitude the use of controlled burning is simply not a recommended measure, it is ineffective and can cause more damage than other tools.

“Bushfires that are uncontrolled and burn with intensity will do far more environmental damage than limited numbers of cattle grazing in these park areas.

“It is a matter of balance.”

Minister for Higher Education and Skills Peter Hall today said Victoria must increase participation in higher education in regional areas in order to drive economic growth and meet the needs of industry.

Speaking at the launch of a government-funded research report, Deferring a University Offer in Regional Victoria, Mr Hall said it was clear more needed to be done to make it easier for regional Victorians to participate in education and to develop their skills.

“This report allows us to better understand the particular barriers to participation in educational opportunities in regional areas and how we can best respond to these,” Mr Hall said.

Mr Hall said the report showed a disproportionate number of people in regional areas deferred skills development.

“The Coalition Government is determined to address regional imbalances in education and training opportunities with development of a full range of education options within those areas,” Mr Hall said.

Mr Hall said the government had already begun work on initiatives aimed at addressing regional deferral rates and increasing the number of regional Victorians accessing higher education.

“One of the biggest barriers to regional students accessing higher education is the cost of living away from home while studying or training,” Mr Hall said.

“The Coalition Government’s Regional Partnerships Facilitation Fund aims to address this issue and provide regional students with greater flexibility, options and choice,” Mr Hall said.

The initiative aims to increase alliances between TAFE institutes and universities to deliver a greater range of higher education programs in regional centres, giving more students the option to study in their hometown.

Today’s report launched by the Minister was led by John Polesel, for the Youth Affairs Council of Victoria. Funded by the Victorian Government, it involved contributions from 14 Victorian Local Learning and Employment Networks (LLENs).

The report is now available through the Youth Affairs Network of Victoria at www.yacvic.org.au.

Funding for the research into the deferral of university offers will continue until 2013.

Nationals Member for Eastern Victoria, Peter Hall, will take time out from a busy pre-election schedule on Remembrance Day to pay tribute to the sacrifices of Australian service personnel.

Mr Hall will join members of the Traralgon community at a commemorative service in the town on Thursday 11 November.

“Remembrance Day is a significant date in Australia’s wartime history, with the signing of the armistice on 11 November in 1918 signalling the end of hostilities on the western front,” Mr Hall said.

Mr Hall said he was pleased to be able to attend a local service this year after the Premier’s decision last year to have Parliament sit on Remembrance Day.

“I voiced my objection to parliament sitting on November 11 last year and I know many others in the community viewed this as an affront to the families and descendants of those who served in the Great War and to the community organisations, particularly Returned and Services League clubs, which organise services,” Mr Hall said.

“I am pleased this year to be able to attend a local Remembrance Day ceremony and I look forward to sharing this significant event with the residents of Traralgon.”

Mr Hall said that a Victorian Liberal National Coalition Government would not schedule parliament on Remembrance Day.

“The Coalition recognises the significance of Remembrance Day in Australia’s wartime history and as such we will reschedule parliamentary sitting dates to exclude 11 November.”

As the Government is in care-taker mode due to the State Election on 27 November Parliament is not sitting throughout November this year.

THE Liberal Nationals Coalition will boost funding to save the VICSWIM Summer Kidz learn-to-swim holiday program which is run at many aquatic centres in East Gippsland, Nationals Eastern Region MP Peter Hall said today.

“Coalition Leader Ted Baillieu has announced a $1.6 million commitment over four years as part of a new era in prioritising learning to swim for Victorian children,” Mr Hall said.

Under Labor the long-standing VICSWIM holiday program has slumped to its lowest participation rate since it started in the mid 1970s, down to just 4,200 in 2008/2009 after peaking at around 20,000 in the 1980s.

“The Brumby Government has all but abandoned the program, instead leaving the responsible body – Aquatics and Recreation Victoria (ARV) – to chase corporate sponsors for support,” Mr Hall said.

“Without government support VICSWIM’s summer program will fold.”

Mr Hall said it was irresponsible of the State Government to turn its back on an established, recognised and respected drowning prevention program.

“Learning to swim is one of the most valuable life-skills we can provide for our children and with summer fast approaching it is a real concern that this program may not be available for the children of East Gippsland, as it has been in the past,” Mr Hall said.

Mr Hall said the VICSWIM program provided children with basic skills and confidence across a variety of aquatic conditions and activities.

He said the Coalition would not only boost funding to the VICSWIM Summer Kidz program, but also revamp the funding model and subsidise costs to families.

“We plan to overhaul the way this program is funded by subsidising the cost so that participants will pay just $5 a day – down from the current charge of $11,” he said.

“Affordability means accessibility for families, and it’s our priority to make it easier for mums and dads to familiarise children with safety around pools, beaches, dams, creeks and rivers.

 “If we want to reduce tragic and unnecessary drowning deaths we have to invest in aquatic-based learning for children, which VICSWIM has been providing for more than 30 years.”

Attempts by the Brumby Government to centralise and politicise the appointment of TAFE Institute board members will be opposed by the Victorian Liberal Nationals Coalition.

Legislation currently before Parliament states that all TAFE board chairs will be appointed by the Minister and all other board members will be appointed by the Minister on the recommendation of the chair.

Coalition Shadow Minister for Skills and Leader of The Nationals in the Legislative Council Peter Hall said the changes paved the way for political appointments ahead of the need for local knowledge and expertise on TAFE boards.

"John Brumby and his ministers have a poor track record of politicising the public service," Mr Hall said.

"Now John Brumby wants total control over TAFEs, despite Labor’s demand that TAFEs raise more than 50 per cent of their revenue through self-generated commercial activity.

"TAFE boards currently comprise between nine and 15 people, with at least half of those appointed by the Minister and the balance being locally co-opted members, and boards appoint their own chair.

"This approach utilises local knowledge and skills while maintaining a suitable degree of government oversight.

"John Brumby has not put forward any case for changing these arrangements, and unless he does the Coalition will continue to support local communities, local businesses and local TAFEs by maintaining the current local co-option arrangements for TAFE councils.

"The Coalition has tabled amendments to the legislation in Parliament, but with Labor’s guillotine preventing debate on these amendments we will be again introducing them in the Legislative Council.

"We will be seeking the support of the Greens and the DLP to stop John Brumby politicising TAFEs across Victoria," Mr Hall said.