Opposition leader Josh Willie and Labor MP Ella Haddad have been kicked out of state parliament after a heated clash over cuts at TasTAFE.
Speaker Jacquie Petrusma suspended both MPs under Standing Order 149 on Tuesday, ordering them out of the chamber until the end of the matter of public importance debate.
Haddad, the member for Clark, was first to go after repeatedly interjecting while Skills and Jobs Minister Felix Ellis was speaking.
Willie, also the member for Clark, followed soon after, with the speaker naming him for persistently raising points of order.
He had been pressing Ellis over $45 million in savings TasTAFE chief executive Norman Baker told staff the organisation needs to find over the next four years.
“The question is very clear. Can he guarantee that regional Tasmania won’t lose courses?” Willie said.
“It’s a simple question, he won’t answer it.”
Petrusma warned Willie that repeated points of order could themselves be disorderly before naming him after a third warning.
Ellis rejected Labor’s claims, telling the house the government was continuing to invest in the training provider.
“We’re investing in TasTAFE. We’re investing in skills and training,” he said.
He said funding had increased by $19 million a year since 2023-24, alongside $118 million in capital investment.
He also pointed to upgrades including a clean energy centre of excellence in Burnie and the Alanvale health hub in Launceston.
“We want to make sure that we’re not spending more money on the back end than we need and delivering on the front end,” Ellis said.
Both MPs are expected to return to the chamber later today once the debate wraps up.
