Labor is urging the state government to protect TasTAFE from privatisation, as the future of state-owned businesses comes under the spotlight.
Shadow TAFE, Skills and Training Minister Anita Dow has raised concerns that the public vocational education provider could be caught up in what she’s calling a “fire sale of state-owned businesses”.
“Tasmania is facing a skills shortage and selling off TAFE would only make it worse, with less courses and higher fees for students,” she said.
“How can we trust that Premier Rockliff will keep his word and not privatise TAFE? Premier Rockliff needs to rule out selling off TAFE.”
But Skills and Training Minister Felix Ellis was quick to hit back, labelling the concerns what could be “Labor’s dumbest ever scare campaign”.
He said TasTAFE is not classified as a government business enterprise and therefore won’t be privatised.
The state government has previously stated that Hydro Tasmania is the only state-owned business explicitly protected from potential privatisation.
