[Greens-Media] Media release: Cuts and waste mark the Coalition's budget on TAFE, Local Government, Justice and Planning

[David Shoebridge]

Cuts and waste mark the Coalition's budget on TAFE, Local Government, Justice and Planning



Media release: 21 June 2016



Vocational Education and Training:



This year's budget sees the Coalition's continued ideological attack on TAFE, with Smart and Skilled driving more than 100,000 students away from the state's premiere provider of vocational education and training.



Greens MP David Shoebridge and Education spokesperson said:



"The Coalition's ideological attack on TAFE continues in this budget with $175 million slashed from the budget that TAFE was allocated last year.



"Smart and Skilled has been nothing short of a disaster for NSW TAFE which lost more than 104,000 students between 2014 and 2015.



"Premier Baird has overseen a collapse in TAFE student numbers. Increased fees and the TAFE software fiasco have seen student numbers have fall from 533,762 in 2014 to just 428,985 in 2015.



"It's not TAFE that's broken it's Mike Baird's contestable funding model that misdirects public funds to for-profit providers and forces up TAFE fees.



"Despite the failure of the contestable funding model that props up the scandal ridden private VET sector, the Coalition is increasing the amount of 'contestable' funding up for grabs from the $526 million spent last financial year to $786 million in 2016/17.



"Smart and Skilled has hit hardest at some of the most disadvantaged, seeing 4,500 less Aboriginal TAFE students enrolled and a 20% drop in the number of students with a disability from 2014 to 2015. These numbers hardly change in the 2016 forecasts.



"Over 104,000 students failed to get an education in TAFE last year because under Premier Baird's watch TAFE underspent more than a quarter of a billion dollars last year," Mr Shoebridge said.



Fast Facts - TAFE

-          Last financial year saw TAFE underspend its budget by $269 million, and the cut in its forecast budget for 2016/17 is $175 million.

-          The amount of 'contestable' public money available to for-profit VET providers is increasing from $526 million spent in 2015/16 to $786 in 2016/17

-          20% drop in the number of students with disability in 2015 (52.057 in 2014 to 41,790 in 2015) and a 12% drop in the number of Indigenous students (37, 491 in 2014 to 32,985 in 2015)

-          Overall TAFE student numbers in 2014 were 533,762, falling to just 428,985 in 2015. They are forecast to increase very slightly to 453,400 in 2016

-          Significant underspend on capital works in the 2015/16 budget year. Allocated $101.3 million but only spent $55 million.

-          Planned TAFE asset sales worth $18.8 million in the 2016/17 budget.

-          An additional 499 full time equivalent job losses from TAFE NSW.

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Forced amalgamations and loss of local representation already costing taxpayers $590 million



Mike Baird is planning to spend almost $600 million to sack councils, remove democracy and appoint handpicked Administrators in his attack on local councils.



Greens MP and Local Government Spokesperson David Shoebridge said:



"The cost of the Baird Government's undemocratic forced amalgamation agenda is being revealed, with NSW taxpayers footing a $590 million bill to lose their local democracy.



"While the Coalition has been bleating about an alleged saving of $20 billion over the next 20 years, 30% of these supposed savings will be blown in just two years.



"It is clear that NSW taxpayers would be far better off with their local, elected councillors than paying $590 million for unelected and unwanted Administrators.



Fast facts - Local Government:



-          Baird's forced amalgamations will be costing taxpayers $590 million over the next two years

-          This accounts for 30% of the alleged $2 billion savings over 20 years, blown in just 2 years



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The result of cuts to legal aid and court services, following years of law and order auctions, have resulted in an extraordinary blowout in the budget with a shocking $3.8 billion being spent on private prisons.



Greens MP and Justice Spokesperson David Shoebridge said:



"Premier Mike Baird is doing everything he can to push up the prison population in NSW by cutting millions from both legal aid and the courts.



"We know that court delays are a primary reason why more people are jailed on remand awaiting trial and this will only get worse as the Coalition cuts millions more from the courts.



"The taxpayers of NSW are being slugged extraordinary amounts to build new (private) prisons as a result of these failed policies.



"The deep cuts to prison education are playing out in this budget that predicts fewer inmates receiving vital second chance education to enable them to re-enter society and gain

employment upon their release.



"The cuts to legal aid follow years of budget cuts to an agency that is already unable to meet demand for services, meaning thousands more vulnerable people will lose access to justice.



"Rather than funnelling money into private prisons we need to be funding justice reinvestment programs and increasing access to legal representation through community legal centres and legal aid.



"While courts, education and legal aid are being cut, the police get $42 million for new paramilitary equipment and vehicles," Mr Shoebridge said.



Fast facts - Justice Cluster



-          $3.8 billion to build 7,000 new prison beds

-          Police will receive $29 million for the Marine Area Command vessel fleet, $13 million for a new plane and two new helicopters, $550,000 for a new "Bearcat" armoured vehicle

-          Cuts to the Legal Aid Commission with $2.8 million from criminal law services and $4 million from civil law services

-          NSW Courts budget reduced more than $10 million

-          Inmate participation in education programs down from 35% to 28%

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Community is cut out while developers get fast-tracked approvals



The Coalition came to government in 2011 on a promise to "return planning powers to communities," this promise has been cast aside as Mike Baird creates a planning system that favours big developers and cuts out community consultation.



Greens MP and Planning Spokesperson David Shoebridge said:



"Communities and the environment will continue to bear the brunt of fast-tracked development with the time being taken to assess the biggest and most controversial developments being slashed in half again.



"The larger the project, the larger the impact, so these developments should have the highest levels of scrutiny and not be rushed through in a process that will almost certainly remove the chance for proper community consultation.



"Meanwhile the Coalition is stubbornly pressing ahead with a failed housing supply policy that will do nothing to address the dysfunctional housing market or approve housing affordability.



"Treasurer Berejkilian boasts a "record" 70,000 new home approvals but the reality is that until unfair tax concessions are reformed and community housing supply is massively, house prices will continue to surge.



Fast facts - Planning approvals:



-          The time taken to assess state significant development has been halved in the last two consecutive 2014/15 and 2015/16 budgets.

-          State significant development includes the biggest and most controversial planning projects such as Barangaroo, the Bays Precinct

-          Housing development applications will be determined within 40 days, with more than 50,000 housing approvals per year



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Greater Sydney Commission paid to talk to Council Administrators



Sydney's planning future is in the hands of the unelected and unaccountable Greater Sydney Commission, headed by Lucy Turnbull and this year's budget sees more than $40 million being spent to have Ms Turnbull talk to Mike Baird's handpicked Administrators before they remodel our city.



Greens MP and Planning Spokesperson David Shoebridge said:



"As communities across the state are losing their elected representatives, the bureaucracy is becoming more and more top-heavy.



"The Greater Sydney Commission has been allocated $41 million in new funding to work with new councils, yet these are the same councils that have been sacked and dismantled.



"Mike Baird is spending $41 million having Lucy Turnbull talk to his newly hand-picked Council Administrators"



Fast facts - Greater Sydney Commission:



-          $41 million in new funding to go to the unelected, super planning bureaucracy for Sydney

-          This funding to the Greater Sydney Commission is purportedly "in partnership with councils and the community" despite the majority of Sydney councils being sacked

-          NSW Planning Department to become more and more top-heavy, with an additional 107 FTE staff employed to "manage growth and change", an additional 50 FTE staff employed in policy and strategy and 66 staff to determine and fast-track development approvals



Media contact: David Shoebridge 0408 113 952





David Shoebridge

Greens MP in the NSW Legislative Council

P: (02) 9230 3030 T: @ShoebridgeMLC<http://twitter.com/#!/shoebridgemlc>

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