Tradie school promise broken, say Liberals

Jessica Benton
GEELONG has been shortchanged for trades training, according to the federal opposition.
Liberal candidate for Corangamite Sarah Henderson said the Rudd Government had failed to deliver on its pre-election promise for a trade training centre in Geelong.
“Labor’s election policy was explicit – Kevin Rudd promised to build a new trade training centre in all of Australia’s 2650 secondary schools,” Ms Henderson said.
“In March it was revealed Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard’s education revolution completely bypassed Geelong, with no schools receiving funding from round one, phase two of the Trade Training Centres in Schools program.”
Ms Henderson said high school in the federal seats of Corio or Corangamite were yet receive funding to create a trade centre.
Ms Henderson said trades training in the region also suffered a blow when Education Minister Julia Gillard announced the merger of Geelong’s Australian Technical College to be “re-branded” as a technical education centre in the state system.
Labor Member for Corangamite Darren Cheeseman said schools in the region still had time to apply for funding to build trade centres.
“We’d certainly welcome and encourage an application from any school in my region, individually or as a cluster, to upgrade trade training facilities within the schools,” he said.
“Schools still have the opportunity to do so as part of the 10-year trades training policy.”
Mr Cheeseman said the Government was committed to improving trade education facilities.
“We’re pumping billions of dollars into the national economy through building educational facilities to stimulate the economy and put decent modern infrastructures in place,” he said.