It is an absolute delight for me to be able to speak on the MPI today. I absolutely support the reforms that the Turnbull government is making to higher education. From a local point of view, the electorate that I represent on the Gold Coast has two universities in it, and in fact there are…
DetailsThank you, Mary for your kind introduction and thank you for the opportunity to be with you today. It’s always important to come and hear about the issues affecting our public training providers. Looking around the room I can see representatives from government, industry and the skills training sector from Australia and across the world. …
DetailsGood afternoon, and thank you for inviting me to launch Adult Learners Week for 2017, and thank you to all of you for being here today. I acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and future. I also acknowledge all Aboriginal and…
DetailsWatch the video of this speech on my Facebook page. In March this year, I spoke in this chamber about Andy Lamont, an intrepid adventurer from my electorate of McPherson, on the Gold Coast. Andy Lamont is a 54-year-old husband, father and grandfather from the southern Gold Coast. A pest controller by trade he also…
DetailsI will start by thanking those who made considered and sensible contributions to the debate today. There were, however, a number of remarks made by some of the members opposite that I would actually like to correct by putting some facts clearly on the record. The Turnbull government is clearly committed to vocational education and skills.…
DetailsThank you, David, for your kind welcome and for the opportunity to open your annual conference this evening. I note that the theme for this year is Community Education: Investing in our Future. It’s a powerful sentiment… and I couldn’t agree more about the valuable role education plays in people’s lives. Of course, as…
DetailsGood afternoon, and thank you for your welcome. Firstly, I want to recognise the efforts CEDA is making to examine, improve and promote vocational education and training in Australia. Your substantial reports and analysis on VET are a valuable contribution to the lively conversations taking place around our country about the priorities, direction and opportunities…
DetailsThank you, Sherelle, for your kind welcome and for inviting me to speak at this graduation ceremony. I was honoured to open the French Beauty Academy’s Robina campus back in 2013, and it’s a real pleasure to be with you now to recognise all your hard work and achievements — students and trainers alike. …
DetailsThis is a terrific occasion — an inaugural gathering of people dedicated to advancing vocational education and training in schools. I note that we have teachers, trainers, industry representatives, work placement providers, training package developers and members of education authorities here in the room. You are doing the creative thinking, the advocating, the innovating and…
DetailsI am honoured to be invited here today to open AMSI’s 2017 Winter School on the Computational Foundations of Data Science. It’s also a pleasure to be back here at the Queensland University of Technology from where I graduated as a Mechanical Engineer in 1983. I especially welcome all the students and early career researchers…
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