ALA

Premier’s Failure to Legislate Leads to Surreal Situation

The Tasmanian Greens today described as “surreal” a TAFE Tasmania letter that is being issued to staff informing them of ‘possible assignments’ to the Tasmanian Polytechnic commencing in January next year, and pointed out that the legislation to establish the Premier’s Tasmania Tomorrow plan has not even been tabled in the Parliament, let alone debated.

Greens Leader and Shadow Education spokesperson Nick McKim MP, who released a copy of the letter, said that it was disappointing that the Premier and Education Minister, David Bartlett could not clarify the legal or administrative status of this letter despite being asked, let alone give a timeline for actual assignments to be made.

“The Premier’s Tasmanian Tomorrow restructure gets, as Alice in Wonderland said, ‘curiouser and curiouser’,  with TAFE Tasmania staff receiving letters advising them of their ‘possible assignment to the Tasmanian Polytechnic’ and being told that ‘…this letter provides you with formal notice of your possible assignment to the Polytechnic to be effective from 1 January 2009′.”,” Mr McKim said.

“Not surprisingly the Premier today was unable to clarify how it is possible for his department to formally advise someone of a ‘possibility’, or whether they can seek a review of possible assignment under Section 50 (1) (b) of the State Service Act 2000.”

 “TAFE staff deserve better than being left in an existential limbo with an uncertain future.”

 “Mr Bartlett could not even provide a timeframe by which we can expect to see the Tasmania Tomorrow legislation.”

“Mr Bartlett clearly does not understand that due to his failure to legislate, the Tasmanian Polytechnic does not currently exist other than in his imagination.”