By JOLENE OGLE
NOOSA MP Glen Elmes has called on the Attorney-General to fast-track the sale of the old TAFE facility that has lain dormant since closing its doors in 2014.
In a speech to Queensland Parliament on Tuesday 10 October, Mr Elmes said it was time to create a “visionary plan” for employment using the TAFE site.
“As a community we need to create a visionary plan for employment, particularly for our young people and this site, together with the two university campuses already in Noosa and major employers like Noosa Hospital and Noosa Council can help in this regard,” he said.
The Noosa TAFE College closed in June 2014 after student numbers had fallen from 714 in the 2006/07 year to 265 students in the 2013/2014 year. Of those students, 40 were from local high schools and did not attend classes on campus.
In his speech, Mr Elmes criticised the previous operation of the TAFE campus slamming the facility as arts-based and not providing courses to suit Noosa’s workforce.
“Council and the community … decided that in the main it would be an arts-based facility,” he said.
“In 2014 students at the Noosa campus were undertaking programs in access and equity, entertainment, music, visual arts, spoken and written English, aged care, recreation, fashion and tourism.
“Unfortunately, even something as basic to Noosa as a hospitality course was never taught in its entirety, with students having to travel for about half of the course to the Mooloolaba TAFE.”
Mr Elmes said there is an opportunity for the government to sell the empty, deserted buildings to the Noosa Council.
“The offer is on the table and it is well-known to the Attorney-General and her staff,” Mr Elmes said.
“They also know this is the only reasonable offer the government will receive.”
Noosa Council CEO Brett de Chastel said the council had previously “indicated our continuing interest in acquiring the facility” on several occasions and now the ball was now in the State Government’s court.
“The council is waiting for the State Government to decide what they are going to do with the Tewantin TAFE,” he said.
“The council has previously, on several occasions, indicated our continuing interest in acquiring the facility as we believe we can get it up and running again as a significant educational addition to the local economy.
“The ball is currently in the State Government’s court to decide what it wants to do with this facility. The council is concerned the longer the facility is left vacant, the more it will deteriorate.”
The buildings have stood empty for about 15 months and are starting to decay and fall victim to vandalism.
Mr Elmes said he was aware the government was conducting a review into TAFE but with the report not due to be implemented until 2016, Mr Elmes was concerned about the future of the facility if a sale was not fast-tracked.
“There is no-one home. The lights are definitely off,” he said. “I say very sincerely to the Attorney-General it is time to turn this site into a valuable community asset. I do not know why there is a reluctance to sell. I certainly hope it is not because of the so-called asset sales debate dragging on from the last election.”
Mr Elmes said the community wanted the TAFE facility back in local hands and the government must realise the old campus was only worth what was offered, and the current offer was “more than realistic”.
“It is time to sell and allow the Noosa community to turn this facility into something it never did successfully as a TAFE college, and that is create jobs,” he said.
