John, I'm furious,

Today the Government joined with the Labor Party to rip up a $4 billion dollar opportunity to fund TAFE.

The Government says, don’t worry about that, TAFEs have enough money as it is. They don’t need this $4 billion.

I say that they’re living in a fantasy land.

I told them, “Come to my side of town. Come to the Devonport TAFE campus in Tasmania. Let me show you the rust, the holes, the water damage. Let me show you the equipment they’re training the kids in my community with. Let me show you the date stamp that says it was manufactured during the Cold War.”

They didn’t listen. Now I’m going to make them listen.

I'm about to start running Facebook ads around the country, naming and shaming the cheap, pathetic politicians who voted for this.

John, if you can, please pitch in some dollars and I will specifically target your local representatives.

TAFEs are a cornerstone of rural and regional Australia. They’re more than training centres. They’re landmarks. They’re symbols. 

And when a symbol is left to fall by the wayside through a lack of investment, it says something about how that community sees itself. 

If you’re not investing in training my community, you’re not investing in my community – period. That’s not alright by me.

Labor went to the last election saying Australia is in a skills crisis – with 150,000 fewer apprentices and trainees, and a shortage of workers in critical services including plumbing, carpentry, hairdressing, and motor mechanics.

Labor used to say, “TAFE must be backed by Governments as it is critical to our future”. 

They had a chance today to back TAFE. And they failed. It was an act of bipartisan failure.

I can see why Albo doesn’t want to call himself the Leader of the Opposition anymore. At least he’s honest about it.

Join my campaign and let’s let every Australian know what happened in the Senate. You don’t get many chances to invest in the future of our trades and training. And when you get them, and you squib it, voters should know.

Young people and rural communities around the country are relying on us to fight for them. And believe me, I'm going to bloody fight.

Jacqui