A $4 million upgrade to TasTAFE's Alanvale campus will be paid for by the sale of the Launceston City campus, which will be listed for sale.
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A state government spokeswoman confirmed the funding grand for $4 million will be delivered as an advance by the Education Department "based on the future sale of the Launceston CBD sites."
The Examiner revealed last week the state government planned to sell the Launceston City campus and consolidate Launceston TasTAFE sites to Alanvale.
Opposition TAFE, University and Skills Minister Michelle O'Byrne said the government needed to come clean on any discussions they have had with prospective buyers of the site to ensure Alanvale is upgraded prior to students being moved.
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"We need to ensure that the government is capable of funding the necessary changes before closing the Launceston campus," she said.
The state government funds TasTAFE jointly with the federal government and allocates 80 per cent of the training budget to the public vocational training provider.
The government spokeswoman said the government had provided "significant funding to establish three Centres of Excellence to provide state-of-the-art training facilities."
When asked to give a break down of how much funding had been spent on infrastructure for existing TasTAFE facilities versus Centres for Excellence, the spokeswoman said:
- $1.5 million invested for new state of the art training kitchens and equipment for Drysdale Cookery training in Devonport
- $2 million for a new Drysdale Campus in Hobart's northern suburbs, including new equipment.
- $4 million is for equipment, upgrades and refurbishments at Launceston's Alanvale campus
- $1 million for equipment and refurbishments at Clarence Campus.
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That is a total of $8.5 million in infrastructure investment for existing campuses, however, $3.5 million was allocated alone to Drysdale.
The Centres for Excellence have received, in comparison: $5 million for equipment, refurbishment and facilities at Freers Farm; $7 million for a brand new water and trades centre for excellence at Clarence and $3.2 million for Drysdale South's restaurant for upgrades to equipment and facilities.
That's a total of $15.2 million to establish or upgrade the three Centres of Excellence: agriculture in Burnie, water and trades at Clarence and Drysdale South.
Ms O'Byrne said the government had "form on backroom deals and secret sales" and called on Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff to come clean on his negotiations for the Launceston site.
"Jeremy Rockliff still hasn't even answered basic questions on the Liberal's plans for the existing Launceston site and wouldn't confirm what discussions had taken place about a potential sale."
It's understood students will begin transitioning to the Alanvale site in 2020, with the Launceston city site to only house nursing until suitable facilities at Alanvale can be refurbished.
The state government spokeswoman said any extra funds from the sale of the Launceston city campus would be reinvested into TasTAFE campuses across the state.