MS TIERNEY (Western Victoria—Minister for Training and Skills, Minister for Higher Education) (12:21): I rise to update the chamber on the progress of Kangan TAFE’s new Health and Community Centre of Excellence in Broadmeadows. I am incredibly proud that the Andrews Labor government is investing $60 million to deliver a better TAFE campus in Broadmeadows. It is such an important project. We know that the health sector is growing and needs an additional pipeline of skilled workers, and we know that Kangan TAFE is a critical provider of health training in Melbourne’s north. This facility will mean more local students getting the local skills that they need for local jobs, including at Northern Health.
This week we reached the next stage in making this project a reality. I was pleased to announce that Architectus has been appointed to design the new facility. The facility’s design will include laboratories, flexible learning spaces, outdoor recreation facilities and facilities for students in areas such as nursing, mental health, pathology, disability and aged care. I cannot wait to see the designs of this magnificent facility. Construction will begin in early 2023 and will create 300 local trade jobs. Broadmeadows is a proud community, a community that knows how important its local TAFE is, and this community deserves a world-class TAFE campus. Only a Labor government would ever deliver this project, and that is exactly what we are doing.