PM appoints new ministerial team for education

New PM Scott Morrison has reshuffled the ministerial team handling education.

Newly appointed Minister for Education and Training Dan Tehan. Picture Kym Smith

In today’s Higher Ed Daily Brief: new ministers, TAFE award

Shuffling chairs

Simon Birmingham hands over education to Dan Tehan and moves to the trade portfolio after notching up nearly three years in the education job, a longer stint than any education minister since Brendan Nelson who served from 2001 to 2006. If you add in the ten months Birmingham spent as minister responsible for vocational education before rising to the top role, then his credentials look even more burnished.

His major achievement in tertiary education was to clean up the VET FEE-HELP mess in vocational education. But he failed to find a way through the impasse on higher education funding, in the end resorting last December to the blunt instrument of freezing course funding payments to universities for two years.

Aside from Mr Tehan, the former Social Services Minister who is new to education, the other ministers in the Morrison cabinet who deal with tertiary education institutions are not new to the sector.

Karen Andrews (formerly responsible for vocational education) is now in charge of science and research as the Industry, Science and Technology Minister. Michaelia Cash, who previously held Ms Andrews new portfolio, is now Small Business, Skills and Vocational Education Minister. Coup plotter Greg Hunt, remains in the health portfolio where he has responsibility for health and medical research.

TAFE-based hospital recognised

Australia’s first hospital based in a TAFE has been recognised with a training award. Holmesglen TAFE in Melbourne has the Holmesglen Private Hospital on its Moorabbin campus, including a 24/7 emergency department, intensive care and coronary care. It won the Industry Collaboration Award in the 2018 Victorian Training Awards.