Whilst
the government spruiks its maritime college defence partnerships its commitment
to Australian sea farer training is under question as the University of
Tasmania has revealed its plans to sell the training vessel ‘Blue Fin’ with no
commitment to a replacement vessel.
Hot
on the heels of losing the Pacific Patrol Boats funding and the sacking of
senior academic staff it appears the undermining of this valuable part of
Australia’s maritime training continues.
The
ability to have onboard experience is a significant drawcard for students to
enrol in Launceston to study for careers in the maritime industry. It
provides a practical learning environment in an industry that has identified
skill shortages at a time when the need to reinvest in our own supply chain
management has become more evident.
Australian
trained sea farers have been some of the most respected in the work with
international seafarers’ research bodies historically ranking the quality of the
training amongst the highest in the world.
The
University has failed to satisfactorily explain this cut that will damage our
reputation and impact on the training at our AMC.
The government failed to intervene to help save the Pacific Boats contracts, stood back as senior highly skilled staff were made redundant, the question now is will they act now to protect the quality of training and reputation of our maritime college? Or are they prepared to let that sink?
Michelle O’Byrne MP
Labor Member for Bass
