Liberals cut migrant English classes

Migrants in the North and North-West have been told their TasTAFE English classes will end in December, as Eric Abetz’s cuts hit some of Tasmania’s most determined learners.

In May, the Liberals admitted that migrant English programs were on the chopping block for cuts. Now a letter sent to students on 2 September confirms English Language programs in the North and North-West will be discontinued in December. Students have been told they “will need to explore other providers and pathways outside of TasTAFE”.

The Liberals have told people who are still learning English that their English classes are ending, in a letter written in English. Then they told them to go and sort it out themselves.

These classes at Alanvale and Devonport help migrants into work in our regions, where we rely on them to fill skills shortages in health, aged care, agriculture, and manufacturing.

For many of them, TasTAFE is the only affordable place to learn English and the Liberals are taking it away. Cutting the classes that help them into productive work makes no sense.

Students have written to Labor through our Uncover the Cuts website. They told us these classes helped them find work, volunteer and give back to their communities.

These are people who want to learn, work, and contribute. They have chosen to make Tasmania home, and they are putting in the hard work of learning a new language to build a life here. English classes are how they get a job, talk to their doctor, help their kids with school, and take part in community life. Take the classes away and you leave people with so much to offer stuck on the sidelines.

After 13 years of Liberal waste like the Spirits fiasco, Premier Rockliff has put Eric Abetz in charge of cutting jobs and services to pay for it.

The Liberals should reverse this decision and keep English classes running in the North and North-West.