The Minns Labor Government must immediately come clean on its plans for Gosford TAFE, following revelations the site has been identified as part of the Government’s sweeping review of public land.
Shadow Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education Justin Clancy said the news would rightly concern students, teachers, employers and the wider Central Coast community.
“The former Liberal Government had a clear plan to replace the ageing Gosford campus with a new, state-of-the-art TAFE in the Gosford CBD as part of the Central Coast Education and Employment Precinct,” Mr Clancy said.
“Labor walked away from the proposed purchase of the CBD site. Now we learn the existing TAFE site has been caught up in the Government’s land audit. The Central Coast needs more opportunities for skills and training, not uncertainty over the future of one of its major education assets.”
Mr Clancy said the revelation came amid broader questions about the Minns Government’s management of the TAFE estate.
“Last month’s Budget showed the value of TAFE NSW’s property, plant and equipment is forecast to fall from $5.66 billion in the revised 2025–26 estimates to $5.43 billion in 2026–27.”
“We already know former TAFE land at Kogarah has been put on the market. Now serious questions have been raised about Gosford. Have broader discussions taken place with other government departments? What guarantee can the Government give about the future delivery of TAFE on the Central Coast?”
Member for Terrigal Adam Crouch said Labor needs to come clean about the future of Gosford TAFE.
“Labor spent years criticising the former government’s vision for a new Gosford TAFE. Now, after failing to deliver anything for TAFE students across the Coast, we learn they are looking to flog off the Gosford TAFE campus with no plan for the future,” Mr Crouch said.
“The former Liberal Government backed our region with record investment into education, including the world-class university campus in Gosford and a state-of-the-art medical research facility at Gosford Hospital.”
Mr Clancy said any decision about the future of TAFE property must put the long-term skills needs of the community first.
“Public land should not simply be viewed as a line on a balance sheet. Once strategic education land is sold, getting it back can be extraordinarily difficult and expensive.”
“If Labor has a plan for TAFE in Gosford, it should tell the community what it is.”
“If it doesn’t, it should take the sale of Gosford TAFE off the table.”