There is talk, as ever, of a federal take-over of training – which misses the point.

For the training system to better serve communities which centralised system it is part of, be it based in Canberra or state capitals, matters less than a capacity to create courses to meet local needs.

TAFE Directors Australia’s Craig Robertson argues that these are the very powers that universities have and without them centralised government is always too far away from the local-level where training institutions work. “For a national system to work, with balance across sectors, TAFEs and other capable providers need to be given these capabilities, otherwise students in inner Sydney, Broken Hill, Katherine and Bunbury are served the same course with little regard to local conditions, and service to community is put at risk,” he writes.