Mandurah site planned for Murdoch Uni/TAFE facility

10/5/94

Mandurah has been recommended as the location for a unique education and training precinct, expected to attract students from across Australia and the world.

Two Mandurah sites have been nominated as possibilities for a joint Murdoch University/TAFE facility, specialising in tourism and hospitality services, environmental science and marine biology.

Education Minister Norman Moore said the two sites under consideration were on the Mandurah Peninsula, between Ormsby Terrace and the Mandurah City Council offices, and at Gordon Road.

"Cabinet has decided that both sites will be rigorously assessed to determine which site is most suitable and appropriate," Mr Moore said.

"The final decision will not be made until this further assessment is carried out by the relevant Government departments."

The Minister said Cabinet had approved a recommendation for the joint facility, included in an expert report by the Stanley committee, into the post-compulsory education needs of Perth's south-west corridor.  The aim was to have the education facility open its doors at the start of 1996.

The Mandurah decision came after three months of detailed evaluation by a high-powered steering committee, chaired by Professor Gordon Stanley, the head of the State Government's Education Planning and Co-ordination Bureau.  The committee included representation from Murdoch University, the State Departments of Training, Education, Transport, Planning and Urban Development, the Minister's office, and the Commonwealth Department of Employment, Education and Training. 

Mr Moore said the report found that the post-secondary education needs of the corridor's expanding population would be best served by a two-campus co-location model for the Murdoch University expansion, including TAFE.  The other recommended site was in Rockingham.

Mandurah MLA Roger Nicholls and the Member for Murray, Arthur Marshall, welcomed the Mandurah decision and said it marked the culmination of the Minister's determination, reinforced by their lobbying, for the region to have the best possible education facilities.

Mr Moore said the committee found that Mandurah was a natural location for a centre of excellence for education and training in the tourism industry and for environmental science and marine biology.

"The town's special attributes will enable the development of facilities of world-class standing and the potential for the direct involvement of the local tourism and accommodation industry is an added advantage," the Minister said.

"The committee is of the view that such a centre would give the State's education and training sector a competitive advantage in attracting national and international students."

The Commonwealth has agreed to provide $7.3 million in 1996 for capital works and student places associated with extension of Murdoch University in the south-west corridor. This is in addition to the $5.7 million provided through the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) for capital funding for TAFE facilities in the Peel Region.

Media contact:  Ross Storey  321 1444  222 9595