The Minister for Education and Skills, Nick McKim, said today that despite Michael Ferguson's opposition, the position of LINC Director in Tasmania would be filled.

 

Mr McKim said that Mr Ferguson had today displayed his ignorance about the role of VET and LINCs in Tasmania.

 

"Mr Ferguson has wrongly and naively linked the VET review to the position of LINC Director," he said.

 

"He obviously has no understanding of the role of the Director of LINC Tasmania by associating the position with the VET Review," he said.

 

 "The VET review is not related to the work of LINCs  and I ask the Liberal Party if they would cut the job, which is vital to running Tasmania's libraries and online access centres?

 

"There are 200,000 Tasmanians that use LINCs in Tasmania.

 

"LINC Tasmania's focus is on lifelong learning for all Tasmanians and it delivers information, literacy support, education and training services statewide.

 

"But also as part of LINC Tasmania, the Tasmanian Archive and Heritage Office preserves and manages the cultural memory and documentary records of Tasmania, including the legal framework for government recordkeeping," he said.

 

Mr McKim said that LINC Tasmania provides services from 90 physical service points in 72 locations across Tasmania and these include LINC's, branch libraries, Online Access Centres and the Tasmanian Archive and Heritage Office.

 

"It employs nearly 400 staff.

 

"Under legislation LINC Tasmania supports the Tasmanian Library Advisory Board, the State Library and Archives Trust, the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts Management Committee and the State Archivist," Mr McKim said.