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Local politicians fear students will pay more for TAFE if the NSW Government does not rule out privatisation. The NSW Labor party has demanded a guarantee on the future of Campbelltown TAFE, after the Liberal-National government refused to rule out privatisation, cutting courses, closing campuses and increasing fees. NSW Labor Leader Jodi McKay and opposition spokesman for Western Sydney Greg Warren visited Campbelltown TAFE yesterday to discuss the site's future. Ms McKay said investing in TAFE was critical to combat some of the worst skill shortages in NSW. "Real and meaningful investment in education and training is more important than ever," Ms McKay said. "I'm here in Campbelltown demanding the government doesn't close this campus, doesn't raise fees and doesn't cut any further courses." Ms McKay said the Liberals and Nationals had refused to give a guarantee on TAFE's future. "In fast-growing areas like Campbelltown we should be growing TAFE, not having to fight to keep the doors open," she said. "The government must give a guarantee on Campbelltown TAFE." Campbelltown TAFE has been an educational hub for students to upskill and gain qualifications in Macarthur for more than four decades. Mr Warren said attracting skilled workers had become a big problem in the Macarthur region and beyond. "The population growth for the Macarthur region is immense, Campbelltown is expected to double in size in the next 25 years," he said. "We need be planning for this growth, not cutting back important institutions like TAFE. "There are massive skills shortages across Western Sydney and TAFE is the solution. "We need investment in campuses like Campbelltown not cuts, we can't let the greedy government sell it off to pay for its budget blowouts." Labor's calls follow last month's announcement of a review into the NSW TAFE system and fresh fears the Premier is looking to privatise the sector. The minister for skills and tertiary education Geoff Lee (Liberal) could not guarantee that no more courses would be cut or campuses closed as a result of the review during Question Time at NSW Parliament. "It does disappoint me that those on the other side want to politicise TAFE," Mr Lee said. "On Tuesday we announced a review of TAFE headed by two experts... looking at how we can run courses in the future. "We are very interested in what courses we run where. The review is to look at the alignment, what we need to run, where we need to run it, what teachers we need and what courses we need to run to meet industry requirements. "We care about all our campuses." Ms McKay also announced Labor's Shadow Cabinet would meet in Camden next week. It's the third in a series of Shadow Cabinet visits outside of Parliament House and comes off the back of successful meetings in Singleton and Tumut. Ms McKay said it was important to travel with her Shadow Cabinet beyond Macquarie Street. "Places like Camden are growing rapidly and as a state, we move together or we don't move at all," she said.

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