Independent candidates Tony Windsor and Rob Taber, Greens Mercurius Goldstein and Country Labor’s David Ewnings will be in the hot seat to discuss the future provision of TAFE and university for local students. 

NSW Teacher’s Federation spokeswoman Kathy Nicholson said the meeting would give candidates the opportunity to have an open dialogue with the community. 

“The action that is needed is a reinvestment in TAFE,” Ms Nicholson said. 

 “Armidale should be the driver of our New England economy considering it is a centre for education, but because of political position, we are seeing a huge diminishing of TAFE.

“We would like to see, at the very least, 70 per cent of funding that goes to vocational education go to the public TAFE sector.” The meeting will also include a presentation from NSW Teachers Federation deputy secretary Maxine Sharkey, and National Tertiary Education Union representatives Genevieve Kelly and Margaret Sims as well as from a local teacher and students.

Ms Nicholson said since 2011 the New England TAFE network has had more than $7 million in wages axed. 

“I am fearful of the communities we are going to have without TAFE,” Ms Nicholson said. 

 “We need to be given the basic tools to get back to our jobs of giving people a second chance.”

The public forum is a joint initiative of the NSW Teachers Federation and National Tertiary Education Union and will be held at Armidale City Bowling Club at 6.30pm.