Mineral royalties and technical colleges in duelling Victorian election pledges

Mineral royalties and technical colleges in duelling Victorian election pledges In short: Premier Ben Carroll has pledged a re-elected Labor government in Victoria would direct 100 per cent of all mineral resource royalties into regional Victoria. Opposition Leader Jess Wilson has pledged a Coalition government if elected would establish 10 new technical colleges statewide, adopting a South Australian model. What's next? Victorians will head to the polls next month, with the state election scheduled for November 28. A Western Australia-style "royalties for regions" and a revival of technical colleges are being floated by Victoria's major party leaders ahead of next month's state election. Labor Premier Ben Carroll and Coalition leader Jess Wilson will today announce duelling policies as MPs and candidates limber up for the final stretch of the state election campaign, with Victorians heading to the polls on November 28. Directly citing a long-running WA policy as inspiration, Mr Carroll said a re-elected Labor government would "guarantee every cent" that Victoria collected in resource royalties would be reinvested into regional infrastructure, including schools and hospitals. The premier said Victoria's minerals endowment was estimated to generate $500 million over the next four years. "Victoria was once the biggest producer of gold in the world, and now we are on the cusp of another boom,"Mr Carroll said. "If the wealth comes out of regional Victoria, the wealth should go back into regional Victoria — it's that simple." Mr Carroll noted the recent approval for the Avonbank Mineral Sands Project in the Wimmera as well as the Southern Cross Gold Sunday Creek exploration project as examples of a mineral resource revival in Victoria. The original WA policy was spearheaded by then WA Nationals leader Brendon Grylls in exchange for supporting then Liberal leader Colin Barnett to become premier following the deadlocked 2008 WA state election. Unlike other states, the WA Liberals and Nationals operate independently and rarely in a formal coalition. Coalition pledges new technical colleges Ms Wilson will today announce a Coalition government if elected next month would establish 10 new technical colleges statewide, adopting a South Australian model. The Coalition leader said the proposed technical colleges would differ from Labor's Tech Schools in that students would be enrolled full time from years 10 to 12. The Coalition anticipates the college will cost $222 million over eight years and educate a cumulative 5000 students in trades including plumbing, electrical, carpentry, healthcare and hospitality. "My team is backing the next generation of tradies to get the skills they need sooner for a rewarding career," Ms Wilson said. "A house doesn't build itself, and our ambitious agenda to deliver more homes and more housing choice for Victorians needs a skilled workforce to deliver it. "Not every student thrives in a traditional classroom, and not every young person wants to go to university. They deserve another pathway to a great career." Victoria's secondary education system was divided into academically-focused high schools and vocationally-focused technical schools for generations until the Cain government reformed the system in the late 1980s into amalgamated colleges, under then education minister Joan Kirner. Ahead of the 2014 state election, the then opposition leader Dan Andrews pledged to revive technical schools, with several constructed in key locations such as Geelong and Frankston. However, the Coalition labelled the current tech schools as "drop-in centres offering short-term experiences but no vocational qualifications".