Ms THEOPHANOUS (Northcote): This week I was delighted to attend the Fairfield campus of Melbourne Polytechnic with the Minister for Training and Skills. We timed the visit perfectly as it was a bright and balmy Melbourne day and the flowers were in full bloom across the campus, which apparently is quite handy for the floristry class, who made us some fresh bouquets.

Certificates II and III in horticulture are just two of the free TAFE offerings at the Fairfield campus, which has seen a steady rise in enrolments since the free courses were introduced. The minister and I had the opportunity to walk through the greenhouses and laboratories and speak to some of the students, including Hannah, who completed her certificate II and has now gone on to study a certificate IV in horticulture, with the aim of getting into permaculture.

Delightfully, these fields are particularly popular in my electorate of Northcote, which is also home to the Melbourne Food Hub in Alphington. The hub, nestled down near the Darebin Creek, is a collaboration between the Sustain food network and the Alphington Farmers Market. It supports new food start-ups and urban farming projects, which are so important to protecting our food bowl here in Melbourne.

Melbourne Poly has partnered with the hub and will soon be using their urban agriculture site in Alphington as a demonstration space to teach free TAFE horticulture, with students learning about food production and urban farming.

This is just one example of how free TAFE is making a difference to my community and creating opportunities not just for students but also for our local businesses.

I thank the minister for visiting with me and seeing the innovative work being done out of the Fairfield campus, which continues to flourish through our government’s free TAFE offerings.