Persons referred to in the Senate - Mr Raymond Rose, Principal, Bridge
Business College
83rd Report
November 1999
REPORT
- On 3 November 1999 the President of the Senate, Senator the Honourable
Margaret Reid, received a letter from Mr Raymond Rose, Principal,
Bridge Business College, seeking redress under the resolution of the
Senate of 25 February 1988 relating to the protection of persons
referred to in the Senate (Privilege Resolution 5).
- The letter referred to a statement made by Senator Kim Carr during
matters of public interest discussion in the Senate on 29 September 1999.
The President, having accepted the letter as a submission for the purposes
of the resolution, referred it to the Committee of Privileges on 9 November 1999.
- The committee met in private session on 25 November 1999 and, pursuant
to paragraph (3) of Privilege Resolution 5, decided to consider the
submission. In considering the submission, the committee did not find
it necessary to confer with either Mr Rose or Senator Carr. The statement
at Appendix One has been agreed to by Mr Rose and the Committee in accordance
with Resolution 5(7)(b).
- The committee recommends:
That a response by Mr Raymond Rose, Principal, Bridge
Business College, in the terms specified at Appendix One, and agreed
to by Mr Rose and the Committee, be incorporated in Hansard.
Sue Knowles
Acting Chairman
APPENDIX ONE
RESPONSE BY MR RAYMOND ROSE, PRINCIPAL,
BRIDGE BUSINESS COLLEGE
AGREED TO BY MR ROSE AND THE COMMITTEE OF PRIVILEGES
PURSUANT TO RESOLUTION 5(7)(B) OF THE SENATE
OF 28 FEBRUARY 1988
In order to introduce our grievance to you may I first draw your attention
to Senator Carr’s speech of 29 September 1999 regarding private
providers of international education, and in particular to his comments
about Bridge Business College.
We immediately responded to Senator Carr by registered letter and still
await an answer. Our point by point response to the Senator’s comments
is as follows:
We have read the Hansard recording of the concerns you raised recently
in relation to the overseas student sector in Australia. We note in
particular your comments concerning Bridge Business College.
In the table below you will see your comments reproduced together with
a specific response from the College in relation to each point:
| You raised the following points in
relation to Bridge Business College. |
Our Response |
| ‘.... I understand is not a member
of the ACPET organisation but is an RTO.’ |
Bridge Business College is a member of
the Australian Council of Independent Vocational Colleges Limited
(ACIVC) and is Accredited as a provider of vocational courses by
NSW VETAB |
| ‘It has some 600 students allegedly
enrolled’ |
The Commonwealth Register of Institutions
and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) lists our Maximum number
of students as 720. This figure was established after an inspection
of our premises in July 1997 by the ACIVC Accreditation Commissioner
acting on behalf of NSW VETAB |
| ‘but they are required to attend
only on an infrequent basis - what they call very flexible delivery
service – and sometimes up to only an hour a day’ |
All overseas students are required to
attend for 20 hours per week. The College frequently reports non-attending
students to DIMA. Evidence of this is on file and available for
scrutiny. Our timetable provides some flexibility (choice of classes
times within a given day) in line with the National Framework
for the Recognition of Training Principles. Note Principle 7
"Courses shall be capable of being adapted to meet the particular
needs of the industry individuals and other educational institutions."
|
| this college claims to offer extensive
courses in computing and business studies but for some 600 students
it appears to have only 40 computers. |
This College has a Novell Local Area
Network comprising 100 computers. We do not offer computer
courses only. The College provides courses in ELICOS, Business Studies,
Travel and Tourism as well as Computer Skills. Approximately 20%
of our students are enrolled specifically in Computer Skills courses.
|
Bridge Business College is particularly proud of its premises, academic
staff and state of the art facilities offered to students. Your comments
have caused us grave concern and we are distressed that you made your
comments without being adequately informed.
On Wednesday 20 October we were ‘visited’ without appointment
by the Department of Immigration Investigation Section in direct response
to Senator Carr’s comments. I believe that the investigators’
ensuing inspection enabled them to form an opinion which negates all Senator
Carr’s comments in relation to our resources and their utilisation.
Senator Carr’s comments were widely reported and are now common
knowledge to all accreditation bodies, education agents and many potential
students. I need hardly add that his comments have already inflicted damage
on this College. Indeed I suggest that Senator Carr was supplied with
information from a person or persons who had vested interests in discrediting
a competitor.
We seek redress in the manner considered appropriate by your Committee
and in the light of our predicament look forward to an early response.
BRIDGE BUSINESS COLLEGE
Raymond Rose
Principal