In December 2023, April 2024 and June 2024, Warwick’s SDIEA facility was announced as the “preferred location” for the new regional uni hub on Council’s Facebook site.
Last week, everything changed. The CUC Southern Downs announced the facility’s location will be at the Warwick TAFE, not the SDIEA.
On the surface, the decision may seem like political sour grapes. Former Mayor Vic Pennisi heads the board of the CUC Southern Downs whilst the SDIEA board includes Deputy Mayor Cheryl Windle, former councillor Marco Gliori and current councillor Morwenna Harslett.
However, CUC Centre Manager Alyce Lotz told The Town & Country Journal that the decision was made based on picking the best physical location for the new venture.
“The decision to establish CUC Southern Downs at Warwick TAFE was made after careful consideration of factors such as accessibility, regulatory compliance, and short and long-term affordability.”
Sources close to the matter told our newspaper that the SDIEA facility was inferior to the Warwick TAFE premises, more expensive and required more work to make it compliant and suitable for purpose. Warwick TAFE offered a better building, excellent location and much lower price. The CUC board made an informed decision based on those factors.
“Importantly, this location presents an exciting opportunity to bring vocational and higher-level education together on the same site, creating a more connected and supportive learning environment for students” said Ms Lotz, thanking “all stakeholders”.
Stakeholder or not?
As recently as seven months ago, Council considered itself a stakeholder in the CUC. In December 2023, the SDIEA was described in a SDRC announcement as one of the “principal organisations involved to date” in securing a regional uni hub.
In June last year, Council announced that “building modifications and fit-out work will commence shortly” at the SDIEA premises. Mayor Melissa Hamilton “worked closely” on funding submissions to equip “a centre”.
The Town & Country Journal asked council whether fit-out works were undertaken at SDIEA for the CUC Southern Downs, and, if so, how they were paid for. We await a reply.
Despite Council’s heavy involvement in securing a uni hub to benefit the region, it announced late last year that it no longer had any role or representation with the organisation. Council “supports” the CUC Southern Downs, but “is not involved in the planning or delivery of the project” despite playing “a key role in the initial stakeholder group that successfully secured Federal Government funding for” the project. Indeed, former SDRC manager/principal advisor for economic development, Michael Hefferan, remains on the board of the CUC Southern Downs although he is no longer employed by Council. Council did not comment on this matter.
The CUC Southern Downs is a community-driven initiative, financially supported by the Australian Regional University Study Hubs Program. Not every Country University Centre operates in tandem with their local council.
SDIEA offline?
After CUC Southern Downs announced the Warwick TAFE site, the Town & Country Journal reached out to the SDIEA for their response. We contacted the organisation and left a message with SDIEA chair Janelle Robb. Within two days, the SDIEA website was either removed or became inoperable and, at time of writing, can no longer be accessed. Ms Robb has not responded to messages. The SDIEA Facebook site does not appear to have been updated since August 2023 and contains very few posts.
The Southern Downs Industry Education Association (SDIEA) is a non-profit organization that provides skills training and support in the Southern Downs region.
