Questions over timeline of Scone TAFE campus sale

Mr Faurby told the Skills and Tertiary Education Budget Estimates hearing on Monday that Racing NSW wrote to Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education Geoff Lee last July to express interest in the 17.9 hectare site.

TAFE NSW listed the site for sale by expressions of interest this January. Racing NSW was reported on Monday afternoon to have made a bid for the site, with the intention of running it as an educational facility.

Racing NSW has not responded to request for comment.

As previously reported, Dr Lee told the committee's morning session he couldn't recall if he had discussed the campus at his meetings with Stockland last June 24, Trifalga Property Group last July 14 and Racing NSW last August 6.

Dr Lee did not attend the afternoon session, when the committee asked Mr Faurby when Racing NSW or its chief executive Peter V'landys approached TAFE NSW about the site - and whether this was the catalyst to sell. Mr Faurby said Racing NSW had approached Dr Lee but could not recall when.

"I can certainly say that we had - we being TAFE NSW - given consideration to the future of Scone that predates any approach that was made by any third party person," Mr Faurby said.

He later confirmed Racing NSW approached Dr Lee last July.

"All I can say is that they approached us," he said.

"I think the wording of the letter that was written to the Minister in July of last year did suggest that they had an interest in the facility. Because it was an unsolicited offer, we directed them to the DPC [Department of Premier and Cabinet] guidelines for the ways in which to deal with unsolicited offers.

"As far as I am concerned, that was the end of that discussion." Mr Faurby said Dr Lee sought his advice and wrote back to Racing NSW.

The committee asked Mr Faurby if TAFE NSW's assessment of the site being under-utilised preceded or post-dated Racing NSW's letter.

"We would have formed that view prior to receiving the letter from Mr V'landys," Mr Faurby said. "... this was entirely an operational consideration given the fact that we have an 18-hectare facility that is heavily underutilised - in fact so much so that only three out of 12 buildings are used to provide training on only 30 days a year - so the termination or decision that we made, or rather the recommendation that we made, was based entirely on the conclusion that we came to that there would be better use of taxpayers' assets and there would be a better way in which to seek to expand our footprint and involvement in the Upper Hunter through the ways in which we have outlined we want to do that."

Mr Faurby said he had "absolutely no such reason" to believe anyone would have told Mr V'landys about the under-utilisation analysis.

Mr Faurby said TAFE NSW commenced the analysis last April.

He said he told the committee on April 8 last year there were no plans to divest the site because it was still "considering options for the facility" at the time.

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