Save Creative Writing in TAFE

I would like to make four points:

1. It is interesting to note that creative writing is presently EXPANDING in post-graduate programs.

2. Academic writing requires that ideas flow and are explained in an organised and thorough manner. Mastering creative writing techniques lays a solid foundation for future handling of multiple ideas that must be woven together into coherent and convincing arguments.

3. The capacity to write in an engaging and clear way is less likely to be nurtured by subjects such as those that are entirely theoretically based. Anyone writing for the public consumption (inc. govt, business and/or marketing) has to have the ability to catch and hold their intended audience. Again, creative writing creates a foundation for this.

4. Many of the great leaps made in Western Society have been made by those who are able to 'think outside the square'. Respect for, and nurturing of, this capacity is akin to the development of manners--no-one dies, but what a banal, unattractive and phatic society we would have.

Thank you.