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1News
4 hours ago
- 1News
Job cuts as part of Govt's polytech reform necessary
Vocational Education Minister Penny Simmonds says a reduction of 600 roles across different polytechnics is necessary to address unsustainable financial deficits as the Government dismantles Te Pūkenga. Ten polytechnics will be re-established from next year 2026, Simmonds announced last week, with differing fates for six other institutions. Simmonds told Q+A the net job losses were necessary to address unsustainable deficits. "It depends where they're coming from. When you've got institutions that are running $11.3 million deficits, you simply cannot carry on with that," she said. "You look at what's causing those deficits. In the WelTec/Whitireia situation, the arts centre here in the middle of Wellington, they were running at a ratio of one staff member to 5.6 students. No school gets that advantage. ADVERTISEMENT "You've got to have a look at where the staff are going to come from, and in some cases, it's just they shouldn't be operating at that ratio." She confirmed "there would be a reduction this year" of roles at some institutions. "There will be further redundancies." Minister confident changes will prove worth Treasury has previously suggested the reforms could risk repeating past failures, saying plans remained focused on supporting institutions' financial viability, "with no clear evidence of how the needs of learners and employers have been considered". Simmonds responded when read the advice: "Treasury gave a range of advice, which Cabinet looked at along with lots of other advice. "We've got evidence over the last five decades of polytechnics being able to be successful to reflect the needs of industries and their community, and so I relied on the history that we'd seen of polytechnics being able to do that successfully." ADVERTISEMENT Before entering politics, the Vocational Education Minister and National MP served as the chief executive of the Southern Institute of Technology. Treasury officials also posited the reforms could create a financial situation "similar, if not worse, than the situation faced by [educational institutions] pre-Te Pūkenga". Asked about assurances that further bailouts wouldn't be needed, she said the institutions "will be set up in the best possible way that they can be". "They will have their debt addressed. They will have their financial pathway to viability. It's then up to communities to make sure that the right people are in the governance roles and the right people are in the management roles, and that they integrate with the community." Simmonds was also pressed about whether some institutions gaining independence were in worse financial positions than those entering federation. "No, not a worse financial position, no. So, some of them will get to sustainability. They'll get to a surplus. In the time they'll take to get to a surplus, they have reserves that can cover them during that time." Labour says new model will drain regions ADVERTISEMENT In response to the Q+A interview, Labour's education spokesperson Shanan Halbert said, the whole point of Te Pūkenga was to make the polytechnic sector more financially viable and ensure more training opportunities and employment in our regions. "The changes announced today will only return the polytechnic sector to a model that was never financially viable – and the result will be major job losses in local areas." Halbert said the Government "could have simply addressed some of the issues" the existing model to avoid the "uncertainty this has had on staff and students". The changes to amalgamate polytechnics and institutes of technology were introduced by the previous Labour government. In her interview, Simmonds was also asked about delays to a ban on single-use plastics, how she had managed her environment portfolio, and on Gore's recent tap water issues. For the full interview, watch the video above Q+A with Jack Tame is made with the support of New Zealand On Air
Scoop
9 hours ago
- Scoop
Political cosyism behind 3rd medical school decision-making
On 21 May I was introduced to two new words (always a moment of light excitement for me) by Dr Bryce Edwards, Director of the newly established Integrity Institute which publishes regular Integrity Briefings. On this occasion the new word was 'chumocracy' and 'cosyism': Chumocracy and cosyism. He was referring to the work of Auckland University Professor of Economics Robert MacCulloch who was calling out 'soft corruption' by political and business elites in Aotearoa New Zealand. His focus included government, banks, big business and the rightwing 'thinktank' New Zealand Initiative. Such was the strength and persistence of the hostile response from these elites that he felt sufficiently pressured to close his website. The core of MacCulloch's argument is that New Zealand is run by a 'chumocracy' of elites who are connected by what he calls 'cosyism'. Third medical school announcement These were the words that I began to think about after absorbing the announcement by Health Minister Simeon Brown and Universities Minister Shane Reti early in the afternoon of 21 July that it was proceeding with the proposed third medical school at Waikato University: Official announcement. Later that the same day I was interviewed about the decision on Radio New Zealand's The Panel where my main focus was on the poor process which was likely to lead to an eventual poor outcome: Medical school decision based on poor process. Nearly two years earlier I had outlined my concerns about the Waikato University proposal in an article published by BusinessDesk (26 August 2023): Third medical school caution. What is the third medical school The new medical school is to provide a four-year medical degree for students who already are graduates with a non-medical degree to work as general practitioners (or as other rural doctors) in regional and rural areas. The medical degree at the existing two medical schools, Auckland and Otago, is five years. The advocated expectation is that the proposed Waikato Medical School will be graduating 120 doctors a year once it is up and running. With its opening scheduled for 2028 the first graduates should start working as general practitioners or other rural doctors at the earliest in 2037. This gap comprises both the time at the medical school and the time as resident (junior) doctors in training. Last year the Ministry of Health commissioned a report which advised that that Waikato's teaching model would be similar to the model in Wollongong University, south of Sydney. Reportedly 45% of the latter's graduates become GPs of which around 30% proceeded to work in rural areas. In 2017 the Auckland and Otago medical schools had proposed that they be allowed to jointly establish a new joint 'school of rural medicine'. However, while the previous Labour-led government and Ministry of Health was favourably disposed to this initiative, progress was understandably impeded by the Covid-19 pandemic. In a memo to then Health Minister Shane Reti in September last year, Treasury recommended that Auckland and Otago Medical Schools be asked to present a counter-factual argument to the Waikato proposal. However, it appears that no such invitation was made. Analysis by the Integrity Institute The best commentary I have seen on this decision has come from Bryce Edwards in another Integrity Briefing published the same day as the Government's announcement and after my The Panel interview (21 July): Costly case study in policy capture. Edwards also drew upon the excellent investigative work of Radio New Zealand's Guyan Espinar. Consistent with his above-mentioned piece on 'chumocracy' and 'cosyism' he describes the decision as: … not, at its core, a decision about health policy. It is a decision about political power, influence, and the erosion of good process. This project serves as a textbook case study of policy capture, where the interests of a well-connected institution, amplified by high-powered lobbyists, have overridden expert advice, fiscal prudence, and superior alternatives. Later in his piece he adds: This lack of transparency and due process is antithetical to good governance. The entire Waikato med school saga has unfolded via secret contracts, private lobbying meetings, and politically wired relationships – all largely hidden from the public until journalists and watchdogs pried it into the light. Backing this up Edwards draws upon many questionable process features including: Waikato Vice-Chancellor Professor Neil Quigley working 'hand-in-glove' in 'partisan coordination' with Shane Reti before the last election and promising the proposed school would be 'a 'present' to a future National government'. Waikato University helping pay for the National party's campaign announcement of the medical school plan (about $5,000). Government officials seeing 'red flags' in the proposal including alarm bells ringing from Treasury, the Tertiary Education Commission and the Ministry of Education warning of bloated costs, duplication risks and logistical hurdles. The use of two of the most well-connected lobbyists: initially former Labour senior adviser Neale Jones and more substantially former National cabinet minister Steven Joyce. Joyce's firm was paid about $1 million over three years by Waikato for 'consultancy' (le, leveraging his political influence). Questionable procurement in the way Waikato University hired Joyce leading to a public 'scolding' by the Auditor-General John Ryan. Ignoring the arguably better alternative of expanding the existing Auckland and Otago medical schools which were already running rural immersion schemes and satellite programs geared toward rural health. Edwards does not hold back: At its core, the Waikato medical school saga is an illustration of how not to make public policy. The process has failed every basic test of transparency, public accountability, and evidence-based decision-making. A public university and eager politicians cooked up a major spending initiative as a political favour, greased by lobbyists and implemented via dubious means. The normal checks and balances – open procurement, independent policy analysis, genuine stakeholder consultation – were subverted or ignored. It's the kind of deal that breeds public cynicism in politics, the sense that big decisions are made on behalf of the powerful or the connected, not the public. Further: By greenlighting this project in July 2025, ministers have signalled that political paybacks matter more than prudent spending. They have effectively rewarded a campaign of lobbying and pressure that sidestepped the usual contest of ideas. That sets a horrible precedent. It tells every other vested interest: hire the right insiders, make the right donations or deals, and you too can get the government to write a big cheque, officials' advice be damned. And: The Waikato medical school greenlight might be a political win for a few, but it's a loss for New Zealand's standards of governance. It undermines confidence that our health investments are made wisely and fairly. And it should prompt some soul-searching in Wellington: if this is how we make big decisions now, what does that say about who really runs the country? Unconvincing contrary views There have been contrary analyses supporting the Government's decision which I find unconvincing. Luke Malpass, Stuff Political, Business & Economics Editor and formerly holding a leadership role in the New Zealand Initiative expressed a negative view of current medical schools describing them emotively, but without substantiation, as a 'duopoly'. Writing in The Post (22 July; paywalled) in a flaky critique he dismisses those critical of the process, presumably including Bryce Edwards, as 'weird': Flaky rather than investigative. Two days later Waikato University ethics professor and philosopher Nick Algar wrote a paywalled opinion piece in The Post abstractly arguing that those critical of the Government's were guilty of 'sloppy thinking'. This reminded me of the expression 'pot calling the kettle black': Sloppy thinking in the debate over Waikato medical school | The Post Sloppy analysis of 'sloppy thinking'. He also reminded me of Oscar Wilde on philosophy although without the latter's famous and infamous wit: 'My philosophy? I'm always right and you are wrong.' The last word Let's leave the last word to the action of the Government in releasing its redacted 'cabinet business case' material at 6.45pm last Friday as reported by the Otago Daily Times the following day: Politically expedient timing of third medical school case. This timing has been a common practice of successive governments recognising that this is the most difficult time for media scrutiny before it is taken over by other news. If the difficult to substantiate claim of $50 million savings per year stood up to rigorous scrutiny it would have been released at a time convenient for media scrutiny. But 'chumocracy' and 'cosyism' necessitated otherwise. Ian Powell Otaihanga Second Opinion is a regular health systems blog in New Zealand. Ian Powell is the editor of the health systems blog 'Otaihanga Second Opinion.' He is also a columnist for New Zealand Doctor, occasional columnist for the Sunday Star Times, and contributor to the Victoria University hosted Democracy Project. For over 30 years , until December 2019, he was the Executive Director of Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, the union representing senior doctors and dentists in New Zealand.
RNZ News
13 hours ago
- RNZ News
Calendar Girls strip clubs forced to take down posts about women involved in employment dispute
By Ric Stevens, Open Justice reporter of The owners of the Calendar Girls strip clubs have been forced to take down posts identifying dancers suing the firm. Seven women are currently pursuing an application in the Employment Court for a declaration of their employment status. A non-publication order was issued in May, suppressing their identities, after they raised concerns about their safety and damage to their reputations, due to the stigma attached to the work they had been doing. One of the women has now returned to court, alleging breaches of the order by Calendar Girls NZ Ltd, the company named as the defendant in their case. Chief Employment Court Judge Christina Inglis hastily scheduled a hearing this week to hear the woman. "I accorded urgency to the application, given the nature of the alleged breaches and the concerns that had underpinned the making of the orders of non-publication in the first place," the judge said in a recent judgement. The urgent hearing was set down for Thursday, but was cancelled, after lawyers for both sides agreed non-publication orders should be respected. "The defendants confirm that they have removed all offending posts," Judge Inglis said. However, her judgement did not detail what was in the posts. The seven women are seeking a declaration that they were employees of Calendar Girls NZ Ltd under the Employment Relations Act 2000. Being an employee, rather than a contractor, gives entitlement to a wider range of legal protections, including minimum conditions, protection from discrimination, health and safety, and the ability to bargain collectively. In 2023, dancers from the Wellington Calendar Girls club attempted to bargain collectively, after being offered a contract that they said was "manipulative". Nineteen were told to clear out their lockers and not come back to work through a Facebook post, after asking for changes to the way they were paid. In seeking non-publication orders in the current case, filed in the Wellington Employment Court, the seven women raised several concerns about having their identities made public. Women in the clubs use a professional name while working there and are instructed not to give their real names to customers. Chief Employment Court Judge Christina Inglis. Photo: NZ Herald / George Heard However, their case in the Employment Court has been taken using their real names. The women involved in the case feared publication of their identities would "severely impact" their employment and housing prospects, and their ability to travel. They said the stigma attached to their work at Calendar Girls had already led to judgements about their morality and respectability. The women are all young, and fear damage to their reputations and the impact on their families. They also said they had safety concerns about former clients and members of the public. One of the women is a member of a church and worries about others in the congregation finding out. Others have had tenancy applications declined and another woman said she was dismissed from a government agency, when it became known she had worked in the sex industry. Judge Inglis has now ordered Calendar Girls not to disclose the names, identifying particulars or photographs of the seven women who have taken the case. She said this applied to "all forms of communication, including oral, written, electronic and any other medium". The substantive case has been scheduled for a five-day fixture in February 2026. Calendar Girls NZ Ltd is a Christchurch-based company that operates clubs in Christchurch, Auckland, Wellington and Queenstown. This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald .
