Union rejects Task Force suggestions

The Tertiary Education Union has rejected the recommendations made by the 2025 Task Force on tertiary education issues, saying that the proposed changes will cause serious damage to the future of the country.

Union President Dr Tom Ryan said the Task Force Report, presented by former National Party leader and former Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Dr Don Brash set New Zealand on a backward path.

“The Task Force seemingly thinks that the path to economic parity with Australia is a low-skill, low-productivity route.

“This stands in stark contrast to Australia, where the Federal Government is investing tens of billions of dollars encouraging people into tertiary education, and taking active steps to remove barriers that prevent people studying,” he said.

Prime Minister John Key set up the Task Force in terms of a Confidence & Supply Agreement with ACT Party to find ways and means of closing the gap with Australia.

The Report called for higher tertiary education fees, market interest on student loans, changing the democratic governance of tertiary institutions, and less public supervision of the quality of education that students receive.

Dr Ryan said these recommendations, combined with the broader calls to savagely cut government spending, reduce wages and weaken employment rights, suggest that the Task Force had taken little notice of the ‘lucky’ country it is supposedly trying to emulate.

“The 2025 Task Force prescription for tertiary education assumes that New Zealand can reach goal of economic parity with Australia by educating fewer people and lowering the quality of the public education that New Zealanders receive,” he said.

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