Polytechs to cut hundreds of courses and jobs
Polytechnics are cutting more than 500 courses and nearly a thousand jobs so they can stand alone financially once mega-institute Te Pukenga closes. Education correspondent John Gerritsen spoke to Charlotte Cook.
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RNZ News
8 minutes ago
- RNZ News
US President Donald Trump fires labour statistics official over jobs numbers
A news ticker broadcasts the news of the firing of the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on 1 August, 2025. Photo: AFP / MICHAEL M. SANTIAGO By Kit Maher , Matt Egan and Alicia Wallace , CNN President Donald Trump has fired Dr Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, whom he accused, without evidence, of manipulating the monthly jobs reports for "political purposes". The BLS' monthly labour report Friday (US time) showed that the US economy added only 73,000 jobs in July, far below expectations. It also sharply revised down the employment growth that had been previously reported in May and June - by a combined 258,000 jobs. After the revisions, the jobs report showed the weakest pace of hiring for any three-month period since the pandemic recession in 2020. "In my opinion, today's Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad," Trump said in a Truth Social post. Although the May and June jobs numbers were worse than initially believed, revisions are normal in this process. The BLS' initial monthly jobs estimates are often based on incomplete data, so they are revised twice after the initial report - followed by an annual revision every February. Additionally, BLS economists use a formula to smooth out jobs numbers for seasonal variations and that can exacerbate revisions, when they fall outside economists' expectations. On Friday, Trump incorrectly called the revisions a "mistake". "McEntarfer said there were only 73,000 Jobs added (a shock!) but, more importantly, that a major mistake was made by them, 258,000 Jobs downward, in the prior two months," Trump said on Truth Social. "Similar things happened in the first part of the year, always to the negative. The Economy is BOOMING under 'TRUMP'." Trump said McEntarfer "faked" the jobs numbers before the election to try to boost former Vice President Kamala Harris' chances in the 2024 presidential election. "We're doing so well. I believe the numbers were phony, just like they were before the election, and there were other times. So, you know what I did? I fired her, and you know what? I did the right thing," Trump told reporters Friday on the South Lawn. Trump has also threatened the firing of Federal Reserve Chaie Jerome Powell. Photo: AFP McEntarfer was confirmed by the Senate 86-8 in January 2024 for a term of four years. CNN has reached out to McEntarfer for comment. Until Trump replaces McEntarfer, Deputy Commissioner William Wiatrowski will serve as Acting Commissioner, the administration said. Trump has previously criticised the BLS for its jobs data and revisions, and he told reporters Friday evening he's "always had a problem with these numbers". In 2016, during his first presidential campaign, Trump claimed that the unemployment rate was significantly higher than the BLS let on. In 2024, he accused former President Joe Biden's administration of orchestrating a cover-up, after the BLS reported that it had overcounted jobs by 818,000 over the previous 12 months. "I was thinking about it this morning, before the numbers that came out. I said, 'Who is the person that does these numbers?' And then they gave me stats about before the election," Trump said. "We need people that we can trust," he added. Trump and his administration have also praised the BLS data when it has been favourable to them. During Trump's first term, former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said, in March 2017, that the jobs data was no longer "phony", after the BLS issued a strong jobs report. A month ago, current White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on social media that the economy had beaten expectations for jobs in four straight BLS labour reports. The BLS is nonpartisan, and businesses and government officials rely on the accuracy of its data to make determinations about investment, hiring, spending and all sorts of key decisions. "It's outrageous for anyone in government to question the integrity of the BLS," said Jason Furman, a Harvard professor and former Obama economic adviser. "Accurate statistics are essential to the economy." Furman doubted that replacing McEntarfer would compromise the BLS, but he said even the possibility or appearance of that notion "would be bad". "Countries that have tried to fake those statistics have often ended up with economic crises as a result," Furman said. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, said the BLS data is at the "highest standard", and "as accurate as it can be". "Anything that undermines that or even the perception of that high standard is deeply worrisome," Zandi said. "I've never seen anything even close to this." At Moody's, Zandi said he has hired a number of former BLS economists, whom he called "fantastic". "They do great work," Zandi said. "They are critical to a well-functioning economy." Democratic Virginia Senator Mark Warner accused Trump of working the referees. "Firing the ump doesn't change the score," Warner said in a statement. "Americans deserve to know the truth about the state of the Trump economy." Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said she supported replacing McEntarfer. "A recent string of major revisions have come to light and raised concerns about decisions being made by the Biden-appointed Labor Commissioner," Chavez-DeRemer said on X. "I support the President's decision to replace Biden's Commissioner, and ensure the American People can trust the important and influential data coming from BLS." The BLS jobs survey is widely considered by economists to be robust. It samples more than 100,000 businesses and government agencies each month, representing roughly 629,000 individual worksites. As part of larger cost-cutting taking place around practically every part of Trump's government, the BLS is laying off staff and, as a result, reducing the scope of its work. For example, the BLS posted a notice in June stating it stopped collecting data for its Consumer Price Index in three cities - Lincoln, Nebraska; Buffalo, New York; and Provo, Utah - and increased "imputations" for certain items - a statistical technique that, when boiled down to very rough terms, essentially means more educated guesses. That worried Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. In testimony before Congress in June, Powell said he believed the BLS data to be accurate, but he was upset about what could become a trend. "I wouldn't say that I'm concerned about the data today, although there has been a very mild degradation of the scope of the surveys," Powell said at the time, in response to a question about survey data quality. "I would say the direction of travel is something I'm concerned about." - CNN
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
'Wave' of Conservation Act concessions, foreign visitor charge for high-volume DOC sites
The announcement was made at the National Party annual conference. Photo: Samuel Rillstone / RNZ The government plans to make it easier to get a concession to operate on Conservation land and will bring in a foreign visitor charge at some popular tourist spots. "First, we're going to fix the Conservation Act to unleash a fresh wave of concessions - like tourism, agriculture, and infrastructure, in locations where that makes sense," Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said. Luxon said the current concessions regime "is totally broken" and could take years for a business to obtain or renew. "Many New Zealanders already run outstanding businesses on the conservation estate - from guided walks and ski fields, to filming documentaries, grazing sheep and cattle, or hosting concerts and building cell phone towers. "Outdated rules mean we've got examples of modern E-bike users being turned away from potential touring opportunities because they have to be considered as proper vehicles. "And tourism on the Routeburn is being held up because the trail crosses artificial boundaries, with different rules and different limits." Luxon also announced the government will introduce a charge for foreign visitors to access high volume sites. Cathedral Cove / Te Whanganui-a-Hei, Tongariro Crossing, Milford Track, and Aoraki Mount Cook will be the locations initially looked at, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka said. He said this is where foreigners often make up 80 percent of all visitors. "It's only fair that at these special locations, foreign visitors make an additional contribution of between $20 and $40 per person." New Zealanders will not be charged. Tama Potaka says initially, four sites will have charges for foreign visitors. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone The Prime Minister has addressed National members at the annual party conference, capping off a week in which MPs attempted to steer public minds back toward the government's cost-of-living policies. When asked earlier this week what his message to party faithful would be, [Luxon said the nation was " turning the corner]". "This country's got great potential and a great future ahead of it, and we've just got to keep working at it." National's deputy leader Nicola Willis said the conference would be focused on the steps the government was taking to make the country "an easier, better place to do business, to hire people, to create well paying jobs". Party ministers will hold panels on health, education, law and order, agriculture, and the economy and cost of living as part of the annual event. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
4 hours ago
- RNZ News
Lack of planning led to Kaitāia's aquifer project budget blow-out and delays, review finds
Work gets underway in 2020 on a pipeline bringing bore water to Kaitāia's water treatment plant. Photo: Peter de Graaf A report on a Kaitāia water project that took 14 years instead of five and cost millions of dollars more than expected has found a lack of planning was one of the key reasons for the project's troubles. In 2011 the Far North District Council, under the former mayor, decided to drill two bores into the Sweetwater aquifer north of Kaitāia to stop the town running out of water during its frequent summer droughts. However, bore water only started flowing through the town's taps early this year, prompting councillor Mate Radich to call for a judicial review. Radich had also become frustrated by being unable to establish the project's total cost. In May this year, councillors voted to seek an internal review instead, given the high cost of a judicial review. The report, presented at Thursday's council meeting in Kaikohe, finally provided a definitive project cost of $18,016,070. Of that, just $2.4 million was spent developing the initial bore site from 2011-17. The bulk of the money, $14.9m, was spent on bore improvements and pipeline construction between 2020 and 2024. A significant part of that, just under $2.5m, went on "access costs" including land purchase ($250,000) and easements/compensation payments to landowners ($1.63m). Another $708,000 was spent this year on a membrane bio-reactor treatment trial, when it became apparent Kaitāia's existing treatment plant was unsuited to the silica-rich water from the aquifer. The town's water is usually drawn from the drought-sensitive Awanui River. The money came from rates and reserves ($3.3m), loans ($11.7m) and external grants ($3m, mostly from the Provincial Growth Fund). The report found the key reason for the delays was "the absence of a single, over-arching project plan". The project lacked a proper business case, which would have identified all the components required, provided an overview of the expected cost and delivery timeframe, and established key milestones for reporting and decision making. Failing to engage early with affected property owners and mana whenua forced re-designs and cost time, while the use of external project managers increased the expense. The report also found delays resulted from inadequate asset management and the "stop-start effect" caused by staff turnover. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
