Latest news with #Invercargill-based
Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Polytech boss launches withering attack on government
Otago Polytechnic's boss fears being "dragged down to the lowest common denominator" by the Open Polytechnic, as she stakes her institution's claim for independence. In an interview with the Otago Daily Times , the polytechnic's executive director, Megan Potiki, was withering in her criticism of the government. Topics she covered included Vocational Education Minister Penny Simmonds' failure to respond requests for meetings and her belief Otago Polytechnic had been singled out for the worst treatment of any institution in the government's shake-up of the sector. Her interview comes as the polytechnic undergoes two separate but simultaneous restructures — one affecting management; the other general staff — and grapples with the fact it has been placed into a federation with the Open Polytechnic and Universal College of Learning rather than being independent. "It feels like we have had completely different treatment to everyone else, it's been utterly unfair. "What was [Ms Simmonds'] understanding to get to this point where she decided that others were going to stand up that were clearly similar to us or worse, in some cases? "We have had no conversation with her about us going into a federation, it was a complete surprise." Dr Potiki likened the situation to "building a ship while we're actually sailing" because the minister had not met her to explain how the federation model would actually work. Otago Polytechnic had one of the highest degree completion rates in the country, and placing it in a federation with Open Polytechnic could drag down its reputation, she said. "Not to be disrespectful to the Open Polytech, but they've got very low completion of degrees. "There's a risk of being dragged down to the lowest common denominator. If our stake in the ground is that we have exceptional learning and great learning outcomes for our akonga and our community, why would we want to put that at risk?" Dr Potiki said Otago Polytechnic's management and staff "bled blue and gold" — and she had been impressed by the community response to its troubles. "We've re-engaged stakeholders and we had a really successful stakeholder meeting the other night with about nearly 80 people and we've got community people who have reached out who care and we're wanting to engage them as well." Dr Potiki said among the institutions to have received better treatment was Invercargill-based Southern Institute of Technology, which was allowed to stand alone. "SIT leadership reached out because, actually, I have a really good relationship with them through Te Pūkenga ... so those are relationships I don't want to burn. "We want to have continued strong relationships in the South Island with all polytechnics. But the minister has muddied the waters." Dr Potiki acknowledged staff would be getting mixed messages in recent times about their future. "We're receiving mixed messages from government. "We just want more clarity and a path for us. "What we're asking staff to consider now is, unfortunately, they've been through this before, and nothing happens quickly." The nature of the funding model of polytechnics meant "reviews" of staff could happen annually. "It's good practice. I think that's part of something that staff need to understand. "But actually, we want to look at our vision, our values, our future and get to that point. We haven't had the chance to really do that. So there's a lot of good work to come." Ms Simmonds said supporting Otago Polytechnic to achieve a surplus was critical. "With the support of a soon to be appointed Establishment Advisory Group (EAG), I am sure Otago Polytechnic will continue to progress along their financial viability pathway. At that stage, they would not require the support of the Federation if they did not wish to use it." She had met Dr Potiki on several occasions and "was committed to continuing open and constructive engagement". "The federation approach avoids the drawbacks of the centralised, one-size-fits-all model of Te Pūkenga and instead supports regional polytechnics to thrive, while offering the option to access system-wide efficiencies through the Federation."
Otago Daily Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Polytech head fears reputation at risk
Otago Polytechnic's boss fears being "dragged down to the lowest common denominator" by the Open Polytechnic, as she stakes her institution's claim for independence. In an interview with the Otago Daily Times , the polytechnic's executive director, Megan Potiki, was withering in her criticism of the government. Topics she covered included Vocational Education Minister Penny Simmonds' failure to respond requests for meetings and her belief Otago Polytechnic had been singled out for the worst treatment of any institution in the government's shake-up of the sector. Her interview comes as the polytechnic undergoes two separate but simultaneous restructures — one affecting management; the other general staff — and grapples with the fact it has been placed into a federation with the Open Polytechnic and Universal College of Learning rather than being independent. "It feels like we have had completely different treatment to everyone else, it's been utterly unfair. "What was [Ms Simmonds'] understanding to get to this point where she decided that others were going to stand up that were clearly similar to us or worse, in some cases? "We have had no conversation with her about us going into a federation, it was a complete surprise." Dr Potiki likened the situation to "building a ship while we're actually sailing" because the minister had not met her to explain how the federation model would actually work. Otago Polytechnic had one of the highest degree completion rates in the country, and placing it in a federation with Open Polytechnic could drag down its reputation, she said. "Not to be disrespectful to the Open Polytech, but they've got very low completion of degrees. "There's a risk of being dragged down to the lowest common denominator. If our stake in the ground is that we have exceptional learning and great learning outcomes for our akonga and our community, why would we want to put that at risk?" Dr Potiki said Otago Polytechnic's management and staff "bled blue and gold" — and she had been impressed by the community response to its troubles. "We've re-engaged stakeholders and we had a really successful stakeholder meeting the other night with about nearly 80 people and we've got community people who have reached out who care and we're wanting to engage them as well." Dr Potiki said among the institutions to have received better treatment was Invercargill-based Southern Institute of Technology, which was allowed to stand alone. "SIT leadership reached out because, actually, I have a really good relationship with them through Te Pūkenga ... so those are relationships I don't want to burn. "We want to have continued strong relationships in the South Island with all polytechnics. But the minister has muddied the waters." Dr Potiki acknowledged staff would be getting mixed messages in recent times about their future. "We're receiving mixed messages from government. "We just want more clarity and a path for us. "What we're asking staff to consider now is, unfortunately, they've been through this before, and nothing happens quickly." The nature of the funding model of polytechnics meant "reviews" of staff could happen annually. "It's good practice. I think that's part of something that staff need to understand. "But actually, we want to look at our vision, our values, our future and get to that point. We haven't had the chance to really do that. So there's a lot of good work to come." Ms Simmonds said supporting Otago Polytechnic to achieve a surplus was critical. "With the support of a soon to be appointed Establishment Advisory Group (EAG), I am sure Otago Polytechnic will continue to progress along their financial viability pathway. At that stage, they would not require the support of the Federation if they did not wish to use it." She had met Dr Potiki on several occasions and "was committed to continuing open and constructive engagement". "The federation approach avoids the drawbacks of the centralised, one-size-fits-all model of Te Pūkenga and instead supports regional polytechnics to thrive, while offering the option to access system-wide efficiencies through the Federation."
Otago Daily Times
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Helping veterans' health off the break
Ernie McManus, the instigator of the format of the snooker tournament, is still a crack shot on the table at 96 years old. PHOTOS: GERRIT DOPPENBERG What could be better than a day of snooker at the local RSA tournament for a few hours? The answer — raising money for veterans struggling with mental health while doing so. The New Zealand VC Heroes tournament was held on Saturday at the Gore RSA, with 24 snooker players going head-to-head. It was a full-on day, with frames of snooker played throughout the day, with a quick break for lunch inbetween. Money raised in the tournament will be donated to help mental health in military personnel, to the tune of over $1100. Gore RSA snooker section chairman Evan Fricker said after the day's success, they will be looking to keep them going. Overall winner Kevin Wright, who lives in Gore, had a good day at the table to come away with a win at the New Zealand VC Heroes tournament. "Basically the tournament ran like clockwork. It was very successful, people were very happy. "We'll be doing it next year, for sure," he said. The top division was won by local player Kevin Wright, with Dunedin-based player Ali Kapo in second and Mr Fricker coming in third. Division two was won by Invercargill-based player Brian Frye. Mr Fricker said it was a hell of a day, and it was good to see some money raised for veterans. "We raised $1150, with 24 players. We're pretty happy with that," he said.
Otago Daily Times
24-04-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Startup hopes to improve oral care
Her lightbulb moment came literally at an electrifying event. Invercargill-based oral health therapist Georgina Welsh was attending Electrify Aotearoa in Christchurch, an event for women founders, startup leaders, supporters and investors to fuel the growth of women-led high-growth ventures in New Zealand. While there, she was struck with an idea to create something like MoleMap, the comprehensive skin and mole check service, but for teeth, and she was spurred into action to establish Map My Mouth. Her aim was to improve access to oral health services throughout the country by providing triage and referral to a dental practitioner for treatment if necessary, diagnosis of dental decay and gum disease, treatment options and estimates and education and advice. About 60% of adults did not have access to dental care, one in three New Zealanders were living with untreated tooth decay and half of all adults showed signs of gum disease, which was linked to conditions such as Alzheimer's, cancer and heart disease, she said. Often, the teeth of people visiting a dentist for a checkup were "in good nick" and Map My Mouth made it more productive for dentists as well, as they were able to focus on restorative treatments rather than preventive ones, and it would help address increasing wait times to see a dentist. She was particularly keen to target Māori, Pasifika and those with low incomes and she wanted to make the experience not as clinical and scary as the "murder house days" that many remembered. Ms Welsh, who has a degree in oral health from the University of Otago, started her career at the Southern District Health Board. While in the United Kingdom, she had the extremes of working in the public National Health Service to private practice in the famed Harley St, where famous faces were often spied, and she laughed how she was just "a wee Invercargill girl" in that different world. She also did some dental volunteering in Cambodia. She has taught in the oral health programmes at both Auckland University of Technology and the University of Otago, served on the Health Practitioners' Disciplinary Tribunal and acted as an examiner for the Dental Council New Zealand. Returning to live in her home- town of Invercargill, she said the southern city was an easy place to live, it was home to nice people and it was also where her family lived. When it came to the establishment of Map My Mouth, Ms Welsh said she had got to a point in her career where she wanted to either challenge herself or do something different. Hence attending Electrify Aotearoa courtesy of free tickets from Coin South, the innovation network for Southland startups and businesses. It had been a few years in the making, but from last week, a regular clinic would be held at the main Invercargill campus of the Southern Institute of Technology. She was also working with Number 10, a health and social service for young people in the city, and waiting to hear back from other organisations. At the moment, the startup is being funded by Ms Welsh herself, who is also working part-time at a private dental practice. She wanted it to be "a bit slow and steady" initially as she was a "one-man show". She was learning a lot about business, and it had been good to challenge her brain in a different way. She hoped it would be eventually franchised and integrated into the Ministry of Health, rolled out nationwide.
Otago Daily Times
23-04-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
South Island transport company appears to owe millions to creditors
Photo: Matthew Rosenberg/LDR A second Invercargill-based transport business, belonging to the same businessman, appears to owe creditors several million dollars. In March, Invercargill-based Dixon Haulage - which worked predominantly for the logging industry - was placed in liquidation for failing to meet its obligations to Inland Revenue, consisting of overdue GST and PAYE together with associated penalties and interest. In their first report, liquidators Kristal Pihama and Luke Norman, of KPMG, said the company's director, Owen Dixon, who is also sole shareholder, advised the company ceased trading in 2024 when his associated company, Dixon Transport, was placed in liquidation, and a number of secured creditors took steps to repossess assets used and secured by both companies. A liquidators report last year showed total liabilities for Dixon Transport were estimated at more than $2.3m. In the Dixon Haulage report, the liquidators said they were waiting for secured creditors who had elected to repossess assets to provide further updates in relation to the marketing and sale of those assets. The book value as at March 31, 2024, of total assets was just over $4m, while total liabilities stood at nearly $3.4m. Mr Dixon is also listed as joint owner and one of two directors of KD Firewood, which was put into liquidation last month owing creditors just over $855,000. - APL
