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NZ Herald
15-07-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Toi Ohomai restructure proposal cuts jobs, threatens closure of Tokoroa, Taupō campuses
Toi Ohomai said the proposal was in response to a Government expectation to become 'financially viable'. With declining student numbers in Tokoroa and Taupō, the cost to run multiple campuses, and a drop in income, 'it is just no longer viable to operate in this way'. Toi Ohomai was yesterday among 10 training institutions to be re-established under regional governance next year, as the Government disestablishes national network Te Pūkenga. Union branch kaiarataki takirua (co-leaders) for Toi Ohomai Rotorua Santana Ammunson and Ashton Ledger are learning facilitators at Mokoia campus and learned on July 4 their roles were impacted by the proposed restructure. Ammunson said their team could reapply for comparable proposed new roles. Toi Ohomai Rotorua branch kaiarataki takirua (co-leaders) Ashton Ledger and Santana Ammunson are concerned about the proposed job cuts, particularly as it threatens the closure of Taupō and Tokoroa campuses. Photo / Supplied 'Whereas the rest of our support services teams, they have just been disestablished.' She said morale on campus was 'very grim', with concerns the loss of 'frontline support systems' would impact student success. Ammunson said losing the Tokoroa and Taupō campuses would limit access to 'a local place of study' for those communities. Ledger said the scale of the cuts was 'shocking'. 'I feel for Tokoroa because they've just had Kinleith Mill close … so many people are unemployed and there's an opportunity to get those people upskilling or back into education to help them with a new pathway. Kinleith Mill in Tokoroa has closed. Photo / Mike Scott 'They're pulling out the one, perhaps saving grace, from that region … ' His main concern was potential learners being at risk of losing 'everything'. Ledger called the situation 'kind of ironic'. He said Vocational Education Minister Penny Simmonds had said the Government wanted to ensure learners had access to regional vocational education training. 'All these change proposals … undermine that vision.' Toi Ohomai's Mokoia campus. Photo / Andrew Warner Toi Ohomai executive director Kieran Hewitson said the 'significant driver' for change was a government expectation of being 'sustainable and financially viable'. The proposal included ceasing delivery of campus-based programmes in Taupō and Tokoroa from 2026. Hewitson said courses with the highest number of ākonga (students) in Taupō and Tokoroa were the New Zealand Certificate in Automotive Engineering (level 3) and the New Zealand Certificate in Te Reo (Reo Rua) (level 2). The proposal retained the latter in Taupō. All other campus-based programmes would no longer be offered, Hewitson said. 'Where we can identify partnerships with employers, hapū and iwi and other groups to deliver programmes, we will.' All ākonga could complete the programme they were enrolled in, he said. Hewitson said the changes reflected where it must focus its 'limited resources'. It did not reflect staff and communities' 'great mahi' or there no longer being a need. It would still work with Taupō and Tokoroa communities, 'but in a different way'. He acknowledged kaimahi (staff) had been through many changes. The latest was 'necessary to prepare us to thrive in a world post-Te Pūkenga'. Hewitson said it was committed to delivering excellent vocational education and training within its 'funding envelope'. 'This requires us to think, and do, things differently to ensure a sustainable, responsive organisation fit for the future.' Consultation with staff would close on August 3. Vocational Education Minister Penny Simmonds. Photo / Phil Smith Responding to criticism of the cuts, Simmonds said the Government was committed to delivering a vocational education and training system that was 'stable, responsive to industry needs, and financially sustainable for the future'. The Government started disestablishing Te Pūkenga in 2023 as it worked towards a new structure. 'I acknowledge that this involves some difficult decisions, but they are necessary to fix a system that has been disrupted for too long by the failed centralisation experiment.' Simmonds said the Government had asked the Tertiary Education Commission to work with Te Pūkenga to support polytechnics to review their operations to ensure the sector's viability. She was not privy to information regarding polytechnics' operational decisions but it was important they ensured 'overall viability and maintain their relationships'. Simmonds acknowledged staff who had endured uncertainty 'for many years' and thanked them for their commitment to the sector. On Monday she said re-establishing the 10 polytechnics was a 'major milestone in building a vocational education system that's locally led, regionally responsive, and future-focused'. These changes were part of legislation before Parliament, expected to pass in October. The legislation also allowed mergers or closures if any polytechnic could not achieve viability. Labour tertiary education spokesman Shanan Halbert said the changes returned the sector to 'a model that was never financially viable'. 'The result will be major job losses in local areas.' Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.
Scoop
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Prevention Of Family And Sexual Violence Agency To Drop Informal Name, Expand Advisory Board Diversity
Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence and Sexual Violence Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence and Sexual Violence Karen Chhour is today announcing it will no longer use the informal name of Te Puna Aonui and will adopt its legal name: the Executive Board for the Elimination of Family Violence and Sexual Violence. 'This decision reflects the reality that all people are potentially victims of Family Violence and Sexual Violence, as well as the wishes of disgruntled former advisory board members who have asked for the gifted Te Reo name to be returned,' says Mrs Chhour. 'They have raised their concerns with me around my decision to not extend their tenure as the Ministerial Advisory Board, as well as concerns around my decision to include other communities in a new, multi-cultural advisory board which will replace the current Māori-only one. 'I need an advisory board that can advise on all issues victim-survivors face, and one that reflects the diversity of our nation, not just the seventeen per cent of New Zealanders who identify as Māori. 'Yes, I am Māori, and proud of this. I am also a mother, a wife, and a survivor of both family and sexual violence. The idea that one part of my being is somehow more important than any other is something I don't accept, and I don't believe that the majority of New Zealanders would accept this either. 'It is also Government policy that Government departments, with the exception of those focused on Māori, will have their main names in English. 'By continuing with a Te Reo name I believe we risk potentially making non-Māori victim-survivors feel like their lived experiences do not matter. I can assure them that they do and will continue to. 'This is the right thing to do, it reflects our national values of equality. 'The important work of the agency will be strengthened by the incorporating Pasifika, Asian communities, and other groups who were deliberately excluded by the scope of the previous Ministerial Advisory Board for this portfolio. 'While Te Puna Aonui is an informal name, not a legal one, it will take time to update the agency's branding and letterhead. 'This is a positive tep forward for the Executive Board for the Elimination of Family Violence and Sexual Violence and for our national response to these hugely important issues.'
Scoop
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Ngāti Kahungunu Appalled By Pulling Of Te Reo Signage
Press Release – Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Inc Ngti Kahungunu demands the immediate reinstatement of bilingual signage and a full rewrite of Waka Kotahis rulebook so that this never happens again. Ngāti Kahungunu is appalled by the Minister of Transport and Waka Kotahi's decision to pull the use of Reo Māori traffic signs and stands unapologetically in defence of te reo Māori 'Taihoa' 'Haere' stop-go signs in Te Matau a Māui. Says Ngāti Kahungunu Chair, Bayden Barber, 'This is not about rules – it's about racism. Te reo Māori is not a translation, a novelty, or a risk. It is official. It is sacred. It is ours. It belongs on our roads just as it does in our wharenui, classrooms, homes, and workplaces.' He adds, 'I loved seeing the use of Te Reo in these contexts. It's only two words surrounded by green or red, which most people understand as go or stop. This is a perfect opportunity to introduce te reo to the masses.' Ngāti Kahungunu has been on a 25-year journey to reclaim and restore the use of te reo amongst its 100,000 people, 96 marae and over 150 hapū with the recent review of its language strategy, Kahungunu kia Eke. Last year the Toitū Te Reo Language Festival in Hastings attracted over 7000 people from all walks of life, Māori and non-Māori alike. Te reo Māori is thriving in parts of the community and Ngāti Kahungunu was to see te reo continue to flourish. Barber again comments, 'As part of our language strategy, Ngāti Kahungunu has worked closely with workplaces and organisations within our rohe to support our language aspirations. Hastings District Council has bilingual signage on all its main roadways. The iwi has a good relationship with Tūpore Infrastructure who have over 90% Māori workforce and commends the use of te reo on its stop-go signs.' Ngāti Kahungunu demands the immediate reinstatement of bilingual signage and a full rewrite of Waka Kotahi's rulebook so that this never happens again. In addition to this Ngāti Kahungunu is ready to meet with Waka Kotahi, the Minister of Transport, and TMNZ. But we do not come to negotiate our identity – we come with clear demands: restore the language, revise the rules, and acknowledge the damage done. Te reo Māori is a language of this land. It must be seen, spoken, and protected – not paused, not questioned and not erased.
Scoop
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Ngāti Kahungunu Appalled By Pulling Of Te Reo Signage
Press Release – Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Inc Ngti Kahungunu demands the immediate reinstatement of bilingual signage and a full rewrite of Waka Kotahis rulebook so that this never happens again. Ngāti Kahungunu is appalled by the Minister of Transport and Waka Kotahi's decision to pull the use of Reo Māori traffic signs and stands unapologetically in defence of te reo Māori 'Taihoa' 'Haere' stop-go signs in Te Matau a Māui. Says Ngāti Kahungunu Chair, Bayden Barber, 'This is not about rules – it's about racism. Te reo Māori is not a translation, a novelty, or a risk. It is official. It is sacred. It is ours. It belongs on our roads just as it does in our wharenui, classrooms, homes, and workplaces.' He adds, 'I loved seeing the use of Te Reo in these contexts. It's only two words surrounded by green or red, which most people understand as go or stop. This is a perfect opportunity to introduce te reo to the masses.' Ngāti Kahungunu has been on a 25-year journey to reclaim and restore the use of te reo amongst its 100,000 people, 96 marae and over 150 hapū with the recent review of its language strategy, Kahungunu kia Eke. Last year the Toitū Te Reo Language Festival in Hastings attracted over 7000 people from all walks of life, Māori and non-Māori alike. Te reo Māori is thriving in parts of the community and Ngāti Kahungunu was to see te reo continue to flourish. Barber again comments, 'As part of our language strategy, Ngāti Kahungunu has worked closely with workplaces and organisations within our rohe to support our language aspirations. Hastings District Council has bilingual signage on all its main roadways. The iwi has a good relationship with Tūpore Infrastructure who have over 90% Māori workforce and commends the use of te reo on its stop-go signs.' Ngāti Kahungunu demands the immediate reinstatement of bilingual signage and a full rewrite of Waka Kotahi's rulebook so that this never happens again. In addition to this Ngāti Kahungunu is ready to meet with Waka Kotahi, the Minister of Transport, and TMNZ. But we do not come to negotiate our identity – we come with clear demands: restore the language, revise the rules, and acknowledge the damage done. Te reo Māori is a language of this land. It must be seen, spoken, and protected – not paused, not questioned and not erased.
RNZ News
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
Frank Malley is putting Kaitaia on the Heavy Metal Map
music culture 39 minutes ago Te Reo Maori metal band from Waipu, Alien Weaponry have found fame around the world, but one of the places they started was close to home in Kaitaia at the town's Metalfest. Promoter and heavy metal fan Frank Malley is bringing the festval back for the fourth time to Te Tai Tokerau the Far North for New Zealand Music Month. Metalfest4 is at the Collards Tavern on Friday May 3, and alongside headliners from around the country it features a number of heavy locals. Joining visitors Captured Kings and Grym Rhymney is new teenage talent from Waipu - a band called Fork. Attendees can also look forward to seeing Skumlord from the Bay of Islands .
