The first five things Steven Joyce should do

new-zealand-labour-party

Wed Jan 27 2010 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

The first five things Steven Joyce should do

Wednesday, 27 January 2010, 3:28 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party

27 January 2009
Media Statement

Labour hopes the new Tertiary Education Minister will adopt a more sensible and less obstinate approach to the portfolio than his predecessor and has drawn up a list of his first priorities, says its Tertiary Education spokesperson Maryan Street.

“I’m challenging Steven Joyce to respond, and if he has different priorities, he should spell them out. He must also clarify whether sector fears of big budget cuts this year are in fact accurate.

“Tertiary educators and most importantly students will want to be assured that John Key has given him the job to repair the damage done by Anne Tolley and not to head up a razor gang instead.”

Maryan Street says the first thing five things the Minister should do to restore the public’s confidence in the Government’s handling of tertiary education are as follows:

• He should restore the $13 million a year in funding slashed from adult and community education night classes last year.

• He should resurrect Labour’s Skills Strategy, where there is currently nothing but a large vacuum under this Government.

• He should lift the cap on student enrolments in polytechnics and universities, so that this time of high unemployment is used to invest in skills and training.

• He should repair the polytechnic sector which has been damaged by the legislative move to restrict vital community input, by removing provision for guaranteed representation for Maori, workers, business and students.

• Lastly he must spend time getting around the sector and mending all the fences damaged by the previous Minister.

ENDS

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

a.supporter:hover {background:#EC4438!important;} @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { #byline-block div.byline-block {padding-right:16px;}}

Using Scoop for work?

Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.

Join Pro Individual Find out more

Find more from New Zealand Labour Party on InfoPages.