9. Dr ASHRAF CHOUDHARY (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister for Tertiary Education
Is he considering privatising public polytechnics?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Leader of the House) Link to this
No. Polytechnics are an important part of our tertiary education system. It is important that they work closely with the private sector stakeholders, such as employers, but the institutions themselves will and must remain in the public sector.
Dr Ashraf Choudhary Link to this
What reports has he seen on public-private partnerships in the education sector?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN Link to this
I have seen proposals that suggest New Zealand should follow the Australian example and privatise educational infrastructure such as polytechnic facilities. That statement was made by yet another senior National Party member caught in an unorchestrated litany of truth. Of course, National’s leader said that Mr Williamson was overexcited when he told us of National’s tolling plans. We are yet to hear what National thinks in terms of privatising polytechnics and other educational institutions.
Anne TolleyWhy is the Minister so concerned about collaboration with the private sector, when the Labour Government put $20 million per year into the Partnerships for Excellence programme in order to encourage partnerships between the private and tertiary sectors, with the tertiary sector still owning the buildings, and when one of the main beneficiaries of these Government-mandated private partnerships was the Owen G Glenn Building based at the University of Auckland business school?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN Link to this
The member clearly cannot tell the difference between selling buildings and a partnership with the private sector to deliver certain kinds of services. For example, just today the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology announced that its project manager won a 2008 Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics award for the development of TradeFIT, which is a public-private sector partnership in relation to producing trade skills, which the National Government tried to destroy. If the member does not understand the difference between that and flogging off the buildings, then she really has a long way to go on the road towards becoming a credible education spokesperson.