National’s destruction of Te Pukenga is taking away growth opportunities for our regions and shows just how out of touch this Government is.
Scrapping at least 600 jobs and multiple courses will be a real blow for regional New Zealand.
“The Government says it wants more skills and training opportunities, but it’s gutting Te Pukenga – the very system that delivers them. These decisions will ultimately cause New Zealanders more cost of living pain,” Labour tertiary education spokesperson Shanan Halbert said.
“New Zealanders in our regions will have less access to education, less opportunity to upskill and their communities will suffer because of Penny Simmonds’ decisions.
“Treasury expressed concerns about National’s changes, noting the lack of evidence that the needs of students and employers had been considered. This morning on Q&A, Penny Simmonds couldn’t answer questions about how badly her decisions would affect those groups.
“She also could not assure New Zealanders that all the pain she is causing the vocational training sector would even get it back on a solid financial footing.
“Christopher Luxon has abandoned middle New Zealand, and is making the cost of living worse, not better.
“The pain this Government is causing our communities is not worth it. New Zealand cannot afford another three years of National,” Shanan Halbert said.