Taratahi comments
In light of Grant Thornton’s PR about Taratahi being placed in Interim Liquidation at the request of its Board, below
are the Govt’s comments.
Minister of Education Chris Hipkins
“The timing of this is tough, especially for students and staff. Supporting them is our top priority. TEC will work
alongside Taratahi, NZQA and StudyLink to ensure students are supported in alternative options. Staff will also be
supported through the process.
Taratahi is a Private Training Establishment. Financial problems surfaced at Taratahi in 2014: it was not providing the
teaching it was funded to deliver and between 2009 and 2014. As a result, Taratahi was left with debts of $7.5m due to
under delivery. This is in addition to the significant private sector debt they hold. Taratahi has repaid $3.5 of that
mostly by selling assets. This is not a sustainable model.
We are taking steps to secure the home farm and we are talking to providers to fill the gap in provision for students.
But what’s clear is that the current model of vocational training for primary industry is broken.
The Government is committed to finding a solution that will see continuity of training for students. We are looking at
new models of primary industry training provision as part of the Vocational Education Training Review.”
Minister of Agriculture Damien O’Connor
“I’m incredibly saddened and disappointed that Taratahi, a proud agricultural training organisation, has reached a point
where its operation is unsustainable. I am fully committed to primary sector training. We will continue working with
industry on a plan to deliver a new approach to agrisector training that meets the needs of the industry now and into
the future.”