Media Release
Tertiary Education Union
9 January 2012
Govt must ensure Destiny University does not open floodgates
Destiny Church ‘University’ could be just the beginning if the government’s Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPPA) trade
negotiations conclude without proper public scrutiny.
“Destiny’s outlandish ‘university’ makes a mockery of the public education responsibilities of New Zealand’s real
universities, polytechnics and wānanga,” said TEU President Dr Sandra Grey. “Our public universities all provide
accredited evidence based high quality public education. That is what New Zealanders expect when they hear the term
‘university’.”
“In all likelihood Mr Tamaki’s ‘university’ will do none of those things. It is likely that his own battered reputation
will be enough to ensure most Kiwis are not conned into paying for an education of little value. However, there are
thousands of other pseudo-educational institutions like Mr Tamaki’s out there in the world, many wanting to expand their
market access into New Zealand.”
“The Government’s Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, currently being negotiated with the United States and seven other
countries, will ensure those sham-universities have the same rights to set up business in New Zealand that Mr Tamaki
has. In effect, the combination of proposals like Mr Tamaki’s and the TPPA threatens to open the floodgates for dozens
of foreign privately-owned, extremist sham-universities to set up a campus in New Zealand and seek public funding.”
ENDS