7 December 2015
Media release
The New Zealand Union of Students' Associations and the Tertiary Education Union
Minister needs to end Bay of Plenty merger uncertainty
The people of the Bay of Plenty deserve to know when Steven Joyce will decide if Waiariki Institute of Technology and
Bay of Plenty Polytechnic should merge.
Rory McCourt, the president of the New Zealand Union of Students NZUSA, and Sandra Grey, the president of the Tertiary
Education Union TEU, say people in the Bay of Plenty need to know what is going on.
“The minister need not rush his decision, but he does need to urgently let people know what his timeframe is,” says
McCourt.
“There are mere days left in the year and what happens to Waiariki and Bay of Plenty Polytechnic next year affect
people’s lives, their jobs and their studies,” says Grey.
Neither TEU nor NZUSA have supported a merger of the two polytechnics and both believe that the argument for a merger is
weak.
However, the two organisations say, whatever the final decision, the current uncertainty is stressful for students and
staff.
McCourt says it is clear, with the short amount of time left in 2015, that a viable merger can no longer take place at
the start of 2016.
“The minister may need more time and information to make the right decision. If that is the case, he needs to let people
know when he will make his decision and, if he consents to the merger, what the timeframe will be.”
ends