Better Quarters -- Better Ministerial Performance?

Speaking in Christchurch today, AUS National President Neville Blampied, congratulated Tertiary Education Minister Steve Maharey on moving into a stylish and sophisticated new office in the Beehive. Neville Blampied said that he was sure that the new environment would mean a great improvement in the Minister’s working life.

On behalf of 6000 AUS members, Neville Blampied asked Minister Maharey to compare his situation with that faced by university staff. “The Minister can enjoy the benefits of a $30M, tax-payer funded renovation, without that expenditure having had any influence on the pay rises he has enjoyed each year he has been an MP and Minister. In contrast, university staff for more than a decade, have faced a rigorous trade-off: Every dollar spent on improving university working conditions has reduced money available for fair pay rises for staff. That is why university pay has fallen more than 10% behind inflation, while MPs pay has risen much faster than inflation. So far, the Minister has strongly supported this policy.”

Neville Blampied added that he hoped that the quality of the Minister’s new office would inspire some quality decision-making by the Minister on the Tertiary Education Commission’s 4th report on funding tertiary education. He added that “The new funding model must ensure that funding for physical capital is separated from funding for human capital (staff). In the long run, it is the quality of the staff that matters most in maintaining university education of international standard.”

Contact numbers for Neville Blampied:

(021) 680 475 (03) 332 7160 (hm) (03) 364 2199 (wk)

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