Hon Damien O’Connor
Minister of Agriculture

4 February 2019

MEDIA STATEMENT

Agriculture Minister welcomes certainty for Telford

Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor says the Southern Institute of Technology’s takeover of the Telford campus of Taratahi is a great move and will deliver the certainty needed for their students and staff.

“This is the first successful step in a complete revamp of agricultural education to support the primary sectors into the future,” Damien O’Connor said.

“Today shows that working together is the quickest route to fixing the deep-seated problems within primary sector education to ensure we have a sustainable model for the future.

“Primary sector leaders have acknowledged agricultural education has been broken for a long time. It’s heartening to work with them, education providers and Education Minister Hipkins to fix it – and ensure responsive and sustainable education even in times of high employment.

“It’s clear the liquidation of Taratahi was symptomatic of a fragmented system with a plethora of providers that are turning out training not always matched with the skills needed for the future of the agrisector.

“This is why the Coalition Government has taken steps to secure the Taratahi Home Farm and is working with primary sector leaders to strengthen the skills pipeline so our students have clear pathways and can meet the needs of their industries into the future,” Damien O’Connor said.

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