A lack of Government scrutiny is to blame for Te Pūkenga’s draft financial deficit ballooning out to $86 million, National’s Tertiary Education spokesperson, Penny Simmonds says.

“Education Minister Jan Tinetti confirmed to the House yesterday that the draft deficit for Te Pūkenga for 2022 was $86 million, up $23 million on the previous forecast.

“This is shocking and confirms that the Labour Government and the Education Minister have not done enough to rein in Te Pūkenga and call its management to account.

“Labour has allowed this mega merger, which was Prime Minister Chris Hipkins’ pet project, to spiral out of financial control with few of the checks and balances that other entities face.

“Te Pūkenga has failed to meet its statutory obligation to submit its 2022 annual report, failed for three years to present a sustainable operating model, failed to meet its unification of programmes target, overseen a significant decline in student enrolments, cut millions from local polytechnic budgets and is now laying off staff, to claw back some money.

“At the same time, Te Pūkenga has been continuing to put in place a bloated, high salaried and top-heavy head office.

“Te Pūkenga has failed to deliver, and the red flags around its financial mismanagement have been flying high for months, but the Labour Government has continued to allow things to deteriorate.

“Based on what we’ve seen already there’s every chance that this whopping $86 million loss will increase again, when a final deficit is announced at the end of this month, while the Government continues to allow taxpayers’ dollars to be frittered away.”

© Scoop Media