After two days and nights of negotiations the Prime Minister John Key has convinced senior officials at the Te Wānanga o Aotearoa not to move its business offshore. The deal follows protests and public outcry that wānanga education was special to New Zealand and created much-needed skilled employment opportunities for thousands of kiwis.

The Prime Minister told parliamentary correspondent Paki Taunuhia that demands by the Tertiary Education Union for workers be allowed to negotiate collectively for fair pay and conditions had undermined the viability not just of the wānanga but tertiary education throughout the country.

The deal to save the wānanga will give it a special tax rebate, a discount for importing overseas students who would not otherwise have been able to study at the wānanga and the government has also agreed to pass a law removing employment rights from all union members and turning them into independent contractors.

In a special tourism tie-in Wānanga students will be required to wear modified traditional Māori clothing and sing waiata at Auckland International Airport arrival gates.

Mr Taunuhia says the country is lucky to have a Prime Minister with such acumen and business negotiation experience.

“Who knows where the Wānanga might have gone if the Prime Minister had not intervened.”

Thanks to Tara Hunt at Flickr for  the photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/missrogue/2061336958/