Congratulations Chippy, and welcome to our new Minister.

Te Hautū Kahurangi | Tertiary Education Union welcomes former Minister of Education Chris Hipkins as Aotearoa’s 41st Prime Minister and Jan Tinetti to the tertiary education portfolio.

Te Pou Ahurei | National Secretary Sandra Grey says “TEU offers our warm congratulations to the new Prime Minister and thank him for the largely constructive relationship we have enjoyed over the past 5 years.”

“During his stewardship of tertiary education, Chris Hipkins showed he was prepared to pursue bold solutions to some of the perennial issues we faced. The most significant example of this was the removal of competition from vocational education.”

“However, a lot of the work he started has not been completed and is facing significant challenges in its implementation. We hope that as Prime Minister, he will not only keep tertiary education at the forefront of his mind as the key to so many of our country’s challenges and opportunities but also ensure that he finishes what he started.”

Sandra Grey also offered warm congratulations to Jan Tinetti, our new Minister of Education (including tertiary). “We know Jan Tinetti has a passion for education and we look forward to meeting her as soon as possible to brief her on the urgent needs of the tertiary sector.”

“We hope the new Minister will bring some continuity, but is also prepared to move in bold new directions as we head towards a general election. Tertiary education is one of the issues that elections can be won and lost on. As a very large block of voters, staff, students, and their whānau will be watching closely to see what investment, if any, will be made into a desperately under resourced system and preparing to cast their votes accordingly.”