Keep the MAINZ Auckland Campus open!.

Te Hautū Kahurangi | Tertiary Education Union is deeply disappointed with Te Pūkenga’s decision to close MAINZ’s Auckland campus in spite of a campaign by TEU members that struck a chord with industry, alumni, the public and other stakeholders. The closure impacts 27 current students and sees 18 staff made redundant. However, these are just the immediate impacts.

Given MAINZ is the only music school of its kind in the Auckland and Northland regions and caters for students with a range of backgrounds including those traditionally under-served by the system, there are significant wider implications to the proposed closure.

Kaiwhakahaere | Organiser Jane Kostanich says “this short-sighted decision will hurt the art and culture of Tāmaki Makaurau and Aotearoa in ways that may not be fully understood for some years. Given the calibre of staff departing, the loss of skills, knowledge and expertise is immeasurable.”

“It’s incredibly sad that people making decisions like this lack the vision to stop measuring the benefits of music and fine arts with spreadsheets and accounting software and start valuing our culture, history and stories for what they are – priceless.”

“This has got to change before more cuts like this occur.”

Students at MAINZ have started a petition to keep the Auckland campus open and it has attracted over 2,000 signatures to date – we encourage TEU members to show support by signing.