Te Pukenga has been forced to reveal that it agreed to pay out its former chief executive $195,075, National’s Tertiary Educations spokesperson and Invercargill MP Penny Simmonds says.

“After months trying to keep the size of the payment a secret, Te Pukenga was forced to reveal it made the payment to former chief executive Stephen Town as part of a ‘mediated confidential settlement agreement,’ at the time of his resignation in August 2022."

“Prior to this Town was paid $65,000 for five weeks of personal leave, meaning he was paid more than $250,000 after he went on leave."

“The payment was only revealed 10 months after it was made due to intervention from the Chief Ombudsman."

“This is a massive pay out and it’s no wonder that Te Pukenga management and the Government wanted to keep it under wraps."

“On-going mismanagement has been a hallmark of Te Pukenga since its inception three years ago, with the board and senior managers spending money without any concrete improvements to the polytechnic sector."

“The payout is also a slap in the face for the hundreds of polytechnic staff, who’ve been put on notice by Te Pukenga management that their jobs are in jeopardy, as the organisation tries to claw back a $63 million deficit."

“The Government’s polytechnic mega-merger is a shambles. It still has no operating model, staff morale is at an all-time low and student enrolments have plummeted by ten per cent."

“It also does little to inspire confidence from the sector or the taxpayers of New Zealand."

“A National government would stop the centralisation of the polytechnic sector and focus on educational outcomes for our students,” Simmonds said.