A small shuffle
January 26th, 2010 at 6:27 pm by David FarrarJohn Key has announced:
Steven Joyce becomes Tertiary Education Minister, allowing Anne Tolley to fully focus her efforts on the Education portfolio, and in particular the implementation of the Government’s national standards policy.
I said almost a year ago that I thought both Education and Tertiary Education was a huge workload, especially with no Associates from your own party.
I will be fascinated as to Steven’s approach to tertiary education. It has quite a few pressure points in it.
Kate Wilkinson becomes Conservation Minister, a portfolio in which she is currently Associate Minister. This change reflects the fact that Tim Groser is frequently out of the country representing New Zealand’s interests in the Trade and Climate Change fields.
In other words Kate has effectively been the Minister, so this makes it official.
Mr Groser, because he has primary ministerial responsibility for the international negotiations aspects of Climate Change, will have a change in title and becomes the Minister Responsible for International Climate Change Negotiations.
That should not take up too much time, as there isn’t much to negotiate. The US, China and India are all running 100 miles an hour away from an agreement.
Related posts:
- John Key’s Ministry
- Audrey’s Report Card
- Dom Post rates the Ministers
- Audrey’s Ministerial Report Card
January 26th, 2010 at 6:33 pm
Hows about ditching Nick Smith!!
Vote:January 26th, 2010 at 6:36 pm
the thing with National, they have options whereas poor old Philin has few .. just spotted him chatting to Andrew 2 jobs Little. Philin said he would be Leader for a couple more years .. he is probably about 3 months out.
Vote:January 26th, 2010 at 6:59 pm
So a kick up the arse for Tolley.. and also Nick Smith, the clown of Copenhagen. Anything else other than ACC would be a far too heavy workload.
Vote:So tomorrow we will read teh Herald s blessing of the changes. Audrey has the rose petals ordered
January 26th, 2010 at 7:02 pm
Isn’t “Minister Responsible for International Climate Change Negotiations” a little like being given the title of “Minister for flat earth discussions?”
Vote:January 26th, 2010 at 7:26 pm
“That should not take up too much time, as there isn’t much to negotiate. The US, China and India are all running 100 miles an hour away from an agreement.”
Well then fire the useless gullible prick altogether then. The country cannot afford to have people as unbelievably uninformed as Mr. Groser making decisions that have major effects on the economy.
Good luck to Anne Tolley. More balls than all of National’s so called men combined. Get that Climate Change / Environmental religion out of schooling though Mrs Tolley. NZ public schools are meant to be secular by law, and indoctrinating gullible children with the mania of Looming Environmental Disaster is a gross abuse of the education system.
Fire Steven Joyce too. He’s so ineffective as any sort of buffer between the burgeoning self serving bureaucracy and the long suffering taxpayer he may as well not be there.
Vote:January 26th, 2010 at 7:31 pm
“Isn’t “Minister Responsible for International Climate Change Negotiations” a little like being given the title of “Minister for flat earth discussions?”
Yes. But he will have to deal with intelligent “flat earthers” in Europe who hold some sway in trade negotiations. Groser is the right man to deal with them gently but firmly. These people have invested a lot of political capital in the scam and need to be played with caution.
JC
Vote:January 26th, 2010 at 9:17 pm
New Zealand has at least five of the world’s top Universities. Bizarrely, Labour thought that was too many, and only wanted one or two. But letting our Universities decline like that would be very destructive of these key intellectual and economic assets. Can we afford to throw away these assets? Other countries are trying desperately, and spending hugely, to give universities into the top 500.
Yes, time are tight, so what is the government to do? Best choice: remove the fees maxima. Second best choice, and easily implemented in the next budget – retain the maxima, but remove the restriction of the quantum of the annual fee increment. That simple move would save several universities.
Vote:January 26th, 2010 at 9:24 pm
Sorry about the typos – couldn’t get the edit function to work.
Vote:January 26th, 2010 at 9:36 pm
Re edit function – if you edit once, and then want to edit a second time you have to refresh first or it doesn’t work.
Vote:January 26th, 2010 at 9:59 pm
Can we afford to throw away these assets?
Are you referring to something in particular or is this just a general concern?
Vote:January 26th, 2010 at 10:03 pm
Slightly off topic but…
Vibenna – what’s your source?
http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings
On this listing Auckland University steams into sixty first position. No sign of the other four in the top 100.
http://www.plant-biology.com/world-university-rankings1to25.php
We get three in the top 500 on this listing (Auckland 242, Otago 378 and Massey 424).
While we’re reshuffling… can someone put Maurice Williamson out with the recycling?
Vote:January 26th, 2010 at 11:09 pm
stephen – the intellectual assets of a university are intangible, but as a proxy we can look at the world university rankings in the Times Higher Education list and the Shanghai Jiangtao list. The inclusion of NZ Universities in the top 500 help to attract international students (a big export industry), international scholars (bringing new ideas and international connections), and various international collaborations (eg. with Singapore and China). They also give more opportunities for our graduates abroad, as their degrees are internationally respected.
If funding and conditions erode too much, staff outputs will drop, administrators will cut corners, and it will be hard to recruit and retain the best academics. Over time, the sector will erode and we will lose this international respect. The best academics will leave for greener pastures, and the quality of New Zealand degrees will decline.
Vote:January 27th, 2010 at 7:36 am
Remind me again why a country with a population of 4 million has no less than seven universities, over 20 polytechnics and an uncountable number of bucketshop training providers…….
Vote:January 27th, 2010 at 8:21 am
What is it about this shuffle that’s got you so concerned vibenna?
If funding and conditions erode too much,
Private funding should be a FAR bigger priority than it currently is: http://www.givingtoauckland.org.nz/Leading-the-Way.aspx
Vote:$100 million target! Woo!
January 27th, 2010 at 8:51 am
Flashman (165) Says:
January 27th, 2010 at 7:36 am
Remind me again why a country with a population of 4 million has no less than seven universities, over 20 polytechnics and an uncountable number of bucketshop training providers…….
Well, compare it with the Cities of Melbourne or Sydney … each with a population of a bit over 4 million and a similar number of Universities, and often with more than one campus)
(Melbourne for example has at least 10 universities : University of Melbourne, Monash, Deakin, RMIT, La Trobe, Bond, Southern Cross, Swinburne, Victoria, Australian Catholic)
Most of these places have enrolments in the order of 25,000 students.
The picture in NZ seems remarkably similar in every aspect except funding. I am not sure why you think the number is out of the ordinary. Our universities deal with a similar number of students, and in fact are beginning to struggle to fit all applicants in. We have that number of universities because that’s what the market needs.
I sure wouldn’t want to lead the world by amalgamating ours into one big monolith.
Vote:January 27th, 2010 at 8:52 am
I feel a Tui ad coming on.
Vote:January 27th, 2010 at 9:01 am
toad – if it was tui ad material, wouldnt she have just been left with tertiary? that seems to be a smaller portfolio.
sounds like shes going to be very busy with fuckwit, left wing teachers this year
Vote:January 27th, 2010 at 9:03 am
Indeed do I.
I love the fact that during her entire time she didnt respond to any of the University magazines requests to ask her questions.
She didnt care about it, and didnt even pretend to.
Vote:January 27th, 2010 at 9:55 am
National Standard testing (good for measuring- but how does it help?) is not an excuse for a non-education policy. What happened to all the NCEA ho-ha? What about science education? Teacher education? Where is Joyce’s Broadband for schools- was supposed to have been started last year. I’m sure Tolley can walk and chew gum at the same time.
Vote:January 27th, 2010 at 1:17 pm
You can put as much spin on it as you like, but to my thinking this does signify that Key is not convinced Tolley can handle the education portfolio. I’m convinced she knows absolutely nothing about this portfolio. She has two ways of operating: use avoidance tactics when dealing with people in the sector that know what they are talking about and make tough sounding statements to the general public eager to engage in a bit of teacher bashing.
Vote:She has completely ignored the tertiary sector, so no surprises she is losing that portfolio.
When the secondary schooling sector tried to engage in dialogue with her she had nothing to say (because she knows nothing) so she read them a childrens book instead (sadly I’m not joking).
And her response to the primary schooling sector was do it my way, I’m ignoring all the advice of the professionals who know what they talking about.
Let’s be honest here – her sole propose of being the Education Minister is to get tough with those stroppy unions and terachers. In other words she has the job because she is a bully-boy. She knows nothing about her portofolio but can talk tough. Is that really what we want in this important area? With a daughter starting primary school this year, I know it’s not what I want.
January 27th, 2010 at 1:29 pm
The irony is that the National caucus includes one of NZ’s most knowledgable and best informed educational experts. He also has years of experience at the coal face.
It is still a mystery to me why Allan Peachey was not selected education minister.
Vote:January 27th, 2010 at 11:02 pm
Nahhhh, wrong, wrong & wrong chapperappas!
Just heard the Radio NZ extended 10pm news replay the Morning Report items featuring Mallard and Tolley.
http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/mnr/mnr-20100127-0708-Education_Minister_Anne_Tolley_loses_portfolio-048.mp3
http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/mnr/mnr-20100127-0814-NZEI_hopes_reshuffle_results_in_concerns_being_addressed-048.mp3
Mallard da duck sounded like the arrogant weasel he is, smuggly suggesting that it is common knowledge around parliament that Tolley was out of her depth etc.
[& Pity Geoff Robinson got da duck stuttering about the fact that he Mallard as MinEd in his day only had one of the Ed portfolios. Well worth a replay to hear da duck splutter]! PHEEEEE (DOG WHISTLE): GET IN BEHIND TREV
[And after all, do any other Ministers have to spend soooo much time dealing with the various Edu Unions, whom are constantly on the attack and are adept at using the media etc]?
Tolley on the other hand (on da radio), as per usual after her awkward start, stayed on message, hammering out perfectly good reasons why National are on a different tack. Look out Unions, she will have more time for them now!
As for Stephen Joyce as Tertiary Edu Min …… well, if the Tertiary Education Sector (Unis and Polys and Vice Chancellors Committee etc) cannot persuade Stephen “The Mover” Joyce to sort out a proper tertiary funding model as a part of this countries strategic economic outlook, well fork me, there will never be a better time……
Good reshuffle Nats. Now if only Labour would get its deadwood out fast ….. (I won’t hold my breath. Yay)!
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