Te Pūkenga chief executive Stephen Town – currently on personal leave and still collecting his $13,000-a-week salary – is unlikely to return to the role this year.
The organisation – set up to oversee 16 polytechnics and most industry training organisations under one umbrella – is staring down the barrel of a forecast $110 million deficit.
Town was confirmed as being on personal leave in July, although the length of that leave has not been made public.
Te Pūkenga chairperson Murray Strong and acting chief executive Peter Winder fronted the deeply troubled organisation’s annual review before the Education and Workforce select committee hearing in Wellington on Wednesday.
READ MORE:
* Te Pūkenga cuts $8 million from its head office costs
* Minister rules out Te Pūkenga commissioner ‘at this time’
* Janet Wilson: Polytech merger’s ills a harbinger for Government’s other reforms
* Te Pūkenga scrambles to sort out deficit crisis, while union says organisation ‘not broken’
* Te Pūkenga’s on-leave CEO continues to earn thousands a week, as woes spark political spat
* National slams problems at mega polytech Te Pūkenga
* Damning report reveals financial meltdown at new mega polytech Te Pūkenga
* Mega polytech Te Pūkenga boss on ‘personal leave’ for unspecified period
National’s tertiary education spokesperson Penny Simmonds quizzed Strong about Town’s leave request during the review, asking for clarity on whether he was “not on annual leave, not on bereavement leave, is not unwell, his family are not unwell, and he’s not dealing with a family emergency”.
Tom Lee/Stuff
Te Pūkenga chief executive Stephen Town remains on personal leave. (File photo)
In response, Strong said Town’s personal leave provision was “offered at the discretion of the chair”, but refused to comment any further on the grounds it was an employment matter.
Simmonds told Stuff she was contacted by committee chairperson Marja Lubeck on Tuesday night advising her any questions on employment matters during the review would not be permitted.
When the line of questioning was raised, Lubeck told the committee it was “standing practice” annual reviews focused on “past performance and current operations”.
In the final moments of the review, it was revealed that Winder would “most likely” be overseeing Te Pūkenga’s transition for the rest of the year, but who will lead it in its first year of operation was “yet to be determined”, Strong said.
Town’s personal leave followed the release of a damning report into the mired financial position of Te Pūkenga was released.
When asked by reporters about having to pay both Winder and Town, while attempting to bring the projected multimillion-dollar deficit under control, Strong said he expected to hear from Town “within the next three to four weeks” about how long he would remain on leave.
The possibility of paying two chief executives while attempting to right Te Pūkenga’s financial course was a poor outcome, Simmonds said. She called on officials to be transparent.
During his opening address at the review, Strong reflected on “difficult circumstances” affecting Te Pūkenga, including Town’s leave, concerns raised by Education Minister Chris Hipkins, the unions, the Tertiary Education Commission and recent media attention.
“And that comes with simply knowing that we’re not where we need to be in terms of the transition pathway. We’ve apologised to the Minister and to the staff of Te Pūkenga for not making the progress we’d expected, where we find ourselves in terms of our current position, we’ve now outlined the work that’s now required,” Strong said.
