Working families pulled below breadline
‘Housing insecurity’ affecting all sorts
Higher mortgage interest rates, a squeezed and pricey housing rental market, and many other cost-of-living hikes are stretching some family budgets beyond the limit.
Mary Williams
Polytech job cut numbers stay secret
Polytech job cut numbers stay secret
Staff at Otago Polytechnic and Southern Institute of Technology are still in the dark about how many roles could be cut, after a national announcement proposing the slashing of 400 roles across all polytechnics.
Apology after glitch stops staff accessing plan
Apology after glitch stops staff accessing plan
The head of the embattled national polytechnic has apologised to staff facing the chop after technical problems stopped them accessing a document to learn about their fate.
Tears over polytech redundancy news
Tears over polytech redundancy news
Some staff at Otago Polytechnic and Southern Institute of Technology were left in tears yesterday after being told their jobs were at risk.
Need to grab geese problem ‘by the wings’
Need to grab geese problem ‘by the wings’
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Let’s hope it’s not a skein of geese hitting a passenger aircraft. Mary Williams reports on the increasing risk of geese to farms, waterways and aviation - and rising voices for national action to stop them.
Move to disband fresh uni division
Move to disband fresh uni division
A move by the University of Otago to consider disbanding its recently-established shared services division is not an admission a previous effort at making savings was a failure, the university says.
Uni line on choice criticised
Uni line on choice criticised
Justifying cuts to papers by saying too much choice makes students anxious has been slammed as an "incredible reframing" of a need for savings due to the University of Otago’s financial woes.
Looming uni debt plight ‘considerable’
Looming uni debt plight ‘considerable’
The University of Otago is heading into deep debt, for the first time in modern history, and its balance sheets are facing greater scrutiny by the university financial watchdog.
Investigation: Uni budget gap deliberately omitted
Investigation: Uni budget gap deliberately omitted
The University of Otago chose to hide the extent of its financial troubles six months ago, when it could have been consulting with staff.
Uni hides full extent of money woes
Uni hides full extent of money woes
University of Otago management knew of the institution’s financial troubles when preparing their 2023 budget last year, but withheld their full extent from staff until months later.
‘Frustrated’ students march against cuts
‘Frustrated’ students march against cuts
More than 100 students marched from the University of Otago clocktower to the offices of outgoing MP — and incoming university registrar — David Clark to protest university cuts yesterday.
The 'perfect storm' facing the University of Otago
The 'perfect storm' facing the University of Otago
"Despondent" University of Otago staff fear the worst as a new round of redundancies looms amid a financial crunch.