The proposals Council membership reduced to eight - four appointed by Tertiary Minister, plus chief executive, staff representative, student representative and one other person.
Tertiary Education Commission given greater powers to intervene in polytechnics not performing well financially, including appointing crown managers.
Minister able to force councils to merge, or to establish combined academic boards.
New regime expected to be in place by May.
Otago Polytechnic's governing council will be almost halved and Telford Rural Polytechnic will lose five of its members if sweeping changes proposed yesterday for the polytechnic sector by Tertiary Education Minister Anne Tolley are implemented.
Mrs Tolley plans to fast-track legislation through by the end of the year to slash the membership of New Zealand's 20 polytechnic councils from up to 20 members to eight.
Sector groups, including Maori, which are represented on councils now will have no places in the new structure, and six of the eight members will be either ministerial appointments or polytechnic staff members.
The changes will also give the Government more power to merge councils, and to seize control of those institutions performing poorly financially.
Reaction from the two polytechnics in the Otago area was swift and strong yesterday.
Otago has 15 council members and Telford 13.
Telford council chairman David Yardley said the new structure would have an overrepresentation of ministerial appointments and councils would be in danger of losing touch with their communities.
"Polytechnics are autonomous.
With this structure, you would have to question where the autonomy is."
He was not surprised by the moves, saying Mrs Tolley had signalled for some time she planned to change polytechnics' governance structure and take a tougher line with institutions performing poorly.
Otago Polytechnic chairman Graham Crombie said it was time for a review of the structure of council.
"Do I think a review is valid? Yes. Am I sure that eight members is the perfect answer? Probably not. How do you get an understanding of your community with only eight members?"
If the proposals were implemented, polytechnics would have to adopt the system used by the Otago District Health Board and others and have a community focus group or subcommittee to feed into the council system, he said.
The Bill went further than he was expecting, Otago Polytechnic chief executive Phil Ker said yesterday.
He had expected it to focus on council membership and was surprised to see clauses on Crown interventions and merger powers included as well.
Those changes were "coming from a negative perspective" which assumed widespread financial failure in the polytechnic sector, he said.
But while some institutions had not performed well in recent years, he disputed there was widespread financial failure.
"I feel the sector is seen as some sort of problem child and now it is time for us to get caned."
The Tertiary Education Commission had already told polytechnics they would need a six-month financial "warrant of fitness", Mr Ker said.
Members of local polytechnic councils are. -Otago Polytechnic (15 members): Graham Crombie* (chairman), accountant, Dunedin; Mark Ryan* (deputy chairman), health administrator, Dunedin; Susie Johnstone*, accountant, Balclutha; David Salter*, solicitor, Oamaru; Michael Collins, general staff representative, Otago Polytechnic chief information officer, Dunedin; Meegan Coughley, Otago Polytechnic Students Association representative, student, Dunedin; Mike Hammond, Combined Trades Union representative, nurse, Dunedin; Malcolm Macpherson, Central Otago Mayor, Alexandra; Jane Mitchell, farmer, Alexandra; Rebecca Parata, Ngai Tahu representative, council manager, Dunedin; Dale Parsons, academic staff representative, Otago Polytechnic lecturer, Dunedin, Chris Staynes, Dunedin City Council representative, businessman, Dunedin; Nicky Taylor, Ngai Tahu representative, manager, Dunedin; Rachel Walker, Employers Federation representative, manager, Dunedin; Phil Ker, Otago Polytechnic chief executive.
Telford Rural Polytechnic (13 members): David Yardley* (chairman), farm consultant, Mosgiel; Murray Brass* (deputy chairman), council manager, Balclutha; Justin Geddes*, accountant, Milton; Lesley Brook* solicitor, Dunedin; Martin Dodge, Combined Trades Union representative, deputy principal, Balclutha; Trevor Hall, Employers Federation representative, businessman, Mosgiel; Maureen Wylie, Ngai Tahu representative, retired principal and farmer, Balclutha; Mike Elliot, farmer, Balclutha; Barry Mackenzie, retired accountant, Balclutha; Lisa Biginato, academic staff representative, distance learning manager, Balclutha; Debra Hollows, general staff representative, receptionist, Balclutha; Hayden Tapp, Telford Students Association representative, student, Balclutha; Jonathan Walmisley, Telford chief executive.
*ministerial appointments
