Source: Radio New Zealand
“It’s dead Christmas,” Carl Yates says. Around him, a graveyard of sleeping elves, reindeer and toy soldiers lay still.
‘twas eerily quiet at Shands Road when RNZ visited. Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
Tangles of wires wound their way between model carnival rides, above them rows of thousands of fairy lights hung dull and lifeless.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Source: Radio New Zealand
“If you match a tobacco cigarette in a joint in terms of the same size and smoked in the same way, cannabis results in five times higher levels of carbon monoxide” – physician and academic Richard Beasley. Elsa Olofsson
In 34 days we hit the deadline for our world-leading ambitions to get our smoking rate down to less than five percent of the population.
To reach that Smokefree 2025 target we need 120,000 people to quit smoking pretty much immediately.
“That’s about 63,000 Māori, 21,000 Pasifika, 35,000 Europeans needed to quit,” says Chris Bullen, Auckland University public health professor and a leading researcher in the smokefree Aotearoa sector.
We’re not going to make it, but have we failed?
It depends on who you are, says Bullen.
“It’s come down and spectacularly so for certain populations,” he says.
Pākehā women living in high income suburbs have already reached the goal – that demographic is well below five percent.
For Māori it is three times the five percent target, Pasifika smokers are double the desired number.
Today, The Detail looks at why we missed the goal, the impact of this government’s removal of smokefree protections introduced by the previous Labour government under the Smokefree Action Plan, and what is next in the tobacco control battle.
When Smokefree 2025 was launched around 2011/2012 after a recommendation from the Māori Affairs Selection Committee, around 16.4 percent of adult New Zealanders smoked.
The latest figures from the annual NZ Health Survey show that figure is now 6.8 percent, similar to the previous year but down from 11.9 percent in 2019/20.
Some say we should celebrate what we’ve achieved, and they rubbish the latest rankings in the Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index, which has seen us plummet from second to 53rd place.
But dig into the numbers and they reveal deep inequities with Māori smoking rates at 15 percent and Pasifika at 10.3 percent.
“It’s an absolute failure and I think the present government’s been particularly bad in doing it,” says Anaru Waa, associate professor at Otago University based in Wellington. His research focuses on how we can eliminate tobacco-related harm among whānau Māori.
He’d like to see our Smokefree aim shifted out to 2030, and for it to be not just smoke-free but nicotine-free, because of all the new nicotine products on the market.
Bullen says the launch of Smokefree 2025 around 13 years ago was a breakthrough.
“It was an important lesson for me was that setting goals and targets can be very powerful,” says Bullen. “But it was also a lesson in that it seemed so far away, that for politicians on a three-year electoral cycle it was somebody else’s issue to grapple with.”
“So I guess they thought they’d just get a free ride because smoking was going out of fashion and by 2025 it would be a thing of the past. Of course it’s not.”
Bullen says there’s been cross party support for the idea and ongoing tobacco tax increases and regulations such as smokefree cars and indoor spaces all add up to incremental changes.
“But it was not until Ayesha Verrell (former Labour Health Minister) took up the cause and said 2025 is almost upon us, we need to do something. And that’s where the action plan was promoted and became law, very briefly, until it was repealed when the coalition government took power.”
Labour’s Smokefree 2025 Action Plan included three key measures; banning the sale of cigarettes to anyone born after 2009, slashing the number of tobacco retailers and cutting 95 percent of the nicotine from cigarettes.
But before the measures came into force the legislation supporting them was repealed by the Coalition Government.
Bullen says the policy was supported by the majority of New Zealanders in polling and by the vast majority of healthcare professionals. The repeal mobilised protestors with placards to the streets.
He says the repeal cannot entirely be blamed for the failure to hit the Smokefree target across the population but it sent a subtle message to smokers, “to say, you know our foot’s gone off the accelerator pedal, maybe it’s not so bad”.
The removal of targets for GPs and hospitals to give brief advice and support to people to quit smoking, also had an impact.
“Different governments do these things for various other reasons but that has had a measurable decline in the number of referrals coming to smoking cessation services from GPs.
“The whole system has to work together and I don’t think we’ve had a co ordinated, focussed system that’s really messaged loudly that we have got a goal as a nation and it’s something we can do collectively to support each other to get to that goal. That voice hasn’t been shouted loudly enough.”
The associate health minister Casey Costello has defended the government’s policies and called the Smokefree target ‘ambitious’. She has pointed to the latest figures that show that smoking among young people is below 3.2 percent as the best news.
“That’s exactly what we wanted our young people to see. We wanted our young people not to start,” she has said.
But Anaru Waa says New Zealand’s policies are not keeping up with the new products that are constantly being developed by the tobacco industry designed to hook young people.
“Nicotine drinks, nicotine gummy bears, you name it, just shove nicotine in it and you’ve got a hooked population.
“These aren’t nicotine replacement therapies with low nicotine ….. nicotine is a very highly addictive drug and the industries are awfully good at making it palatable and easy to get addicted to very quickly, then you tend to have the addiction for life.”
He says to achieve the Smokefree goal the measures that were scrapped by this government need to be returned but he also wants strict policies to extend further to products including vapes, with the ultimate aim of shutting out the tobacco industry.
“For some people who can’t quit it (vaping) might be an alternative but we also know that most of the people taking up vapes are youth and young adults and a lot of them have never smoked at all.
“These are the new generation of people using nicotine products and I’m thinking in 20 or 30 years time they’ll wonder why they were thrown under the bus at a time we could have prevented that.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Source: Radio New Zealand
Although the country’s gender pay gap improved this year, campaigners say there is much work to be done to bring pay equality for New Zealand women. RNZ / Hingyi Khong
New Zealand women start working for nothing from this week.
Although the country’s gender pay gap improved this year, campaigners say there is much work to be done to bring pay equality for New Zealand women.
Still Minding the Gap spokesperson Jo Cribb said for every $1 earned by a Pākehā man, a Pacific woman would earn 79c, a Maori woman 82c, an Asian woman 84c and a Pākehā woman 93c.
Cribb said this would be the week that all women started working for nothing. “It’s going to be four weeks of nothing.
“Research shows women’s education levels, occupation or experience account for less than 20 percent of why there is a pay gap.
“What is driving around 80 percent of gender and ethnic pay gaps is decisions made within organisations about pay and promotions – that is, unconscious or conscious bias. Pay differences based on performance are justified. Pay differences based on gender or ethnicity aren’t justified, and that’s what we are focusing on.”
She said the government should introduce mandatory pay gap reporting. Labour’s spokesperson for women Carmel Sepuloni has introduced a member’s bill that would require large employers to report pay differences and include pay in job ads.
“Should 61 MPs support it, we could have it very soon,” Cribb said.
“There is clear overseas evidence that when businesses are required to report their pay gaps publicly it drives meaningful action and has seen national gender pay gaps drop by 20 percent to 40 percent.”
Stats NZ said in August the pay gap this year was 5.2 percent, down from 8.2 percent a year earlier.
But Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Gail Pacheco said the reduction could be because fewer lower-paid women were in work.
“The gender pay gap is obviously only for those that are employed… which means that if more low wage women have become unemployed in recent times because of our economic downturn, that artificially brings the pay gap down.”
Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Gail Pacheco. Supplied
Pacheco said requiring companies to report on pay gaps helped to close them over time. “We also need a fair and consistent pay equity process. The recent amendments of the Equal Pay Act made it much harder to ensure we get those fair outcomes for pay.”
She said structural drivers of the gap also needed to be addressed. “Things like making flexible working normalised and available at all job levels, strengthen parental leave for fathers and partners to share the care load – and reduce any bias or discrimination that could be occurring in the workplace.”
Pacheco said some organisations did not think they had a pay gap until they looked closely at the data.
“It could be that maybe there’s no gaps in like-for-like role. But there’s an organisational wide gap because not enough women are making it through the hierarchy within the organisation.”
Council of Trade Unions national secretary Melissa Ansell-Bridges said the gap had only dropped this year if it was calculated on median pay, not mean.
“They’re both useful to look at in conjunction, but if you’re going to pick one, we generally look at the mean and that pay gap is still 8.7 percent.
“It’s hard to know all the factors but it’s most likely that the reason that the median pay gap had decreased by a couple of percentage points was that you were seeing a lot of movement in the middle … you’re seeing the impact of the tail end of previous public sector pay increases under the last Labour government that were a bit higher than what you’re seeing now.
“It also means it’s probably a high water mark because those drivers are no longer happening.”
Cribb said all European Union nations and more than 50 percent of OECD members, including Australia and the UK, were introducing measures aimed at reducing gender pay gaps.
“We know times are tough for a lot of New Zealand businesses, so the government could choose to only mandate public pay gap reporting for businesses over a certain size and provide for a long implementation time to acknowledge the challenging trading environment. A tool already exists on the Ministry for Women website to help businesses work out their gender pay gaps and what action to take to close them.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Source: Radio New Zealand
Protesters in the ‘mega strike’ in Hamilton, October 2025. Libby Kirkby-McLeod / RNZ
About 17,000 healthworkers are striking today for the second time in a month after mediation failed between the Public Service Association and Health NZ.
Meanwhile, nurses and senior doctors remain locked in their own long-running disputes, as the upheaval in the health sector appears set to continue to be a giant headache for the government heading into election year.
PSA national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said the government needed to “enable Health NZ to come to the table with a fair pay offer” for members, including allied health staff, policy specialists, mental health and public health nurses and healthcare assistants.
“So far all of the offers are taking us backwards and don’t represent the safe staffing levels that we know hospitals need,” she said.
“This strike represents a frustration with the inability of the government and Health NZ to properly staff our hospitals and offer a pay increase that keeps pace with the cost of living.
“These workers are striking reluctantly in support of the public health system they want for New Zealanders.”
Health NZ executive national director, people & culture and health & safety, Robyn Shearer, said she could reassure the public that plans were in place to ensure the continued delivery of hospital and community health services during the strike.
“Patient safety will remain our priority throughout the strike.”
Hospitals, emergency departments, crisis and acute mental health services and most community services would remain open, but some “routine” clinics and home visits would be cancelled.
Anyone with a hospital or community appointment should attend unless they were contacted directly to reschedule.
“Looking forward we believe further bargaining is the best way forward to resolve outstanding issues.”
Health Minister Simeon Brown. RNZ / Mark Papalii
Meanwhile, Health Minister Simeon Brown has called on Health NZ to “rapidly devolve decision-making” to its four regions and 20 districts.
In his publicly released [https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/2025-11/health-nz-letter-of-expectations-27-11-2025.pdf
letter of expectations] to Health NZ, he said that included “removing unnecessary bureaucracy and improving recruitment timeframes for frontline clinical roles”.
However, all the major health sector unions – including the PSA, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists and the Nurses Organisation – have signed a joint letter to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon urging him to help resolve impasses with their respective collective bargaining.
Together with public sector unions representing teachers, principals, firefighters, home support workers and 111 emergency dispatchers, they said workers were frustrated with the lack of progress at a time when the demand on their frontline services was increasing.
NZNO chief executive Paul Goulter said there was “a concerning common approach to bargaining from the coalition government”.
“For this reason, we believe it is appropriate for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to step in and meet with workforce representatives to explore ways forward and settlement options.”
More than 100,000 essential workers held strikes throughout the country last month.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Source: Radio New Zealand
Programme co-lead Uwe Morgenstern sampling a spring. Supplied / Earth Sciences New Zealand
A world-first study of New Zealand’s aquifers reveals that some wells contain groundwater that is 40,000 years old with scientists warning they’ll be put at risk if too much water is taken.
Earth Sciences New Zealand has developed a series of maps and models identifying the source and flow patterns of our aquifers and large river catchments, as part of a six-year research programme.
It’s found that groundwater provides 40 percent of our drinking water, and has discovered that more than 80 percent of the water flowing through our rivers, streams and wetlands when it’s not raining, is from aquifers.
“That is far, far more than we previously thought and underlines the importance of the inter-connected management of groundwater and surface water if we want to ensure our streams continue,” said Principal Scientist Catherine Moore.
The median age of groundwater in the Heretaunga Plains Aquifer at a depth of 20-30 metres. Supplied / Earth Sciences New Zealand
Earth Sciences New Zealand developed the innovative National Groundwater Age Map from more than 1000 groundwater samples to give an overview of groundwater age and groundwater/surface water interaction across the country.
It found that most wells contain water between one and 100 years old.
However, some deep wells in the Taranaki and Marlborough regions hold water that’s over 40,000 years old because it takes so long for surface moisture to seep down into the aquifer.
“The danger is if it takes a long time to replenish we are at risk of taking too much water too quickly. Where water is very old we need to take less water and also look for where water is younger and take water from those areas,” said Moore.
The programme uncovered new insights about connection between groundwater and surface water. Supplied / Earth Sciences New Zealand
Areas such as the Wairau, which had the youngest groundwater – taking only two weeks to move through the aquifer system. However the scientists warned that this also presented a challenge as younger systems could be vulnerable to contamination from live pathogens and nitrate loads, whereas older water presented a challenge with nitrate contamination potentially taking decades to work its way through the aquifer.
“Knowledge of water age and flow rates is important for managing potential contamination of drinking water. We’ve created a drinking water protection zone guideline to help protect wells
from pathogens in the fast-flowing groundwater found in some of our aquifer systems, such as the Heretaunga Plains,” said programme co-lead and principal scientist Uwe Morgenstern.
The Heretaunga Plains were used as a case study for the modelling, as the Paritua Stream at Bridge Pa in Hawke’s Bay dried up in 2021. Community spokesperson Robert Turner said the stream levels had been declining for years and it’s made it harder for iwi to collect mahinga kai.
“We lost a lot of our kokopu. Eels were stuck in holes. If you look at it in Māori eyes, our river is calling for help,” said Turner.
More than 1000 groundwater samples were analysed to develop the National Groundwater Age Map. Supplied / Earth Sciences New Zealand
To understand why it ran dry, the project team gathered historical evidence, including inforamtion around the 1931 Napier earthquake, land clearances, gravel extraction, surface water diversions adn irrigation.
And what they found was a surpirse, as the strongest influence on the flow of Paritua Stream was actually rainfall – not groundwater from the nearby Ngaruroro River as previously thought.
Catherine Moore said that’s given scientists ideas for how to help the stream.
“A wetland restoration engineered a certain way, or directly putting water into the stream, would be sufficient to get that stream to flow if the rate at which that was done was high enough,” she said.
The Te Whakaheke o Te Wai team worked closely with mana whenua in the Heretaunga Plains to understand community concerns about groundwater in the region. Supplied / Earth Sciences New Zealand
The newly created National Groundwater Model was expected to cut costs for councils, by giving them quicker access to data that could inform decisions around how much water can safely be taken, and from where.
The interactive map includes data such as geology and soil characteristics, climate, surface water hydrology, groundwater levels, and groundwater age. It can zoom in from national to regional to local scales and can be used to test different scenarios.
“These tools allow decision-makers to build models more cost-effectively, so that they can answer environmental management questions more quickly, wherever they are needed,” said Moore.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Source: Radio New Zealand
The koru on the tail of Air New Zealand Flight TE901 at the site of the Mount Erebus crash. Colin Monteith / Antarctica New Zealand Pictorial Collection
The daughter of one of the victims of the Erebus disaster is disgusted that a memorial will be built in Christchurch.
It has been 46 years since the Air New Zealand scenic flight crashed into Mt Erebus in Antarctica, killing 237 passengers and 20 crew.
After decades of back and forth, the government has announced a memorial would be erected at Cracroft Reserve in Christchurch.
Simone Bennett, whose father David was one of the crash victims, lives in Auckland and is furious that the memorial will be so far away.
The government has announced a memorial will be erected at Cracroft Reserve in Christchurch. RNZ / Samantha Gee
However, the Air Line Pilots’ Association (NZALPA) is thrilled the memorial is finally being built, and in Christchurch.
The preferred site for the memorial is Cracroft Reserve, but the Avon riverbank is being held as an alternative option.
Andrew McKeen, a 787 pilot and president of the association, said the long-awaited memorial would finally honour victims of New Zealand’s worst aviation disaster.
“Christchurch serves as New Zealand’s gateway to Antarctica and was the intended stopover point for TE901’s return to Auckland,” he said in a statement.
“Since the tragedy many of our members have retired or passed on. Others still remember the turbulent months that followed that day in 1979 and the efforts NZALPA made to defend the professional reputations of their colleagues from unfair conjecture and blame.”
McKeen reiterated that Captain Jim Collins and First Officer Greg Cassin had been cleared by a Royal Commission of any suggestion that negligence contributed to the disaster.
“We will now have a permanent national memorial. Erebus will forever be remembered by our industry and especially our members.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Source: Radio New Zealand
Transmission Gully will be closed over the weekend. (File photo) RNZ / Charlie Dreaver
The transport network between Wellington and the Kāpiti Coast will be under some pressure this weekend with State Highway 1 Transmission Gully closed to southbound traffic, and Metlink trains being replaced by buses.
NZTA would close the southbound side of Transmission Gully after it postponed its closure last week while it revised its roadworks and traffic plan.
The revision came after an earlier closure on Transmission Gully caused significant congestion and delays.
NZTA said the southbound closure would be in place from 10am on Friday until 4.30am on Monday, weather permitting.
Southbound traffic would need to detour via State Highway 59 while the closure was in place.
It said there would also be a northbound lane closure on the motorway, which was expected to cause delays for northbound traffic.
Transmission Gully. (File photo) RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Mark Owen, regional manager for lower North Island/top of the South, said people needed to prepare for long queues and travel delays, and should try to avoid the peak congestion times expected on Sunday afternoon.
“These are major works on a key part of our state highway network. An impact on traffic is unavoidable, and it is essential that drivers are prepared for it.”
He said NZTA had identified problems, such as pinch points on the SH59 detour route, and taken steps to address them.
“We will have extra staff on duty to manage traffic, and we will close off the SH59 Link Road, which we saw added to congestion for traffic trying to use the detour route,” he said.
But he said now was the best time for them to do the roadworks.
“This must be done during the warmer summer weather. It cannot be done during winter, as the repairs would not work. We also want to get the drainage work completed so the motorway can be open to traffic during the busier Christmas/New Year holiday period.”
Metlink senior manager of operations, Paul Tawharu said buses replacing Metlink train services on the Kāpiti Line this weekend were due to KiwiRail making “vital improvements” to the rail network.
He said as NZTA was also carrying out maintenance on Transmission Gully this weekend, buses replacing trains during this maintenance would be detoured with all other traffic.
“We strongly encourage Metlink passengers to plan ahead and expect delays this weekend. They can keep up to date with service changes on the Metlink website or app.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Source: Radio New Zealand
Icehouse Ventures chief executive Robbie Paul. Smoke Photography Ltd
Icehouse Ventures says the response to its latest early-stage seed fund has been “phenomenal”, raising a record $70 million to help at least 30 ventures get started.
Chief executive Robbie Paul said the market was hot, with new investments continuing to flow from family offices and individuals.
“The venture capital and startup ecosystem is extremely vibrant and I think the reason is that most companies are operating on very long-term time horizons,” he said.
“They don’t start a company because the market’s bad and they don’t give up for the same reason.
“They have big missions that they’ve been thinking about and researching and working on for a very long time, and will continue to pursue those irrespective of who’s in power, who’s in the White House, what the weather is and anything else.”
The fund was capped at $75m, with an end-of-year deadline to raise the last $5m.
“It feels like we’ll hit that fairly shortly.”
Paul said Icehouse had been hoping to raise $30m for Seed Fund IV, but quickly attracted investment from 363 investors, with 80 percent based in New Zealand.
He said more than half of the investors were entirely new to Icehouse Ventures, while 147 had backed the firm’s prior seed funds, with a core group of 26 invested in all four, and 17 investors from the United States, China, Singapore, India and Germany contributing a combined $22m.
“The success of Seed Fund IV demonstrates a renewed belief in Kiwi entrepreneurs and signals that the startup economy is very much back in motion,” Paul said.
He said the investment represented a maturing of the venture capital ecosystem.
“The rise of the ecosystem was inevitable because entrepreneurs build businesses over time horizons that far exceed presidential terms and macro-economic swings.”
Cheque sizes had grown significantly, with commitments ranging from $25,000 to $5m in Seed Fund IV.
Paul said the most encouraging trend was the rise of founder-investors who have scaled companies of their own and were reinvesting into the ecosystem that backed them.
Nearly a dozen had invested in the latest fund, including the co-founders of award-winning global educational software business, Kami.
“Founders know the difference that early capital and the right partner can make,” Paul said.
“Having a large cohort of entrepreneurs in our fund means we can tap into their expertise to help the next generation.”
Seed Fund IV was the largest seed fund in the country’s history, with $6.3m already committed to eight NZ-founded startups over the next three years.
The early investments included AI presentation creator, Aether, design collaboration platform, Harth, and industrial engineering software, Spaceproof, and fraud-prevention technology startup, Static Technologies.
“Our goal with the seed fund is to invest as early as possible,” Paul said.
“Success for us is finding companies who’ve never raised money and sometimes are not even established, and to start investing with small amounts at that point, and then to invest further as they achieve technical and commercial milestones.”
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Source: Tertiary Education Commission
Last updated 11 September 2025
This page has information for providers who currently offer work-based learning, or who may be interested in offering it in the future. The page will be updated regularly as the vocational education and training (VET) reforms work progresses.
This page has information for providers who currently offer work-based learning, or who may be interested in offering it in the future. The page will be updated regularly as the vocational education and training (VET) reforms work progresses.
There are currently a small number of private training establishments (PTEs) that offer work-based learning, and these will continue unchanged in 2026. Any learner currently enrolled in work-based learning will continue in 2026 and is unlikely to notice an immediate change.
The work-based learning that is currently completed by divisions within the New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology (BCITO, HITO, MITO, Connexis, Competenz, EarnLearn, ServiceIQ, PrimaryITO and Careerforce) will move into the Industry Skills Boards (ISBs), but for employers and learners things will seem unchanged and the branding and personnel will remain the same.
During 2026 and 2027 all work-based learning will move out of ISBs and to providers. This is a significant and important system change, and the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) will require information from the parties involved to ensure the changes we approve represent the best option for both industry and learners.
Decisions about which provider receives the provision and learners from the work-based learning divisions of ISBs will consider:
industry views on:
what they need from the network of work-based learning, and
whether they support the recommended provider receiving transferred provision
information about the quality of the provider, informed by:
the plans they submit to us outlining approaches and capability
previous performance and compliance with TEC requirements (where relevant)
previous performance and compliance with New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) requirements and quality assurance (where relevant)
sustainability in terms of financial stability and good governance and management
alignment with tertiary education priorities, including those from the Tertiary Education Strategy.
The final decision on the transition of any provision and learners from an ISB to a provider will be made by the TEC Board.
Setting up new private training establishments
We are aware that some industry groups are looking to establish PTEs to deliver work-based learning for their sectors.
The requirements of standing up a PTE and ongoing compliance can be complex. These organisations are different to industry training organisations (ITOs) or polytechnics.
To support understanding of the requirements, we ran a webinar in partnership with NZQA. In this webinar, we shared further information and answered questions.
Webinar on new PTEs
This webinar was held on 29 July. A recording of the webinar is available below.
[embedded content]
More information
For queries about the vocational education and training (VET) reforms, please contact VETinformation@tec.govt.nz.
Source: Eastern Institute of Technology
27 seconds ago
EIT has appointed Robin Fabish (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Mahanga) as its new Pouārahi Māori (Executive Director Māori), bringing extensive experience in education and a deep commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and kaupapa Māori.
Robin, who will be welcomed with pōwhiri at the Tairāwhiti Campus in Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay Campus in Taradale in December, says he is looking forward to the opportunity.
Robin Fabish (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Mahanga) has been appointed as EIT’s new Pouārahi Māori.
He joins EIT after more than 30 years in education, most recently as a Leadership Advisor for the Ministry of Education and previously as Principal of Tamatea High School from 2015 to 2024. His earlier roles include Deputy Principal at Te Aute College, Head of Māori at Napier Boys’ High School and Science Teacher at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Ara Hou.
“Our schools have always had a strong connection with EIT, particularly through the Trades Academy and students moving on to study here. I’ve always admired the role EIT plays in our community, and I am keen to be a part of helping people into meaningful careers and development opportunities.”
He said his existing relationships across Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti made the role a natural next step.
“I’ve had strong connections with the marae at EIT’s Hawke’s Bay Campus through various events like the Manu Kōrero competition, and I know a lot of people who work at EIT in Hawke’s Bay as well as in Tairāwhiti.”
Robin said he is looking forward to supporting staff and learners to grow their confidence in kaupapa Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
“My role as Executive Director Māori has a strong focus on giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. There are a lot of people who understand the need for an equity focus and that giving effect to Te Tiriti and respecting mana whenua are really important things. I’m looking forward to assisting our people to build on that philosophy.”
Robin is nearing the end of his Doctor of Education, examining how english-medium principals give practical effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. His research highlights the growing willingness among school leaders to support Māori learners, even as many navigate the challenges of how to put that into practice.
“Supporting Māori to succeed as Māori means Te Aho a Māui working to help ākonga Māori to be strong in our language, culture and identity, while also being strong in the Western world.”
He said both his career and his doctoral research have prepared him well for the role.
“To be able to bring my experience in the education sector, practical experience, but also theoretical experience, is something that I’m really excited to do to support outcomes for ākonga Māori, but also to support staff to develop their capability.”
Robin’s personal journey reclaiming te reo Māori has shaped much of his career.
“My mother grew up in an era where learning te reo was discouraged. For me, understanding my culture and identity has been a journey since I was young. There are so many of us who are on that journey now, and being able to support others in that space is something that I find really motivating.”
Robin and his whānau moved to Hawke’s Bay in 2004 and decided to stay. He and his wife Sharron have three adult children: Te Aorewa, Tiaki and Kamoe. Outside of work, Robin enjoys music and plays guitar and drums. He also enjoys waka ama.
EIT Operations Lead, Glen Harkness, welcomed Robin, saying his experience will be a real asset to EIT.
“Robin brings a wealth of experience and deep connections across Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti. His leadership in education and commitment to supporting Māori success will be invaluable as we strengthen partnerships with iwi and Māori communities and create opportunities for ākonga to thrive. We warmly welcome Robin and his whānau to EIT.”