Giving peace a chance

be described as tumultuous for the Taranaki polytech.

It has been a nasty time for all concerned, with claim and counter claim swirling in the undercurrents stirred up by the axing of the man who brought Witt back from the brink during his tenure. The first blow was the revelation that students in Witt’s Maori Performing Arts courses were falsely awarded qualifications they had not worked for. That cost Witt $3.7 million it had to pay back to the Government as well as immeasurable reputational damage. More lately there have been two ERA hearings against former staff members who left in the aftermath of Handley’s demise.

In September 2016 the ERA heard a case, brought by Witt, against former academic director Christine Fenton, ended with a confidential settlement and a public apology from Fenton. She acknowledged two comments she posted on Facebook about her former employer were disparaging.

Parr was Handley’s former secretary and left her position six weeks after him, in April 2013. Parr used a fake name when sending letters to Steven Joyce, David Cunliffe, the TSB Community Trust and the Bishops Action Foundation in which she made numerous negative allegations about the institution.

Again, Witt took the case to the ERA, and on Wednesday, it determined her denial of writing the letters was false, that they breached a settlement she had reached with Witt and ordered her to pay $6000.

Whether Witt, under the leadership of Handley’s replacement Barbara George, was right to take the cases to the ERA remains a judgement call. In both cases they won the day, so can feel some sense of vindication and of having protected the polytech’s reputation. However the cases have continued to keep all the turmoil of the Handley departure era alive in the media as the cases played out.

And in taking the cases it only added fuel to the fire around the allegations of cultural problems within the polytech.

With the ERA’s latest rulings, it is time to rule a line under the past four years. Witt is an important piece of the Taranaki puzzle, and it’s time for the province to get in and support it. A reputable and well-functioning tertiary study option in the region is vital as we gear up for an ever-intensifying battle to keep our youngsters sticking around. Witt faces ongoing challenges that need to be sorted, but the past shouldn’t be among them. Everyone has had their day in court.

So let’s now take a leaf out of John Lennon’s book and give peace a chance.

Ryan Evans, Editor