PoO expects to hear a staunch defence of its activities from the New Zealand Skydiving School in Parakai, after the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union revealed that more than $1.1 million in taxpayer funding has been spent subsidising a Diploma in Commercial Skydiving through the Government’s Fees Free tertiary education scheme.
The press release containing this revelation said:
Information released to the Taxpayers’ Union under the Official Information Act shows that since 2018, the Tertiary Education Commission has paid $1,123,383.93 in Fees Free funding to the New Zealand Skydiving School in Parakai for the programme, leaving students to pay just $7.51 per jump.
Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, says:
“While taxpayers’ wallets are in free-fall, the government has spent more than $1.1 million funding skydiving lessons.
“When Fees Free was announced it was supposed to get more young people into tertiary education so New Zealand could train more doctors, engineers, nurses and teachers. Now, the government’s own officials admit Fees Free ‘had no impact on learner participation and access.’
“Instead, taxpayers working late shifts and struggling to make ends meet are footing the bill so a handful of students can go to skydiving school and shell out just $7.51 per jump.
“When a policy is this expensive, this poorly targeted, and this far from achieving its stated goals, it simply needs to be scrapped.”
The press statement would have helped us determine the taxpayer is being taken for a ride – or jump – if it had included data on how many students have gone through the school and what this had done for their job prospects.
The school website tells us
Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, says:
“While taxpayers’ wallets are in free-fall, the government has spent more than $1.1 million funding skydiving lessons.
“When Fees Free was announced it was supposed to get more young people into tertiary education so New Zealand could train more doctors, engineers, nurses and teachers. Now, the government’s own officials admit Fees Free ‘had no impact on learner participation and access.’
“Instead, taxpayers working late shifts and struggling to make ends meet are footing the bill so a handful of students can go to skydiving school and shell out just $7.51 per jump.
“When a policy is this expensive, this poorly targeted, and this far from achieving its stated goals, it simply needs to be scrapped.”
The press statement would have helped us determine the taxpayer is being taken for a ride – or jump – if it had included data on how many students have gone through the school and what this had done for their job prospects.
The school website tells us
- 81% of graduates in 2023 were offered skydiving-related employment upon successful completion of their Diploma
- 100% of graduates in 2022 were offered skydiving related employment upon successful completion of their Diploma
The press statement should also have asked what efforts have been made by cabinet minister Paul Goldsmith to halt the Fees Free programme .
We say this because we dug up a news item headed
Skydiver defends school after National MP’s ‘rant’ over fees-free policy
This recorded the skydiving operator’s rebuttal after Goldsmith railed against of “wasteful spending” in the education industry.
National tertiary education spokesman Paul Goldsmith said “you’ll be able to do diplomas in golf tournaments, skydiving and homeopathy” under the Government’s new free tertiary education policy.
But NZ Skydiving School operator Tony Green said his course had a 95 per cent employment rate.
“I was going to contact the National [MP] that was having a rant about it and give him some information on just how successful our school is,” he said.
“Of all of the tertiary education [providers] out there, we possibly have one of the highest strike rates for employment.”
The Government announced on December 5 2017 that from 2018 80,000 Kiwis would be eligible for free tertiary education in their first year.
It would cost $380 million of taxpayer money.
National’s tertiary spokesman Paul Goldsmith said the new policy was an “incredibly expensive and untargeted way to go about Government spending”.
He said it would lead to an “enormous amount of wasteful spending in the tertiary sector”.
“Under the criteria we’ve got today you’ll be able to do diplomas in golf tournaments, skydiving and homeopathy,” he said.
“It takes us back to the old era of wasteful spending on hip hop, dancing and family seances that we saw in the past.”
The Parakai-based skydiving school in northwest Auckland – the only school to offer the Diploma in Commercial Skydiving – fell under the policy for fees-free education.
At that time, Green said the industry was constantly calling for qualified staff.
“There’s constantly a demand for instructors and good qualified ground staff,” Green said.
“People think it’s not a job … but they haven’t got a clue. It’s a massive industry in New Zealand, and overseas.”
Skydive tandem masters were on the country’s immediate skill shortage list.
According to the 2017 Stuff report, Green said about 40 skydiving pupils trained at Parakai every year – including 15 international students.
Skydiving companies belonging to the New Zealand Parachute Industry Association offer skydiving for tourists, film-makers and photographers, companies on team-building exercises, and adventurous individuals.
A 32-week course teaches the latest skydiving techniques, covers a vast range of subjects and includes a work placement module, to give students the best start in the industry in NZ or overseas.
Those who complete the course will have fulfilled up to 200 skydives.
We may suppose they completed their jumps successfully.
Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE. - where this article was sourced.
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