"I thought back then that we might quickly pass peak woke and that rationality would have taken hold again by now," writes Emeritus Professor John Raine in The indoctrination must stop but Labour would double down. "Not so fast, some warned - they were right!"
They were. Raine charts an extension of the "long march through the institutions": a University of Canterbury law bridging course featuring "Race and Ethnicity - Understanding White Supremacy" and "Bodies and Society – Fatphobia". Auckland's Waipapa Taumata Rau Stage 1 course, still "mandatory for accredited programmes". Tikanga Māori "compulsory in all core LLB courses across New Zealand".
That's what students are taught. Raine also quotes Massey University telling staff, in their professional development plans, that "all staff are expected to implement the [Te Tiriti] principles in their work and practice."
That's the staffroom, and the University of Auckland has just written down how it works there.
A plan to make plans
Its Gender Equity Strategy and Plan 2026–2029 runs to 15 pages. The vision: "A university where gender equity is real, visible, and sustained."
https://www.auckland.ac.nz/assets/about-us/about-the-university/equity-at-the-university/gender-equity/gender-equity-strategy-plan.pdf
Try measuring that. The plan doesn't.
There are 29 deliverables. Deliverable 26: "A Gender Equity Strategy and Plan for 2026 – 2029 is published." The plan delivers itself. Tick.
Fifteen don't start until November 2027, more than halfway through. And the measures?
"Specific evaluation methods and measures will be established as part of the development of each initiative". Later, then.
Into hiring and promotion
Job ads will show "a visible commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion". Decision makers are offered "Implicit Bias, Cultural Navigation and DEI Literacy programmes". Leadership development comes through "career progression initiatives targeted on the basis of gender and gender-ethnicity intersections."
That's what students are taught. Raine also quotes Massey University telling staff, in their professional development plans, that "all staff are expected to implement the [Te Tiriti] principles in their work and practice."
That's the staffroom, and the University of Auckland has just written down how it works there.
A plan to make plans
Its Gender Equity Strategy and Plan 2026–2029 runs to 15 pages. The vision: "A university where gender equity is real, visible, and sustained."
https://www.auckland.ac.nz/assets/about-us/about-the-university/equity-at-the-university/gender-equity/gender-equity-strategy-plan.pdf
Try measuring that. The plan doesn't.
There are 29 deliverables. Deliverable 26: "A Gender Equity Strategy and Plan for 2026 – 2029 is published." The plan delivers itself. Tick.
Fifteen don't start until November 2027, more than halfway through. And the measures?
"Specific evaluation methods and measures will be established as part of the development of each initiative". Later, then.
Into hiring and promotion
Job ads will show "a visible commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion". Decision makers are offered "Implicit Bias, Cultural Navigation and DEI Literacy programmes". Leadership development comes through "career progression initiatives targeted on the basis of gender and gender-ethnicity intersections."
The parent DEI plan promises to "Embed DEI contributions and leadership in the Academic Standards at the next review opportunity". Academics are promoted against those standards. Staff will also be offered "suggested DEI-related goals" for their annual reviews.
The problem being fixed? The university's own pay gap page: "There is no evidence of unequal pay within academic role categories."
The cost nobody knows
What does it cost? Answering an Official Information Act request in March, the university said it "does not have a specific budget for 'equity, diversity and inclusion' as this function is distributed across the University."
It gave one figure: $436,350 this year for the Pro Vice-Chancellor Equity's office. That leaves out the HR diversity team, the equity posts in eight faculties and institutes, and the committees. Meanwhile the DEI plan promises "a needs analysis for additional named DEI roles" in 2027.
Read the sheer number of staff and their titles in the acknowledgements to get a true sense of the cost. Of course, that’s just staff cost. The true cost is the loss of rigour and critical thinking throughout the tertiary sector. Read the list and weep for what was once our higher education system.
The problem being fixed? The university's own pay gap page: "There is no evidence of unequal pay within academic role categories."
The cost nobody knows
What does it cost? Answering an Official Information Act request in March, the university said it "does not have a specific budget for 'equity, diversity and inclusion' as this function is distributed across the University."
It gave one figure: $436,350 this year for the Pro Vice-Chancellor Equity's office. That leaves out the HR diversity team, the equity posts in eight faculties and institutes, and the committees. Meanwhile the DEI plan promises "a needs analysis for additional named DEI roles" in 2027.
Read the sheer number of staff and their titles in the acknowledgements to get a true sense of the cost. Of course, that’s just staff cost. The true cost is the loss of rigour and critical thinking throughout the tertiary sector. Read the list and weep for what was once our higher education system.
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Rodney Hide is former ACT Party leader, and Minister in the National-ACT Government from 2008 to 2011. This article was first published HERE
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