Friday 19 November 2021

Kaua e rangiruatia te hāpai o te hoe; e kore tō tātou waka e ū ki uta
Do not lift the paddle out of unison or our canoe will never reach the shore 

Tēnā tātou katoa  

As the weather gets warmer, it’s tempting to start thinking about the holidays, and this week it was great to get a clearer picture of what Christmas will look like. Especially given the restrictions we’ve been under in Tāmaki Makaurau for such a long time.

I chose to start with the whakataukī above today because I know everyone is working hard to complete their studies in a challenging and complex operating environment. The proverb emphasises that getting to our goals is always a collective enterprise, after a year of effort-upon-effort.

The region has made great progress towards our vaccination target with the latest figures showing 89.7% of the eligible population in the Auckland area are now fully vaccinated.

This reflects a huge community-wide campaign that we all can be very proud of, but it's essential we maintain our momentum and keep paddling.

Covid-19 Protection Framework

I appreciate there are many queries about what the Covid-19 Protection Framework or ‘traffic light’ system will mean for working and studying at Unitec when it is introduced.

On 29 November, the Prime Minister will announce when the framework will be brought in, most likely in early December.

Under the framework’s Red level, vaccines are required in tertiary education for on-site delivery, with capacity based on one metre distancing.  Unitec is currently part of discussions with Te Pūkenga to finalise the details of how we will deliver at Red. We will share that information with you and commence consultation on the Traffic Light system early next week.

Our institute has always supported kaimahi (staff) and tauira (students) getting vaccinated to offer greater protection to themselves, whānau, bubble mates and communities. This is even more urgent with confirmed community cases of Covid-19 on the rise in Tāmaki Makaurau.

Before I go, I would like to wish everyone a great weekend, let’s hope the good weather holds and thanks again for everything you are doing.

As ever, go the All Blacks! Although my family is a bit divided for this game as there are French supporters among us!

Ngā mihi,

Gus Gilmore
Chief Executive