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Potential for $131 million of asset sales with Te Pūkenga de-merger, concerns raised over ‘Going for Growth’ impacts

Potential for $131 million of asset sales with Te Pūkenga de-merger, concerns raised over ‘Going for Growth’ impacts

De-merging Te Pūkenga may negatively affect the Government’s bid to boost economic growth, with asset sales on the cards, according to Treasury officials. Polytechnics are going back to a regional governance model from the start of next year following the disestablishment of the merged Te Pūkenga model. A Treasury report, from 10 June this year, states changes to both provider-based and work-based learning over the transition will be “disruptive” despite transitional mitigations in place. Officials warned learners who are most at risk - like those with low prior achievement, or located in regions with fewer education alternatives - are more likely to be impacted by the changes, with potential impacts on JobSeeker numbers. “This could have a negative impact on the Developing Talent pillar of Going for Growth, which outlines ensuring learners can access relevant training and reducing your job seeker numbers as priorities,” the document states. Minister for Vocational Education Penny Simmonds said any decisions to potentially sell “under-utilised or un-utilised physical assets” will be up to the Polytechnic Council. “There is no Government-led programme of asset sales,” Simmonds assured. On the going for growth aspect of the advice, the minister promised the reforms will deliver real skills, jobs, and value for learners, employers and the future of New Zealand. Green Party tertiary education spokesman Francisco Hernandez told Newstalk ZB polytechs would still require ongoing support. He said significant change had caused “fatigue” in the sector which people were “sick and tired” of. Hernandez said advice showed the merger could make the financial situation the same, if not worse. “It’s just really baffling they are continuing with these reforms. “We’ve seen advice that this might actually increase the amount of people that will go onto the Jobseeker benefit.” Simmonds said while Treasury and the Tertiary Education Commission rightly identified fiscal risks, the solution would be to complete reform properly, rather than delay it. “The new regional polytechnic model, supported by Industry Skills Boards, will reduce long-term risk by ensuring that training is better aligned with employer demand, more financially sustainable, and regionally driven.” A report from the Tertiary Education Commission, addressed to Simmonds as at July last year, noted a “high financial risk, but also the destabilisation of the vocational education system” if the merger wasn’t properly planned. The document stated the establishment of independent entities would require recapitalisation “which will need to be funded by Te Pūkenga, the Crown and asset sales”. Officials pointed to several sources of funding, which included asset sales. The commission stated Te Pūkenga initially assessed about $131 million “can be realised through land and building asset sales” that are surplus to delivery needs across the former Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics network through to 2031. It said this was a high-level estimate and more detailed work would be undertaken. The commission said it would take some time to generate cash from such sales, so specific institutions may need additional funds before the process could be completed. “It does, however, provide another avenue to support recapitalisation over the medium-term.” An aide-memoire from November last year again reiterated concerns about financial viability. Officials from the commission wrote for most institutions “it is a relatively high-risk pathway back to financial viability”. On the specific concerns about finances, Simmonds said the Government acknowledged there have been, and still are in some cases, financial pressures within polytechs. She said these reflected structural issues that were “worsened” by the centralised Te Pūkenga model which is being done away with. “That’s why over the past 18 months TEC has put in financial advisors to ensure each polytechnic has a pathway to sustainability. I...

Apple boosts Macs, iPads, Vision Pro with powerful M5 processors

Apple boosts Macs, iPads, Vision Pro with powerful M5 processors

Just a day after Microsoft shuttered support for Windows 10 , Apple has upgraded the world’s best performing AI PCs with updated versions of the iPad Pro, 14-in. MacBook Pro, and Vision Pro — all now powered by Apple’s secure operating systems and equipped with its industry-leading and astonishingly powerful, 3-nanometer M5 processor . Apple Silicon leads the fleet Significantly more powerful than even the M4 processor, the M5 chip got a press release of its own . That’s because the performance enhancements the 3nm processor introduces are, frankly, so impressive. With up to 10 CPU cores (6 efficiency and 4 performance), 10 GPU cores, and a 16-core Neural engine, highlights include: 4x peak GPU performance for AI workloads compared to the M4 chip. Up to 45% higher graphics performance than the M4. Up to 15% faster multithreaded performance than the M4 CPU. 153GB/s Unified Memory bandwidth, a 30% increase over the M4. The ability to drive 10% more pixels at 120Hz refresh rates on the Vision Pro. “M5 ushers in the next big leap in AI performance for Apple silicon,” said Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware technologies in the announcement. “With the introduction of Neural Accelerators in the GPU, M5 delivers a huge boost to AI workloads. Combined with a big increase in graphics performance, the world’s fastest CPU core, a faster Neural Engine, and even higher unified memory bandwidth, M5 brings far more performance and capabilities to MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Apple Vision Pro.” Apple stressed that the biggest advantage of the M5 is how AI-ready the processor is. Each GPU core includes a dedicated Neural Accelerator, making the GPU more AI-aware, for example. It means applications that useof Apple’s own frameworks and APIs, such as CoreML and Metal 4, will see immediate performance gains on an M5 system. It also means every Apple Intelligence feature you might use on these devices will be faster than before — presumably delivering benefits for any business using on-device AI models on their Macs. These really are the ultimate AI PCs. Apple The world’s best AI PCs are Macs While we’ll need to wait a few months for the larger MacBook Pros to appear, the new M5 powered 14-in. MacBook Pro delivers up to 3.5x faster AI performance, faster storage, and up to 24 hours of battery life. You get all the advantages of the new processor, a Liquid Retina XDR display, a 12-megapixel Center Stage camera, up to 2x faster SSD performance, and a six-speaker sound system. “MacBook Pro continues to be the world’s best pro laptop, and today, the 14-in. MacBook Pro gets even better with the arrival of the M5 chip,” said John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering (a man hotly-tipped as a future Apple CEO).  “With its amazing performance, extraordinary battery life, and unrivalled display, M5 takes the new 14-in. MacBook Pro to another level.” What does this next-generation performance cost? Surprisingly, no more than before with prices starting at $1,599. (That SSD performance means the ultimate portable AI PC can load a local LLM far faster than before — and with up to 4TB of storage available as a build-to-order option, users have room to put those LLMs on the device.) The world’s best AI PCs are also iPads The M5 chip in the iPad Pro is a major improvement for the pro tablet. It provides a significant boost in AI performance, graphics, and wireless connectivity, including up to 5.6x faster AI performance when compared to the M1 iPad Pro and 3.5x the AI performance of last year’s M4 model. Available in space black and silver, the new iPad Pro also boasts faster memory bandwidth, storage, and supports Wi-Fi 7 and 5G cellular connectivity, the latter using Apple’s own C1X modem. Apple It looks as if Apple is pretty pleased with the C1X modem; Apple said it delivers up to 50% faster cellular data performance than its predecessor with even greater efficiency. The iPad Pro also has an Ultra Retina XDR display capable of 1,600 nits max brightness. “iPad Pro with M5 unlocks endless possibilities for creativity and productivity — with a huge leap in AI performance and a big boost in graphics, superfast wireless connectivity, and game-changing iPadOS 26 features, it pushes the boundaries of what iPad can do yet again,” said Ternus. The 11-in. iPad Pro starts at $999 for the Wi-Fi model, and $1,199 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model. The 13-in. iPad Pro starts at $1,299, or $1,499 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model. Combined with iPadOS 26, this tablet may be all the AI PC some users need. Apple The world’s best AI PC is also wearable Want to wear a Mac? You can, with the M5-fueled Vision Pro, which uses the processor to deliver big performance and display-rendering improvements, along with better battery life. You cannot underestimate the difference the chip makes in Vision Pro, which can support hardware-accelerated ray tracing and mesh shading, enabling developers to add remarkable detail to their apps and games. It enables shaper images, and a 120HZ refresh rate, which makes it smoother to look between your surroundings and virtual imagery on the display. Plus, of course, AI experiences are significantly faster and more realistic than before. The battery now supports up to two and a half hours of general use, and up to three hours of video playback, all on a single charge. And if you need to wear if that long, Apple also created a more comfortable headband for the system. Apple Vision Pro with the M5 chip and Dual Knit Band still costs $3,499. “With the breakthrough performance of M5, the latest Apple Vision Pro delivers faster performance, sharper details throughout the system, and even more battery life, setting a new standard for what’s possible in spatial computing,” said Bob Borchers, Apple’s vice president of worldwide product marketing. You can follow me on social media! Join me on BlueSky , LinkedIn , and Mastodon .