Appeal by Unitec over status fails

The Court of Appeal has scuppered Unitec Institute of Technology's plans to become a university.

The court unanimously allowed an appeal yesterday by the Attorney-General against a decision of Justice Forrest Miller in the High Court at Wellington in which he held in favour of Unitec on a judicial review of the Education Minister's actions in suspending statutory processes in respect of a proposal that Unitec become the country's ninth university.

Justice Miller ruled in July that the Government had acted unlawfully in its handling of Unitec's application and had unlawfully suspended a portion of the Education Act and breached the Bill of Rights Act by delaying the application.

Education Minister Trevor Mallard announced on August 10 that Unitec should remain an Institute of Technology, despite its six-year battle to be awarded university status.

Mr Mallard had said Unitec did not meet key academic criteria of "advanced learning and the development of intellectual independence, nor the criteria for international standards of research and teaching".

Unitec had sought a judicial review of the decision.

The court agreed with Justice Miller that the reason for the suspension of the statutory process was to allow Government policy on the tertiary sector to be finalised.

However, the court disagreed with Justice Miller on the role of the minister in the statutory process.

It saw the minister as the key player in the process and entitled to defer a final decision on the proposal until relevant policy had been developed.

A related cross-appeal by Unitec was dismissed.

- NZPA