This is a petition to raise awareness on the need for keeping the MAINZ Auckland campus OPEN. Students have been adversely affected by this and wish to be able to study at their chosen school. 

A situation has arisen for tertiary students formally studying at the MAINZ Auckland campus (Music & Audio Institute of New Zealand). 

2 weeks before we were due to commence semester one of our third and final year of our Bachelor of Musical Arts degree, we were emailed out of the blue on a Friday advising that the campus had been running at a loss for a number of years and then proceeded to say as a result of the flooding and the campus being damaged, the course was no longer going ahead. Previous to this, we had been notified of a week delay in commencement of semester one as a result of the flooding whilst they found alternative premises. This email notification from Te Pukenga and SIT (Southern Institute of Technology) offered no alternative education provision or pastoral care. Surely if student well-being was at the heart of this organisation's beliefs, they would have made contact by phone to counsel students through this major decision.

The issue that we as students have, is the unfair treatment that has followed this situation. We later found out that MAINZ was under review and needed to put forward a proposal stating why they should stay open. Te Pukenga and SIT have used the Auckland flooding as leverage and an excuse to conceal the financial reasons for their decision. Us students have all been adversely affected by this decision and now face significant hardship. Eventually options for alternative education providers were shared, neither of which were suitable alternatives for some students. As a result, some students have no educational pathway to complete their degrees, no studylink, stressful financial burden and more worryingly, deteriorating mental health and well-being.

We as students would appreciate it if you could sign this petition in support of keeping the MAINZ Auckland campus OPEN. This organisation has a duty of care and LEGAL OBLIGATION to grandparent its students to the completion of their degrees; however, this protracts their journey of study and employment prospects including loss of potential earnings. 

MAINZ is such an important part of the Auckland music industry and to the nation. There have been many successful musicians pass through MAINZ. To quote Harry Lyon (member of the band ‘Hello Sailor’) "We jokingly talk about the MAINZ mafia. They are just about everywhere in recording studios - and at Radio New Zealand I might add - and in the live sound industry. So it seems a shame”. MAINZ students are everywhere in the industry. It is an integral pathway into the world of music, offering hands on and industry based learning. It would be a dishonour to the future of music and entertainment in NZ if this school were to be closed permanently.

If you can help save MAINZ, please SIGN THIS PETITION!!!! If you can, please write a letter of support for MAINZ to the people that have made this awful decision. We need the support of the wider community as MAINZ is such an important part of the music industry in NZ.

The relevant party to email is the
Chief Executive of Te Pukenga, Peter Winder: peter.winder@tepukenga.ac.nz

Thank you for your time!