On Wednesday 29 July 2020, the Te Pūkenga’s 16 subsidiary Chairs were finally able to meet face-to-face. The long overdue opportunity, postponed due to the COVID-19 lockdown, had been planned to take place earlier in the year. 

Murray welcomed the group to the meeting, acknowledging how nice it was to finally have everyone in the same room at the same time. Murray introduced Stephen Town, Te Pūkenga’s inaugural Chief Executive, noting that while Stephen had only been in the role for three and a half weeks, the progress he is making with a small team of Headquarters staff was already noticeable.  

Gillian Dudgeon, TEC’s Deputy Chief Executive Delivery, spoke to the group about funding and monitoring, highlighting TEC’s role in the system.  

Education Minister Chris Hipkins joined the meeting from Auckland via Zoom to share his thoughts.