In this article Bill English, New Zealand's Shadow Minister for Education, tells the story of New Zealand's tertiary education policy development over the past several years. His perspective comes from time in government and from time in opposition. He concludes with the lessons to be learnt, and his prognosis of the main issues to be confronted by that tertiary sector, in the years to come. The lessons to be learnt are just as valuable for the Australian sector as they are for New Zealand academicians.In this article, Polytechnics are the equivalent of the old Colleges of Advanced Education in Australia, or roughly between the TAFE and university sectors. MMP (mixed member proportional) is the proportional system of electing the New Zealand Parliament. This system is similar to the method by which Australians elect their federal Senate. A Wananga is a tertiary institution set up by statute to focus on the educational needs of Maori.