The National Party is continuing to be the Party of ideas and leadership with four Members’ Bills being drawn from the Ballot today.

Members’ Bills from Auckland Central MP Nikki Kaye, Invercargill MP Sarah Dowie, Northland MP Matt King and Clutha-Southland MP Hamish Walker will all be debated in Parliament.

“My Bill is focused on ensuring that all children in years 1-8 have universal access to learn a second language. It requires the Education Minister to set at least 10 priority languages following public consultation, and places a requirement on the Crown to fund these languages,” Ms Kaye says. “It will be up to school boards to decide which languages will be taught in schools but they will be required to offer at least one second language to their students. The Bill makes clear that NZ Sign and Te Reo must be national priority languages and funded by the crown. The benefits of speaking more than one language are huge for New Zealand from a social, economic and cultural perspective. 

“The Shark Cage Diving (Permitting and Safety) Bill acknowledges and addresses the risk that is posed by shark cage diving that is carried out in close proximity to beaches. This risk is increased due to the nature of competing activities in coastal waters in the Stewart Island area, where shark cage diving is currently carried out. Water-users, residents and families on Stewart Island have felt endangered by shark cage diving operations that are carried out close to the shore. The decision is timely given yesterday’s Court of Appeal decision which would shut cage divers down,” Ms Dowie says.

National also continues to be the Party of law and order, with Bills increasing penalties for coward punches and high-power laser pointer offences.

“My Bill would create a new offence of Assault Causing Death, which would be easier to prove than manslaughter. It would apply to those who throw cowardly punches at unsuspecting victims who later die from their injuries and has a maximum penalty of 20-years imprisonment. This will send a clear message to offenders that thuggish and violent behaviour won’t be tolerated,” Mr King says.  

“The High-Power Laser Pointer Bill will double the term of imprisonment available and the fines, up to six months and $4000. The safety of our pilots and their passengers is paramount and anyone who interferes with that should be punished appropriately,” Mr Walker says. 

National is the Party of ideas and action – and these four Bills prove that.

Last night Chris Hipkins was forced to correct a Parliamentary answer which confirms the Crown was served papers regarding the Waitangi Tribunal partnership school claim (Wai 2770) back in early July, National’s spokesperson for Education Nikki Kaye says.

“While it is embarrassing enough that for several months the Crown has failed to seriously consider the Tribunal claim, more questions remain regarding Crown Law’s ‘email error’ and the Government’s disrespectful treatment of the claimants over the last few months.

“Education Minister Chris Hipkins has been denying that a claim has been formally served against the Crown and using this as a reason to avoid responsibility for the matter. This has also caused the Education and Workforce select committee to have an incorrect view of the status of the claim.

“Mr Hipkins repeatedly claimed that ‘the Crown has not yet been formally served with the claim’ when, in fact, a Statement of Claim was served on the Crown by Sir Toby and Dame Iritana via its solicitors, Crown Law, on the 3rd of July.

“The select committee was forced by the Government to deliberate on the Education Amendment Bill during recess, despite repeated requests to extend the timeline. The day after the select committee met and deliberated on the Bill removing partnership schools from law, Crown law discovered their error in not formally recognising the claim.

“The Minister’s ignorance of the Waitangi Tribunal claim calls into question his decisions on this matter since the claim was lodged. Mr Hipkins has shown no leadership on this issue or any care for iwi leaders and other submitters who have genuine concerns about potential treaty breaches.

“The Minister now needs to seriously consider the Tribunal claim and reflect on the appropriateness of proceeding with legislation to remove the partnership school model at this time.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the serious issues of process and fairness surrounding the Government’s termination of partnership schools and their model.

“The Minister should remove provisions relating to partnership schools in the Education Amendment Bill until the Crown has done the decent thing and met with iwi leaders to work through the Waitangi Tribunal claim.

“If the Government continues to push ahead and pass legislation removing the partnership schools model it will be demonstrating its arrogance and further disregard for iwi leader’s concerns.”

Attached:

• Letter_from_Hon_Minister_Hipkins.pdf
•  Written_Question_reply_15640.png

The Minister of Education’s mishandling of partnership schools deserves a ‘not achieved’ and proves he needs to stop his ideological crusade, National’s Education spokespeople Nikki Kaye and Jo Hayes say.

In the latest in a series of blunders, Education Minister Chris Hipkins has denied being served with a claim his treatment of partnership schools breaches the Treaty of Waitangi, despite confirmation from Crown Law such a claim has indeed been filed and served.

“It is not credible that Mr Hipkins didn’t know a Waitangi Tribunal claim had been lodged and served. The Minister is so blinkered New Zealand First will be offering him his own all-weather track soon”, says Ms Kaye.

“This is just the latest example of the Minister’s mismanagement of partnership schools and contempt for the whole process - he has already terminated 10 out of 11 partnership schools, most of which are in a state of limbo about whether they can open next year under another model.

“The Villa Education Trust is still waiting on the Minister to make a decision about the future of its school. It is clear the Minister has received a report and he needs to act swiftly to ensure the school and the students certainty for the Future.

“Prominent Māori leader Sir Toby Curtis has reported schools are fearful of the Minister, saying they have been muzzled and have felt the Minister’s foot on their throats”, National’s spokesperson for Māori Education Jo Hayes says.

“He is arrogantly pressing ahead with legislation to axe partnership schools, tabling amendments to bypass the select committee process and remove the ability for the public and schools to have their say.

“And Kelvin Davis, the Minister responsible for protecting Māori education, has removed himself entirely from the process claiming a conflict of interest and abandoning his responsibilities to young Māori learners. In reality, the only conflict Minister Davis has is his promise to resign when those schools close.

“In the next fortnight it is likely Labour will be bringing this Bill to scrap the schools back to Parliament.”

“The Ministers response to my Parliamentary question indicates another level of incompetence by him and potentially other agencies. Mr Hipkins needs to seriously consider the Tribunal claim and reflect on the appropriateness of proceeding with the legislation to remove the partnership model,” Ms Kaye concludes.

The Government must settle pay negotiations and avoid a two day teacher strike to give teachers what they deserve, ensure learning is uninterrupted and that parents aren’t having to scramble for childcare cover, National’s Education spokesperson Nikki Kaye says.

“The Government has spent a large part of its ten months in office blaming National rather than focusing on the substantive issues in education. Now it must fount up and avoid a two day strike which would have a huge impact on teachers, students and families.

“With more than 13 reviews in education and misguided spending that focussed on a $2.8 billion fees-free package, $3 billion for Shane Jones’ slush fund and huge amounts of cash for diplomats there are a range of people that are asking why the Government hasn’t been able to prioritise teachers.

“Education has fallen victim to the prioritisation of the pet projects of the Governments coalition partners and the billions of dollars given to tertiary students.

“This year’s education budget covering the compulsory sector was quite extraordinary in that it actually saw a shrinking of the percentage of the vote compared to other areas.

“Questions remain about when Education Minister Chris Hipkins put bids in for funding for a range of areas such as reducing teacher ratios and a number of other promises he hasn’t delivered on and whether they failed or whether he neglected to put the case to Cabinet at all. This information has not been released.

“There will obviously be a negotiation around pay but National firmly believes that the Government would be more likely to resolve the standoff if it makes a clear statement that they will look to reduce child teacher ratios for years four to eight.

“Chris Hipkins has refused to commit to smaller class sizes despite Labour MPs campaigning on it during the election.

“The Government had very clear signals on the upcoming negotiations and changes for the education sector and instead it prioritised everything but. Now it must face up to this and avert further strike action before it hurts students and families.”

The Government’s failure to reach an agreement with primary teachers has caused massive disruption to children’s learning today and to parents who have struggled to sort childcare arrangements, National’s Education spokesperson Nikki Kaye says.

“During the election campaign, Labour built up high expectations around pay rises and working conditions for teachers. Now they won’t follow through, and as a result we have seen the first primary teachers’ strike in 24 years.

“When National was in Government, due to the Canterbury earthquakes and the Global Financial Crisis we did not have the same fiscal envelope that Labour has now.

“However, we still increased teacher pay and allocated $359 million on top of salaries for additional payments to teachers across Communities of Learning, as well as investing in initiatives to improve teacher supply.

“Labour have billions more than the previous National Government, but teachers have not been prioritised while the Government has decided instead to spend $2.8 billion on its fees-free package, $3 billion on Shane Jones’ slush fund and huge amounts of cash for diplomats.

“Thousands of teachers marched today demonstrating that teachers want and need more support. I have met with Union representatives and a number of teachers recently and over the coming weeks I will be encouraging my colleagues to continue to meet with teachers in their electorates to hear their concerns.

“I acknowledge the teachers who turned out today to have their voice heard. We also respect that it will have been a difficult day for parents trying to ensure that they have adequate supervision and care.

“My hope is that the Government prioritises teachers and reaches a settlement which raises teachers’ salaries and that parents and families do not experience further disruption. We realise some of the issues being negotiated are far wider than just pay but also cover teacher workload.

“We have serious concerns about the Minister’s hands-off approach in the lead up to the strike. Yesterday he was unable to say exactly how many of the 1945 primary schools would be open or closed today, and the Government did not offer any support to families who were dealing with school closures and didn’t have other options for childcare.

“This would have made planning very difficult for some families who struggled to afford childcare or get leave from work.

“The Government needs to get back to the table to reach a settlement urgently with teachers and prevent further disruption to students and their families.”

The Minister has taken a hands-off approach regarding tomorrow’s strikes. Despite having more than one month’s notice it is clear that neither the Ministry nor the Minister have got the full picture, on the eve of the strike, of exactly how many of the 1945 primary schools will be open or closed, National’s Education spokesperson Nikki Kaye says.

“The Minister said in Parliament today that there were 1264 primary schools which had notified the Ministry that they would close for tomorrow’s strike. He failed to answer the question regarding the status of the other 700 schools.

“The Government has failed to negotiate a settlement which has led to first primary teachers’ strike in almost 25 years, but now the Minister has also failed come up with a plan to support parents during the strike and has no clarity on how many schools are closing.

“With more than 500,000 children and their parents affected by the strike it seems a bit reckless to be leaving it to the last minute for hundreds of schools to confirm whether they are open for instruction or supervision, or closed.

“This begs the question of whether there could be some parents around the country who are either unaware if their child’s school is open or not or are being left in difficult situations at the last minute. These are the first primary teacher strikes in 24 years and it is important that parents have certainty around the arrangements for their children.

“I want to acknowledge that the vast majority of parents and schools will be rallying around to ensure the safety of children tomorrow. However, in my view, the Ministry and Minister do have a role to play to support those parents and schools that may be struggling.

“It does not appear that the Minister has offered any support to those families who are dealing with school closures and don’t have other options for childcare. It would have been a good precautionary step for the Government to provide some support in this area.

“The lack of support from the Government and late notice of some school closures makes planning very difficult for some families, particularly low-income families who cannot afford childcare and working parents who cannot get leave in order to look after their children.

“There are also reports of some schools discouraging after school providers to help parents. These reports need to be investigated. There also appears to have been issues around the adequacy of communication to boards about their responsibilities regarding strikes.

“Parents and students shouldn’t be disrupted because of the Government’s poor planning and management.”

Education Minister Chris Hipkins’ refusal to commit to reducing class sizes is at odds with commitments made by Labour MPs at the election and adds to the long list of broken promises in education, National’s Education spokesperson Nikki Kaye says.

“Labour talked about reducing class sizes for years in Opposition, but has been silent on the issue since coming into Government and last weekend Mr Hipkins went as far as saying the Government hasn’t committed to it.

“That’s a major turnaround on what Mr Hipkins had previously said, which was that reducing class sizes remained a goal for Labour.

“Labour MPs like Ginny Andersen also handed out pamphlets during the election campaign which made clear that she believed class sizes were too high and would invest in smaller class sizes.

“Less than one year and some 18 broken promises later, Mr Hipkins is ruling out changes to class sizes citing the cost of making modest changes.

“What is clear is that the Government’s $2.8 billion fees-free policy has left little cash for anything else in education. There’s no fiscal room for reducing class sizes or the many other promises Labour made in education.

“At the same time, primary teachers are preparing to go on strike for the first time in 24 years. And that’s because Labour created high expectations and has failed to meet them. The strike is not just about pay, it’s also about better work conditions.

“Backtracking on reducing class sizes is just the latest consequence of the Government’s decision to prioritise tertiary students over primary and secondary students and teachers.

“News today that secondary teachers have lodged a claim for a 15 per cent pay increase adds to the pressure on the Government with potentially more strikes ahead. Mr Hipkins has inflamed the situation, criticising the union’s proposal as unreasonable.

“What is truly unreasonable is creating high expectations among teachers, failing to meet those expectations, and then slamming teachers for asking for too much.”

With the first teachers strikes since 1994 set to go ahead later this month, it’s clear the Government has lost control of the situation and needs get back round the negotiating table to prevent disruption to kids’ learning, National’s Education spokesperson Nikki Kaye says.

“We should never have gotten to the point where teachers have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a full day strike, for the first time in almost 25 years.

“This situation is entirely of Labour’s own making. It is yet another example of Labour setting unrealistic expectations and failing to meet them.

“But it still has its head in the sand. Education Minister Chris Hipkins failed to confirm in Parliament today that he has a plan in place to support working parents if the strikes do go ahead. His plan seems to be nothing more than a hope that it won’t happen.

“Well in order to prevent the strikes, the Government must go back to negotiations with respect for teachers and their expectations. Making threats, like Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters did in the media today, is not the way to resolve the situation.

“Part of the issue is the Government’s priorities. One of the first things Labour did when it came into Government was to give $2.8 billion to tertiary students, leaving little money left in the Budget for the compulsory education sector.

“In fact, the compulsory education sector’s share of the Budget is less this year than it was last Budget.

“But it’s not just about pay. Teachers want better work conditions, and the Government’s offer of 12 minutes extra a week to work individually with kids or plan learning doesn’t cut it.

“There were no primary teachers strikes under National, and overall teacher pay went up 17 per cent over our time in Government. We want to see teachers paid more, but we also want to reduce class sizes to improve the conditions for both teachers and children.

“Parents and students shouldn’t have to suffer the consequences of the Government’s bad decisions and poor management of negotiations.

“The Government must do what it needs to avoid the strikes, and at the same time come up with a plan to support working parents on August 15 in the event the strike does go ahead.”

The National Party has today announced its commitment to reinstating partnership schools and enhancing the model to allow for specialist partnership schools that focus on certain areas like science and technology, National’s Education spokesperson Nikki Kaye says.

“Partnership schools have a proven track record of helping vulnerable children and young people to achieve in education and reach their potential. Many are experiencing success at school for the first time in their lives.

“But in spite of this, one of the first things Labour did when it came into Government was scrap partnership schools, putting ideology and the wishes of its unions ahead of kids.

“It’s not good enough for the Government to say these schools can stay open if they agree to transition to a different schooling model. It is the partnership school model that has worked for these kids and that’s why National will reinstate it.

“We are not prepared to let kids who have struggled in mainstream schooling to continue to struggle just because they’re in a school that doesn’t work for them.

“Every child is unique and has different needs, and we believe parents should have a choice about what kind of school is best for their child. For some, that’s the local state school but for others it’s a partnership school and that option should be available to parents.

“So as National Party Leader Simon Bridges announced today a National Government would pass legislation reinstating partnership schools within 12 months.

“We will also work on enhancing the partnership schools model to ensure less red tape, greater establishment support and better support for successful schools to expand to meet the growing demand.

“We will also further expand the model to allow for specialist partnership schools that focus on areas like science, maths, technology, arts and engineering, which will encourage greater innovation to support the next generation of Kiwi scientists, inventors and engineers.

“A one-size-fits-all education system doesn’t work in New Zealand. Despite what Labour believes, state schools are not the only schools that can make a real difference for kids.

“I want to acknowledge the iwi leaders including Sir Toby Curtis who are fighting to support the partnership school, and have lodged a Waitangi Tribunal claim which the Government has ignoring. We stand alongside iwi leaders recognising the value of these schools and we will continue to fight for them.

“National is committed to doing what’s best for Kiwi kids and that means making sure that every child has the opportunity to achieve their potential.”

Education Minister Chris Hipkins continues to disrespect partnership schools, overseeing a vindictive process to axe the model, National’s Education spokesperson Nikki Kaye says.

“Mr Hipkins has given different treatment to different partnership schools, shown a lack of communication and transparency, and made flawed assumptions about some schools.

“We know for instance that the Ministry of Education failed to provide key information about Villa Education Trust’s application to Mr Hipkins, meaning that the report he used in making his decisions was incomplete and inaccurate.

“Mr Hipkins had reassured Villa that a decision would be made about its partnership schools by the end of July, but we now know that it will have to wait at least two more months for certainty about the future of its schools and students.

“The capping of Te Rangihakahaka Centre for Science and Technology’s roll at 75, 225 less than what it applied for, also needs explaining. The school has had sign off from the Ministry on the site for capacity for 200 and there is huge interest, with over 90 students enrolled after just six months of being open.

“Incidentally, Villa Education Trust and Te Rangihakahaka have been the most vocal in criticising the Government’s partnership schools policy and approach to axing the model. These schools have received the worst treatment from Mr Hipkins, who appears to have been vindictive and sent a chilling message that those who criticise will be shafted.

“His announcement yesterday followed statements from Sir Toby Curtis who slated the Government for its treatment of partnership schools, quoting schools who say they have been muzzled and have felt the foot on their throat.

“Sir Toby’s statement backs up the feeling of fear that exists in some partnership schools and follows the Treaty of Waitangi claim he lodged with Dame Iritana Tawhiwhirangi. This claim, and pleas from students to keep their schools open, are being ignored by Mr Hipkins.

“He is arrogantly pressing ahead with the legislation to axe partnership schools and has tabled amendments in the last couple of weeks which have bypassed the select committee process so there is no ability for the public and schools to have their say.

“Mr Hipkins’s claim that partnership schools have been privatised is incorrect. The only one that is run by a private company is Vanguard Military School – the rest are run by iwi and charitable trusts.

“These schools, kids and their families are being treated in an appalling and vindictive way, and Mr Hipkins should be held accountable.”