What gutless wonders these three Maori Labour MPs have shown themselves to be when it comes to standing up for Partnership schools and their Maori Whanau who benefit from them.

Kelvin Davis: I’ll resign

Peeni Henare

Peeni Henare: But my wife works at a Charter School

In 2015 Little labelled a decision by MPs Kelvin Davis and Peeni Henare to attend a $250-a-seat charter school fundraiser in Whangarei as a “misjudgement”.

He told the MPs it was his preference they didn’t attend, despite both having family connections to the school, but they attended against Little’s advice.

Willie Jackson: Just a change of name

Labour won’t close my charter school

In response to Education Minister Chris Hipkins’ press release yesterday where he made it clear that Partnership schools will be forced to close, Act leader David Seymour had this to say…

[…] “The Government has no clear alternative to Partnership Schools, they know that Maori and Pacific achievement is abysmal, a stain on the promise of opportunity for all, but they are so focused on helping the ‘sector,’ read unions, that they have forgotten about the kids.

“The Maori Caucus are missing in action. They are intimately and personally involved in Kura Hourua. The stood indepently of the Labour list and yet are not accorded the mana they deserve in Labour if this decision is anything to go by.

“Today is a bleak day for the Government, who are more concerned with payback to their union backers than pursuing policies that work for the future of our children.

Open letter to Jacinda Ardern:

With due respect to the Prime Minister of New Zealand and all concerned.

I am a 65-year-old grandmother and great-grandmother and this is the first time in my life I have ever written to either the media or the NZ government, and I do so with extreme concern and dismay.

Over my lifetime I have watched both my children and grandchildren struggle to receive an education delivered the way they need to learn. The same opportunity that is given to the 80% of other New Zealand children. My grandchildren are part of the 20% of New Zealanders who have some form of disability. In their case, this relates to their learning. They are wired differently and in the minority, but they do matter. In the past two of the oldest grandchildren with similar challenges passed through their local school with very poor social and educational outcomes, due to a system that failed them miserably with abysmal special needs support. Today both are struggling with their mental health and ability to gain work, at a cost to the taxpayer. It is obvious one size does not fit all.

These children and young people have the right to succeed in life. Two of my younger grandchildren were given this opportunity by the Villa Education Trust. Over the last four years we watched in awe at the progress these young people made while at South Auckland Middle School. They started SAMS insecure, and lacking in confidence in themselves and their ability. Failing miserably educationally and socially, and falling through the cracks at their previous schools, they transformed into leaders at SAMS, achieving regularly at merit and excellence levels. They are now creative, innovative and positive role models.

Most importantly, they have gained a high level of self belief and now have the confidence on which to base their future endeavours. Having now transitioned into senior colleges, SAMS has equipped and prepared them to reach their potential and positioned them to become productive members of our community. One has built their own blossoming business at fifteen-and-a-half, and recently met with you, Jacinda, at the Prime Minister’s Youth Awards dinner.

I am at a loss to understand why you would undo something that has proven to be exactly what these young people need. I see Charter schools as the fence at the top of the cliff instead of the ambulance at the bottom. Please, this is money well spent. As a taxpayer for 50 years, I can’t express enough how much I would pay to see more young people go through Villa Education Trust schools. It is a success story! I realise this is a simplistic way of viewing things, however, future funding for well-run Charter schools could equate to less funding required for prison and mental health services in the future. In my opinion, it must be cost effective to keep these schools running when you consider the possible negative social outcomes these schools are addressing.

When weighed against the cost of our horrendous youth suicide statistics we must ask: What investment are we really willing to make to ensure the future of New Zealand? These young people are as much a part of our future as any others. SAMS has created an extended family environment where young people feel accepted and valued, and can develop an often much-needed sense of belonging. They set high educational standards and expectations and the young people rise to the occasion. Pupils are given respect and become respectful in return. At SAMS EQ seems to be as important as IQ. They attend to the needs of the whole person. My grandchildren now dare to dream and have set high expectations and goals for themselves. Compared with their cousins who were not given this opportunity, the difference in personal growth achieved has been a stark commentary on the inability of our mainstream educational.system to offer an equitable education to everyone.

The staff at SAMS are well qualified and amazingly committed, going way beyond the call of duty to ensure no one gets left behind. There was a genuine sense of aroha at every school event I attended. The school culture encourages empathy, caring and individual accountability, and I consider this a credit to the staff and the leadership of the Villa Education Trust.

I have watched governments come and go in my life time, and have been disappointed many times by short-sighted policies. But, I was hopeful that this government would put ideology aside and sincerely care about every New Zealander, as they promised. I was stunned tonight to hear it reported that Chris Hipkins stated Charter schools cherry pick for success. Well, if that’s true, they cherry pick vulnerable young people who are failing in the mainstream system and, more often than not, come from disadvantaged homes. The fact that they can produce successes only proves that what they are doing is working.

How do we target child poverty? Could one of the ways be by producing independent, solution focussed learners who can navigate life successfully, use their initiative and be productive citizens rather than a drain on our social service system? How anyone could accuse Charter schools of elitism is beyond me.

I am not normally a particularly politically vocal person, but I have always voted as part of my responsibility as an NZ citizen and trusted our system, although not perfect, to be a fair and just one. I sincerely hope this government doesn’t bow to pressure from anyone who holds uninformed or misinformed prejudice against Charter schools. Please let common sense prevail. Why waste possibly ‘up to a million’ to compensate schools, who produce excellent results, for closing? See the investment in Charter schools for what it is – an opportunity to turn lives around. As a society, we will all benefit.

I am not an education professional and may be viewing this from an emotional perspective but, as far as I can see, the results speak for themselves. If you have any doubts, talk to the schools that the senior pupils transition into. Charter schools can and do work under the current structure so why try to fix something that isn’t broken?

I strongly oppose any change that would disenfranchise these young people of the right to an education that works for them, no matter how small their number.

Respectfully Prime Minister, you promised “a government for all New Zealanders, an empathetic government to improve the lives of the country’s most vulnerable people.”  I am struggling to see how this proposed change is congruent with your stated vision?

Yours sincerely,

[Redacted]

[Redacted]

South Auckland Middle School FB page
PM Jacinda Ardern congratulates a  Partnership school student from a school that she is closing down.

How can Jacinda Ardern’s government call itself Progressive when it allows a school that serves no one to stay open but chooses to close down popular schools with waiting lists like the Partnership schools of the four students that she recently honoured with certificates?

Tuturumuri School, about 30 minutes’ drive from Martinborough, Wairarapa, has no pupils and no fulltime staff.

[…] There are no fulltime staff or pupils at the rural Wairarapa school, but it remains open, with the Ministry of Education continuing to pay its annual operating costs of about $250,000.

The school’s roll has steadily fallen, from 25 in 2008 to just three last year. Those three have left, and there have been no enrolments so far this year.

The school was down to three pupils last year. It now has none.

But there some enrolments pending, and there were no plans for closure, acting board of trustees chairwoman Jocelyn Busby said.

“I can tell you the school’s still open, and the ministry and the NZSTA [New Zealand School Trustees Association] are in support of the board of trustees,” she said.

[…] Tuturumuri School soldiers on, with Ministry of Education support, in the hope of future enrolments.

Yet Partnership schools which are full with waiting lists have been told to close or be forcibly closed by Jacinda Ardern’s government. Despite being promised consultation, negotiation, transparency, openness and a way to transition the schools were instead left in in limbo in an information vacuum over the holidays. They were then blindsided by Education minister Chris Hopkins’ brutal Press release. As one person commented, it was a bit like telling your wife you want a divorce via Facebook.

[…] Ministry spokeswoman Katrina Casey said it was working closely with Busby on its future options.

“Our usual practice is to continue to pay a quarter of their base, heat, light, water and maintenance funding, regardless of whether students are on-site,” she said in a statement.

[…] According to the school’s website, it has a part-time caretaker, release teacher and part-time office administrator.

New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) vice-president Rikki Sheterline said the situation in Tuturumuri was not unusual. “I’ve known of cases before where schools have gone down to no students then gone back up again.”[…]

 – Stuff

So a school with no pupils gets financial support, communication and is not threatened with closure but Partnership schools full of Maori students and other students let down by the State system are being made to walk the plank by Jacinda Ardern.

Where is the compassion she is always bleating on about? Where is her passion for lifting children out of poverdy? Has she forgotten the promises she made to Maori at Waitangi so quickly?

(Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

Grant Robertson is a complete twat. He’s spent nine years complaining about National’s economic management, constantly issuing press releases criticising rising public debt.

Then, yesterday, he decided that we actually have low public debt:

Low public debt and a strong labour market will buffer the economy from current turmoil, Finance Minister Grant Robertson claims.

Treasury officials were recalled from their day off on Waitangi Day to brief Robertson on the global turmoil, but indicated they believed the economy was resilient.

Robertson told RNZ on Wednesday that while there may be some turmoil on the sharemarket this week, that he was confident the wider economy would cope.

​”When you look at the fundamentals of global economic growth, and indeed of the New Zealand economy, I’m reasonably reassured by that,” Robertson said.

Essentially the low level of public debt is a really important part of it,” Robertson said.

Just two months ago in parliament Robbo was saying:

This from a man who said that under National debt had “skyrocketed”. Barely two months ago he told Parliament he “will not be lectured” by his predecessor Steven Joyce about debt levels.

“If there is anyone in this House who needs to take responsibility for debt levels, it’s that member,” Robertson said of Joyce, which presumably now means he is in awe of his arch-rival.

And he said this on 23 May 2016:

Long term the economy should be able to generate solid operating surpluses on a consistent basis, and certainly that should be our goal. But there will be times when it is not reached, when the need is greater to give people some hope and opportunity and make the long term investments in our future well-being. The same applies to reducing debt. We are fortunate, in part due to the excellent work of Dr Michael Cullen, that we survived the Global Financial Crisis with relatively low levels of government debt. The failure of the Government to put much of a dent into that debt is concerning, even bearing in mind the Canterbury earthquakes.

And on 23 May 2015:

We’ve got a government that will not be paying down any debt until 2019, and the consequence of that – no money for the Super Fund, either.

And on 22 November 2016 he said:

Don’t believe the hype – debt has skyrocketed under National

The reckless dangling of tax cuts by the National Government is all the more irresponsible when it is put alongside the failure to pay down debt or put money aside for future superannuation costs, says Labour’s Finance Spokesperson Grant Robertson.

And:

“Debt has actually risen by more than $50 billion on National’s watch. In Parliament on the 11th of October, Bill English acknowledged in response to a question from me that they have not paid down any net debt in dollar terms.

And on 14 October 2015 he said:

First surplus a blip on radar screen of debt

Bill English’s first surplus is just one black drop in a sea of red, with New Zealanders still paying over $10m a day in interest payments, Labour’s Finance spokesperson Grant Robertson says.

“The Finance Minister has finally found a surplus needle in his haystack of debt. Despite promising a ‘significant’ surplus, it’s just $414m. That’s less than 0.2 per cent of GDP – a rounding error, not a surplus.

“Gross debt is more than $86 billion – the highest since Rob Muldoon stalked the corridors of the power. Interest payments alone are now $13 million a day and rise to $15m a day in three years.

And on 1 March 2016 he said:

NZ’s $60b debt big concern for possible recession

New warnings of a global recession places the spotlight on New Zealand’s $67b net debt, leaving the economy in a much worse state than before the 2008 downturn when net debt was zero, says Labour’s Finance spokesperson Grant Robertson.

“Despite claiming the figleaf of fiscal responsibility the latest government accounts show that National has racked up over $67b in net debt. With Citigroup warning of a global recession that level of debt will be an albatross around the neck of the government if the downturn occurs.

“Bill English likes to pretend New Zealand will be insulated from any international downturn, saying we came through the previous one better than other countries. That’s because Michael Cullen had reduced net debt to zero – for the primary purpose of preparing New Zealand for a ‘rainy day’.

“After seven years of National, the finances are in a much worse state to deal with any recession.

As you can see, Grant Robertson is someone who says one thing in opposition and once he is the Finance Minister it turns out that the apparently parlous state of the country’s finances is actually not bad at all.

There are plenty more examples; those are just the first few I found when searching.

What amazes me is how the media fail to hold blatant rubbish like this to account. What is even worse is that the muppets in National aren’t holding the fool to account either.

Labour has been claiming they’ve achieved a pile of things in their 100 days.

Lloyd Burr has busted those claims:

An email arrived into my inbox a few days ago with the subject line “We did this!”. It was from Labour, about its 100-day plan.

It was a nice line. From ‘Let’s do this!’ to ‘We did this!’. Clever. Hats off to the spin doctor who came up with it.

But there’s a problem.

The email claimed the plan had been completed. And it mostly has. Mostly.

But the subject line didn’t read ‘We mostly did this!’. It shouted from the rooftop how Labour had proven itself in government.

It talked about how it had done what it had promised to do. It used words like “delivered”, “achieved” and “commitment”.

That’s called spin. It has massaged the truth. Massaged its promises. Embellished what has really happened in 100 days.

Spin is a beltway term for lies.

And that annoys me. Not just from a journalistic point of view, but because this Labour-led Government has promised to be open, honest and transparent.

Snort. They waited the full 20 days for my OIA to DPMC, then kicked it to Winston’s office. That is hardly open, honest, or transparent.

So let me clear things up.

What Labour Has Not Achieved

1. “Ban overseas speculators from buying existing houses”

It hasn’t banned them yet. It has just introduced a Bill that will ban them, but that Bill is months off from becoming law.

2. “Introduce legislation to make medicinal cannabis available for people with terminal illnesses or in chronic pain”

It has introduced changes to the law regarding medicinal cannabis, but those changes are minor and conservative. It won’t make products available to terminally ill and chronically ill patients. It will just prevent them from being prosecuted. The Prime Minister admits she would’ve liked more changes – but New Zealand First’s conservatism meant she couldn’t change the law properly.

3. “Hold a Clean Waters Summit on cleaning up our rivers and lakes”

This never happened. Winston Peters vetoed it.

4. “Set the zero carbon emissions goal and begin setting up the independent Climate Commission”

The target has not been set and it hasn’t begun setting up the independent Climate Commission. All that’s been announced is a period of public consultation on what the target should be and how the commission would be structured.

Booking meetings, consultations and forming committees isn’t achieving anything. Unless of course your benchmark is just having “conversations”.

The idea of a 100-day plan is completely arbitrary. It’s a line in the sand that has no true significance.

It’s just a marketing tool by Labour to make it look like it is working hard to quickly implement the changes it promised to Kiwis.

Now that the deadline has passed and Labour’s claimed its victory, it’s fair to say it’s no longer a new Government.

Its ministers have got their feet under the desk and their teeth into stuff. They have their offices sorted and changes to roll out.

My hope is that there are no more XXX-day SPAM Plans that see rushed changes rolled out to reach a fake deadline for the sake of claiming to be progressive.

Still not a single tree planted, not a single affordable house built…can’t wait for the excuses to start flowing on those two promises.

Lloyd Burr will be getting the pointy finger next.