“It would be disingenuous for John Key to claim he wants to solve child poverty when he won’t release the real extent of harm his welfare reforms are causing.” Metiria Turei

The Government needs to start reporting the effects of welfare reforms on children, the Green Party said today.

A report released today by the Child Poverty Action Group notes that the Ministry of Social Development is providing no reporting on how children are impacted by benefit penalties and sanctions, which can see income support halved.

“Halving a family’s income is likely to have a very negative impact on children but the Government isn’t even looking into the effects of their policy on kids,” said Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei.

“If John Key is serious about tackling child poverty, he needs to come clean on how children are affected by his welfare reforms.

“It would be disingenuous for John Key to claim he wants to solve child poverty when he won’t release the real extent of harm his welfare reforms are causing.

“You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to prove that cutting incomes to the poorest families will have a negative impact on kids. That is less money for the basics like food, health and clothes.

“We know the number of children living in poverty has gone up in the last six years, under National, with over 205,000 children now living in severe poverty.

“You don’t solve child poverty by cutting incomes to the poorest kids.

“The Green Party’s School Hubs policy is a great way to bring social services to children and families and ensuring that they are able to access health care and meals.

“The Green Party has a plan to help solve child poverty in this country and we once again call on John Key to engage on a cross party level to help the children of New Zealand,” said Mrs Turei.

“Human rights for citizens to dissent is a critical issue all over the world but it is particularly important in the Pacific and in Aotearoa that we maintain a strong stance on that.” Catherine Delahunty.

Returning Green Party MP Catherine Delahunty joined thousands across Australasia this week protesting against French and local journalists imprisoned by Indonesian authorities in West Papua.

Ms Delahunty told Pacific Guardians she’s protesting because “we believe in human rights and we believe that a genocide is taking place [in West Papua].”

But it’s also out of frustration as it was only in July this year, that all members of parliament, including the government, supported the Green Party’s motion to call on Indonesian President, Joko Widodo, to commit to genuine press freedom in West Papua.

Yet shortly after gaining the unanimous support of parliament, two French journalists, Thomas Dandois and Valentine Burrat, were arrested in West Papua by Indonesian police for allegedly illegally working when on tourist visas.

“The were arrested supposedly for ‘treason’ but we all know they were only trying to make a documentary about the real situation in West Papua. They were interrogated, are still in prison and being threatened with these ridiculous charges.”

Ms Delahunty has continued her call on the New Zealand government to step-in and use its diplomatic resources to advocate for the two French journalists.

But the lack of government response is frustrating.

“This is very frustrating because we have passed this motion for media freedom but the government will not give it teeth,” said Ms Delahunty.

“Without any journalists on the ground, the future for West Papuans and their human rights will continue to be very bleak.

“It is important for New Zealand and Australia to continue to advocate for not only for media freedom in West Papua but also hold Indonesia to account for numerous well documented human rights abuses in West Papua.”

The main push is for New Zealand to become a facilitator in helping West Papua gain its independence. The push therefore is to put pressure on the New Zealand government to put pressure on Indonesia.

She admitted that gaining greater New Zealand support for West Papua is tough going as awareness of West Papua and its situation gets very little coverage in New Zealand.

“It’s regrettable that we are still at the stage of trying to get New Zealanders to understand where this country is and what its history is. And why we, as neighbours, have a duty of respect to stand up for human rights,” said Ms Delahunty.

“Human rights for citizens to dissent is a critical issue all over the world but it is particularly important in the Pacific and in Aotearoa that we maintain a strong stance on that.”

The lack of awareness thus far caused her to vent in frustration at New Zealand’s mainstream media, with the exception of Radio New Zealand and Pacific Guardians.

“I’m disappointed that apart from a few of you, the majority of journalists in New Zealand act that this is a non story. And I find it disturbing that they spend a lot of time on celebrity politics and leadership spats rather than the fact that actually more people have died in recent weeks, being killed by the military [in West Papua].

“If it was Fiji there would be more coverage. So this kind of silence has to be broken and we’ve got a long way to go to break that silence around West Papua – just in terms of reporting here in New Zealand!”

With the low level of media coverage, Ms Delahunty’s fight will also be tougher this term in parliament with the loss of Hone Harawira and Maryanne Street who were her main supporters in the House.

However, the way forward remains clear, it is about building cross party consensus on West Papua. She is optimistic that some new MPs including new Pacific MPs could join her cause.

“I would say to them that this is an opportunity for solidarity. An opportunity not only to support West Papua but also the emerging groups of young people not only in Auckland but also in Wellington.

“In Auckland they have a group called Oceania Interrupted led by Leilani Salesa and others – so we are seeing the emergence of these youth support and it’s a great opportunity for these MPs to participate and support the work that I’m trying to lead in parliament. And I really hope they will help us put pressure on the government put pressure on Indonesia because that is the main avenue to support West Papua.”

But if that comes to nought, at least she gained some wins on Wednesday this week as the Pacific Student Council from Victoria University joined her protest.

“It was really impressive when I was standing outside of parliament thinking it was just going to be me. And then all these young Pacific people with their banners turned up,” she told Pacific Guardians.

“I was delighted they came down in strength with one of their lecturers Teresia Teaiwa. To me one of the exciting things happening in Aotearoa is the involvement of Pacific young people because for many years, its been a few non-government groups, the extraordinary leadership of Maire Leadbeater in Auckland, that when Pacific youth embrace that it will help grow the movement and put pressure on the government to act.”

The long game is about building a consciousness.

“If we can build up a Pacific consciousness about the West Papuan people, I believe it is really important for our region. There is a need to really support the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) to show a lot more courage.

“What we’re up against is the Indonesians having the money to shut down some Melanesian countries who are supportive of West Papua, which is a very, very sad thing for West Papua. But it means we need to build that solidarity in every setting that we can.

“This issue cannot stay under the radar. We are making traction internationally but on the ground, the suffering continues.”

In a report from Radio New Zealand earlier today, Vanuatu’s West Papua Unification Committee has confirmed its conference in Port Vila on the 4th of December following the National Day and flag raising ceremony on 1 December.

The conference is to provide an avenue for the different groupings in West Papua to come to an agreement on a unified bid for membership in the MSG.

A formal membership application by the West Papua National Coalition for Liberation was knocked back by the MSG earlier this year, whose leaders called for a more representative bid.

 

 

“The environment and workers’ rights are seriously threatened by these two pieces of legislation, which is why National couldn’t get them passed in the last parliamentary term,” Mrs Turei.

The Green Party’s campaign machine hasn’t missed a beat as it ramps up efforts to defend both the environment and workers from National plans to bring in changes to two laws.

The campaign this time seem to aim at securing the lead Opposition party to the 2017 elections status. With Labour soul searching in one of its worst elections and bracing for the upcoming leadership battle, the united Greens march onwards. This time heading the fight against National’s move to make changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) and the Employment Relations Act (ERA) laws.

Green co-Leader Metiria Turei, said National has signalled it will attempt to get planned changes to the RMA and ERA passed as quickly as possible, “in order to please its big business backers,” she said in a statement today.

“The environment and workers’ rights are seriously threatened by these two pieces of legislation, which is why National couldn’t get them passed in the last parliamentary term,” Mrs Turei said.

To be fair, the only reason why changes to Part 6A of the ERA didn’t go through last parliamentary term was John Banks. His vote would have been enough to pass it, but he had to resign when found guilty of filing a false electoral return.

Mrs Turei emphasised the importance that these two laws must not pass if New Zealand is to stay a fair and clean place to live.

“National’s proposed changes to the RMA will remove vital legal protections for the environment, and fundamentally change the Act’s sustainable management purpose to put the interest of business ahead of the environment,” she said.

“The Employment Relations Amendment Bill is designed to weaken workers’ rights, making it much harder to negotiate for better conditions, even removing workers’ automatic right to a break.

“These two Bills show National’s true colours as the party that puts the interests of the few ahead of everything else.

“John Key should honour the respect and love that New Zealanders have for their environment, and honour our workers by abandoning these regressive law changes immediately,” Mrs Turei said.

She pointed examples of how shows of public action were effective in the past, such as forcing changes to proposed mining legislation.

“Alongside political leadership from the Green Party there will need to be more, much stronger public opposition to prevent National passing these and other damaging laws in the future,” she stated.

 

 

 

Mana candidate Annette Te Imaima Sykes says Meri Mangakāhia has been the wahine toa guide throughout her career.

Much is made about New Zealand being the first nation to grant women the right to vote – and rightly so.

There is a lot of information available on this part of history but most of it tends to focus on Paheka women. What is less known is that Māori women also won the right to vote at the same time in September of 1893.

The most prominent of them was Meri Te Tai Mangakāhia, of Te Rarawa. Born in the Hokianga district, she grew up to marry Hamiora Mangakāhia of Hauraki, who was elected Premier of the Māori Kotahitanga parliament in 1892.

At a meeting of the parliament in Hawke’s Bay in 1893, Meri Te Tai presented a motion requesting that women participate in the selection of members. She later addressed the parliament on her motion – the first woman known to have done so.

During her speech, ‘So that women may receive the vote’, she urged that women should not only be allowed to vote, but also to sit in the Māori parliament as members. Many Māori women owned land in their own right and were entitled to have their say in decisions affecting them.

This is what she said, in Te Reo and in English.

E whakamoemiti atu ana ahau kinga honore mema e noho nei, kia ora koutou katoa, ko te take i motini atu ai ahan, ki te Tumuaki Honore, me nga mema honore, ka mahia he ture e tenei whare kia whakamana nga wahine ki te pooti mema mo ratou ki te Paremata Maori.

1. He nui nga wahine o Nui Tireni kua mate a ratou taane, a he whenua karati, papatupu o ratou.

2. He nui nga wahine o Nui Tireni kua mate o ratou matua, kaore o ratou tungane, he karati, he papatupu o ratou.

3. He nui nga wahine mohio o Nui Tireni kei te moe tane, kaore nga tane e mohio ki te whakahaere i o raua whenua.

4. He nui nga wahine kua koroheketia o ratou matua, he wahine mohio, he karati, he papatupu o ratou.

5. He nui nga tane Rangatira o te motu nei kua inoi ki te kuini, mo nga mate e pa ara kia tatou, a kaore tonu tatou i pa ki te ora i runga i ta ratou inoitanga.

Na reira ka inoi ahau ki tenei whare kia tu he mema wahine. Ma tenei pea e tika ai, a tera ka tika ki te tuku inoi nga mema wahine ki te kuini, mo nga mate kua pa nei kia tatou me o tatou whenua, a tera pea e whakaae mai a te kuini ki te inoi a ona hoa Wahine Maori i te mea he wahine ano hoki a te kuini.

In English

I exult the honourable members of this gathering. Greetings.

The reason I move this motion before the principle member and all honourable members so that a law may emerge from this parliament allowing women to vote and women to be accepted as members of the parliament.

Following are my reasons that present this motion so that women may receive the vote and that there be women members:

1. There are many women who have been widowed and own much land.

2. There are many women whose fathers have died and do not have brothers.

3. There are many women who are knowledgeable of the management of land where their husbands are not.

4. There are many women whose fathers are elderly, who are also knowledgeable of the management of land and own land.

5. There have been many male leaders who have petitioned the Queen concerning the many issues that affect us all, however, we have not yet been adequately compensated according to those petitions. Therefore I pray to this gathering that women members be appointed. Perhaps by this course of action we may be satisfied concerning the many issues affecting us and our land.

Perhaps the Queen may listen to the petitions if they are presented by her Maori sisters, since she is a woman as well.

Exactly 121 years today, Mana candidate Annette Te Imaima Sykes says Meri has been the wahine toa guide throughout her career.

Annette who is ranked third on the joint Internet Mana list is a well known Rotorua activist and lawyer who fights for the rights of Māori tribes to be self-governing.

“I will honour today the struggle of many Maori suffragists like Meri to find empowerment after the tumultuous times of the New Zealand Land Wars.  Maori women had to support each other out of necessity to protect themselves and their hapu,” said Annette.

“And today’s Maori women have to do it again.”

Women’s Affairs Minister Jo Goodhew celebrated the 121st anniversary  with an event recognising women leaders in innovation.

The event is part of the Leading Edge series that was  held at Wellington’s National Library. The series looks at New Zealand, both past and present, through the lens of innovation.

“In celebrating our women leaders in innovation, I acknowledge the women and men in 1893 that were innovative in their struggle to give women voting rights,” Mrs Goodhew said.

“We are all proud that New Zealand was the first nation in the world to grant women the vote on September 19^th, 1893.

“However, we should never be complacent about that right.  Rights are only secured by using them. I urge all New Zealand women to exercise that right by voting on Saturday.

“As Kate Sheppard said, ‘Do not think your single vote does not matter much. The rain that refreshes the parched ground is made up of single drops’.”

The Green Party’s Women’s spokesperson Ms Jan Logie decided a while ago that she would cast her vote to commemorate suffrage day, and she did.

She said the achievement by women like Meri Mangakāhia and Kate Sheppard cannot be measured.

“We are here because of them,” said Ms Logie. “It was not an easy battle back then for the suffragists—24 years, 31 petitions, seven failed bills, and decades of ridicule, abuse, and antagonism. But they kept fighting, not just for the right to vote but for the right to improve the status of women and children.”

In regards to Maori, “We are proud to stand alongside all the wāhine Māori working to reclaim tino rangatiratanga,” she said.

Labour’s Women’s Affairs spokesperson Ms Carol Beaumont said in a statement that women have come a long way in 121 years, but there is still more to be done.

Under a Labour government, she promised they will make their lives better by, “extending paid parental leave to 26 weeks, raise the minimum wage by $2 an hour to help address the gender pay gap, provide a $60 a week Best Start payment to new parents and give pregnant women free dental care.”

And they will adopt a collaborative, long-term action plan in consultation with other parties to stop the epidemic levels of violence against women and children.

 

The Green Party has debunked recent analysis of trends in inequality over the last 20 years by a tax consultant as giving a misleading impression of the reality of inequality and poverty in New Zealand.

Peter Sherwin, Partner, Privately Held Business at Grant Thornton New Zealand, has looked at Ministry of Social Development data and says there is no evidence of a growing divide in New Zealand over the last 20 years.

“What Mr Sherwin didn’t point out was that in the six years to 1992 – when his analysis began – child poverty more than doubled and income inequality in New Zealand grew faster than in any other developed nation,” Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei said.

“Over the last 20 years, the rate of child poverty in New Zealand has remained at shockingly high levels, where over a quarter of all New Zealand children live below the breadline. Successive governments have maintained and tolerated shocking levels of poverty and deprivation among our children. That lack of progress for our children is nothing to be proud of, it’s a failure.

“National has no plan at all to address the rates of poverty and material deprivation among our children. Three more years of this kind of denial will make life worse for many of our children.

“But the Green Party has a $1 billion plan, based on the recommendations of all the experts, that will reduce poverty and ensure our economy works for the benefit of everyone.

“Mr Sherwin’s analysis of income inequality only tells part of the story of the growing divide between the haves and the have nots in New Zealand. The wealth of those on the rich list for example, doubled in the past 10 years. Much of that new wealth was based on un-counted, tax free capital gains.

“Mr Sherwin’s analysis also uses the number of children living in benefit dependent homes as a proxy for child poverty. He has found that the number of those children is going down, but not at a fast enough rate.

“But it’s no longer true that only the children of beneficiaries are poor.  The Ministry of Social Development data shows that the percentage of children in poverty whose parents work is increasing, under National.

“We now have about 40 per cent of all children in poverty living in homes where at least one adult works full time.

“With National fixated on keeping wages as low as possible it is inevitable that more children whose parents work will also be living in poverty. That’s what we are seeing under National.

“Inequality is one of the most concerning issues facing New Zealanders this election. Both the data and real world experiences of Kiwis proves that the poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer.

“Our plan to provide an additional $60 per week for families currently missing out through our Children’s Credit, an increase in the minimum wage of $18 an hour by 2017, and putting health and welfare support into schools, so kids are healthy and ready to learn will provide the kind of transformation that New Zealand needs.

“Every child in New Zealand deserves to have what they need to thrive, any less is a failure,” Mrs Turei said.

 

The Green Party announced its final social policy before the election yesterday. They propose to provide newborn children with a welcome pack made up of a wahakura (a flax woven sleeping pod), blanket, sheets, a towel, clothes, bibs, beanies, socks and reusable nappies.

Each pack would cost $251 to provide and will be available to the 60,000 babies born each year. It is expected to cost $15.06 million to implement.

Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei said the policy will allow every child a chance to thrive from the day they are born.

“For many parents, the birth of a new child is a highly stressful and financially straining time,” said Ms Turei.

“By providing these basics, we are not only ensuring all children get a good start to life, we are also acknowledging the contribution that parents make to society and helping them out a little.”

The proposed policy has been applauded by many including the New Zealand College of Midwives (NZCM).

“The NZCM welcomes this new policy announcement, which would provide every family with the means to offer a safe sleeping space for their new baby, as well as essential items for their newborn,” according to Midwifery Advisor Alison Eddy.

The wahakura was originally designed as a safe sleeping option for parents who share the bed with their children, but has also been linked to a decrease in sudden unexplained deaths in infants. The Greens have also proposed a parental tax credit and children’s credit to help bring families out of poverty.

“There are so many benefits to providing this package for new babies.  Not only does it provide financial relief, wahakuras have also been linked to the decrease in Sudden Unexplained Death in Infants,” said Mrs Turei.

“Our poorest children are the ones most likely to suffer the worst health outcomes, often caused by material deprivation.

“Any parent or caregiver will tell you that any extra help, during the first crucial months in a baby’s life, is always more than welcome. The Green Party wants every child to thrive and the Wahakura Welcome Pack will help do this from day one

.”

Hundreds marched to parliament mid-day today protesting against epidemic levels of domestic and sexual violence committed against women and children.

They rallied behind a 2-meter tall statue of suffrage champion Kate Sheppard, the woman who led the movement that won women the right to vote on 19 September 1893.

The statue, made from layers of Perspex glass, which have messages against domestic violence inscribed on it, is intended as a gift to symbolize the on-going advancement of women’s rights in New Zealand that includes the epidemic levels of domestic and sexual violence against them.

Speaker David Carter had agreed for the statue to be erected and displayed at parliament for three months but then changed his mind just two days before today’s march.

Women’s Refuge spokeswoman Kiri Hannifin says they went last Wednesday to view the area where the statue would be housed.

But by Friday they received a letter from Speaker David Carter which said: “After careful consideration I have declined the request for the statue to be placed on display or housed at Parliament.

“This is a busy time at Parliament and space constraints, future requirements and use of the space in public and function areas cannot be overlooked.”

Ms Hannifin told the TVNZ Breakfast Show earlier today, the letter came after they requested the sculpture be moved to a location in Parliament where there would be more foot traffic, and said she believed that is why the Speaker changed his mind.

However, she felt the Government u-turn and saying “no” is a real indictment to their attitude towards domestic violence.

Rattling off a few statistics, Ms Hannifin revealed her organization, Women’s Refuge, gets a crisis call once every seven or eight minutes.

“The situation is getting worse. Last year the Police told us they attended 95,000 family violence investigations which is up 8,000 from 2012,” she said.

It is why the government’s rejection of Kate Sheppard’s statue is disappointing and “embarrassing for the people that marched today because she’s no longer being taken inside.”

Women’s Refuge is still deciding where to display the sculpture. Te Papa museum is one option.

Greens Co-Leader Metiria Turei called for a change in government saying the solution lay in “This National Government being voted out”.

Later she added that after the election, she will work with parties to get the statue into Parliament.

“If Women’s Refuge want Kate in this building [Parliament] then that’s where she will be.”

Labour’s Women’s Affairs spokesperson Ms Carol Beaumont said National’s u-turn on Kate Sheppard’s statue is because they are embarrassed.

“The National Party is so embarrassed about its failure to address the high level of violence against our women and children, it refused to accept a statue of Kate Sheppard from the Women’s Refuge.”

Ms Beaumont said if Labour wins the election this weekend, it will take decisive action and not run and hide.

“Labour takes this issue of domestic and sexual violence seriously. We won’t run and hide from it,” said Ms Beaumont.

“Labour will adopt an Action Plan to Eliminate Violence Against Women and Children.

“We also will provide $60 million over four years for family and sexual violence to support front-line services, primary prevention and education.

“Labour will reform the justice system to provide real justice to survivors while upholding the right to be presumed innocent. And we will review prosecution guidelines and the operation of protection orders.

“A Labour Government will ensure there is a unified effort across government agencies and NGOs towards addressing violence against our women and children. That’s why our action plan will be led from within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.”

STATISTICS

-More than half of all reported violent crime in New Zealand is family violence

-Police estimate only 18% of domestic violence incidents are reported

-On average 14 women, six men and 10 children are killed by a member of their family every year

-Up to one in five women will experience sexual assault as an adult

-One in three girls will be subject to an unwanted sexual experience by the age of 16 years

-In the United Nations Report on the Status of Women published in 2011, New Zealand was ranked worst of all OECD countries in rates of sexual violence

The Green Party today launched its plan for cleaner, cheaper, smarter energy with a target of reaching 100 percent renewable generation by 2030.

The plan is the final component of the Party’s economic priority this election: smart green innovation, they say, will reduce families’ power bills by $300 a year with NZ Power and produce all our electricity from renewables by 2030.

They also revealed the newest part of its clean energy plan, the electric car. And announced a $10million package of measures to encourage uptake of the new technology.

The key policy points in the Green Party’s plan for clean energy are:

1.  Establishing a target of 100 percent renewable electricity generation by 2030.
2.  Reducing families’ power bills by around $300 per year through the introduction of New Zealand Power and providing low-cost loans to enable households and schools to invest in solar panels to enjoy free, sustainable power for decades.
3.  Speeding the transition of the private vehicle fleet to electricity by investing $10 million into the roll-out of fast-charging electric car refuelling stations across New Zealand and $10 million in cash-back payments to electric car buyers and over time, we will replace the Crown car fleet with electric vehicles where there are appropriate electric vehicles available.
4.  Better enabling energy conservation and distributed generation through smart grid initiatives including real time electricity pricing, limited fixed lines charges, and a fair price for surplus renewable electricity.

“We have a plan to deliver New Zealanders smarter, cheaper, and cleaner power,” said Green Party Co-leader Dr Russel Norman.

“National is taking New Zealand down a pathway of dirty energy and rising electricity prices. Three more years of National will make this worse.

“National is subsidising big foreign oil by $46 million per year, and power prices have gone up 27 percent since 2008 despite a 2.6 percent fall in residential demand. National are actually standing in the way of our clean energy future.

“We can achieve a 100 percent renewable electricity sector by 2030. The Green Party will ensure this happens through the New Zealand Energy Strategy along with implementing a suite of complementary measures to support this goal.

“100 percent renewable energy will strengthen our clean green brand as well as reduce our carbon emissions.

“A strong price on carbon and a new Green Investment Bank will help to direct capital away from dirty energy into clean energy generation.

“New Zealand has had the fifth-largest increase in power prices in real terms among the 34 OECD countries in the past 20 years. Put simply, we are paying far more for our electricity than it actually costs to produce.

“Establishing a single buyer for consumers – New Zealand Power – will drive down retail prices saving families $300 per year on their power bills.

“Our previously announced Solar Homes and Solar Schools packages will make it easy for homes and schools to become their own clean energy power generators making use of freely available clean energy from the sun.

“We’ll speed up the adoption of electric cars by investing $10 million in the roll-out of 30-minute fast-charging stations across the country, extending the range and usability of electric cars.

“Reducing our vehicle fleets’ reliance on foreign imported oil is good for our economy as well as our environment. It is also great for car owners who will save on petrol bills over the life of the car.

“Prices for electric cars are falling, the number of models on offer is increasing, and the useful range of electric vehicles is now at least three times the average 33km daily vehicle trip distance travelled per person in New Zealand.

“To help spur the uptake of electric cars in New Zealand, we will offer a $1,000 cash back payment to the first 10,000 New Zealand-new electric vehicles sold, costing $10 million.

“We’ll lead by example and switch the Crown fleet to electric cars over time where there are appropriate electric vehicles available.

“Leading the innovation and adoption of a smart grid will enable all this to happen, putting the power back in the hands of New Zealanders.

“We have the best cards in the pack.  We have the natural resources, the people, the intellect and the know-how, and the Green Party will provide the political leadership.”

 

Earlier this week, thousands of teachers took to the streets protesting the government’s education policy. They want changes to the $359 million Investing in Educational Success (IES) initiative.

Prime Minister John Key hit back at the largest teacher union, NZEI, labelling its actions “politically motivated”.

“The union representing some of those teachers . . . in my view is very much running a programme that is political rather than what’s right for the kids,” he said. “I think there is very strong academic research that shows that what National is proposing is right.”

But then yesterday, the primary teachers’ union called the government’s charter school investment in Northland, a $2.1million waste of taxpayers money. Others called for the ‘Charter School Experiment to be canned.

This morning, education minister Mrs Parata defended charter schools. But in the process fell off the pan and into the fire with Labour’s education spokesperson, Chris Hipkins calling her a disgrace for saying “that the alternative to at-risk kids attending failing charter schools was jail.”

Together, what these latest public viewings of the education sector bring out is a minister and the sector in a state of friction and opposition.

The major concern from the unions, teachers, educators, researchers, parents and communities is that New Zealand’s world leading education system is being dismantled by the National government since it came into power.

Central to the discourse is the concern National is forcing its ideology on a system that was once a world leader, to one that is failing.

From the outside, Pacific islanders may not understand what the fuss is all about. As they toot their horns in support of protesting teachers on the roadsides, or watch the protests and commentary on television or hear it on the radio, it is good for them to know what the fuss is all about.

The best explanation of the issue is found on the blog, ‘local bodies’. It goes something like this:

“They (national government) will not be happy until they have complete ideological control and can shut down professional engagement completely. They are planning to do away with the current Teachers Council and replace it with a new authority (EDUCANZ) that will be led by those approved and appointed by the Minister only, with little professional input. The Education Amendment Bill (No2) is currently being progressed through parliament that will support the ongoing restructuring of the system. 

Hekia Parata is also considering wiping the current support for lower decile schools and shift extra funding to those schools that perform well in National Standards. The head of the EDUCANZ transition board John Morris has recently produced a paper that suggests teachers should be paid based on the attainment of their students. 

This government is destroying our amazing collaborative, holistic public education system that recently led the world. They are determined to implement systems that have failed spectacularly overseas. Professional knowledge based on evidence should lead education, not political ideology. What angers me the most is what is being denied to our most vulnerable children when they should be the real focus of spending and any systemic change.”

This is the view at the national front. But where is Pasifika as a group placed within this fight? And who out there is representing our interests? Are we on the Union table so our issues are heard?

It appears the Pasifika voice is lacking and we have a relatively low level of influence in the sector as highlighted by John MaCaffrey of Auckland University’s comments on Pacific Guardians today.

In terms of the importance of Pacific culture and languages to schools, we are not viewed as important according to reports by the Education Review Office (ERO) writes MacCaffrey.

“I am sorry to say that the claims for how great State schools currently are for Maori and Pasifika Schools is over rated by the actual research to say the least.

“The ERO has been reporting for at least the last five years that few schools value the languages, cultures, experiences and identities that they [Pasifika] bring to school and very few think our children’s languages have any place in schooling.

“This seems to be why they remain largely unconcerned about the forthcoming extinction of the languages of the Cook is Maori, Vagahau Niue and Gagana Tokelau and [unconcerned about] the clear research showing that valuing and including the languages of Samoan and Tongan children as tools for learning in the curriculum will produce greater academic achievements – that is bilingual education,” he wrote.

When that “unconcerned” attitude is coupled with the Ministry of Education constantly undermining Pasifika programs that do see the light of day, it points to a strategic push for Pasifika children to be taught in a monocultural, monolingual, monoliteracy system.

“Programmes we do have in schools are constantly undermined by Ministry of Education assessment policies and National Standards wanting to show Pasifika children who speak our languages as failures to meet the monolingual standards set by monolingual peoples with little or no knowledge of bi-lingualism or language and bi-literacy development of bilingual children,” said Mr MacCaffrey

At the same time, the lack of Pasifika representation on the executive of the country’s education union doesn’t help push Pasifika education issues onto the agenda.

“The NZEI still, it seems, does not have a National Komiti Pasifika to advise its Executive or a Pasifika position on its National Executive or any substantial action on its 2002 Policy Report calling for Pasifika Bilingual Education.

“Its time for Palagi NZ to acknowledge that the Pasifika Education Plans which has monolingual goals only for Pasifika students is a failure. It’s time to speak up and fight back with research and knowledge we have of our own families.”

However, to appreciate the changes and reformation the National government has brought in and the impacts they now have on the education sector and Pasifika specifically, it is important to understand where the education sector was before National won the 2008 election.

In 2008 New Zealand was internationally ranked in the top seven for educational achievement. When compared with other countries that were also culturally diverse, and experiencing growing inequality, New Zealand education was viewed as successful and on the cusp of something great as a lot of parallel strategies were being researched and developed at the time.

These included a new National curriculum and the complementary Maori curriculum Te Marautanga o Aotearoa. Teachers across the nation were excited about putting all their energies into the new ideas and approaches through these co-constructed documents that had taken around seven years to review and write. Evidence, research and practitioner input had created something that would prepare New Zealand children to be resilient and achievers in a rapidly changing world.

For Pasifika, the Tupu and Folauga series provided education resources that “were used by 33 Pacific bilingual units to provide bilingual education to about 1,300 primary students throughout New Zealand.”

More importantly, they provided visibility of our story in Aotearoa and our growing participation and influence within New Zealand. Language provided an anchor to sustain our identity and heritage, and at the same time, an asset to help raise New Zealand’s growing global profile as a tourist destination.

The Early Childhood sector, where Pasifika was making a huge contribution, had received a much overdue boost in funding from the Labour Government after being underfunded, as a percentage of GDP, compared to other OECD nations for years.

The sector was working towards a target of having 100% qualified teachers in all centres and a core part of funding allocation. More importantly, it was a direction that promised integration of Pasifika communities’ heritage through language into the formal education sector. It was a pathway to achieve long-term sustainability for maintenance and preservation of our languages, and a template for other ethnic groups to follow.

The timing for Pasifika to eventually be incorporated as a core curriculum component was perfect as New Zealand was also in the process of implementing a new National Curriculum and a complementary curriculum for Maori.

However, when National took over in 2008, they wanted to make changes. A number of those changes impacted negatively on Pasifika education at the policy level.

One of those impacts is disturbing according to Ms Catherine Delahunty, the Green Party’s education spokesperson. “It is disturbing to see the government focus to assimilate Pacific learners as quickly as possible into a monolingual, monocultural pakeha school system by putting together education polices that strip away their culture, their identity, and indeed their advantage for education success,” she told Pacific Guardians.

Su’a William Sio added that National’s system is stripping away the “personal, cultural and educational benefits of Pasifika languages … making those children monolingual in English by the time they leave schools.

“In other words, National’s treatment of Pasifika languages in education is really a road to nowhere for Pasifika communities.”

The other government policy change with major impacts on Pasifika was reducing the requirement for teachers to 80% qualified in the early childhood sector; it resulted in significant reduction of funding for Pacific providers. It had two profound impacts.

On the education and language preservation front, Pasifika was pioneering innovations through the sector. Milestones achieved were indicators toward incorporation of Pasifika languages into primary and secondary schools. It would have secured language continuation into the formal sector, and continued production of Pasifika educational resources. This would lead to increased employment for Pasifika, a more firm connection with educators in their home countries, and fertile grounds for Pasifika entrepreneurs to grow businesses off related services and needed support.

The second impact of that reduced funding meant less and less opportunities for higher qualifications and incomes for early childhood teachers. It impacted those individual Pasifika households where the deletion of opportunities, impacted their incomes and potential. It also meant a few, if any, Pasifika secondary school students would look at the sector as a career path.

In 2009, the government announced the removal of Pacific education resources the Tupu and Folauga series from publication.

The depth of this removal is significant when one considers these resources would form the backbone of Pacific digital education resources when New Zealand moves to action its digital roll-out to schools, and to bridge the digital divide between urban and rural, upper and lower decile schools, rich and poor households.

The strategic move to a monolingual, monoliteracy system for Pacific children took another step closer last year when Pasifika digital education resources were deleted from the 21^st learning environment and digital literacy framework on which the Network4Learning platform is based.

But what about the Pasifika Education Plan 2013-2017, doesn’t that cover Pasifika education and language needs? The quick and  simple answer is no but there are many inadequacies masked within the strategy.

These include the infrastructure set-up where only four staff mans the Pasifika Unit within the Ministry of Education. The methodology and consultation used to develop resource material. But more disturbing is that the goals for Pacific literacy, research were removed by the National government in 2009.

For Pacific voters heading to the polls, consider the following information about the three major parties view on education before casting your votes. Note: the list of National’s dismantling of New Zealand’s public education system is included at the end of this article.

NATIONAL

Education policy revolves around ‘Raising achievement in education.’

National says it is committed to raising achievement in schools by rewarding high-quality teachers and principals and sharing their practices across the system.

However, its fiscal plans announced this week show a different story.

National said it has set aside up to $2.1 billion over the next three years for new spending for health and education. However, analysis by independent economic consultancy BERL showed $3.6 billion is needed to maintain real spending over the next three years. If National is only allocating $2.1 billion then it will need to cut the education and health budgets by $1.5billion.

However, if we put the money issue aside, the major concern Pacific voters should worry about is the behavior and tactics used by John Key’s National party and senior ministers.

They are committed to their vision and in relation to education, as ‘local bodies’ wrote: “They (national government) will not be happy until they have complete ideological control [of the education system]…”

Why should we be worried? Because of the ‘Dirty Politics’ methods they use. A Pacific victim in the system has been named.

Kelvin Smythe of NetworkOnNet pointed to a paragraph on page 43 of Dirty Politics.

‘Other minister’s offices began feeding information to Slater, such as Gillon Carruthers, press secretary for Education Minister Anne Tolley. ”I got those stats out of Tolley’s office, seems Gillon has worked out that feeding the whale might help,” wrote Slater in early 2011. “Yes, they should have all worked it out now, “Lusk replied.’

“With that one example, Anne Tolley cannot flatly deny that no collusion with Whale Oil occurred. How much is the question,” wrote Mr Smythe.

Smythe points to a method for smear campaigns using Whale Oil and editorial offices of newspapers; plus government bullying of Principals on a ‘Hit List’ who stood against the introduction of National Standards.

One of them was Brent Godfery and Pembroke School in August 2011 losing a “fono on the education of Samoan children” for his schools stance against National Standards.

Writes Smythe, “As for the ministry and Whale Oil, there was an interesting convergence between Whale Oil and the ministry to do with Brent Godfery and Pembroke School, August, 2011. A fono on the education of Samoan children was taken away from Brent’s school (would you believe?) because of the school’s opposition to national standards. Whale Oil was on to it immediately in brutal fashion; but so was an ominous follow-up from the ministry. A pattern was about to unfold.

Pembroke had a commissioner landed on it. Brent and the board of trustees had already confirmed that with their protest stand against national standards made, they would now unreservedly comply with the regulations. But to no avail, years of unrelenting ministerial vindictiveness, financial cost, and disruption to the education of children followed. Even when the commissioner concerned said that all was good, it always had been, of course, the ministry refused to move.

The purpose of such state bullying was to cast a pall of fear over New Zealand primary schools.

The link was now established – get criticised by Whale Oil, and constructive dismissal, resignation would follow, or commissioners called in.

In late 2010 Tolley acted to get the State Services Commission to warn principals about speaking out against government policies and to make such speaking out unlawful. But Tolley suddenly changed position saying she had never intended any of that; clearly other ways were in the offing, and they were – under EDUCANZ principals will lose their right to speak out, reinforced by the bureaucratic hold over schools to be exerted by the IES.

What is incontrovertible is that unpleasant things happened, indeed, are still happening to certain principals, seeming to involve Whale Oil, editorial offices of newspapers, the ministry, and the education review office. The connection between these groups is supported by some evidence but more is needed for definite conclusions to be made.”

GREEN PARTY

In an exclusive to Pacific Guardians, Ms Catherine Delahunty said, “The big question is: will the next Government commit to Pasifika education based on the clear concerns and ideas of the people themselves, or favour assimilation and abandonment of the langauges and cultures?

“The Greens will commit to a national languages strategy that prioritises Te Reo and then the Pasifika languages and an education system with an effective plan to meet the needs of the Pasifika students.”

Ms Delahunty’s full response is as follows.

The Green Party wants to strengthen the Government commitment to a fairer society for Pasifika communities particularly in education.

We think the Pasifika Education Plan needs real strategies to implement its vague goals in order to create an education system that genuinely supports Pacific students to have their identity affirmed and their culture celebrated in ECE and schools.

The latest census shows that the languages of the Pacific nations are under threat and the Green Party believes the Government has a responsibility to support the languages in our education system rather than telling the communities they are on their own.

We believe the heritage languages are essential to learning and this must start in the first years of a child’s life.

The Greens support language based early childhood centres and models including programmes such as “E Tu Ao” in Porirua. We believe the quality home based programmes and centres need to be properly resourced and it’s very disappointing that the ECE inquiry into the role of languages failed to make concrete recommendations to strengthen the languages in education.

The Inquiry was also told that governance support is needed to help struggling Pacific ECE initiatives and we would require the School Trustees Assoc and the Ministry to make this a priority.

The school system needs attention and the Greens would require the Ministry of Education to create a recruitment plan for teachers who can speak Pacific languages so that schools can offer some language based classes and the transition to school is supported.

Currently schools are carrying all the costs for bilingual programmes and Government needs to provide some political commitment and resources. The Ministry needs to employ more staff dedicated to supporting educational strategies that work for Pacific students. These include the production of Pacific orientated digital resources and schoolbooks as well as initial teacher training and professional development for teachers so they are working appropriately with Pasifika students.

We would also support more scholarships for Pasifika teachers and local research on the education issues and solutions for Pasifika.

There are basic economic issues affecting most Pasifika communities which impact on educational success, such as poverty, housing issues, transience, low paid work and health issues. The Greens have policies to address these issues because education is only helpful to families if the basics are addressed.

The big question is: will the next Government commit to Pasifika education based on the clear concerns and ideas of the people themselves, or favour assimilation and abandonment of the langauges and cultures?

The Greens will commit to a national languages strategy that prioritises Te Reo and then the Pasifika languages and an education system with an effective plan to meet the needs of the Pasifika students.

The argument against this is that all of the many ethnicities will demand it but the Greens believe we are a Pacific nation and we should honour and invest in Te Reo Maori and then support Pasifika educational priorities.

The Government has chosen to fund Chinese languages in schools which would be fine if they were supporting the Pacific students heritage, but they are not.

The Green Party believes all children will thrive if given a good start via public quality education and this includes Pasifika communities having their language and culture reflected and respected at every level of the education system.

The whole country will benefit from this positive approach.

LABOUR

Labour will act to recognise the five main Pacific languages in New Zealand including through the education system, said Pacific Affairs spokesperson Su’a William Sio.

“In Labour’s Pacific Island policy, there must be a strong commitment to Pacific languages now and into the future. Labour will work alongside Pasifika communities to achieve their aspirations for the next generation of Pasifika people to thrive in New Zealand and to be smart, healthy and bilingual.

“Instead of seeing Pacific languages and cultures as barriers, we should see them as resources, as a gift to the nation and something that enriches all our lives. Unless New Zealand acts quickly and decisively will they cease to be living languages in the coming generations.”

Labour’s language policy has been hailed by former Pacific Advisor to Mrs Parata, Galumalemana Alfred Hunkin.

In a post on Su’a William Sio’s Faceboob he wrote: “The gift of Pacific languages…that God gave Pacific peoples are at last going to be recognised in a LABOUR PARTY POLICY! This is a VOTE WINNER for me. OUR CHURCH COMMUNITIES SHOULD GET TOGETHER TO THANK LABOUR FOR THIS. It would mean that the lobbying and hard work we have been working for is getting properly recognised! Malo Su’a.

In addidtion to Language recognition, Labour will also:

• work with the tertiary education sector to encourage and support research by Pacific researchers and academics into appropriate models and curricula that enhance Pacific language bilingual education at all levels of the education system. This will include teacher exchanges with Pacific countries.
• resume the publication of the Tupu and Folauga series of reading books and journals and other appropriate resources for teaching Pacific language bilingual education.
• reinstate the goals for Pacific literacy, research, and bilingualism in the Pacific Education Plan which were removed by the National Government in 2009.
• develop a Pacific Language Policy wrapping support around the Pacific community initiatives such as the Pacific language weeks and the organisations driving these initiatives.

As John MaCaffrey pointed out earlier, “Its time for Palagi NZ to acknowledge that the Pasifika Education Plans which has monolingual goals only for Pasifika students is a failure. It’s time to speak up and fight back with research and knowledge we have of our own families.”

List of National’s attack on New Zealand’s public education system compiled by Local Bodies:

1. $35 million gifted to private schools (4% of students). Elite private school Wanganui Collegiate (400 students) receives $3.9 million bail out despite Ministry advice not to.
2. $25 million slashed from the Education Ministry (according to assessments it is the worst performing ministry).
3. Introduction of new curriculum abandoned and National Standards implemented without trial, against advice and with limited consultation (legislated into law).
4. Cost of repairing leaky school buildings over $1.2 billion (after National’s de-regulation of building industry in 1991).
5. $400 million wiped from the early childhood budget and the target for qualified teachers dropped to 80% (many centres operating at 100% had massive budget cuts).
6. Curriculum narrowed to literacy and numeracy and all other advisors sacked (Science, Technology, Arts…).
7. The expectation that schools provide healthy food wiped to allow commercial interests into schools again to sell processed food and fruit in schools scheme slashed.
8. Funding for technology teachers in intermediates cut.
9. Class sizes over 1:27, 6 more than the OECD average
10. Health camps closed.
11. Pasifika immersion and bilingual community child care centres suffer funding cuts despite being a ‘priority’ group.
12. Residential schools for behavioural needs closed (one illegally).
13. Schools who questioned Standards were threatened with having boards and principals sacked and had PD withheld.
14. Christchurch school closures are poorly managed and questioned by an ombudsmen and found wanting by a court decision.
15. New Education Ministry head employed from UK with a background in Charter Schools and limited knowledge of New Zealand system.
16. Novopay signed off and implemented without a proper trial despite having 147 software faults. Schools are having to devote hours of time every week to deal with past and ongoing problems.
17. Charter Schools introduced despite no evidence of need and are given a financial advantage over public schools. The Civilian’s satirical take on Charter Schools is actually not far from the truth.
18. Private schools capture special needs funding over low decile schools.
19. Te Kotahitanga dumped despite being highly successful in lifting Maori achievement.
20. Disbandment of the Supplementary Learning Support tier of special education funding, putting an increased load on our already overworked Resource Teachers for Learning and behaviour (RTLB).
21. Hekia Parata remains in ministerial role despite poor performance and little respect from the public or the education sector.
22. After five years under National, New Zealand’s international ranking plummets to as low as 23rd.
23. Internationally regarded research reveals New Zealand schools are suffering serious harm under the National Standards regime.
24. Government pays $2.5 million in grants and subsidies to Kidicorp a corporate child care provider with a history of overcharging the Ministry ($1.6 million) by manipulating teacher numbers.
25. The Prime Minister announces that $359 million will be spent on Executive Principals and Teachers who are successful in raising achievement in National Standards. Many question why the money is supporting a corporate management system and isn’t being spent directly to help children with high needs.

 

The Green Party today recommitted to working with all other political parties on a cross-parliament plan to eliminate child poverty in New Zealand.

The Child Poverty Action Group today launched its major policy paper of the election Our Children, our Choice: Priorities for Policy,  which calls for cross party political agreement on an action plan to on child poverty.

“The Green Party is the only major party committed to ending child poverty,” Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei said.

“We have made child poverty one of our three key election priorities this year and we are putting our money where our mouth is, committing $1 billion to raise incomes and provide more and better services.

“Over the past 30 years successive governments have tolerated shocking levels of poverty and deprivation among our children.

“National likes to pretend that child poverty is inevitable, but the truth is child poverty can be eliminated. We have the tools and techniques. It is now simply a matter of choice.

“Our plan would raise family incomes and mitigate the impact that poverty has on a child’s life and their chance of a good education.

“We would increase minimum wage and introduce a new Children’s Credit that would mean an additional $60 a week for families who currently miss out on all the working for families payments.

“We’d also remove a discrimination in the Parental tax Credit and make the $220 a week payment available to all new-borns whose parents are not eligible for paid parental leave, for the first 10 weeks of their live.

“Our schools as community hubs programme will allow all children to reach their potential at school,  by providing the health, welfare and social support they need onsite, at their local school.

“In Government we’d also establish a child poverty strategy with targets that Minsters would be accountable for meeting. This would be overseen by a new Minister of Children who would represent the interests of children at the cabinet table.

“This election is an opportunity to end child poverty and ensure our economy works for the benefit of everyone,” Mrs Turei said.

CPAG’s report can be found here: http://www.cpag.org.nz/assets/Publications/1-0%20Our%20Children%20Our%20Choice%20COMPLETE.pdf