Charter schools fiddling their results

Written By: - Date published: 8:58 am, December 9th, 2016 - 110 comments
Categories: act, education, national, schools, useless - Tags: , , , ,

Education for profit is all about profit, with education hardly getting a look in. There have been many warnings lately on the appalling state of the private education sector –
The $25 million student funding scandal
NZ dream turns to nightmare for international students
Student visa fraud: ‘It’s not about education’
Schools with thousands of foreign students ‘similar to failed college in cheating scandal’
PTEs using fake documents to import students
Private school rorts revealed
It goes on and on.

No surprise to find that National’s pet charter schools are just as compromised – Charter school pass rates plummet when brought in line with state schools

Charter school pass rates are out of line with state schools, a report has revealed.

The reported exam results of the controversial schools gave “an imperfect representation of overall school performance”, an analysis given to Education Minister Hekia Parata states.

The NCEA exam results drop massively when brought in line with state schools.

The reported results were inflated because the charter schools, also known as partnership schools, were using a different method from state schools to report NCEA pass rates.

The report showed Vanguard Military School on Auckland’s North Shore and Te Kura Hourua O Whangarei Terenga Paraoa reported they had met their 2014 NCEA leaver targets – but when the figures were analysed, they did not.

Vanguard reported a 100 per cent pass rate for NCEA Level 2. However, when revised in line with NCEA standards it dropped to just 60 per cent. It met Level 1 standards.

At Te Kura Hourua, neither Level 1 or Level 2 NCEA standards were met once revised: Level 1 dropped from 82 per cent to 77.8 per cent, and Level 2 dropped from 80 per cent to 55.6 per cent.

It is both completely predictable and completely shocking that charter schools would act in this way.

ACT fool David Seymour says there’s no problem, it’s all Chris Hipkins’ fault. That doesn’t wash – it’s Ministry advice

Charter schools use a different method of calculating their NCEA pass rates to state schools – one which inflates their success.

Education Minister Hekia Parata has been warned by her ministry that an imperfect impression of charter schools’ performance is being created as a result.

Advice to Ms Parata shows that when charter schools are measured using the same roll-based methodology as state schools, their pass rates plummet.

All of National’s ideological interventions in education are failures. Just as they were warned.

110 comments on “Charter schools fiddling their results ”

    • dv 1.1

      James 12 years ago.
      Discovered and sorted.

      Notice in the article both the principal and the board chair resigned.

      Any resignations from charter schools yet James?

      PS what were the fiddles the charter schools, was it just misreporting, or mismarking or????

      • james 1.1.1

        Im sure that punishments and accountability for this will come. As it well should.

        Personally – I think what they have done is disgusting.

        What I am pointing out – that it is something that can be fixed – and it is not a failing specifically of charter schools.

        • Molly 1.1.1.1

          “and it is not a failing specifically of charter schools”
          Except it is.

          Because the primary objective of charter schools is to run a business, not provide an education.

        • wellfedweta 1.1.1.2

          Don;t jump top conclusions. Read David Seymour’s rebuttal, and you’ll see that clearly Hipkin’s demonstrates again he simply doesn’t understand how NCEA works. Never let the truth get in the way of a good headline though.

          • dv 1.1.1.2.1

            Read the rebuttal – didn’t help.

            Well fed perhaps you could give an explanation of how it works

            • wellfedweta 1.1.1.2.1.1

              It comes down to measurement. There are two measures schools can use (three actually, including a hybrid), being leaver based and roll based. Hipkins makes two claims:

              1. that partnership schools have been “massively overstating” their exam results, and
              2. that they have been using a different methodology to other schools.

              Both claims are false.

              I’d also make this observation. Hipkins claims the pass rate for NCEA for 2014 for Vanguard was 60%. He is being deliberately misleading, or he is inept. In 2014 Vanguard had no level 3 students! In 2015 when they had a full ‘senior’ school, the pass rate was 86.2%, well above the national average for both measurement bases.

            • wellfedweta 1.1.1.2.1.2

              You might also find this exchange informative.

              http://www.inthehouse.co.nz/video/47145

              Hipkins totally out of his depth against a well informed minister. Even one with serious limitations of her own.

          • Infused 1.1.1.2.2

            Well, Hipkins is a moron.

            • framu 1.1.1.2.2.1

              seymours no great shakes either – but at least hes not as bad as whyte 🙂

            • Tricledrown 1.1.1.2.2.2

              Confused attacking the messenger.
              Transparency is being shutdown in education deliberately by National.

            • wellfedweta 1.1.1.2.2.3

              He’s been caught out telling some whoppers. I’m unsure whether it’s ignorance of dishonesty.

              • Natwatch

                Dealt with in the post. Irrespective of what Chris Hipkins does or doesn’t think, this is what the Ministry of Education said –

                Charter schools use a different method of calculating their NCEA pass rates to state schools – one which inflates their success.

                Education Minister Hekia Parata has been warned by her ministry that an imperfect impression of charter schools’ performance is being created as a result.

                Advice to Ms Parata shows that when charter schools are measured using the same roll-based methodology as state schools, their pass rates plummet.

                • wellfedweta

                  Cite?

                  Charter school pass rates are published, compulsorily so. They are subject to a higher standard of scrutiny than are public schools. I remain agnostic, but the irrational, and frankly ill-informed, opposition to them is giving me many laughs.

                  • One Anonymous Bloke

                    The cite is right there in the article you’re pretending to discuss, while in fact trolling and doing your best to divert and derail discussion, Maninthemiddle Wellfedweta.

          • Marcus Morris 1.1.1.2.3

            I have considerable interest in this debate. I have a grandson for whom seven years in a moderately expensive co-educationl private school did absolutely nothing. A year’s homeschooling did no better so that, at the end of a Year Eleven equivalence he did not have a credit to his name. In desperation his parents enrolled him at the Vanguard School. As a retired teacher and after forty five years in the state secondary service, where I reached Deputy Principal status, I had serious reservations. However the military style discipline of the Vanguard school suited the boy and after two years he graduated with Level 2 Numeracy and Literacy and with a hitherto unknown confidence that he was not entirely bereft of any academic ability. What I now find disturbing is the validity of those results. In other words is this debate questioning the standards set by these schools or “merely” the way they are reported to the ministry. If the latter, then that certainly needs to be brought into line but the lad’s qualifications are in order?

            I am not quite sure what you are trying to imply wfw. I worked with NCEA for the last ten years of my teaching career and I have argued from its inception that it is an excellent system and far superior to any of the others that we have had in the last sixty years. What do you think Hipkins doesn’t understand about it. The actual reporting of results has nothing to do with the process of assessment.

            • wellfedweta 1.1.1.2.3.1

              Hi Marcus

              I recommend you read what David Seymour has had to say in response to Chris Hipkins. Hipkins has been caught out before twisting the truth, and on this occasion he is demonstrating his ignorance or his willingness to bend the truth.

              As far as I am concerned, the jury is still out on Partnership schools, but there is sufficient material to suggest they have made an encouraging start. Labour (and the teacher unions) hate the concept, because PS’s introduce choice they have little control over.

              • One Anonymous Bloke

                You know nothing, Wellfedweta. That’s ok: megaphones aren’t required to be sentient.

                • wellfedweta

                  Are you sore at my exposing your mate Hipkins?

                  • One Anonymous Bloke

                    You didn’t. Pay attention. The information comes from the MoE, and exposed your corrupt mates Rimmer and Parrot.

                    In any case, I was referring to your fatuous arrogant response to Marcus.

            • mpledger 1.1.1.2.3.2

              What did you think about the quality of the standards he did?

              Where they all unit standards mostly? Or were they achievement standards mostly? IE could he have got an endorsement on his certificates?

              • wellfedweta

                Hi MPledger

                FYI Vanguard, like state schools, offer both unit and achievement standards subjects. They also provide breakfast to all students. In 2015, 94.8% of students passed level 1 NCEA, and 86.2% level 2. 75% of students are defined as ‘priority learners’.

        • Guerilla Surgeon 1.1.1.3

          “and it is not a failing specifically of charter schools.”

          Except we were constantly told that charter schools were going to be better – right? Sort of like the right-wing promise that things were going to be transparent and accountable.

          • One Anonymous Bloke 1.1.1.3.1

            …and that the market will provide, and that the SOE model isn’t completely munted, and that Murray McCully can live in the desert.

          • wellfedweta 1.1.1.3.2

            no, we’ve never been told they will be ‘better’. Partnership schools are targeted at a specific student profile, and they appear to be working far more successfully for that student group than state schools Also, Partnership Schools have more accountability than do state schools. Publishing of their results is mandatory, and they are under far more MOE scrutiny.

      • NZJester 1.1.2

        I think they only reported the results of the kids that went the full way through to the end of the year and actually took the tests. Those that dropped out or got kicked out so did not take the tests with them where not included in the final results I think.

    • the Joneses 1.2

      The big difference from that case was that a single school was acting fraudulently, where as in this case the government is setting up a fraudulent system so all charter schools get better looking results. It is a whole different magnitude of corruption.

      I think the title of this page is misleading as it is not the charter schools themselves which are really at fault in this instance, it is the government who dictates how they should report their results. Unless I am miss-understanding the story completely?

      • lprent 1.2.1

        Unless I very much mistaken, the standards set by the ministry for the charter schools for their reporting were far far lower than for state schools.

        What has happened is that the results for charter schools are now being recalculated on the same basis as public schools and coming up deficient.

        The political question is at what level was the decision made to do this?

        • adam 1.2.1.1

          The only answer in my mind is that must have been at the cabinet level. Hekia, love her, or hate her is not that stupid, to have this all fall on her. And whilst I think she supported charter schools to give Maori a different option, I don’t think she is a ideological hack. For the record, I’m no fan of the Parata, or her politics.

          • Macro 1.2.1.1.1

            Charter Schools want to be able to show that they are the bees knees when it comes to educational achievement, and they will stoop to seriously low levels of behaviour in order to do that. So they set the standard – way lower than State Schools – and having such a low standard, they can get their better students to jump over it easily.
            It’s nothing but educationally corrupt behaviour – but nothing more than you would expect from a group of non-professionals (remember you don’t even need to have teacher training to be let loose on students in these dame schools).

            • ropata 1.2.1.1.1.1

              The long term lying and ideological stupidity is one thing. But what I find really offensive is that innocent kids are getting a second rate education and may not even have the basics — that would have been covered by a reliable state education.

              I hope the MPs responsible offer a personal apology to every child affected. Some kind of compensation for this appalling incompetence would not go amiss either.

            • HDCAFriendlyTroll 1.2.1.1.1.2

              Heh. They’ve got nothing on State schools who fiddle the NCEA results to make the pass rates much higher than what they should be. You can tell the schools that do this because they make the newspapers as “miracle schools” and when it gets to (equivalent of) UE time pass rates drop tremendously.

        • wellfedweta 1.2.1.2

          You are very much mistaken.

        • Richard McGrath 1.2.1.3

          My impression is that the profile of kids entering schools such as Vanguard is somewhat different to that of entrants to your average state and private school. Until there is some matching against a control group in the state & private systems it may be invalid to make comparisons between charter schools and others. However I agree there needs to be uniformity in calculating results for the pupils of differing school systems.

          • wellfedweta 1.2.1.3.1

            Richard you are correct that there are possible differences in the profile of students that attend state v partnership schools. Partnership Schools are targeted at children who have failed, or are failing, in the state system. Many have a history of truancy, poor educational outcomes and behavioral issues. There involvement in Partnership Schools makes the success of these schools even more remarkable. Partnership Schools also attract ‘mainstream children, however, unlike state schools, partnership schools are mandated to take a certain % of children who are at risk.

  1. saveNZ 2

    Shocking. In my view there is widespread dissatisfaction against National Standards from parents.

    The Charter Schools are just plain frauds for cronies. The US and anywhere else they use them have worse standards than places like Finland.

    Please get rid of the Natz before they destroy the education of the next generation any further!

    When the current PM Bill English describes Kiwi youth as ‘pretty hopeless’ what a fucked up country we are becoming. The Natz have been in for 8 years so WTF – it’s their own making!!

    Let alone their immigration scams, their educations scams, the tax haven scams, their scenic hotel, Skycity, Saudi scams, health scams, education scams.

    Natz are scum, but they are very slippery and hard to defeat with all their trougher crony friends in high places.

  2. Sorrwerdna 3

    I really can not understand the Lefts hatred of Charter schools. They provide a learning environment to those students who do not succeed under the State school model. This is not a criticism of State schools -it is just a fact of life that some students will perform and learn better in a different learning environment. Forgot the focus on profit and patch protection from the PPTA – it is about the success of the learners regardless of how you want to compare NCEA results with the State system

    • framu 3.1

      the reasons have been spelled out relentlessly – try google

      hint: its not because of your framing of the issue

      • Sorrwerdna 3.1.1

        “the reasons have been spelled out relentlessly – try google”
        because everything from Google is the honest truth -yeah right

        • framu 3.1.1.1

          no – google is just a search engine

          pretty sure you can find all sorts of articles where people explain why they are opposed

          but i sense your not really interested in that

    • Saarbo 3.2

      Because we should be fixing State Schools rather than spending money on profit making private schools.

    • Tricledrown 3.3

      So sorry wording why do Charter schools exclude the very children you say are not achieving at state schools to make their performance look better.
      Why are Charter Schools not subject to the same transparency rules.
      National want to cut costs.
      Yet Charter schools cost 2 to 4 times as much as public schools.

    • joe90 3.4

      Forgot the focus on profit and patch protection from the PPTA – it is about the success of the learners regardless of how you want to compare NCEA results with the State system

      Unions are bad – and we’ll lower the bar to prove it, m’kay.

      FIFY
      /

    • saveNZ 3.5

      @Sorrwerdna

      Charter schools are cheating your kids: New report reveals massive fraud, mismanagement, abuse
      Millions of dollars are being vacuumed out of public schools and into the corporate pockets — or fraudulent execs
      http://www.salon.com/2014/05/07/charter_schools_are_cheating_your_kids_new_report_reveals_massive_fraud_mismanagement_abuse/

      The great charter school rip-off: Finally, the truth catches up to education “reform” phonies
      Fraud, financial mismanagement, lousy results: Reports highlight awful charter schools and people are catching on
      http://www.salon.com/2014/10/02/the_great_charter_school_rip_off_finally_the_truth_catches_up_to_education_reform_phonies/

    • BM 3.6

      I doubt there are too many upset teachers when to comes to charter schools, kids who were probably a nightmare to teach, who sucked up their teaching time at the detriment of other students and are now getting the more focused attention they need in an environment more attuned to their needs.

      All I see is win win for everyone.

    • Marcus Morris 3.7

      Justify “patch protect” – utter nonsense -.

    • AB 3.8

      Because the profit motive is intended to spur people into innovation, efficiency and excellence – right?
      But those things are incredibly hard to do – especially when you are under the gun to do it quickly. It is much, much easier to fiddle your numbers.

      All private sector organisations do this. There are so many ways of achieving profitability that are easier than genuine innovation and efficiency: fiddle the numbers, engage in short-term cost cutting that causes long-term damage, elect right-wing governments that dampen wage-increases through legislation and running high unemployment, outsource to low labour cost countries, etc.

      In other words every myth we hear about the superiority of the private sector is just that – myth.
      And children are too important to be playing this game with.

  3. Rex Morris 4

    The hatred of, disgust and dissatisfaction with Charter Schools is not a “left” position – it is a position of educators from all walks of life, at all levels of the sector. The policy framework of charter schools is incredibly shameful. There is no evidence anywhere in the world that they are more effective than state schools. Many videos shown in the early days of the policy showed charter schools in the USA that actually ran on the same basis as our nz state schools. The charter school movement in the UK is a response to a quite different education system. The strange thing is they actually had an opportunity to do something worthwhile with all of the millions they were given but it seems they have failed. If the funds had been disbursed into the State sector [even with some conditions] they would have gained much more for the students. However. charter schools and national standards have actually lowered nz educational achievement [see OECD latest results]

    • Rex Morris 4.1

      I should have said USA, not UK

      • garibaldi 4.1.1

        The hatred of unions is a rightist problem. Their opposition to worker groups is unfathomable and just shows how stupid the righties are. Heaven forbid that we listen to a group of professional, trained teachers about teaching, let’s just leave it to a bunch of money grubbing and/or religious ignoramuses to screw our kids over. That’s the Charter Schools modus operandum.
        Creaming kids out of the state system ( then sending them back if they fail ) does not justify their existence.
        Far more efficient and productive to invest more in the state system and let the professionals do the job properly by funding them properly, without siphoning money off to private and or charter schools.

        • One Anonymous Bloke 4.1.1.1

          unfathomable

          No, it isn’t. It’s motivated by a hatred for human rights and the rule of law. They’re in my way.

    • Marcus Morris 4.2

      Well said.

  4. Sorrwerdna 5

    The argument should not be if Charters are better than State -it is all about student success -who cares which model performs better. Charter schools provide a learning environment that is not always easy to duplicate in the State school environment. Charter schools are not funded excessively more than state schools on a per EFTS basis. To fully understand the Charter school model you need to have an understanding of NZQA and the various paths available to any to gain a NCEA qualification, you need to understand TEC and their funding and reporting methodologies and conditions. -you need to understand the methodologies that TEC/MOE apply to the various funding streams to the University, Wananga, Polytech and PTE sectors -you need to understand the types of students attracted to Charter Schools . It is not an apples with apples scenario.

    • saveNZ 5.1

      And the Fucked up Trolling Ideology award for Charter schools goes to….. Sorrwerdna

      • dukeofurl 5.1.1

        Well the people running charter schools in church halls and former church offices ( see a pattern here ?) have to push back with their muddled thinking.

        The ‘piece of cake award’ for 2016 award goes to Seymour for this muddled thinking

        “Vanguard reported a 100 per cent pass rate for NCEA Level 2 in 2014, but Labour’s leaked report said when revised in line with state school reporting standards the pass rate fell to 60 per cent.

        However, Seymour disputed this, saying as more students graduated from the school in 2015, the figure improved to 84.5 per cent.

        So was it 100% but then ‘improved’ to 84% ??

      • Sorrwerdna 5.1.2

        Thanks for the vote of confidence saveNZ

        • saveNZ 5.1.2.1

          The selling of the state houses during the housing crisis is also going well…. apparently for this government… sarc.

    • Tricledrown 5.2

      Sorrywerda baffling with BS.
      The costs are much higher
      Accountability non existent
      Cherry picking student’s
      Failed schools
      Unqualified teachers
      A failure.

      • Sorrwerdna 5.2.1

        Treacledown -sorry to baffle you with BS but I feel you have zero idea how these schools operate apart from dribble you have been fed from the anti everything establishment – just because they may be considered a failure overseas you assume the same is happening here -please go visit a school and see the fantastic work they do -and take your mate Chris Hipkins and Angela Roberts.

        • One Anonymous Bloke 5.2.1.1

          The article is about how the “fantastic work” they do is a lie, because they’ve been lying about their results. I see you’re in denial. 😆

          • Sorrwerdna 5.2.1.1.1

            They have not been lying about their results -they have been reported in the required format but Chris Hipkins has chosen to cheery pick the data to give wildly misleading results without understanding the circumstances -unfortunately you will not hear or read retraction from him

            • One Anonymous Bloke 5.2.1.1.1.1

              Thanks for admitting that the results are fake, set up that way by the person who’s telling you Hipkins has got it wrong.

              I would call you gullible but I think you like being ruled by your amygdala.

            • wellfedweta 5.2.1.1.1.2

              Hipkins has form, unfortunately. I was giving him the benefit of the doubt and thinking he may just be ignorant. I’m swaying towards dishonest after his latest debacle.

    • UncookedSelachimorpha 5.3

      “The argument should not be if Charters are better than State -it is all about student success -who cares which model performs better.”

      The logic is a little off…

    • The students care which model performs better. What a dumb question to ask.

      If the charter schools were actually helping at-risk students perform better than state schools under comparable metrics, that would be one thing.

      But they’re not. They’re a waste of money that could be more effectively used to help those students in order to soften the education system for eventual privatisation that ACT so desperately wants. The problem is that they’re so obviously disastrous that they’re not actually making any headway.

  5. Infused 6

    wrong thread.

  6. adam 7

    There is another argument here, and lets not fight over the fact charter schools are the door to privatisation, and they have a strong anti-union ideological push behind them. Plus in every country where they are being tried, they have problems – especially around finance.

    My problem is slightly different and it is this. Where else is giving Maori and Pacific the chance to led education, to get Maori and Pacific success? The state system has failed many, and we have now had a few years with charter schools going to see if the state has improved, and frankly the same failures are going on.

    I would not like to see us go back to the a state education system, which systematically fails people because of the ethnicity.

    To me it’s time we looked to do somthing different, and somthing Maori and Pacific led. And unlike some here, I don’t think the charter schools have been a total failure on the ground. Having met a few of these kids before they started and now – some of these schools are producing amazing outcomes. Time to poach what is good – Maori and Pacific governance, control, and extra cash. And ditch what is bad, education as a business – it is actually a stupid idea, lets be honest.

    • Molly 7.1

      “Where else is giving Maori and Pacific the chance to led education, to get Maori and Pacific success? “
      Redefine success for Maori and Pasifika students, and/or those who want to engage in meaningful and relevant studies, and push that definition into any conversation about state education.

      Was looking at the Barefoot College movement a couple of weeks ago, and it resonated with me because of some recent conversation with someone in the Ministry about Maori and Pasifika achievement.

      The short term gains to Maori and Pasifika in terms of leading their own schools are lost in the requirement to deliver to the charter school investors and the need to report back to Ministry on the same guidelines.

      The long-term cost is felt by all.

      • adam 7.1.1

        I don’t think it is a short term project that Maori and Pacific want to control education, and it’s outcomes.

        I’m not sure what you are pointing to at the long term cost for this?

        I’m not willing and I know many others who are not willing to trust the state on this issue, when it has had a very long time to get it right. It has not done so, it is as simple as that.

        The state has failed to listened to Maori Educators, or Pacific for that matter. So love it or hate it – one of the outcomes of charter schools is the pedagogy of these groups are finally getting an airing. I can’t see that as anything but a good thing.

        • Molly 7.1.1.1

          Adam, I looked into charter schools extensively many years ago – close to twenty – when I joined the NZ home education community.

          As a student, once exempted from attendance, you cannot access any Ministry of Education resources or external funding activities (such as swimming lessons, museum class trips etc).

          The United States had led the way with charter schools citing all the reasons including similar to yours – that specific under-served demographics in the state system would be better served.

          Often that was the case for the first couple of years, then the previously fully attended state school would lose funding because of the loss of pupils and would eventually be closed down, removing any choice.

          Once a monopoly was in place the charter school would do the barest minimum to continue, and sometimes even less.

          Taking part in the charter school system, would benefit organised home educators – but research into this system, indicated that those still within the state run schools feel the impact first, and then often the charter school students feel the loss in quality eventually. So I personally considered any benefit to our home community to be offset by detrimental effects on building and maintaining a robust state system.

          I have no problem with private schools being run with private funds.

          But state funded education of equal opportunity and quality should be accessible to all. This dividing of students into demographics – instead of addressing anomalies within the system itself – brings back that who “separate but equal” idea. Which in practice is a complete load of bollocks.

          Charter schools may/or may not benefit Maori or Pasifika who attend them, but they lessen the chances of Maori or Pasifika students who continue to mainstream of being accommodated. And long-term that is not a good outcome.

        • KJT 7.1.1.2

          Government does not listen to Maori, Pakeha or Pacific Island Teachers.

          Because they know better, than trained Teachers, and researchers.

    • Rex Morris 7.2

      Interesting comments re Maori and Pacific education. This may hint that the essence of the problem may not be in the education system. Its just like Parata et al saying more and a different emphasis must be placed on students who are not achieving. However the majority do come from areas where the schools are in the lower decile ranks. But if students come to school at five years of age 2-3 years behind, there is a huge gap to make up in the wider sphere of individual social and language development, not just pushing them up a few levels in reading or maths. There needs to be a greater focus on addressing poverty, [which is another whole discussion] and improved ECE, not on nonsensical things like national standards.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 7.3

      1. Household income is the most influential factor in education.
      2. Perhaps giving schools triple the funding is the main difference.

      The systematic failure you refer to has nothing to do with state education, and everything to do with (1).

  7. Psych nurse 8

    A schools roll is fixed at a certain date usually in March. That roll then becomes a schools year 12 or 13 cohort ect, no matter what happens to certain pupils, they may leave for any reason such as employment, they are included in a schools NCEA results as not sitting or failing. A Charter school only used those who sat NCEA in their statistics, eg 1 sat = 100% pass, the other 20 for instance never sat but were excluded from the school results unlike the state school.

  8. UncookedSelachimorpha 9

    John Oliver was good on Charter Schools in the USA

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_htSPGAY7I

  9. Adrian 10

    That’s not all on the privatisation model. There are 2 high schools in Blenheim, both single sex. The Ministry says they want one segregated school on one site because they won,t spend 22mill on the separate schools on quake strengthening and upgrading. Waste of money they say , we,ll spend 75 mil on a new school but there is nowhere to put it short of flattening a major sports venue or a park or two.
    TReasury said ” You’re dreaming and our figures prove it”.
    In the ” consultation ” Parata hid Treasurys papers, she is a liar said there were no papers.
    It turns out that it is to be a privately owned school leased back to the Ministry.
    Plenty of room there for under the table deals and outright corruption.
    Wonder why she left and where she’ll end up?.
    No prizes for that it’s too easy.

    • Pete 10.1

      There have been claims of corruption in the Ministry of Education and with that Minister. The involvement of them in Rangiora High is a case in point.

  10. johnm 11

    You voted in JK the neoliberal U$ stooge. So now it’ll take forever to sort out the free market mess. Good Luck! I’m out of here!

    • rob 11.1

      I wish I could chq out too! but alas I’m doomed in my own country, but time is catching me and New Zealanders are being taken over. It makes me sad but I have no off spring so good luck to whoeva is left if the nats keep getting in!

  11. fustercluck 12

    Quelle surprise.

  12. repateet 13

    Sorrwerdna 5: 9 December 2016 at 12:04 pm
    “…you need to understand the types of students attracted to Charter Schools…”

    Do we need to understand the types of students attracted to State Schools too?

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  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    5 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    7 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    10 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    21 hours ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    1 day ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    1 day ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    1 day ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • AT Need To Lift Their Game
    Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
    6 days ago
  • Christopher's Whopper.
    Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Funding hole for tax cuts growing by the day
    The pressure is mounting on the Government as it finalises its Budget Policy Statement, but yet more predicted revenue ‘goes missing’. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Climate Commission has delivered another funding blow to the National-ACT-NZ First coalition Government’s tax-cutting plans, potentially carving $1.4 billion off the ‘climate ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Luxon’s brave climate change promise
    The Government now faces the prospect of having to watch another tax raise the price of petrol when, only six days ago, it abolished the Auckland Regional Fuel tax. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon argued that the regional fuel tax imposed costs on lower-income people with less fuel-efficient vehicles  and that ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago

  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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