Don’t give me culture, I’m not hearing you Chris

Written By: - Date published: 11:19 am, August 7th, 2024 - 18 comments
Categories: Christopher Luxon, culture, uncategorized - Tags: ,

The Barbarians are well past the gate. Luxon said yesterday,

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he is prepared to see schools deferring arts and music curriculum to raise achievement in maths and reading.

Speaking to Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking Breakfast, Luxon said unions could complain about the Government all they wanted, but the Government was worried about parents and children.

”We are focused on outcomes: achievement in maths and reading and getting kids to school.

“That may well mean we’re going to defer our arts and music curriculum for now. But we’re going to do everything to get those jobs done.”

“How on earth do you get a four-lane highway from Auckland to Whangarei with future generations that can’t do maths.

I suspect that the musos, writers and painters aren’t the best people to build roads, Christopher.

Don’t give me culture, I’m not hearing you Rob. I can buzz around like a Beehive boy, but I’d like to see you do my job.

The Knobz, singing in 1980 about Prime Minister Rob Muldoon calling pop music horrible and refusing to lift the 40% sales tax in locally produced music.


Hattip Paul Le Comte

18 comments on “Don’t give me culture, I’m not hearing you Chris ”

  1. Tiger Mountain 1

    These vandals are the worst Govt. in terms of a “war on the poor” since the Ruth Richardson era. Here a cut there a slash…but not for landlords, or the Tobacco industry! oh no–and it sounds like they may even impose Charter School status on some state schools as well as defunding NGOs as Sirkey did.

    There is a coming serious Māori fightback which a number of non Māori will join. NZCTU are you listening? time for direct action surely with thousands sacked already.

    • srylands 1.1

      "These vandals are the worst Govt. in terms of a “war on the poor” since the Ruth Richardson era. "

      No. That title can be shared by Jacinda, Grant, and Phil Twyford. They presided over an obscene housing price inflationary spiral, despite promising in 2017 to do the exact opposite.

      The two worse things you can do for the poor is to adopt policies that increase the cost of housing and food. That trio's failure on housing, more than any other issue, was criminal.

      Or are you going to tell me that it was all the fault of John Key?

      [stop trolling. I had a look at your recent commenting history, and you are basically running around making declarations about Labour or whatever, without bringing anything useful to the table. You need to make actual arguments, and where appropriate back them up. You also need to stop baiting the lefties on site – weka]

      • SPC 1.1.1

        Most of price increase under Labour was a consequence of a global rise in asset valuers resulting from QE (pandemic response).

        The rise in property value is a function of migration/population levels, cost of finance, ability to derive CG free of tax, lack of new social housing, lack of incentive for the private sector to invest in new builds, regulatory constraint and cost of land and construction.

        • Michael P 1.1.1.1

          "The rise in property value is a function of…."

          All of the things you stated could be changed / affected by a Government should they choose to do so.

          Rises in property values making Auckland one of the most expensive cities in the world to buy a house (relative to income) is a function of Government (regardless of which party is in office) not wanting to or not having the political will to lower house prices.

          Because it would be really easy any Government to bring house prices down (drastically) if they actually wanted too. Of course all Governments are more concerned with getting re-elected rather than doing what is right / in the best interests of the majority of New Zealander's in the long term.

          In my opinion.

      • weka 1.1.2

        mod note.

      • weka 1.1.3

        I've dumped your latest comment into Trash until you read and respond to my mod note. Next step will be to ban you so no more moderator time gets wasted on this.

  2. Kay 2

    As a classically trained musician, I can assure you that there is a hell of a lot of maths involved with learning music. Particularly, division and fractions.

    How many hemidemisemiquavers go into a semibreve?

    • Darien Fenton 2.1

      +1. It's all about how we learn, which is different for many kids. They don't all fit into a square box. I was hopeless at maths, but got my letters in Music. Music and arts open the brain. But Luxon probably never experienced the beauty with his pathetic commerce approach.

      • Michael P 2.1.1

        "I was hopeless at maths…"

        You say hopeless (I say the same about myself) but I bet you can still do the basic stuff (addition, subtraction, etc).

        The problem is that there's an increasing number of youngsters in this country leaving school unable to do basic maths or English, which is a real worry, for both them and the country.

        The tiny fraction of people who will become professional musicians still need basic maths and English, without which it is much more difficult to function as part of society (Yes there will be a tiny few outliers but talking in general or on a population level)

  3. SPC 3

    Those with talent will earn more money in the global economy for New Zealand than those who build roads. Identifying and nurturing that talent is what a fully developed society does.

    Unless reading and maths leads to stem subject capability, it is not that useful a measure as to a productive and skilled workforce outcome. It is so 20th C thinking – building widgets in factories.

    • Graeme 3.1

      But reading, and especially maths capabilities are easily measured. Those measurements (tests) can be manipulated and collated to produce stats that show 'progress' as the result of Government policy.

      It's managerial bullshitery, favouring outcomes that can be easily measured to make management look good. No care for the creative side that creates new value and grows the business / society, just an easy stat to make the voter / shareholder think management is doing well.

    • Michael P 3.2

      It seems you're suggesting that building a road doesn't require any talent. Like to see you try and build one.

      "…it is not that useful a measure as to a productive and skilled workforce outcome…."

      Got any examples of positive productive and skilled workforce outcomes where the workforce is made up of people who can't read or do basic maths?

      • SPC 3.2.1

        Those with talent will earn more money in the global economy for New Zealand than those who build roads

        Unless reading and maths leads to stem subject capability, it is not that useful a measure as to a productive and skilled workforce outcome

  4. thinker 4

    "I'll give you culture alright,

    Bend over and pick that up.

    Whoa, that's the way"

    Plus ce change for the proles.

  5. Luxon's kids were all educated in America. He DGAF about maths really. This is just another Nat propaganda exercise, pretending to be doing something, some useful smoke and mirrors to distract from the NACT1 government's numerous policy failures

  6. adam 6

    DeaTH To ArT. TISM

  7. Comment from Tami Neilson and Chch councillor Andrei Moore:

    (via Ginette McDonald on X)

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