Dunne abandons charter schools

Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, April 19th, 2013 - 33 comments
Categories: education, schools, united future - Tags: , ,

For the second time in a week I have to congratulate Peter Dunne on having the sense to oppose the Nats:

Peter Dunne opposes charter schools

Revenue Minister Peter Dunne says he will vote against legislation establishing charter schools. …

Dunne says he’s not convinced by the charter schools model and he is particularly concerned at proposals which will allow charter schools to employ teachers who are not registered or nationally certified.

The United Future leader is also worried the schools will not be compelled to follow the National curriculum.

Two of many good objections to charter schools. Below the line I’m going to repost the content of an earlier post on the issue of qualified teachers…


The Nats’ inconsistency on the importance of having well qualified teachers is one of their most brazen examples of naked political opportunism. Hekia Parata:

Focus on quality will raise achievement

Education Minister Hekia Parata today said the National-led Government’s focus on teaching quality will raise achievement and ensure our young people get the skills they need to reach their potential. … “The single most important thing we can do to raise achievement is to improve teaching quality.”

John Key:

Key: Don’t worry about unqualified teachers

Prime Minister John Key says people should not be “hung up” on the fact that teachers without qualifications will be able to teach New Zealand children at charter schools.

Key’s self-serving dismissal of qualified teachers should by all rights be impossible to maintain in the face of a stinging report from the Ministry of Education, here reported by 3 News:

Ministry’s warning over charter schools

The Government is pushing ahead with allowing charter schools to employ unregistered teachers, despite the Ministry of Education warning against it.

… A regulatory impact statement from the ministry says anything less than 100 percent registered teachers “does not align with the government’s quality initiatives”.

“Teacher registration is one the most influential levers in raising teacher quality across the profession in both state and private schools,” it said.

“Allowing charter schools to stand outside this work will significantly damage the credibility of the crown.”

It said the potential for negative impacts on students’ education from unqualified or unregistered teachers is “high”.

The Nats won’t listen because the Nats don’t care about the quality of education, they only care about privatising it.

33 comments on “Dunne abandons charter schools ”

  1. karol 1

    And the ball is in the Maori Party’s court and the heat is on Sharples.

    The Maori Party looks to be flexing its muscle now it holds the future of the Government’s charter schools policy in its hands.

    Without their three votes, legislation enabling the schools won’t be able to proceed through parliament now United Future has withdrawn its support.

    Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples says there are things they are still looking at regarding the policy but for the moment they are still supporting it.

    Come on, Pita. Do the right thing, and do the right thing now your political career is nearing its end.

    There is nothing a charter school can do, that couldn’t be done better in the state system, and without greedy profiteers taking their cut.

  2. One Anonymous Knucklehead 2

    Blowing the National Party’s destructive education “policy” out of the water in the same week as sabotaging their greedy asset sale plans? Pricelsss. 🙂

    PS: Time for the Maori Party to decide whether it supports ACT or not 😆

    • Mongoose 2.1

      Unfortunately the Maori Party will most likely vote for it because they support the concept of Chartered schools raising Maori achievement levels. They wish to open their own schools with government funding.

      • karol 2.1.1

        Maybe they should go for a policy that gives them more control of Maori schools/ing in the state sector. What they are doing is supporting all the other dodgy things that the Bill will spawn, in order to get some control over the education of under-achieving Maori

      • ordinary_bloke 2.1.2

        They are kidding themselves. How can they be ‘their own’, if funded by the government, any government. Governments change, priorities change ..

  3. Dunne is the ultimate political survivor. He can sense the political winds shifting and is thinking of his survival. Stand by as he changes tack on a few issues and the opposition should be working on him.

    • Colonial Viper 3.1

      Should be working on screwing him out of his seat.

    • geoff 3.2

      Eaxctly, Micky. The title of this post could easily have been, “Dunne will say anything to get re-elected”

    • felix 3.3

      See him heaping praise on Helen Clark on Back Benches the other night? Greasy fuckwit.

  4. Ennui 4

    Buddying up to the teachers and their union on the quiet? Preparing to jump ship again? Which way is the wind blowing Peter?

  5. prism 5

    The NACTs haven’t thought this charter schools nonsense through. They are so dumb that they can’t chew gum at all. And they think that making intelligible sounds is equivalent to making wise, effective and far-seeing policy. They are ignoring what follows from the old adage – “Give me the child till the age of seven and I will show you the man.” .. But the maturing goes on till 25 years apparently. The NACTs are playing round with the moulding of our society from one aiming at good living in the moral sense, to fractured blinkered groups competing in a wild west breakdown of social cohesion, yet being funded to do that by the country’s tax putea.

    I look into my trumpet-shaped telescope with a wide-angle lens, as opposed to their looking through the wrong end of a normal telescope. So I see a wider future. I see black garbed stormtroopers trained at the Destiny academy. (Already had a taste of this.) I see Maori gangs controlling charter schools and teaching the things that Tuhoe was only looking at in passing. Then military academies such as in the USA where some parents push their children off their hands at an early age, even about seven, this provides training for what has become that country’s major enterprise.

    I see hard-line Muslim schools with fiery fervent preachers as in Britain, and amongst other things, demanding the right for girls to cover themselves in public in a half-tent, the full one for when they become women, say at 15 years. I see a growth in the sort of cult following that led to Branch Davidian in Texas (an earlier Waco tragedy), and Centrepoint here.

    I see a growth in anti-education, against facts and curiosity such as we see in the USA where the fundamentalist Christians have been allowed to dictate their own brand of medieval learning. I see a diminishing interest in facts, with feelings and beliefs taking over as the facts become harder to face (this has been so for decades but is at present a fringe approach.)

    Schools at present don’t give us the teaching in critical thinking and decision making and the study of what our society is, which is the pedestal on which we build our lives. A study of the use of suppression of unattractive information came to the conclusion that it was rife in modern ‘informed’ societies and another form of repression. http://www.bmartin.cc/pubs/86is/introduction.html This will snowball with the ability of many groups able to choose what and how to instruct children yet who can’t be questioned or examined themselves.

    And what about the sex scandals? There can only be a scandal if the wider public with higher ideals and standards gets to know about goings on. The deputy principal from Far North Pamapuria who has just been tried has had an extensive stable of children with no-one prepared to examine the hints of his moral weakness. And the spending of government money, who is going to examine the recipients of that? Slush fund anyone?

    If our education had been balanced between knowledge and practical decision making with a moral compass, ethics, and the best for society in mind, we wouldn’t be having this type of disaster looming over us. The very government considering this education approach that undermines our country’s spirit and beliefs, our democracy’s fair and supportive approach to fair standards for all people in a united and thriving country, is its own terrible example of education failure.

    • Draco T Bastard 5.1

      Schools at present don’t give us the teaching in critical thinking and decision making and the study of what our society is, which is the pedestal on which we build our lives.

      Actually, they do and NACT are trying to take it away because, from what I can make out, it makes being dictatorial thieves difficult. People pick up the lies and BS that NACT try to spin when they’re well educated.

      • prism 5.1.1

        DTB
        Maths alone isn’t the answer to finding the best way to cope with life’s little problems.
        Critical thinking has to go beyond how to share out three Mars bars with four people. So what was your thinking?

        The difficulties of deciding on a path when it will please nobody, but it is necessary to take action, that’s the type of thinking I’m talking about.. How to analyse the possible outcomes to reduce the negatives, how to choose the best of a number of not completely satisfactory alternatives. Lots of practice at looking the problem real, in the face. Less of maths working out the speed of two trains if they left at….

        And learning practically – the school being run on a day to day basis by the pupils with defined responsibilities and training of course. That wouldn’t seem to be education, but it is practical learning – living, decision making and organising and finding out how to meet others’ and one’s own needs within all the parameters.

        If NACT are trying to reduce the education process to a lower level as far as making clear judgements is concerned, at the present level, heaven help us if we get a poorer one. People were thirsty to be educated and think at the time NZ was settled. Some Maori men threw aside adult mana and settled down with the children to learn English and anything else that would be useful. Far-flung sheep stations had their own lending libraries. Lady Barker used to ride out on her property to distant shepherd’s huts to take them books. They were keen to advance their education and didn’t take it for granted. I’m worried about our complacency that we are learning what’s needed to cope with our modern ever-more complex society.

        • Northshoreguynz 5.1.1.1

          Haven’t been a classroom for a while Prism? Most schools I know incorporate critical thinking into as many lessons as possible, and in a structured way that students understand.

    • ghostrider888 5.2

      we share some of the same pages from the future prism; the two trains heading towards each other and what colour is the smoke blowing. and despite the apologists for our education system, many facets are not adding up…

  6. emergency mike 6

    Something about leaving a sinking ship…

  7. Agora 7

    The meaning of ‘maori’ is “normal, usual, natural, common” (http://www.maoridictionary.co.nz)
    .. so why this claim for exceptionalism by the remaining supporters of the ‘maori’ party ?

    They should declare their allegiance to Banks.

  8. prism 8

    I’ve done an extensive piece on my concerns about this awful charter schools debacle. It’s in moderation and will get the okay I think sometime. I have to go away now and attend to my own affairs. But I hope that it will get read by at least a few people. It took me a while and I put in a link of some good research, so it’s worth reading!

  9. BLiP 9

    Given the “no surprises” mandate, Dunne will have cleared this with National Ltd™ and may even have provided advance warning of what he was going to say about. He would never have done this if National Ltd™ didn’t believe they had it sewn up. What I’d like to know is how its even got this far. The policy apparently came from ACT which had never mentioned it before. A bit convenient if you ask me. Here, in my tinfoil lined, mum’s basement, it looks like this is pay packs for the teachers and the thin end of the corporatisation of education.

    Still, its good the charter schools are being discussed . . . but what else is going on. Fridays are great days to drop bad news. Hmmm . . . off to Scoop.

Links to post

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • EV road user charges bill passes
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April.  “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • Bill targets illegal, unregulated fishing in international waters
    New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • Reserve Bank appointments
    Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates.  Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • Stronger protections for apartment owners
    Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago
  • Travel focused on traditional partners and Middle East
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend.    “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says.   Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago
  • Keep safe on our roads this Easter
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago
  • Cost of living support for over 1.4 million Kiwis
    About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago
  • Tenancy reviews for social housing restart
    Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago
  • Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary plan halted
    The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago
  • Cutting all that dam red tape
    Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track.  “Dam safety regulations ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago
  • Drought support extended to parts of North Island
    The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago
  • Passage of major tax bill welcomed
    The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis.  “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Lifting economy through science, tertiary sectors
    Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government announces Budget priorities
    The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says.  The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government to consider accommodation solution
    The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government approves extension to Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care
    Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says.                                         “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • $18m boost for Kiwis travelling to health treatment
    The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says.   “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • PM’s Prizes for Space to showcase sector’s talent
    The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Concerns conveyed to China over cyber activity
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government.     “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry
    Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function.  The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Brynderwyns open for Easter
    State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Speech to the Infrastructure Funding & Financing Conference
    Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Parliamentary network breached by the PRC
    New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • NZ to provide support for Solomon Islands election
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • NZ-EU FTA gains Royal Assent for 1 May entry to force
    The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union.    “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • COVID-19 inquiry attracts 11,000 submissions
    Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says.  “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Families to receive up to $75 a week help with ECE fees
    Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Unlocking a sustainable, low-emissions future
    A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.  “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Chief of Army thanked for his service
    Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders
    25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Government commits nearly $3 million for period products in schools
    Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Speech – Making it easier to build.
    Good morning, it’s great to be here.   First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning.  I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Pacific youth to shine from boost to Polyfest
    Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • 2024 Ngarimu VC and 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial Scholarships announced
    ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to Breast Cancer Foundation – Insights Conference
    Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Kiwi research soars to International Space Station
    New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Speech to the New Zealand Planning Institute
    Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Support for Northland emergency response centre
    The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed.  “Northland has faced a number ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Celebrating 20 years of Whakaata Māori
    New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Some commercial fishery catch limits increased
    Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-28T13:58:43+00:00