Hekia Parata needs new lawyers

Written By: - Date published: 1:46 pm, October 10th, 2013 - 29 comments
Categories: education, Hekia parata, same old national, schools - Tags:

hekia parata wtf

Hekia Parata has been embarassed again by the High Court in Judicial Review proceedings.

Last year her plans to close Salisbury School in Nelson was declared to be unlawful.  Salisbury School was an all girls school whose students presented complex needs.  Parata thought that they could be safely integrated into Halswell School which had males with complex needs.

In that case Justice  Dobson said that the Government did not have the power to authorise the enrolment of pupils from Salisbury School at another school, Halswell School while it remains a single-sex boys’ school.  He also said the decision to close Salisbury School disregarded the greater risk of sexual or physical abuse the girls might face if they were enrolled at a co-educational residential special needs school.

How Parata seemed to think that the obvious risk could be adequately managed is beyond me.

The High Court has today declared another of her decisions to be illegal.  Her decision to close Phillipstown School has been overturned.  The families involved had complained that the consultation that had occurred was inadequate and Justice Fogarty has agreed.

The Herald reports

While the judge was certain the Education Ministry conducted consultation “in good faith”, it had failed to meet the requirements of the Education Act.

He found that the importance of the cost of Phillipstown continuing on its site was “mistakenly played down” and that “for a miscellany of reasons, the financial information being relied upon by the Minister was not reasonably broken down and explained in a manner which would have enabled a critique”.

“These two failures of process led the Board to not make submissions on the costs, other than to complain about the inadequacy of information,” said Justice Fogarty.

“These failures of process mean that the Minister has not lawfully merged Phillipstown with Woolston.

So Parata obviously needs better advisers.  Either that or John Key needs a new Minister of Education.

29 comments on “Hekia Parata needs new lawyers ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. richard 1
    10 October 2013 at 2:24 pm

    So Parata obviously needs better advisers. Either that or John Key needs a new Minister of Education.

    Somehow I think Parata’s advisors have been brow-beaten into telling her exactly what she wants to hear. Unfortunately for Key, his MPs consist of fumblebums and dimwits who could do no better job than Parata.

  2. tc 2
    10 October 2013 at 2:30 pm

    Cue the creation of another more flexible and relaxed high court, maybe a charter school can produce it’s judges.

  3. tinfoilhat 3
    10 October 2013 at 2:46 pm

    In a long line of poor Ministers of Education she does tend to stand out.

  4. Lanthanide 4
    10 October 2013 at 3:45 pm

    Parata needs a new brain.

    • Chooky 4.1
      10 October 2013 at 8:30 pm

      re Parata and closing of Phillipstown state primary school

      *……Reasons for closure seem spurious, unfathomable and cooked ..at least to the School Principal interviewed on National Radio…which makes one wonder

      *….Did Nact plan to replace this state school community with Nact’s own special Charter School imposition?…ie usurp the buildings for a Charter School?….Was this the hidden agenda for the illegitimate closure?

      Two different rationales used by Key and Nact:

      .1).. small state schools( which are incidentally by all the measures doing very well and wanted by their communities) should be closed ….so they can be amalgamated with bigger schools for a better education with more opportunities

      2)….while on the other hand Charter Schools and Private schools are ‘special’ because they are small, have fewer students, more attention from teachers and special provisions …and therefore greater learning opportunities

      Who is trying to fool who?…Keys’ and Banks’ Nact…. ‘Mickey Mouse’ Education System…..and Parata’s ‘Mini-Me Mouse’ administration

    • Hanswurst 4.2
      11 October 2013 at 8:01 am

      Preferably not too much smaller than that of a horse this time.

  5. risildowgtn 5
    10 October 2013 at 4:03 pm

    So pleased to see this.
    Wonder how she’s feeling being such a loser

  6. Tracey 6
    10 October 2013 at 5:59 pm

    This is what happens when ideology trumps the law… something which will be national’s legacy

  7. BLiP 7
    10 October 2013 at 7:22 pm

    ‘

    Hang on a sec . . . isn’t that nice Mr John Key, you know, the financial whizz kid who’s ambitious for New Zealand, supposed to be on our side? He, more than anyone in National Ltd™, knows the value of an accurate spreadsheet but, when it came time to share the data with the owners NZ Inc. regarding a significant item, his “executive” in charge of that operation was so lax as to have actually broken the law, the same “executive” who broke a the law earlier trying to do the same sort of thing, the same “executive” who’s Ministry was investigated by the Ombudsman after being found to be acting wrongly in its handling of requests for official information about school closures, the same “executive” who’s putting in place strategies for “improving learning outcomes through professional leadership” . . . and she still has a job? Heck.

  8. Sable 8
    10 October 2013 at 8:07 pm

    Keys has intentionally surrounded himself with weak, often incompetent ministers, as they wont challenge him for the PM’s role. The hallmark of a poor leader.

    • miravox 8.1
      10 October 2013 at 8:17 pm

      I do agree, but but at the same time I don’t think he had much choice.

      • Crunchtime 8.1.1
        11 October 2013 at 11:32 am

        True – no other NZ political party would have him (except for perhaps ACT, and no chance of being Johnoptimus Prime if you’re leader of ACT now is there).

    • georgecom 8.2
      11 October 2013 at 12:00 pm

      Parata was supposed to be one of the great hopes for National, to be set on the fast track for promotion. If one of the ‘brighest and best’ is showing herself to be ‘weak and incompetent’, this doesn’t say much for the talent pool below.

  9. Tracey 9
    10 October 2013 at 8:56 pm

    it can be hard to look good ramming through ideological ideas which are flawed and illegal… makes you wonder about other bullying of those who cant afford the cost JR…

  10. BrucetheMoose 10
    10 October 2013 at 8:56 pm

    About six months ago, I remember the Minister of Spying ‘n’ Lying on News Talk ZB talking about how we live in a democracy (gee, thanks for the reminder) and due to this fact, how anybody can go to the high court and challenge any government’s decision if they felt they had been dealt an injustice. Well Johnny, looks like yet another faction of the Christchurch community who felt they had been genuinely disadvantaged by your government’s poor management decisions has taken your words on board. Thanks for the advice. Cheers Johnny.

  11. CnrJoe 11
    10 October 2013 at 9:17 pm

    once again – Heckled Pariah

  12. peterlepaysan 12
    10 October 2013 at 10:30 pm

    Not sure who advises Parata (as if she would listen). I thought they had resigned or been sacked.
    Suspect advice comes from pillow talk, a notoriously dangerous forum for debate.

  13. Gruntie 13
    11 October 2013 at 7:08 am

    Shonkey says “his government faces lots of court challenges all the time and wins most of them, a few go against us”- time for a Fact Check I reckon

    • miravox 13.1
      11 October 2013 at 7:47 am

      “a few go against us”-“

      And the ones that go against them – they legislate away…. hello family carers.

  14. Tracey 14
    11 October 2013 at 8:42 am

    Bruce the moose. If he did say that then he should resign because he patently has no knowledge of our constitution. We have the judiciary to ensure parliament doesnt act beyond its authority which is not unfettered. This is called natural justice. A pm lacking this knowledge and support of this concept should stand down.

  15. captain hook 15
    11 October 2013 at 11:34 am

    Heka Paratai is a perfect example of a tory noo noo head who never learned to read and used to getting her own way because she has got money from somwewhere.
    Facile and useless and a bully to boot.
    She thinks her own thoughts are facts and throws a tantrum when anyone disputes her infantile pronouncements. She makes me wanna barfffff.

  16. bad12 16
    11 October 2013 at 11:45 am

    A just caught piece of news via RadioNZ National this morning indicated that Hekia is now shoving the proverbial pile of s**t uphill,

    Apparently census figures show that this National Governments view of population with regards to the numbers in the area needing schooling are way out of line with actual census data,

    Another brick gets a kick and the shoddy plaster holding up the foundations of this National Government crumbles a little more…

  17. georgecom 17
    11 October 2013 at 12:15 pm

    A clip on TV news last night, when asked if he was backing Parata, Key replied something along the lines of:

    ooooooohhhhh
    slurred words
    Look I, *moisten dry mouth*
    ab, ab, have absolute confidence in Hekia

    He had a ‘Tranzrail eyes’ look to him as well.

    • Anne 17.1
      11 October 2013 at 1:38 pm

      He had a ‘Tranzrail eyes’ look to him as well.

      He did too! They seem to become more prominent but at the same time beady looking. And dead. I guess it’s because he has to concentrate more when he’s lying.

      • peterlepaysan 17.1.1
        11 October 2013 at 8:09 pm

        Or trying to remember the script he was given.

        Key is an American puppet.

        He lives in Hawaii and still thinks he working on Wall Street.

      • georgecom 17.1.2
        11 October 2013 at 9:47 pm

        Yes, his eyes remind me of those on a dead fish.

        heres the video of the tranzrail eyes