Key’s record on Te Wānanga o Aotearoa

• Steve Pierson
• 16 years ago
• Categories: education, election 2008, john key, slippery
• Tags: education, election 2008, john key, slippery

The Herald is really doing its best to help out National. Today it proclaims ‘Key’s wananga visit undoes Brash legacy‘. That nice Mr Key has undone all the harm caused by that nasty old Dr Brash, we’re meant to believe. But check the record. It wasn’t Brash who led the attack on Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, it was Key and Bill English. Here’s the transcript from the debate on the Wananga’s funding in 2005:

Hon BILL ENGLISH: Trevor Mallard feels very sensitive about this issue, because he was the Minister of Education for 6 years and in that time he oversaw the growth of the wānanga from fewer than 1,000 equivalent full-time students when National left office, to 35,000 at its peak. Trevor Mallard wrote out every cheque. He ticked off every Cabinet decision, every year. He was chief banker for the wānanga.

John Key: How much was involved?

Hon BILL ENGLISH: Over that 5-year period, I am guessing well over $600 million was paid to the wānanga by Dr Cullen and Trevor Mallard.

John Key: What a disgrace!

Hon BILL ENGLISH: It was a disgrace.

Yesterday, Key said National had always “been very supportive” of the Wananga but don’t think people have forgotten the truth. Despite the Herald’s best efforts we see that it’s John Key being slippery again. That’s the real disgrace.