The policy aiming for rewarding “quality” teachers is driven by the neoliberal ideology of competitive individualism. This incorporates a distorted understanding of human endeavour that fails to appreciate the importance of collaboration in successful endeavours, including teaching.
<blockquote.Performance pay for teachers will be developed by the Government, with secondary principals told by Education Minister Hekia Parata to start "sorting the wheat from the chaff".
…
"If a teacher can make a difference and raise the achievement levels regardless of where they sit academically, then they ought to be rewarded for it."
New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) president Ian Leckie said performance pay had been shown internationally to make no positive difference to academic achievement.
"Rewarding teachers differently creates too much high stakes stuff that actually stops collaboration, stops people working together and that is counter-productive to trying to make a better education system doing more for more kids," he said. He suggested the measure would be tough to implement without the support of unions.
And education in NZ is generally very successful, it’s the long tail of low achievers that is the problem and where any new policies should be targetted. Classes of high achievers need a different approach to teaching than for classes of low achievers. A teacher who teaches a class of high academic achievers is likely to make no difference to a class of low achievers unless they are able to change or adapt their approach and work collaboratively with others.
A lot of successful learning depends on a whole school approach. A successful teacher, working collaboratively, can help raise the outcome for all classes, students and teachers.
And they have experinece in the design of contraversal education implimentation.
Thaey got Nat Stds to work well, so they shouldnt have to much problem with performance pay.
I remember asking roger sowey when the nats were pushing a competitive model for schools if he believed that inservice training was important. Yes of courrse it is he replied. I then asked why would schools help ther next door school by helping their teachers improove.
Whilst there is much disagreement regarding incentivising pay for teachers, I notice here as with both the MOE & unions there is still the case of unequal pay for teachers performing the same skilled, learning experiences for their students. That is why does the likes of NZEI/Labour Party (when in govt, and who is funded by the union) support in paying degreee teachers $1k per month more than those with diplomas ? Is it not a union catch cry “A fair days pay for a fair days work” ?
Disagree Herodotus- If you look at the Finnish model, teachers have masters degrees and decent wages. I would far rather see teachers rewarded for their qualification level rather than allowing diploma level teachers the opportunity to hike their pay packets based on “performance”…
Teachers are highly respected and appreciated in Finland, partly because all teachers need a master’s degree to qualify for a permanent job… Finland improved its public education system not by privatizing its schools or constantly testing its students, but by strengthening the education profession and investing in teacher preparation and support.
While I agree about performance pay, high level qualifications and paying Teachers properly to attract the best.
It is academic arrogance to assume that trade qualifications are less useful than academic ones. New Zealand’s diploma level Teachers are some of the best. Adding life experience and 10 or more years of success, in a trade, to schools.
I strongly believe, that school teachers, and police, should have at least 10 years doing something else before they take up Teaching.
Which does mean higher pay for Teachers. To attract the successful from other occupations.
Having said that, we have much better Teachers than we deserve, given the working conditions we give them and the way we recruit, pay and train them.
I.ve seen burnt out Teachers, overwhelmed Teachers and Teachers who cannot handle discipline, but very few lazy Teachers.
Arguments over education always mystify me. I read the propaganda about bad teachers and ask myself if these people who slag off teachers actually went to school. Sure some teachers were better than others but how many of us had genuinely bad teachers? How many teachers did we have who kept an entire class enraptured & hanging off their every word? Did we get a bad education, could any of us really have done so much better if we had these ‘great’ teachers?
My memory of school is that some teachers suited me better than others but no single teacher suited everyone. Teachers that I liked others in my class hated & vice versa. Another memory is that some teachers were very good with the under achievers yet generally not so good with the high achievers, and vice versa again. Slower learners needed a different teaching style, not better teachers per se.
Paradoxically the irrational claims from the ‘we need better teachers’ mob does suggest that maybe we do need better teachers so we don’t keep getting these gits annoying us with their ideological bullshit.
Sure some teachers were better than others but how many of us had genuinely bad teachers?
When I look back, I can honestly say that all of the teachers I had were either brilliant, or very good! Primary, intermediate and High school, all were either adequate, good or in some cases, awesomely good! My son, in the 90s and later, had two awful teachers, but the rest ranged from adequate to awesome! In his case and mine, two or three stand out as wonderful…
In an extension of that article today Waikato Times Parata was quoted as justify increased class sizes “I went through primary in a class of 42, Ms Parata says”.
So back in the 1960s or 1970s Parata experienced class sizes of 42 huh? Justifies it being done now.
I wonder where many of the other students in Paratas class of 42 ended up?
I wonder how many left school with no qualifications?
I wonde rhow many managed to walk into a job at 15 with no skills?
Maybe if Parata wants to use her class sizes as justification then we can get back some of the other measurements from that time:
50% failure to get school certificate
Unemployment rate around 1%
Wages probably around $10 per week – (wonder if Parata will be the first the volunteers to work for that sort of money?)
To state the figure she did from a distant past, is she naive, a little dishonest or was she mis-quoted?
As for performance pay, maybe her and her Government would like to implement that on themselves first. Lets tag their pay to things like the unemployment rate, the number of people emigrating to Australia and maybe economic growth. I guess not, can’t see Parata et al agreeing to take that big a pay cut eh. Always seems to be something to apply to someone else, never to this group suggesting it.
In other words, rather than incentivise the individual teacher, incentivise the school. The education system is significantly failing Māori students, yet, we know there are programs ‘out there’ that have a great success rate for Māori students in terms of keeping them engaged with learning, and for that matter, with the education system towards high academic outcomes.
Schools that are savvy with how they engage with their Māori students, are those schools that should be incentivised to continue to innovate within their learning environments. Conceptually, I like the thought of Charter Schools, as a means to foster innovation in education.
Is it schools or parents the main cause of under achievement?
Is it schools or parents failing their children?
Don’t think it’s the schools that advise / give the children $$$ for lunch money to spend at the corner shop on loads of junk. (Schools include in their Health units, healthy eating programmes and dietary advice). Some parents might care to examine the shelves of their fridges. Take the trouble to make a nourishing lunch for their children.
Most parents deliver a well fed, well rested, well mannered, well nurtured child to the school gates, and the school is able to make a difference …
Good points, most of the failure starts preschool, it’s just that schools are expected to somehow repair and repackage society’s and families failures.
But it’s not just a problem with nutrition of the stomach, it’s also a problem with nutrition of the mind and of the soul.
Why are some schools better able to respond to the needs of their students more so than others, despite the lack emanating from the homes? It seems obvious to me that if some schools can improve on the learning outcomes of their Māori students, despite the decile nature of the surrounding environs, than other schools should be able to do the same.
Its a poor quality school that throws its hands up to simply say ‘it’s the parents fault why their children are failing us’ yet still operate on the basis (and receive money for) that they are educating those tamariki and rangatahi. Fail.
Sorry Adele, but your children obviously have parents who are fully engaged in their education. Lucky them. On the other hand some parents are in denial and their spokespeople as well. You will know that schools are required to consult with their Maori community. They might be lucky and have a “Ra ra ra response, feel good meeting with lots of kai and then the parents become hard to find for another year…”
The parents have become engaged because the school has taken the time and considerable energy to involve the parents, and the way they have done so has made the difference. A decile rating generally indicates the level of resources available to the school in terms of parental involvement and capacity. That some schools can achieve remarkable results despite the resources lacking in their community speaks volumes about that school.
Judgement on the parents does little to foster the learning outcomes of their students. If the children come to school hungry than feed them rather than whine about the parents lack of parental skills. Its not for the school to make judgment on the parents but it is their job to teach children despite perceived limitations they present with.
My Aunt recently passed away at the Kohanga Reo hearings currently being held in Wellington. This woman was in her mid-sixties when she became one of the first kaiako (teachers) of the kohanga reo movement.
This movement was driven by the flax roots for the flax roots. This movement was started by old people, for the benefit of their mokopuna (grand-children). The parents learnt with the children and they became actively engaged through that process.
Kohanga Reo has recently celebrated its 25th year anniversary. It has bought around a fundamental shift in attitude for both students and their parents. Mainstream education, by contrast, is stuck in a educational rut of its own making.
“Judgement on the parents does little to foster the learning outcomes of their students. If the children come to school hungry than feed them rather than whine about the parents lack of parental skills. Its not for the school to make judgment on the parents but it is their job to teach children despite perceived limitations they present with.”
Yet it is acceptable for the head of Treasury to say that parents and children should be able to make judgements on teachers and their performance in the classroom and allow this to have a bearing on what the teacher is paid.
Charter schools would be fine and dandy if the corporates and god botherers (and the Brown Table) stayed the hell out of them, and they were used in niche situations, and not as a mean of imposing a winners-and-losers school system.
The kindergarten system is the model that I would base my charter schools are. Some how, I doubt that Banskie and his ACT mate will.
The brand new super Maori Secondary School in Bethlehem, Tauranga certainly fulfils the concept of a Charter School.
It has a Maori basic curriculum of its own.
Doesn’t this headline make you puke. If Brash had been elected, this policy would have been gone by lunchtime, and given Key’s attitude during the Iraq War (where are we, missing in action …) he doesn’t believe in it either.
If you think Key does not want rid of our status you are misstaken, he would love nothing more than to please his nuclear masters!
The IAEA is little more than a puppet joke, the whole article read as nothing more than , blah blah blah, Obama is a hero, blah IAEA, terrorist blah..John Key opportunity, blah blah
I can’t see the like of GE letting nuclear energy off the menu anytime soon…what event will it take for the NZ administration of thinking about changing our status, and what would it take for the public to accept a change of direction in our policy?
I haven’t seen any evidence of Key wanting to change our nuclear status – please link to something that supports your claims.
Maybe we should at least consider nuclear energy near our biggest populations, it may be less damaging than flooding the remaining natural rivers, or burning more oil.
It was an opinion Pete, and one which I apply to governments in general. Pressure to allow nuclear ships in our ports is well documented….
Nuclear issue thrums at heart of US-NZ diplomacy , TVNZ, December 21, 2010 The United States’ focus on New Zealand’s anti-nuclear stance and the Anzus split stands out in the screeds of diplomatic cables sent from the US Embassy in Wellington, and released by Wikileaks.
New Zealand adopted nuclear-free legislation in 1984 when David Lange’s Labour government swept into power – effectively blocking visits by US warships.
In a February 2006 cable then Ambassador Bill McCormick talks about the National Party being open to dropping the ban.
He said the anti-nuclear issue dominated a National Party caucus retreat and MP Murray McCully suggested the party drop its nuclear ban policy, which required a referendum before making changes……
Green MP Keith Locke yesterday said he was concerned by revelations in the Wikileaks cables that senior civil servants are pushing the US government’s agenda rather than acting in New Zealand’s interests.
“It is apparent from the documents that changes to our anti-terrorism laws over the last few years have been driven by the US government, with leading police and Foreign Affairs Ministry people willing partners in this process,” Locke said.
“Most disturbing is a report that our Defence Chief in 2006, Bruce Ferguson, seems to have complained to the Americans about our anti-nuclear policy being too inflexible. The head of the armed forces is supposed to be our most loyal citizen.
[lprent: not particularly well documented. Your quote appears to be from here, which in turn has no links supporting it. There is a reason that we frown on people putting in unlinked quotes or a description of where to find the data. Essentially without it, whatever you say can be complete crap, selectively rewritten, or just taken out of context. This quote for instance was hard to google because it appears to have been transcribed – in the process it lost whole words.
Link what you quote, damnit. Otherwise you’ll wind up getting dumped as a troll like many in the past. ]
Notice the content is no longer on the tvnz link, which could perhaps have been something I paid attention to….It seem when I pasted the text I did that the link above which was at the bottom of the copy, was left off….
Not into editing cut and pastes personally, and would rather have had the tvnz link been alive, but given that you have read the location of my cut and pastes you, will in this instanance know that I have not edited the text.
LOON ALERT! Our dear old friend Pete George has evidently been cogitating. Just look at what he has come up with…
Maybe we should at least consider nuclear energy near our biggest populations, it may be less damaging than flooding the remaining natural rivers, or burning more oil.
MEMO PETE GEORGE:
Given what we have all (including you) seen happening in Japan for the last year, your statement of faith in nuclear power makes you seem not only uninformed, but even more stupid than usual.
Why don’t you do some serious RESEARCH on the topic before commenting on this issue again?
I said “we should at least consider”, a point to discuss. Technology changes, relative safety changes.
I’m not a fan of nuclear. I traveled past nuclear stations in Switzerland and Greece a couple of years ago, discomforting and eerie. However a way of life for many people.
But I’m also not a fan of damming every last South Island river and blotting even more landscape with pylon lines stretching north from virtually one end of the island to the other.
I should say that there are of course many sites on which a fairly robust 1MW to 10MW scheme could be sited, but at that scale they are neither here nor there in terms of supplying power to major North Island cities.
Meanwhile the ex Justice Minister has an attack of forgetfulness and has become as accountability shy as the rest of his buddies:
Mr Power, now a banker, said yesterday he could not recall why he allowed the review of the act to be dropped. He had made a decision when he left politics last November not to comment about events that occurred while he was in Government.
THE SYSTEM WORKS – The Independent on Latin America and Hugo Chavez
An Understandable Mistake
Readers may recall our alert of May 8, 2006, ‘Lining Up The Next Victims’. We described how the Independent has been stoking up fear of “left populism” in Latin America. Despite many articulate and polite complaints to the paper from readers, the misinformation and smears continue. (See also our two-part alert, ‘Ridiculing Chavez’, May 16 and 18, 2006)
In particular, The Independent, together with its sister Sunday paper, has consistently maligned Hugo Chavez, the democratically elected leader of Venezuela. Chavez has been labelled a “firebrand leader” who is “virulently anti-American” and whose “attachment to democracy [has] a temporary and improvised feel” (Leader, June 6, 2006). He is a “demagogue” (Leader, May 14, 2006) who wields a “brand of aggressive socialism” (May 14, 2006); a “high priest of political theatre” (May 13, 2006); “the new mouthpiece of the anti-American fervour” and a “divisive force in Latin America” (June 6, 2006). The Independent even resorted to quoting Chavez’s psychiatrist: “Chavez’s character is unpredictable and disconcerting – He is a dreamer of impossible dreams.” (May 13, 2006)
A recent Independent news article by reporter Jude Webber continued the same trend. Webber described Chavez as an “authoritarian… his pockets full of the bonanza of booming oil prices”, someone who “has close ties” with undesirables such as “Cuba and now Bolivia”. Bolivia’s leader, President Evo Morales, is clearly of the same dangerous persuasion as the Venezuelan leader, having “recently nationalised gas fields in a move widely seen as inspired by his northern mentor”. (Webber, ‘Garcia claims Peru win spells end of regional takeover by Chavez’, The Independent, June 6, 2006)
That is not much comfort:
“……. Bradley Ambrose and the fallout led to police raiding media offices for information.
………..Newstalk ZB political editor Barry Soper understands the police have decided it would not be in the public interest to press charges.”
Not in the Public Interest??? That is a long way from saying Innocent! http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10794181
A street thug that claimed a prison sentence was a bit harsh for starting an altercation and continuing to bludgeon an unconcious victim on the ground has been given a further reality check by the court of appeal.
Totally agree. Too many people labour under the mistaken belief that fights are two willing participants. Most are in reality a bullying thug picking on someone they’re sure they can beat, and those thugs need serious jail time.
Just for once PG I can totally agree with you here.
And it’s one thing to get a bit bruised and bloodied… but the moment you have someone on the ground and you start kicking them in the head then you are trying to kill them. That should be an automatic attempted murder charge with a minimum 5 year sentence.
Queensland state election today, with Labor due to get the boot. As per usual when the left wing party tries to be ‘just like’ the right wing party, eventually the voters put the right wing party in. In Bligh’s party’s case, they flogged of the power grid and the railways.
With the announcement of the week being the governments local government reforms, I thought I would share my letter to the editor about the huge debates about council spending in my area:
Sir,
There has been much discussion by various commentators about the level of council expenditure and its consequence on rates. As is the usual case, there is never any suggestions about what services should be cut in order to keep rates down, neither from Mr Bouwers, Mr Brown, or those on the council who wish to pander to their rhetoric.
Pukekura Park has been a jewel in the city’s crown for over 100 years, enjoyed by young and old alike, with its glistening water features, exotic fernery and bush that you can get lost in, would funding for that get cut? Or to the other city parks, reserves and playgrounds that are avalible for all people to enjoy, whether it be a day picnicking in the sun, or getting fit and healthy? Or what about the public libararies, which provide an important social service to the public – one of ensuring literature is avalible to all, or just a safe place to go and curl up with a book, and forget about the world?
Are they seeking to sell the pensioner flats, and lend an uncertain future to the tenants who would simply not be in a position to rent in the private sector? Or the public halls which are utilised by so many community groups? And what about the public toilets, that provide relief for those who are out and about?
It is community assets like these that make a city what it is as much as anything else. They may be expensive baubles to some people, but they are vital to the well-being of this community, and deliver benefits far greater than those that can be recorded on a balance sheet, and are open to all from the very poor to the very rich, bringing people together, not pulling them apart.
By all means, the council should be looking at its expenditure, and cutting projects and spending where appropriate, but there are things that we as a city would be worse off without, and I think that those who scream for cuts in council spending need to consider that.
Mr Brown = Gordon Brown, one time councillor and right wing grumpy columnist
Mr Houwers = local right winger who wants to start his own Tea Party movement.
I’m calling for NZ Prime Minster John Key to RESIGN over his arguably corrupt ‘conflict of interest’ involving Australian open-cast coal mining company Bathurst Resources Ltd.
Just thrown this political ‘grenade’ into ‘General Debate’ on Kiwiblog……
FYI.
“How many Kiwibloggers agree that if it’s good enough for former National Party Minister Nick Smith to have to resign over his ‘perceived’ conflict of interest as former ACC Minister, that Prime Minister John Key should equally have to resign over an arguably far worse conflict of interest involving opencast coal minng company – Bathurst Resources Ltd?
Bathurst Resources Ltd, at whose Wellington office opening. NZ Prime Minister John Key ‘officiated’?
To whom is the NZ Prime Minister (and Leader of the NZ National Party) accountable for his arguably corrupt ‘conflict of interest’?
………
When it comes to corrupt ‘conflicts of interests’ – what’s your view (Mathew Hooton) on NZ Prime Minister John Key’s ‘perceived’ pecuniary interest in open-cast coal mining on the conservation estate – given that he is a shareholder in the Bank of America, and the Bank of America is a significant shareholder in Bathurst Resources Ltd?
(As of 24 February 2012, the Bank of America was a substantial holder of shares in Bathurst Resources Ltd:
If Nick Smith was forced to resign over his ACC ‘conflict of interest’ – why should John Key not have to resign over an arguably FAR more serious CORRUPT (?) ‘conflict of interest’?
I agree John Key should resign. I believe he’s certainly more concerned with furthering the interests of business and the 1% than the common well being of all kiwis. He’s also indirectly invested in Bathhurst through BOA. Not least everyone knows neoliberalism is totally discredited ideology which merely makes the rich richer yet, yet he persists on selling of our assets. What NZ needs is a very large redistribution of wealth and income downwards and a reversal of previous tax cuts then overnight we won’t have a deficit or have to throw more money away paying bankers back loans with interest on them.
When the United States had that regime (Minimal inequality and high tax rates) post WW11 it was the most dynamic optimistic powerhouse of a nation in the World but now the U$$$ is a juiceless shell the 1% have sucked most of it up, now they have it they’re not about to share! In fact they want the poor to pay more to make them even richer!
“All told, Ryan hands out about $4.4 trillion in tax cuts that primarily benefit the very best off, and pays for it with $4.15 trillion in spending cuts to programs that primarily benefit the poor and middle class.”
Keep up the good work Penny unlike the fat guys in Parliament you don’t get a bean for your efforts, I know that’s tough.
Conflict of interest, John Key has a conflict of interest with the Bathurst mining company
because he has shares in the bank of america,the bank that bank rolls this company,
the key govt gave this company the ok to mine on sensitive nz land.
Interestingly the ceo of Deloitte Dutch arm just resigned because of ‘confilict of interest’
effective immediatley.
Deloitte is one of the company’s that key has a preference for in our asset sales along
with goldman sachs.
The upshot here is that ‘conflict of interest’ is taken very seriously elsewhere,why
not here in nz, nz watches the culprates run for cover.
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Buzz from the Beehive The promise of tax relief loomed large in his considerations when the PM delivered a pre-Budget speech to the Auckland Business Chamber. The job back in Wellington is getting government spending back under control, he said, bandying figures which show that in per capita terms, the ...
Yesterday de facto Prime Minister David Seymour announced that his glove puppet government would be re-introducing charter schools, throwing $150 million at his pet quacks, donors and cronies and introducing an entire new government agency to oversee them (the existing Education Review Office, which actually knows how to review schools, ...
Seeing that, in order to discredit the figures and achieve moral superiority while attempting to deflect attention away from the military assault on Rafa, Israel supporters in NZ have seized on reports that casualty numbers in Gaza may be inflated … Continue reading → ...
David Farrar writes – Newstalk ZB report: The man responsible for a horror hit and run in central Wellington last year was on a suspended licence and was so drunk he later asked police, “Did I kill someone?” Jason Tuitama injured two women when he ran a red ...
Muriel Newman writes – Former US President Ronald Reagan once said, “Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation.” The fight for ...
Why Courts should have said Waitangi Tribunal could not summons Karen Chhour Gary Judd writes – In the High Court, Justice Isacs declined to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal to compel Minister for Children, Karen Chhour, to appear before it to be ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The number of voices raising concerns about the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill is rapidly growing. This is especially apparent now that Parliament’s select committee is listening to submissions from the public to evaluate the proposed legislation. Twenty-seven thousand submissions have been made to Parliament ...
An average of 166 New Zealand citizens left the country every day during the March quarter, up 54% from a year ago.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The economy and housing market is sinking into a longer recession through the winter after a slump in business and consumer confidence in ...
The government has made it abundantly clear they’re addicted to the smell of new asphalt. On Tuesday they introduced a new term to the country’s roading lexicon, the Roads of Regional Significance (RoRS), a little brother for the Roads of National (Party) Significance (RoNS). Driving ahead with Roads of Regional ...
School is outAnd I walk the empty hallwaysI walk aloneAlone as alwaysThere's so many lucky penniesLying on the floorBut where the hell are all the lucky peopleI can't see them any moreYesterday morning, I’d just sent out my newsletter on Tama Potaka, and I was struggling to make the coffee. ...
Hi,I wanted to check in and ask how you’re doing.This is perhaps a selfish act, of attempting to find others feeling a similar way to me — that is to say, a little hopeless at the moment.Misery loves company, that sort of deal.Some context.I wish I could say I got ...
I have hitherto been fairly quiet on the new season of Rings of Power, on the basis that the underwhelming first season did not exactly build excitement – and the rumours were fairly daft. The only real thing of substance to come out has been that they have re-cast Adar ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
“The thing is,” Chris Luxon says, leaning forward to make his point, “this has always been my thing.”“This goes all the way back to the first multinational I worked for. I was saying exactly the same thing back then. The name of our business needs to be more clear; people ...
Buzz from the Beehive It’s been a momentous few days for Children’s Minister Karen Chhour. The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court decision which blocked a summons order from the Waitangi Tribunal for her. And today she has announced the Government is putting children first by introducing to ...
In 2014 former Australian army lawyer David McBride leaked classified military documents about Australian war crimes to the ABC. Dubbed "The Afghan Files", the documents led to an explosive report on Australian war crimes, the disbanding of an entire SAS unit, and multiple ongoing prosecutions. The journalist who wrote the ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – According to the respected Pew Research Centre, “In seven of eight [European] countries surveyed, the most trusted news outlet asked about is the public news organization in each country”. For example, “in Sweden, an overwhelming majority (90%) say they trust the public broadcaster SVT”. ...
David Farrar writes – Kata MacNamara reports: Details of Tony Blakely’s involvement in the New Zealand Government’s response to the pandemic raise serious questions about the work of the Covid-19 Royal Commission of Inquiry over which he presides. It has long been clear that Blakely, a ...
Chris Trotter writes – Are you a Brahmin or a Merchant? Or, are you merely one of those whose lives are profoundly influenced by the decisions of Brahmins and Merchants? Those are the questions that are currently shaping the politics of New Zealand and the entire West. ...
RNZ reports – It’s supposed to be a haven of healing and spiritual awakening but residents of the Kawai Purapura community say they’ve been hurt and deceived. It’s the successor to the former Centrepoint commune, and has been on the bush block opposite Albany shopping centre since 2008. It ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. Usually we have a video chat to go with this wrap, but were unable to do one this week. We’ll be back next week.Several reports ...
The Transport Minister has set a hard 'fiscal envelope' of $6.54 billion for transport capital spending. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The economy is settling into a state of suspended animation as the Government’s funding freezes and job cuts chill confidence and combine with stubbornly high interest rates to ...
To be precise, the term “anti- Zionism” refers to (a) criticism of the political movement that created a modern Jewish state on the historical land of Israel, and to (b)the subjugation of Palestinians by the Israeli state. By contrast, the term “anti-Semitism” means bigotry and racism directed at Jewish people, ...
This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Because hurricanes are one of the big-ticket weather disasters that humanity has to face, climate misinformers spend a lot of effort muddying the waters on whether climate change is making hurricanes more damaging. With the official start to the hurricane ...
Yesterday the Mayor released what he calls his “plan to save public transport” which is part of his final proposal for the Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP). This comes following consultation on the draft version that occurred in March which showed, once again, that people want more done on transport, especially ...
And it's a pleasure that I have knownAnd it's a treasure that I have gainedAotearoa’s coalition government is fragile. It’s held together by the obsequious sycophancy of Christopher Luxon, who willingly contorts his party into the fringe positions of his junior coalition partners and is unwilling to contradict them. The ...
The Select Committee hearing submissions on the fast-track consenting legislation is starting to become a beat-up of regional councils. The inflexibility and slow workings of the Councils were prominent in two submissions yesterday. One, from the Coromandel Marine Farmers Association, simply said that the Waikato Regional Council’s planning decisions were ...
Back in April, the High Court surprised everyone by ruling that Ministers are above the law, at least as far as the Waitangi Tribunal is concerned. The reason for this ruling was "comity" - the idea that the different branches of government shouldn't interfere with each other's functions. Which makes ...
Buzz from the BeehiveTolling was mentioned when Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced the government was re-introducing the Roads of National Significance (RoNS) programme, with 15 “crucial” projects to support economic growth and regional development across New Zealand. All RoNS would be four-laned, grade-separated highways, and all funding, financing, and ...
or the past 14 years, ever since the Spanish government cheated on an autonomy deal, Catalonia has reliably given pro-independence parties a majority of seats in their regional parliament. But now that seems to be over. Catalans went to the polls yesterday, and stripped the Catalan parties of their majority. ...
David Farrar writes – Radio NZ report: Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins said the Electoral Commission should make sure the system ran smoothly and “taking away the right of thousands of people to vote” was not the answer. “Thousands of people enroled and voted on the day. If ...
Don Brash writes – There was a rather revealing headline in the Herald on Sunday today (12 May). It read “One in 8 Auckland homes on market were bought during boom, may now sell for loss”. The first line of text noted that “New data shows one in ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – At a time when universities are understandably nervous regarding the establishment of the University Advisory Group (UAG) and the Science System Advisory Group (SSAG) it may seem strange – or even fool-hardy – to state that there are long-standing issues in the tertiary sector ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – A lack of perspective can make something quite large or important seem small or irrelevant. Against a backdrop of high-profile, negative statistics it is easy to overlook the positive. For instance, the fact that 64 percent of Maori are employed is rarely reported. For ...
Earlier this year, the Herald ran a series of articles amounting to a sustained campaign against raised pedestrian crossings, by reporter Bernard Orsman. A key part of that campaign concerned the raised crossings being installed as part of the Pt Chevalier to Westmere project, with at least 10 articles over ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 19 include:PM Christopher Luxon is expected to hold his weekly post-cabinet news conference at 4:00pm on Monday.Parliament is not sitting this week. It resumes next week for a two-week sitting session up to and ...
Hi,Thanks to all the beautiful Worms who came to the LA Webworm popup on Saturday.It was a way to celebrate the online store we launched last week — and it was super special.As I talk about a lot, I really value our community here — and it was a BLAST ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, May 5, 2024 thru Sat, May 11, 2024. (Unfortunate) Story of the week "Grief that stops at despair is an ending that I and many others, most notably ...
Last night the largest solar storm in decades resulted in Aurorae being seen across Aotearoa, causing many to ask why?Why was the sky pink? What was all this stuff about the power grid? Have we, as so many have wondered since the election, reached the end of days?I had a ...
We have been on the road in England, squeezing down narrow lanes, flying up the M6, loving hedgerows and villages and cathedrals, liking the 21st century less.There have been moments when it’s felt like a movie trope. The pub in Exford, lovely seventeenth century bar, almost more dogs than people, ...
The Government’s introduction of legislation that would enable landlords to end tenancies with no reason marks a dark day for the 1.4 million people who rent their home in Aotearoa. ...
The Minister for Mental Health has found the Suicide Prevention Office and mental health support for 111 calls slipping through his fingers, says Labour spokesperson for Mental Health Ingrid Leary. ...
Today’s justification from the Minister for Children for scrapping protections for our tamariki was either a case of ignorance or deliberate deception. ...
The Green Party says the Government’s misguided policy on gangs will fail, following the announcement of the establishment of a national gang unit and district gang disruption units to target gang activities. ...
“With Police pay negotiations still unresolved after six months in Government, Mark Mitchell has today rolled the Commissioner out for a rebrand of their approach to gang crime,” Labour police spokesperson Ginny Andersen said. ...
The Government bringing back 50 charter schools will not increase achievement and is a distraction from the core mission of the education system, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Te Pāti Māori is showing extreme concern over the Environment Select Committees adoption of a lucky dip draw to determine hearings for the Fast Track Approvals bill. Of the 27,000 submissions, 2,900 requested to present. All organisations will be heard; however, the remaining 2,350 submitters will be subject to a ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins has announced the appointment of three new District Court Judges, to replace Judges who have recently retired. Peter James Davey of Auckland has been appointed a District Court Judge with a jury jurisdiction to be based at Whangarei. Mr Davey initially started work as a law clerk/solicitor with ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour is calling on the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) to put ideology to the side and focus on students’ learning, in reaction to the union holding paid teacher meetings across New Zealand about charter schools. “The PPTA is disrupting schools up and down the ...
Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly today announced the appointment of Craig Stobo as the new chair of the Financial Markets Authority (FMA). Mr Stobo takes over from Mark Todd, whose term expired at the end of April. Mr Stobo’s appointment is for a five-year term. “The FMA plays ...
Surf Life Saving New Zealand and Coastguard New Zealand will continue to be able to keep people safe in, on, and around the water following a funding boost of $63.644 million over four years, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey say. “Heading to the beach for ...
New Zealand and Tuvalu have reaffirmed their close relationship, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand is committed to working with Tuvalu on a shared vision of resilience, prosperity and security, in close concert with Australia,” says Mr Peters, who last visited Tuvalu in 2019. “It is my pleasure ...
New Zealand is gravely concerned about the situation in New Caledonia, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The escalating situation and violent protests in Nouméa are of serious concern across the Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “The immediate priority must be for all sides to take steps to de-escalate the ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon met today with Samoa’s O le Ao o le Malo, Afioga Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II, who is making a State Visit to New Zealand. “His Highness and I reflected on our two countries’ extensive community links, with Samoan–New Zealanders contributing to all areas of our national ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has announced that he has approved Waiheke Island ferry operator Island Direct to be eligible for SuperGold Card funding, paving the way for a commercial agreement to bring the operator into the scheme. “Island Direct started operating in November 2023, offering an additional option for people ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters today announced further sanctions on 28 individuals and 14 entities providing military and strategic support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Russia is directly supported by its military-industrial complex in its illegal aggression against Ukraine, attacking its sovereignty and territorial integrity. New Zealand condemns all entities and ...
A year on from the tragedy at Loafers Lodge, the Government is working hard to improve building fire safety, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “I want to share my sincere condolences with the families and friends of the victims on the anniversary of the tragic fire at Loafers ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you so much for having me here in the lead up to my Government’s first Budget. Before I get started can I acknowledge: Simon Bridges – Auckland Business Chamber CEO. Steve Jurkovich – Kiwibank CEO. Kids born ...
New Zealand and Vanuatu will enhance collaboration on issues of mutual interest, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “It is important to return to Port Vila this week with a broad, high-level political delegation which demonstrates our deep commitment to New Zealand’s relationship with Vanuatu,” Mr Peters says. “This ...
Minister for Land Information, Chris Penk will travel to Peru this week to represent New Zealand at a meeting of trade ministers from the Asia-Pacific region on behalf of Trade Minister Todd McClay. The annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade meeting will be held on 17-18 May ...
Minister of Education Erica Stanford will head to the United Kingdom this week to participate in the 22nd Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM) and the 2024 Education World Forum (EWF). “I am looking forward to sharing this Government’s education priorities, such as introducing a knowledge-rich curriculum, implementing an evidence-based ...
Minister of Education Erica Stanford has today thanked outgoing New Zealand Qualifications Authority Chair, Hon Tracey Martin. “Tracey Martin tendered her resignation late last month in order to take up a new role,” Ms Stanford says. Ms Martin will relinquish the role of Chair on 10 May and current Deputy ...
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and President Emmanuel Macron of France today announced a new non-governmental organisation, the Christchurch Call Foundation, to coordinate the Christchurch Call’s work to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. This change gives effect to the outcomes of the November 2023 Call Leaders’ Summit, ...
Distinguished public servant and former diplomat Sir Maarten Wevers will lead the independent review into the disability support services administered by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. The review was announced by Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston a fortnight ago to examine what could be done to strengthen the ...
Today’s announcement by Police Commissioner Andrew Coster of a National Gang Unit and district Gang Disruption Units will help deliver on the coalition Government’s pledge to restore law and order and crack down on criminal gangs, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. “The National Gang Unit and Gang Disruption Units will ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today expressed regret at North Korea’s aggressive rhetoric towards New Zealand and its international partners. “New Zealand proudly stands with the international community in upholding the rules-based order through its monitoring and surveillance deployments, which it has been regularly doing alongside partners since 2018,” Mr ...
Air Vice-Marshal Tony Davies MNZM is the new Chief of Defence Force, Defence Minister Judith Collins announced today. The Chief of Defence Force commands the Navy, Army and Air Force and is the principal military advisor to the Defence Minister and other Ministers with relevant portfolio responsibilities in the defence ...
Legislation to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act has been introduced to Parliament. The Bill’s introduction reaffirms the Coalition Government’s commitment to the safety of children in care, says Minister for Children, Karen Chhour. “While section 7AA was introduced with good intentions, it creates a conflict for Oranga ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins will this week travel to the UK and Italy to meet with her defence counterparts, and to attend Battles of Cassino commemorations. “I am humbled to be able to represent the New Zealand Government in Italy at the commemorations for the 80th anniversary of what was ...
The upcoming Budget will include funding for up to 50 charter schools to help lift declining educational performance, Associate Education Minister David Seymour announced today. $153 million in new funding will be provided over four years to establish and operate up to 15 new charter schools and convert 35 state ...
“The results of the public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has now been received, with results indicating over 13,000 submissions were made from members of the public,” Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “We heard feedback about the extended lockdowns in ...
Foreign Minister, Defence Minister, other Members of Parliament Acting Chief of Defence Force, Secretary of Defence Distinguished Guests Defence and Diplomatic Colleagues Ladies and Gentlemen, Good afternoon, tēna koutou, apinun tru It’s a pleasure to be back in Port Moresby today, and to speak here at the Kumul Leadership ...
Health, infrastructure, renewable energy, and stability are among the themes of the current visit to Papua New Guinea by a New Zealand political delegation, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Papua New Guinea carries serious weight in the Pacific, and New Zealand deeply values our relationship with it,” Mr Peters ...
The coalition Government is launching Roads of Regional Significance to sit alongside Roads of National Significance as part of its plan to deliver priority roading projects across the country, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The Roads of National Significance (RoNS) built by the previous National Government are some of New Zealand’s ...
A high-level New Zealand political delegation in Honiara today congratulated the new Government of Solomon Islands, led by Jeremiah Manele, on taking office. “We are privileged to meet the new Prime Minister and members of his Cabinet during his government’s first ten days in office,” Deputy Prime Minister and ...
New Zealand voted in favour of a resolution broadening Palestine’s participation at the United Nations General Assembly overnight, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The resolution enhances the rights of Palestine to participate in the work of the UN General Assembly while stopping short of admitting Palestine as a full ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marnee Shay, Associate Professor, Principal Research Fellow, The University of Queensland The 2024 federal budget contains A$110 million for Indigenous education. This includes funding for various different organisations to represent and help Indigenous people as well as scholarships in a bid to ...
Air New Zealand has confirmed Nouméa’s Tontouta International airport in New Caledonia is closed until Tuesday. The airline earlier told RNZ it would update customers as soon as it could. Earlier today, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters told RNZ Morning Report government officials had been working on an “hourly basis” ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Grant Linley, PhD Candidate in Ecology, Charles Sturt University Grant Linley Australia’s unprecedented Black Summer bushfires in 2019–20 created ideal conditions for misinformation to spread, from the insidious to the absurd. It was within this context that a bizarre story ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marcel Scharth, Lecturer in Business Analytics, University of Sydney OpenAI executive Mira Murati launching GPT-4o.OpenAI Earlier this week OpenAI launched GPT-4o (“o” for “omni”), a new version of the artificial intelligence (AI) system powering the popular ChatGPT chatbot. GPT-4o is promoted ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Treasure McGuire, Assistant Director of Pharmacy, Mater Health SEQ in conjoint appointment as Associate Professor of Pharmacology, Bond University and as Associate Professor (Clinical), The University of Queensland Speedkingz/Shutterstock Menopause is a natural biological process that marks the end of a ...
A new poem by Hannah Patterson. Xiāng There’s a pear tree in our backyard And Xiāng tells me She can’t eat them anymore Not after some things that have happened in her life. She tells me, in Mandarin The word for pear sounds the same as the word for disassociation ...
‘Cycling Works’ aims to show business support for citywide cycle infrastructure. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, supermarket giant Foodstuffs lost its attempt to block the construction of a cycle lane outside Thorndon New World in Wellington. The Spinoff’s Wellington editor ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Slow Productivity by Cal Newport (Penguin, $40)Taking out the top spot in Auckland this ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Lowe, Emeritus Professor, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University For decades, Australia has exported uranium – but not used it, other than in the Lucas Heights research reactor. But change is coming. We now face a rapidly deepening commitment to ...
"In future I should walk away," Green MP Julie Anne Genter says after complaints over an exchange in Parliament and from two members of the public. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Graffam, PhD Candidate in Theatre, Monash University Gianna Rizzo/Malthouse Music pumps; lights pulsate; two sweaty bodies sway together, touching, breathing in each other’s scent. A male body framed by downlight restlessly shifts between stances and gestures. He undresses. The intensity ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sandra van der Laan, Professor of Accounting, University of Sydney Mtaya/Shutterstock At some point, you or someone else will need to make a decision about your “send-off”. Most Australians die in an institution, such as a hospital or aged care facility. ...
Asia Pacific Report Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai — who is also Chairman of the Melanesian Spearhead Group — has reaffirmed MSG’s support of the pro-independence umbrella group Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) stance opposing the French government’s constitutional bill “unfreezing” the New Caledonia Electoral Roll. It is ...
Producer Susan Leonard remembers her father Ernie, a pioneer of Māori television, and how his legacy lives on in Pathfinders.My father was a fabulous man. His name was Ernie Leonard and he started in TV in the 1970s when it was still glamorous – when TVNZ made behind the ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk, and Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist The suspected ringleaders of the unrest in New Caledonia have been placed in home detention and the social network TikTok has been banned as French security forces struggle to restore law and order. The French ...
Multi-year appropriations - which give the government authority to spend money without reapplying annually - are loosening Parliament's control of the public purse, auditor-general says. ...
Dr. Eric Chuah who stood for a centrist NZ political party in the October 2023 NZ Elections for Maungakiekie Auckland will stand as a candidate for Tauranga City Council Ward of Matua-=Otumoetai and Mayor of Tauranga. ...
If you can’t get to the comedy fest, let us bring the comedy fest to you. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. The New Zealand International Comedy Festival is in full swing at the moment, with a veritable smorgasboard of comedy treats ...
A new poll commissioned by Unions Wellington shows an overwhelming majority of Wellingtonians oppose the Council’s plan to sell the 34% public stake in Wellington Airport. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Aruna Sathanapally, Chief Executive, Grattan Institute, Grattan Institute A central focus of this week’s budget is the treasury’s forecast for inflation. By this time next year, inflation is projected to be back within the Reserve Bank’s 2-3% target range. Inflation has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yolanda van Heezik, Professor of Ecology, University of Otago Getty Images Cities across Aotearoa New Zealand are trying to solve a housing crisis, with increasing residential density a key solution. But not everyone is happy about the resulting loss of natural ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Reeve, Deputy Program Director, Energy and Climate Change, Grattan Institute WDG Photo/Shutterstock For years, the electricity sector has been the poster child for emissions cuts in Australia. The sector achieved a stunning 26% drop in emissions over the past 15 ...
It’s often the last thing people want to do, but asking someone if they’re having suicidal thoughts is a critical first step to helping them. Content warning: this story discusses suicide and suicidal ideation. For a list of resources that can help if you or someone you know is feeling ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy J. Ralph, Associate Professor, Macquarie University The pyramids at Giza, like dozens of others, are located several kilometres west of the current path of the Nile.Alex Cimbal / Shutterstock The largest field of pyramids in Egypt – consisting of 31 ...
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The policy aiming for rewarding “quality” teachers is driven by the neoliberal ideology of competitive individualism. This incorporates a distorted understanding of human endeavour that fails to appreciate the importance of collaboration in successful endeavours, including teaching.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/6629986/Rewards-for-quality-teachers
<blockquote.Performance pay for teachers will be developed by the Government, with secondary principals told by Education Minister Hekia Parata to start "sorting the wheat from the chaff".
…
"If a teacher can make a difference and raise the achievement levels regardless of where they sit academically, then they ought to be rewarded for it."
New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) president Ian Leckie said performance pay had been shown internationally to make no positive difference to academic achievement.
"Rewarding teachers differently creates too much high stakes stuff that actually stops collaboration, stops people working together and that is counter-productive to trying to make a better education system doing more for more kids," he said. He suggested the measure would be tough to implement without the support of unions.
And education in NZ is generally very successful, it’s the long tail of low achievers that is the problem and where any new policies should be targetted. Classes of high achievers need a different approach to teaching than for classes of low achievers. A teacher who teaches a class of high academic achievers is likely to make no difference to a class of low achievers unless they are able to change or adapt their approach and work collaboratively with others.
A lot of successful learning depends on a whole school approach. A successful teacher, working collaboratively, can help raise the outcome for all classes, students and teachers.
When will they ever learn?
Totally agree with your well researched post Carol.
And they have experinece in the design of contraversal education implimentation.
Thaey got Nat Stds to work well, so they shouldnt have to much problem with performance pay.
Oh but wait….
I remember asking roger sowey when the nats were pushing a competitive model for schools if he believed that inservice training was important. Yes of courrse it is he replied. I then asked why would schools help ther next door school by helping their teachers improove.
He didnt have an answer.
Whilst there is much disagreement regarding incentivising pay for teachers, I notice here as with both the MOE & unions there is still the case of unequal pay for teachers performing the same skilled, learning experiences for their students. That is why does the likes of NZEI/Labour Party (when in govt, and who is funded by the union) support in paying degreee teachers $1k per month more than those with diplomas ? Is it not a union catch cry “A fair days pay for a fair days work” ?
Disagree Herodotus- If you look at the Finnish model, teachers have masters degrees and decent wages. I would far rather see teachers rewarded for their qualification level rather than allowing diploma level teachers the opportunity to hike their pay packets based on “performance”…
why-is-education-in-finland-that-good-10-reform-principles-behind-the-success
While I agree about performance pay, high level qualifications and paying Teachers properly to attract the best.
It is academic arrogance to assume that trade qualifications are less useful than academic ones. New Zealand’s diploma level Teachers are some of the best. Adding life experience and 10 or more years of success, in a trade, to schools.
I strongly believe, that school teachers, and police, should have at least 10 years doing something else before they take up Teaching.
Which does mean higher pay for Teachers. To attract the successful from other occupations.
Having said that, we have much better Teachers than we deserve, given the working conditions we give them and the way we recruit, pay and train them.
I.ve seen burnt out Teachers, overwhelmed Teachers and Teachers who cannot handle discipline, but very few lazy Teachers.
Arguments over education always mystify me. I read the propaganda about bad teachers and ask myself if these people who slag off teachers actually went to school. Sure some teachers were better than others but how many of us had genuinely bad teachers? How many teachers did we have who kept an entire class enraptured & hanging off their every word? Did we get a bad education, could any of us really have done so much better if we had these ‘great’ teachers?
My memory of school is that some teachers suited me better than others but no single teacher suited everyone. Teachers that I liked others in my class hated & vice versa. Another memory is that some teachers were very good with the under achievers yet generally not so good with the high achievers, and vice versa again. Slower learners needed a different teaching style, not better teachers per se.
Paradoxically the irrational claims from the ‘we need better teachers’ mob does suggest that maybe we do need better teachers so we don’t keep getting these gits annoying us with their ideological bullshit.
When I look back, I can honestly say that all of the teachers I had were either brilliant, or very good! Primary, intermediate and High school, all were either adequate, good or in some cases, awesomely good! My son, in the 90s and later, had two awful teachers, but the rest ranged from adequate to awesome! In his case and mine, two or three stand out as wonderful…
In an extension of that article today Waikato Times Parata was quoted as justify increased class sizes “I went through primary in a class of 42, Ms Parata says”.
So back in the 1960s or 1970s Parata experienced class sizes of 42 huh? Justifies it being done now.
I wonder where many of the other students in Paratas class of 42 ended up?
I wonder how many left school with no qualifications?
I wonde rhow many managed to walk into a job at 15 with no skills?
Maybe if Parata wants to use her class sizes as justification then we can get back some of the other measurements from that time:
50% failure to get school certificate
Unemployment rate around 1%
Wages probably around $10 per week – (wonder if Parata will be the first the volunteers to work for that sort of money?)
To state the figure she did from a distant past, is she naive, a little dishonest or was she mis-quoted?
As for performance pay, maybe her and her Government would like to implement that on themselves first. Lets tag their pay to things like the unemployment rate, the number of people emigrating to Australia and maybe economic growth. I guess not, can’t see Parata et al agreeing to take that big a pay cut eh. Always seems to be something to apply to someone else, never to this group suggesting it.
Kiaora Carol
In other words, rather than incentivise the individual teacher, incentivise the school. The education system is significantly failing Māori students, yet, we know there are programs ‘out there’ that have a great success rate for Māori students in terms of keeping them engaged with learning, and for that matter, with the education system towards high academic outcomes.
Schools that are savvy with how they engage with their Māori students, are those schools that should be incentivised to continue to innovate within their learning environments. Conceptually, I like the thought of Charter Schools, as a means to foster innovation in education.
It makes sense to give schools enough flexibility to use their savvy to engage with their students better.
The quality of schools is often closely related to the quality of principal.
As has already been pointed out, NZ schools already have that flexibility.
Is it schools or parents the main cause of under achievement?
Is it schools or parents failing their children?
Don’t think it’s the schools that advise / give the children $$$ for lunch money to spend at the corner shop on loads of junk. (Schools include in their Health units, healthy eating programmes and dietary advice). Some parents might care to examine the shelves of their fridges. Take the trouble to make a nourishing lunch for their children.
Most parents deliver a well fed, well rested, well mannered, well nurtured child to the school gates, and the school is able to make a difference …
Good points, most of the failure starts preschool, it’s just that schools are expected to somehow repair and repackage society’s and families failures.
But it’s not just a problem with nutrition of the stomach, it’s also a problem with nutrition of the mind and of the soul.
Hey Pete, read my last sentence …
Tēnā koe, logie
Why are some schools better able to respond to the needs of their students more so than others, despite the lack emanating from the homes? It seems obvious to me that if some schools can improve on the learning outcomes of their Māori students, despite the decile nature of the surrounding environs, than other schools should be able to do the same.
Its a poor quality school that throws its hands up to simply say ‘it’s the parents fault why their children are failing us’ yet still operate on the basis (and receive money for) that they are educating those tamariki and rangatahi. Fail.
Sorry Adele, but your children obviously have parents who are fully engaged in their education. Lucky them. On the other hand some parents are in denial and their spokespeople as well. You will know that schools are required to consult with their Maori community. They might be lucky and have a “Ra ra ra response, feel good meeting with lots of kai and then the parents become hard to find for another year…”
Logie
The parents have become engaged because the school has taken the time and considerable energy to involve the parents, and the way they have done so has made the difference. A decile rating generally indicates the level of resources available to the school in terms of parental involvement and capacity. That some schools can achieve remarkable results despite the resources lacking in their community speaks volumes about that school.
Judgement on the parents does little to foster the learning outcomes of their students. If the children come to school hungry than feed them rather than whine about the parents lack of parental skills. Its not for the school to make judgment on the parents but it is their job to teach children despite perceived limitations they present with.
My Aunt recently passed away at the Kohanga Reo hearings currently being held in Wellington. This woman was in her mid-sixties when she became one of the first kaiako (teachers) of the kohanga reo movement.
This movement was driven by the flax roots for the flax roots. This movement was started by old people, for the benefit of their mokopuna (grand-children). The parents learnt with the children and they became actively engaged through that process.
Kohanga Reo has recently celebrated its 25th year anniversary. It has bought around a fundamental shift in attitude for both students and their parents. Mainstream education, by contrast, is stuck in a educational rut of its own making.
“Judgement on the parents does little to foster the learning outcomes of their students. If the children come to school hungry than feed them rather than whine about the parents lack of parental skills. Its not for the school to make judgment on the parents but it is their job to teach children despite perceived limitations they present with.”
Yet it is acceptable for the head of Treasury to say that parents and children should be able to make judgements on teachers and their performance in the classroom and allow this to have a bearing on what the teacher is paid.
Tēnā koe, P
I actually agree with you but unfortunately I am now having to work so can’t get into the ‘why I agree.’ except to say national standards are a crock…
Charter schools would be fine and dandy if the corporates and god botherers (and the Brown Table) stayed the hell out of them, and they were used in niche situations, and not as a mean of imposing a winners-and-losers school system.
The kindergarten system is the model that I would base my charter schools are. Some how, I doubt that Banskie and his ACT mate will.
The brand new super Maori Secondary School in Bethlehem, Tauranga certainly fulfils the concept of a Charter School.
It has a Maori basic curriculum of its own.
NZ Nuclear Free
Doesn’t this headline make you puke. If Brash had been elected, this policy would have been gone by lunchtime, and given Key’s attitude during the Iraq War (where are we, missing in action …) he doesn’t believe in it either.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10794288
If you think Key does not want rid of our status you are misstaken, he would love nothing more than to please his nuclear masters!
The IAEA is little more than a puppet joke, the whole article read as nothing more than , blah blah blah, Obama is a hero, blah IAEA, terrorist blah..John Key opportunity, blah blah
I can’t see the like of GE letting nuclear energy off the menu anytime soon…what event will it take for the NZ administration of thinking about changing our status, and what would it take for the public to accept a change of direction in our policy?
I haven’t seen any evidence of Key wanting to change our nuclear status – please link to something that supports your claims.
Maybe we should at least consider nuclear energy near our biggest populations, it may be less damaging than flooding the remaining natural rivers, or burning more oil.
It was an opinion Pete, and one which I apply to governments in general. Pressure to allow nuclear ships in our ports is well documented….
[lprent: not particularly well documented. Your quote appears to be from here, which in turn has no links supporting it. There is a reason that we frown on people putting in unlinked quotes or a description of where to find the data. Essentially without it, whatever you say can be complete crap, selectively rewritten, or just taken out of context. This quote for instance was hard to google because it appears to have been transcribed – in the process it lost whole words.
Link what you quote, damnit. Otherwise you’ll wind up getting dumped as a troll like many in the past. ]
LP, actually I was very aware where it came from and there is a link in the article, which is http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/nuclear-issue-thrums-heart-us-nz-diplomacy-3980709
Notice the content is no longer on the tvnz link, which could perhaps have been something I paid attention to….It seem when I pasted the text I did that the link above which was at the bottom of the copy, was left off….
Not into editing cut and pastes personally, and would rather have had the tvnz link been alive, but given that you have read the location of my cut and pastes you, will in this instanance know that I have not edited the text.
Cheers for the heads up though….
LOON ALERT! Our dear old friend Pete George has evidently been cogitating. Just look at what he has come up with…
Maybe we should at least consider nuclear energy near our biggest populations, it may be less damaging than flooding the remaining natural rivers, or burning more oil.
MEMO PETE GEORGE:
Given what we have all (including you) seen happening in Japan for the last year, your statement of faith in nuclear power makes you seem not only uninformed, but even more stupid than usual.
Why don’t you do some serious RESEARCH on the topic before commenting on this issue again?
I said “we should at least consider”, a point to discuss. Technology changes, relative safety changes.
I’m not a fan of nuclear. I traveled past nuclear stations in Switzerland and Greece a couple of years ago, discomforting and eerie. However a way of life for many people.
But I’m also not a fan of damming every last South Island river and blotting even more landscape with pylon lines stretching north from virtually one end of the island to the other.
Sometimes we have to consider least bad choices.
Don’t worry about it. There are almost no South Island rivers left capable of hosting another 500MW hydrodam.
I should say that there are of course many sites on which a fairly robust 1MW to 10MW scheme could be sited, but at that scale they are neither here nor there in terms of supplying power to major North Island cities.
Nats cling to “unnecessarily complex, incoherent” terror law, despite criticism from ex-Solicitor General & Law Comission
Meanwhile the ex Justice Minister has an attack of forgetfulness and has become as accountability shy as the rest of his buddies:
That’s very odd, Collins seems to be saying that a mess of legislation is too complex so they shouldn’t bother to fix it.
Hopefully it won’t get tested again, but it does leave the possibility of another Urewera type ballsup.
Cameron Slater’s strange allies:
http://www.readingthemaps.blogspot.co.nz/2012/03/be-careful-what-you-wish-for-cameron.html
Heh, though like Slater’s ever going to pay attention until the crazies come to roost on his blog.
http://www.medialens.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=459:the-system-works-the-independent-on-latin-america-and-hugo-chavez&catid=20:alerts-2006&Itemid=39
June 19, 2006
THE SYSTEM WORKS – The Independent on Latin America and Hugo Chavez
An Understandable Mistake
Readers may recall our alert of May 8, 2006, ‘Lining Up The Next Victims’. We described how the Independent has been stoking up fear of “left populism” in Latin America. Despite many articulate and polite complaints to the paper from readers, the misinformation and smears continue. (See also our two-part alert, ‘Ridiculing Chavez’, May 16 and 18, 2006)
http://www.cjournal.info/CJO/ridiculingChavez1.htm
http://www.cjournal.info/CJO/ridiculingChavez2.htm
In particular, The Independent, together with its sister Sunday paper, has consistently maligned Hugo Chavez, the democratically elected leader of Venezuela. Chavez has been labelled a “firebrand leader” who is “virulently anti-American” and whose “attachment to democracy [has] a temporary and improvised feel” (Leader, June 6, 2006). He is a “demagogue” (Leader, May 14, 2006) who wields a “brand of aggressive socialism” (May 14, 2006); a “high priest of political theatre” (May 13, 2006); “the new mouthpiece of the anti-American fervour” and a “divisive force in Latin America” (June 6, 2006). The Independent even resorted to quoting Chavez’s psychiatrist: “Chavez’s character is unpredictable and disconcerting – He is a dreamer of impossible dreams.” (May 13, 2006)
A recent Independent news article by reporter Jude Webber continued the same trend. Webber described Chavez as an “authoritarian… his pockets full of the bonanza of booming oil prices”, someone who “has close ties” with undesirables such as “Cuba and now Bolivia”. Bolivia’s leader, President Evo Morales, is clearly of the same dangerous persuasion as the Venezuelan leader, having “recently nationalised gas fields in a move widely seen as inspired by his northern mentor”. (Webber, ‘Garcia claims Peru win spells end of regional takeover by Chavez’, The Independent, June 6, 2006)
Read more by clicking HERE…
http://www.medialens.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=459:the-system-works-the-independent-on-latin-america-and-hugo-chavez&catid=20:alerts-2006&Itemid=39
Great Links Muzza!
That is not much comfort:
“……. Bradley Ambrose and the fallout led to police raiding media offices for information.
………..Newstalk ZB political editor Barry Soper understands the police have decided it would not be in the public interest to press charges.”
Not in the Public Interest??? That is a long way from saying Innocent!
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10794181
A street thug that claimed a prison sentence was a bit harsh for starting an altercation and continuing to bludgeon an unconcious victim on the ground has been given a further reality check by the court of appeal.
Tough stand taken on street violence. Good.
Totally agree. Too many people labour under the mistaken belief that fights are two willing participants. Most are in reality a bullying thug picking on someone they’re sure they can beat, and those thugs need serious jail time.
Why can’t you link to the ORIGINAL story and not your bloody rehash on your site. Or is that too hard?
Yes, for that story it is too hard, it’s in the print version and not online so I typed out the quotes.
Just for once PG I can totally agree with you here.
And it’s one thing to get a bit bruised and bloodied… but the moment you have someone on the ground and you start kicking them in the head then you are trying to kill them. That should be an automatic attempted murder charge with a minimum 5 year sentence.
Queensland state election today, with Labor due to get the boot. As per usual when the left wing party tries to be ‘just like’ the right wing party, eventually the voters put the right wing party in. In Bligh’s party’s case, they flogged of the power grid and the railways.
================================================================
With the announcement of the week being the governments local government reforms, I thought I would share my letter to the editor about the huge debates about council spending in my area:
Sir,
There has been much discussion by various commentators about the level of council expenditure and its consequence on rates. As is the usual case, there is never any suggestions about what services should be cut in order to keep rates down, neither from Mr Bouwers, Mr Brown, or those on the council who wish to pander to their rhetoric.
Pukekura Park has been a jewel in the city’s crown for over 100 years, enjoyed by young and old alike, with its glistening water features, exotic fernery and bush that you can get lost in, would funding for that get cut? Or to the other city parks, reserves and playgrounds that are avalible for all people to enjoy, whether it be a day picnicking in the sun, or getting fit and healthy? Or what about the public libararies, which provide an important social service to the public – one of ensuring literature is avalible to all, or just a safe place to go and curl up with a book, and forget about the world?
Are they seeking to sell the pensioner flats, and lend an uncertain future to the tenants who would simply not be in a position to rent in the private sector? Or the public halls which are utilised by so many community groups? And what about the public toilets, that provide relief for those who are out and about?
It is community assets like these that make a city what it is as much as anything else. They may be expensive baubles to some people, but they are vital to the well-being of this community, and deliver benefits far greater than those that can be recorded on a balance sheet, and are open to all from the very poor to the very rich, bringing people together, not pulling them apart.
By all means, the council should be looking at its expenditure, and cutting projects and spending where appropriate, but there are things that we as a city would be worse off without, and I think that those who scream for cuts in council spending need to consider that.
Mr Brown = Gordon Brown, one time councillor and right wing grumpy columnist
Mr Houwers = local right winger who wants to start his own Tea Party movement.
Queenslanders have not been happy with the ongoing programme of asset sales “Labor” have been pushing through.
I mean WTF, “Labor”. Just another political vehicle for the neolibs now.
I’m calling for NZ Prime Minster John Key to RESIGN over his arguably corrupt ‘conflict of interest’ involving Australian open-cast coal mining company Bathurst Resources Ltd.
Just thrown this political ‘grenade’ into ‘General Debate’ on Kiwiblog……
FYI.
“How many Kiwibloggers agree that if it’s good enough for former National Party Minister Nick Smith to have to resign over his ‘perceived’ conflict of interest as former ACC Minister, that Prime Minister John Key should equally have to resign over an arguably far worse conflict of interest involving opencast coal minng company – Bathurst Resources Ltd?
Bathurst Resources Ltd, at whose Wellington office opening. NZ Prime Minister John Key ‘officiated’?
To whom is the NZ Prime Minister (and Leader of the NZ National Party) accountable for his arguably corrupt ‘conflict of interest’?
Who will SACK the NZ Prime Minister John Key?
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/smith-departure-strengthens-joyce-faction-114012#comment-340611
24 March 2012
………
When it comes to corrupt ‘conflicts of interests’ – what’s your view (Mathew Hooton) on NZ Prime Minister John Key’s ‘perceived’ pecuniary interest in open-cast coal mining on the conservation estate – given that he is a shareholder in the Bank of America, and the Bank of America is a significant shareholder in Bathurst Resources Ltd?
(As of 24 February 2012, the Bank of America was a substantial holder of shares in Bathurst Resources Ltd:
“Class of Securities (4) – Ordinary
Present Notice “Person’s Votes 72,302,308 Voting Power (5) 10.44%
http://www.bathurstresources.com/files/files/1079_20120229_Change_in_substantial_holding.pdf
NZ Prime Minister John Key is a shareholder in the Bank Of America.
http://www.parliament.nz/NR/rdonlyres/28FF3CC9-5985-4721-B335-776C5EAE81DF/195667/register2011_1.pdf )
Bathurst Resources Ltd being the Australian mining company, at whose Wellington office opening NZ Prime Minister John Key officiated on 21 March 2012?
http://www.3news.co.nz/PM-opens-mining-offices-in-Wgtn/tabid/1607/articleID/247550/Default.aspx
If Nick Smith was forced to resign over his ACC ‘conflict of interest’ – why should John Key not have to resign over an arguably FAR more serious CORRUPT (?) ‘conflict of interest’?
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption campaigner’
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I agree John Key should resign. I believe he’s certainly more concerned with furthering the interests of business and the 1% than the common well being of all kiwis. He’s also indirectly invested in Bathhurst through BOA. Not least everyone knows neoliberalism is totally discredited ideology which merely makes the rich richer yet, yet he persists on selling of our assets. What NZ needs is a very large redistribution of wealth and income downwards and a reversal of previous tax cuts then overnight we won’t have a deficit or have to throw more money away paying bankers back loans with interest on them.
When the United States had that regime (Minimal inequality and high tax rates) post WW11 it was the most dynamic optimistic powerhouse of a nation in the World but now the U$$$ is a juiceless shell the 1% have sucked most of it up, now they have it they’re not about to share! In fact they want the poor to pay more to make them even richer!
link http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/03/23-9
“All told, Ryan hands out about $4.4 trillion in tax cuts that primarily benefit the very best off, and pays for it with $4.15 trillion in spending cuts to programs that primarily benefit the poor and middle class.”
Keep up the good work Penny unlike the fat guys in Parliament you don’t get a bean for your efforts, I know that’s tough.
Conflict of interest, John Key has a conflict of interest with the Bathurst mining company
because he has shares in the bank of america,the bank that bank rolls this company,
the key govt gave this company the ok to mine on sensitive nz land.
Interestingly the ceo of Deloitte Dutch arm just resigned because of ‘confilict of interest’
effective immediatley.
Deloitte is one of the company’s that key has a preference for in our asset sales along
with goldman sachs.
The upshot here is that ‘conflict of interest’ is taken very seriously elsewhere,why
not here in nz, nz watches the culprates run for cover.