Prove It

Written By: - Date published: 9:51 pm, December 3rd, 2014 - 28 comments
Categories: john key, schools - Tags:

So John Key reckons the decile 1 & 2 principals he talks to say that hardly any kids at their school need lunch.

Campbell Live & Kids Can seem to only find school principals who say that lots of kids need lunch.

So maybe John Key can name these mythical decile 1 & 2 schools that are doing so well.  I’m sure the principals and parents will be proud to be named…

And then when he gets shown up again, maybe National can move to support Hone’s Food in Schools Bill (now taken over my Meteria Turei).

28 comments on “Prove It ”

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  1. Paul 1
    3 December 2014 at 10:01 pm

    Inside New Zealand: Inside Child Poverty 2011

    http://www.tv3.co.nz/Shows/InsideNZ/InsideChildPovertyASpecialReport.aspx

    The Child Poverty Action Group called the documentary “compulsory viewing”, labelling child poverty a moral and ethical issue.

    “New Zealand has betrayed its proud history as a good place to bring up children. We should hang our collective heads in shame at our poor record for child health,” the group said today.

  2. Clemgeopin 2
    3 December 2014 at 10:19 pm

    Key is either ignorant or simply spinning away!

    I am wondering why, when Key said he has spoken to ‘many’ decile 1 and 2 school principals that tell him that ‘only one or two kids need lunch’, didn’t Materia Turei ask Key the obvious follow up question to name those schools which he has visited from June this year (or to name the principals who said what he claims)? That is the best way to see who is telling the truth.

    P.S : I am not sure if those follow up questions were asked, as I did not watch the show today.

  3. emergency mike 3
    3 December 2014 at 10:51 pm

    Maybe Key was talking about decile 1 schools on Planet Key. He’s prime minister of that too.

  4. A Voter 4
    3 December 2014 at 11:44 pm

    It certainly proves Key is a blind twat

  5. Tom Jackson 5
    4 December 2014 at 12:00 am

    I hereby declare John Key to be a douchebag.

  6. Murray Rawshark 6
    4 December 2014 at 12:33 am

    He just makes it up as he goes along. When he was a bullshitting currency manipulator, his mates wouldn’t have checked his stories. Now he’s PM and they get checked. Too bad for him.

  7. One Anonymous Bloke 7
    4 December 2014 at 7:03 am

    Well, the principals* are probably clever enough to figure out that when the government says they’ll be disciplined if they speak out against government policy, that means there are consequences for telling the truth, especially when the Prime Minister clearly wants a different answer.

    *like lawyers, I can find one to give you a counterview.

    • Jones 7.1
      4 December 2014 at 7:10 am

      That’s what happens when you visit 3 times as many decile 9 and 10 schools than decile 1 and 2 schools. Those decile 9 and 10 school principals are telling Key “there’s no hungry kids in our schools” which for Key is all the evidence he needs.

  8. One Anonymous Bloke 8
    4 December 2014 at 7:06 am

    This is Key’s answer to everything: anecdata.

  9. music4menz 9
    4 December 2014 at 8:03 am

    My grandson, who lives with me and is Tongan, would prefer NOT to eat breakfast before going to school- but I force him to. He prefers NOT to take a cut lunch with him- and I have a hunch he would bin it if he did take sandwiches- and he frequently returns home with the money I give him to buy food at the tuckshop.

    He eats something when he comes home and then a good dinner at night. He is a tall, well- built, strong and healthy lad. He is doing well at school.

    I can well see him answering NO to the questions: did you eat breakfast and did you bring lunch to school? He would immediately be labelled as ‘in poverty’ when I can assure you he is not. The fridge and food cupboard are bulging with food.

    Culture and choice play a large part when it comes to when and what kids eat or don’t eat. It seems to me that many people bring their white middle class values to the debate and don’t realise that not everyone lives in the same way as white middle class folk do.

    Maybe some people should actually visit countries such as our neighbouring Pacific Islands and see just what true poverty is and why so many Pacific Islanders wish to come and settle for the good life that New Zealand can offer them.

    • felix 9.1
      4 December 2014 at 8:15 am

      See? Kids don’t need feeding! Hard to believe that as a species we have wasted so much resource on them for so many thousands of years.

      Thank music4menz, that’s going to save every parent a lot of time effort and dosh.

      ps your last two paragraphs cancel out. Can’t have it both ways.

    • Crashcart 9.2
      4 December 2014 at 8:16 am

      Right so we should base policy on how you raise your Grandson rather than all the research done by those institutions set up to try and help these kids?

      I have visited many pacific island nations and done work helping to improve sanitation, improve access to water and generally provide aid. The stupid argument that because things are worse some where else we shouldn’t try and make things better here just doesn’t wash. You should never benchmark yourself of an outlier.

    • Colonial Rawshark 9.3
      4 December 2014 at 8:22 am

      music4menz:

      Apart from your slightly daft idea that it is a cultural choice to go hungry, or that Pacific Island people only eat one meal a day, I agree with you that children should have the choice of a pantry and refrigerator “bulging” with a wide choice of food to take to school.

      This is why in NZ, child poverty is such an abomination. It takes choice away from children and away from families.

      I hope your grandson realises how many children are less fortunate than him. He probably has friends who are hungry at his school – if he thought about it he could use his tuck shop money or take lunch to school and give it to them.

      • felix 9.3.1
        4 December 2014 at 9:30 am

        Thank you.

      • Murray Rawshark 9.3.2
        4 December 2014 at 4:17 pm

        Helping other kids would go against everything he learns at home. I hope he develops enough strength of character to do just that.

        • music4menz 9.3.2.1
          4 December 2014 at 6:18 pm

          It is indeed terrific to note the racism and judgemental attitudes that are alive and thriving here on The Standard.

          [lprent: Doesn’t look like it to me.

          It looks more like you are getting a few lines getting dropped in the water with a tad of food and jiggling, and your fingers/mouth is chomping before your brain engages.

          In other words, you are being stirred up pretty successfully. And please don’t waste my time with requests (read your comment to see the request for a mod) to check the conversation. I only do it a couple of times before I start getting rid of the problem. And yes, you are right, I tend to be VERY judgmental when people waste my time. ]

    • Sabine 9.4
      4 December 2014 at 9:17 am

      poverty in Tonga means nothing compared to Poverty in NZ.

      Why? Because Tonga is Tonga and NZ is NZ.

      maybe you would like to compare Mumbai to Auckland? Both are large cities? 🙂

      • music4menz 9.4.1
        4 December 2014 at 6:12 pm

        Surely the point is that a significant number of those deemed to be ‘living in poverty’ are from Pacific Island families, and hence the comparison of ‘poverty’ in Tonga as opposed to NZ is quite relevant. I have never heard any of my relatives living in the Islands saying that they don’t want to emigrate to NZ because of the high ‘poverty’ levels. They want to migrate because they know full well that the standard of living in NZ is vastly superior to that on offer in the Islands. Are many Island families in NZ returning to the Islands because of ‘poverty’. No way Jose.

        On the subject of free lunch, I noted during that in the aftermath of the Canterbury earthquakes some church organisations were providing lunch to schools that started at lunchtime on shared sites. Most pupils and teachers lined up to eat up the freebies, irrespective, I expect, whether they had eaten already or not. It’s a bit like those nibbles on offer at supermarkets. You eat them just because they are there and they are free!

    • Clemgeopin 9.5
      4 December 2014 at 10:31 am

      If his school provides lunch at school, do you reckon your grandchild will eat it or not? Apparently quite a few children do.

    • cardassian 9.6
      4 December 2014 at 6:34 pm

      All the Maori and Pacific Island kids at the decile 2 school I work at are happy to eat lunch.
      They don’t always have it but will always eat it if offered.
      Hell they’ll eat in class if someone offers a kai.

      However when I was at school I was different.
      I went to a decile 8 school.
      I was overweight.
      I had issues eating in front of people and as a result wouldn’t eat a school lunch.
      So maybe it’s not as easy as saying it’s cultural.

  10. Tracey 10
    4 December 2014 at 5:15 pm

    depends on what you mean by “hardly any”

  11. millsy 11
    4 December 2014 at 6:56 pm

    So M4M….

    Does your grandson go to the school dental clinic to get his teeth checked?