Sorry seems to be the hardest word

Written By: - Date published: 9:20 am, February 20th, 2013 - 23 comments
Categories: Hekia parata, schools - Tags: , , ,

Hekia Parata – ouch:

71pc want Parata gone – survey

Hundreds of protesters have delivered a motion of no confidence in Hekia Parata’s performance as a new poll reveals the controversial education minister is rapidly turning into political public enemy No 1.

In today’s Fairfax Media-Ipsos poll, surveyed before this week’s announcement on the Christchurch schools revamp, almost 60 per cent of respondents believe Prime Minister John Key should have sacked his seventh-ranked minister in last month’s Cabinet reshuffle. That rose to 71 per cent among voters from Canterbury, where on Monday Parata announced a proposal to close or merge 19 schools.

Yesterday more than 1500 school supporters delivered a motion of no confidence in Parata’s record to date to the Education Ministry’s offices in Christchurch. …

(A 3 News report with video coverage here.)

Parata must know she’s in deep, deep trouble, because she has resorted to using the politician’s least favourite word. Far too late, grudgingly, reluctantly, no doubt through gritted teeth:

Parata makes Novopay apology

Education Minister Hekia Parata folded under pressure to apologise over Novopay this afternoon. This morning she skirted around calls to apologise but this afternoon uttered the “s” word twice. “I am sorry that’s it taken so much extra work for administrators – we want to get this fixed.”

Not much of an apology is it – to the “administrators” for extra work. Hey Hekia – how about apologising to the teachers, collectively owed almost $12 million in missed pay, whose lives have been significantly disrupted? How about apologising to the children, parents, and teachers of Christchurch that you lied to? How about a proper apology?

23 comments on “Sorry seems to be the hardest word ”

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  1. shorts 1
    20 February 2013 at 9:24 am

    Parata on Campbell last night – cringe worthy hell….

    Its quite obvious she simply doesn’t give a f__k

    • aerobubble 1.1
      20 February 2013 at 10:37 am

      I got impression that Parata wasn’t going to admit error until after the director of Novopay, for some legal nuanced???? Once Campbell had cornered and squeezed a applogy from him…

      I agree though, why didn’t Key kick her out and put a new face in her place. Similarly with Collins.

    • onsos 1.2
      20 February 2013 at 12:51 pm

      Parata appears to dislike teachers and administrators. I reckon she views this as ‘karma’ for their opposition to her class sizes ‘policy’.

  2. Colonial Viper 2
    20 February 2013 at 9:36 am

    Key’s political sense is failing him on this. He is clearly hoping that things will clear up for Parata over time and that she can maintain her promise as a future leadership contender.

    He needs to do a Nick Smith to her – send her back to the wilderness for up to a year, before bringing her back in.

    Not sure why he’s lost his political smarts over her, he should know the game play.

    • felixviper 2.1
      20 February 2013 at 10:37 am

      Not thinking with the big head…

    • Lanthanide 2.2
      20 February 2013 at 12:55 pm

      “Not sure why he’s lost his political smarts over her, he should know the game play.”

      Maybe he doesn’t want her to be a future leadership contender? Good way to go about it.

    • fenderviper 2.3
      20 February 2013 at 7:50 pm

      Key wants her gender and Te Reo appeal I reckon, so much so that she could burn down half the countries schools and still he would back her. There does appear to be “chemistry” between them too.

  3. Dv 3
    20 February 2013 at 9:40 am

    AND in this morning Herald.
    The MOE changed the taxi co to transport special needs kids, and the kids have been left stranded.
    Cant find the article. now.

  4. mickysavage 4
    20 February 2013 at 9:51 am

    It is astounding it has taken her so long to apologize and this makes it worse. After her karma quote (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10862370) it is abundantly clear that her apology is of the belligerent, I have no alternative sort.

    And her justification that she was following advice is pathetic. The report that she had was one where the conclusion was against the content and you get the feeling that some poor public servant wanted to say “don’t do it” but because of pressure they buckled but covered their arse by making sure that the 147 bugs and the one area where there was not or not even close to compliance was mentioned.

    • Colonial Viper 4.1
      20 February 2013 at 9:53 am

      Both her and Key seem to have tin ears at the moment. They’re not listening to the mood of the electorate in the slightest, and are responding with a political clumsiness and arrogance that is hitting some very off key notes. What is going on.

      • emergency mike 4.1.1
        20 February 2013 at 6:47 pm

        Sociopaths believe they can talk their way out of anything. Myself and others here have been saying that Key would BS his way into a corner sooner or later. So far he’s gotten away with some rank stuff (“I haven’t read that report,”) and it’s going to his head. The arrogance is showing.

      • muzza 4.1.2
        20 February 2013 at 7:48 pm

        And why are they not listening you reckon….

        What’s going on, well, there is corruption, which generally stems from from a few things, lets make a list

        1: Blackmail
        2: Threats against country (like they give a toss)
        3: Blackmail
        4: Threats against family
        5: Blackmail
        6: They are bent
        7: Blackmail
        8: They love corruption
        9: Blackmail
        10: etc

  5. mac1 5
    20 February 2013 at 9:52 am

    Last night a secondary teacher friend told me she still has not been paid a cent for 2013 in her new job. My comments as a retired teacher after the sympathy were along the lines of why haven’t teachers struck yet? Have you rung your local MP and given him a hard time over this? What does this say to a teacher about valuing them as a worker that the pay master can’t even pay them a cent after a month?

    She says she can’t even complain to the pay authority. In my life, a motivator not to repeat mistakes have been the consequences of making mistakes and the knowledge of these from people whom I have stuffed around, by getting a direct response to my inadequacy. It also gave power to those people to know that they have addressed the person responsible.

    Saying sorry gives some of your own power away to the aggrieved- not a good feeling for an authoritarian like Parata.

    She is a poor communicator. She does not listen. She doesn’t answer questions directly but regurgitates prepared lines. She can only say “So” rather than “So-rry.” Such a communicator finds contrition difficult. Contrition implies understanding. Contrition implies responsibility. Contrition implies acknowledged relationships that need to be tended.

  6. Chris 6
    20 February 2013 at 10:19 am

    He’s losing it. He is as boring as hell with the same old rhetoric, the same old blame game (Labour did it first,whine) the economic crisis, the Chch earthquake, the personal attacks on opposition aided by jeering laughter and clapping of cymbals from the wind up monkeys. Once he opens his mouth you know exactly what he is going to say,how he is going to say it.You could finish his speech for him.It’s about time he realised he is getting to be a washed out,has been, one trick pony.Nobody believes a word he says.Lets face it,he will soon be last weeks news wrapping up fish and chips. The sooner the better. Gotta say paula b will be loving the attention hekia parroter is getting!!!

  7. ropata 7
    20 February 2013 at 12:59 pm

    We’ve seen capable teachers, and even principals, in tears and quitting the profession all due to the bigwigs in Wellington ramming the project in before it was ready, with 500 open bugs, and without even a pilot phase. National’s razor gang culture is killing off our world class education system and ruining our children’s future.