Lawyers sue govt over emissions reduction plan
environment 27 minutes ago
Lawyers for Climate Action NZ have launched action against Climate Minister Simon Watts over country's emissions reduction plan. The group's executive director Jessica Palairet spoke to Corin Dann.
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RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
Funding cut hurting Pacific and Maori students
In Aotearoa New Zealand, education advocates say a government decision to remove special funding for Pacific and Maori students in vocational courses harks back to the days of a one-size-fits all education model. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
NZ: Pacific and Māori student support cut
Photo: RNZ / Ziming Li Education advocates in Aotearoa New Zealand say a government decision to remove special funding for Pacific and Māori students in vocational training harks back to the days of a one-size-fits-all model. The funding cut applies to a per-student subsidy for Pacific and Māori enrolments at polytechnics and private training institutions. Currently, the subsidiary is used to help fund dedicated support services for these students. However, the Tertiary Education Commission - the government agency responsible for distributing - has stated that it is being re-prioritised. Tertiary Education Union national secretary Sandra Grey said the move was a huge step backwards. It also contradicted official advice to vocational education minister Penny Simmonds. A cabinet paper from January advised the government to keep the subsidy, which came out of a fund of about NZ$28 million. Specifically, officials recommended it be kept to help "achieve equitable outcomes" for three groups of learners - Māori and Pacific students, students with low achievement levels, and disabled students. While the funding allocation has remained for students with low achievement levels and disabled students, the money for Pacific and Māori has gone elsewhere. That decision from policy makers, Grey said, further hurt Pacific and Māori students who were already underserved in the New Zealand education system. "What we do know with dedicated funding is that we get positions like a Māori learning support expert who comes in and works with Māori students, or a Pacific staff member who comes in and supports Pacific students," she said. Tertiary Education Union president Dr Sandra Grey Photo: RNZ / Ian Telfer These included initiatives and programmes like provided mentoring, guidance and peer support to Pacific and Māori. "We've seen from history is that when there is no dedicated fund, institutions deprioritise this work because there aren't dedicated funds. They do what they are funded to do," Grey said. "They've [the government] just said: 'It doesn't matter that you're Māori or Pacific. That has no bearing on your learning.' They are wrong. Everything says these students learn better when they have dedicated support from Māori and Pacific staff." The funding cut was indicative of the government's lack of understanding around why a "one-size-fits-all model in education" did not work, she said. At Manukau Institute of Technology in South Auckland, senior lecturer Alby Fitisemanu said the impact of programmes and support services specific to Pacific and Māori was not to be underestimated. Most of Fitisemanu's students were Pacific and Māori. The support services for these students helped ensure they moved beyond enrolment, he said. For example, programmes and support services contributed to student attainment and success, particularly because many Pacific and Māori often felt out-of-place in tertiary institutions, Fitisemanu said. "The problem we're having now is for the Pasifika [students] who are enrolled... very few complete along the journey. And so it's being able to bring in those supports all the way through their journey." Labour's tertiary education spokersperson Shanan Halbert said the funding cut was part of a bigger revamp to the sector where references to the needs of Māori and Pacific students were being removed from education legislation. Alongside that, references to Te Tiriti o Waitangi were also being deleted, he said. It was inconsistent with research on student needs in Aotearoa, Halbert said. "If you look at where Māori and Pacific learners sit in our education system, they have the greatest need, and so the the additional support is required to ensure that they're achieving what they need to. But also that they're that they're staying within the courses until they're completed." Minister Simmonds responded to questions from RNZ Pacific in a statement. National Party MP Penny Simmonds in select committee. Photo: Phil Smith She said the government was working towards "a more streamlined, outcomes-focused approach that supports all learners… through mechanisms that are targeted, evidence-based, and accountable". Simmonds also acknowledged the advice she'd received from education officials, but said the decision to remove the Māori and Pacific enrolment subsidiary had been a Cabinet decision. "The Cabinet collectively agreed that a broader reset of vocational education funding was needed to reduce complexity and ensure every dollar delivers results." When asked where the funding for Māori and Pacific was being directed, she said details were yet to be finalised.
RNZ News
5 hours ago
- RNZ News
ACT's local govt candidates want to oppose attempts to manage emissions
ACT leader David Seymour. Photo: RNZ/ Nick Monro The ACT Party says its local government candidates will oppose attempts to manage emissions at the local government level if they are elected. ACT is standing candidates under the party banner for the first time at this year's elections. If elected, those candidates would stand under policies including: The party's local government spokesperson, Cameron Luxton, said ratepayers were facing costly increases, and councils were getting involved in things they did not need to get involved in. "Councillors will be standing for cutting waste, reducing rates, and keeping councils focused on their knitting, because that is the problem New Zealanders are facing," he said. "Up and down the country, we are seeing massive rates increases that aren't justified, and it's because councils are taking it on themselves to go about declaring climate emergencies and going on junkets overseas." A number of councils around the country have declared climate emergencies, and had put in place plans to cut their emissions by particular dates. Luxton said those plans were redundant, because emissions targets were set nationally by central government, and councils were already incentivised to reduce emissions through the Emissions Trading Scheme. "We have an ETS. It's working, it's got a sinking lid, it prices carbon and allocates carbon into the economy. Anything else they do is just a platitude, it's not actually helping New Zealand reduce its emissions. All it's doing is driving up costs on ratepayers," he said. Last year, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told councils he wanted them to " rein in the fantasies " on spending and focus on essentials like fixing pipes and potholes, and picking up the rubbish. The government has also removed wellbeing provisions from the Local Government Act, claiming they were leading to rates increases. Labour has said there is no evidence the wellbeing provisions were responsible for rates increases, and one of the primary drivers has been the need to upgrade water infrastructure. ACT has finalised its candidate selection, and intended to announce its candidates in the coming days. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
