Ma¯ ori pair hit back at school closures
Govt shutdown of charter schools triggers Treaty of Waitangi claim Nash says he would have alerted Ardern
Charter school closures will have a disproportionately detrimental effect on Ma¯ ori, say educators Sir Toby Curtis and Dame Iritana Tawhiwhirangi in a Treaty of Waitangi claim.
Curtis said most of the 1500 students at the charter schools the Government is shutting down were Ma¯ori, many of whom had enrolled to get a fresh start in education and get their lives back on track.
Six of the 11 partnership schools (Kura Hourua) had 87 to 100 per cent Ma¯ori rolls.
“The rights of these students to make that choice and the rights of parents and wha¯nau to choose and support what’s best for their children are being taken away from them.”
Tawhiwhirangi said there had been a “total lack of consultation” with the schools and their students’ wha¯nau.
“This Government has ridden roughshod over the futures of these young people in spite of claiming they are placing a priority on helping our most vulnerable children.
“The evidence shows that Kura Hourua have been delivering very positive results for Ma¯ori students who for decades have been falling through the gaps,” she said.
Education Minister Chris Hipkins introduced the Education Amendment Bill, spelling the end of charter schools, in February. All existing charter schools applied to become state or integrated schools.
So far Hipkins has approved only Albany’s Vanguard Military School to convert to a Police Minister Stuart Nash says he would have done things differently had he known about controversial comments Wally Haumaha made in 2004 before the MP recommended Haumaha be appointed Deputy Police Commissioner.
Nash also said Police Commissioner Mike Bush, who was on the interview panel for the job, had not been aware of the controversial comments his deputy had made during the Operation Austin inquiry.
But Nash also downplayed the prospect of Haumaha losing his job as a result of an inquiry into the appointment.
“No one is talking about Wally getting sacked,” Nash told Newstalk ZB yesterday. “What we are talking about is ‘let’s have a look and see if the proper process was followed’.
“What I would have done is done this a little bit differently.”
He said would have state school with designated character.
He has promised to decide by the end of the month on applications from nine others to become designated character state schools and from two, Te Kura Ma¯ori o Waatea in Ma¯ngere and the proposed new Tu¯ ranga Tangata Rite in Gisborne, to become integrated schools similar to Catholic schools.
Curtis said the Government’s plans to offer Kura Hourua the chance to reestablish themselves as regular state schools would not solve the problem. “It would strip the schools of the key flexibilities that were allowing them to succeed.”
Rotorua’s only partnership school, Te Rangihakahaka Centre for Science and Technology, is run by Te Taumata o Ngati Whakaue Iho-Ake Trust, the educational arm of Ngati Whakaue.
General manager Roanna Bennett said the trust supported the claim.
“We really see no value in being forced back into the state school model. This offers a way for iwi to actively partner as equals,” she said.
“I’d like to see the Government begin to get serious about engaging with iwi with the goal being to improve education outcomes for Ma¯ori.
Waiariki MP Tamati Coffey said he had always advocated for a state school system for all Ma¯ori and the Government was committed to that. Stuart Nash says “no one is talking about Wally [Haumaha] being sacked”.
undertaken some due diligence himself, by having discussions with key people.
“The first person I would have called was the Prime Minister and said ‘Prime Minister, this is something that must be considered by keeping in mind.”
An inquiry into the appoint-
HWatch the video at nzherald.co.nz
ment of Haumaha in May will be conducted after the Herald last week revealed that Louise Nicholas was furious about his appointment because of his complimentary comment about the men she accused of raping her.
She knew about the comments because she has had access to the files into the investigation, and she demanded a meeting with both Bush and Haumaha after the May promotion.
In comments to investigating officers, Haumaha called his former colleagues Brad Shipton a “big softie” and Bob Schollum a “legend” with women. Another officer told investigators that Haumaha had described Nicholas’ allegations as “a nonsense”.
Both men were found not guilty of raping Nicholas but it was revealed after the trial that they were already in jail for raping another woman in 1989.
That woman has called for Haumaha to resign over his comments, despite him offering an unreserved apology last week and saying they do not reflect his values today.
Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters, in announcing the inquiry, said it would look at whether the appointment panel and the Cabinet were given all relevant information.