Nikki Kaye on her new portfolio
It’s back to school for Education Minister Nikki Kaye as she gets to grips with her new role, writes Jo Moir.
She’s been in the job for two weeks but Nikki Kaye still managed to forget she’s the education minister while being introduced to a hall full of school children on Thursday morning.
It was one of those classic ‘‘pinch myself’’ moments, says Kaye, who took a few seconds to register ‘‘that’s me’’.
The 37-year-old laughs at her surprise but is genuine when she says that she’s had the most amazing two weeks since taking over the job from one of her ‘‘best mates’’ – Hekia Parata.
Since Kaye first joined Parliament as National’s Auckland Central MP in 2008, she’s had her eye on only two jobs – minister of education or social development.
Nine years later and the former associate education minister has big shoes to fill after Parata announced she would step down at September’s election, vacating the portfolio from May 1.
On Thursday, the biggest education reform in decades – the Education (Update) Amendment Bill – was passed in Parliament.
It allows for online schools, children to start school from age 4 and prohibits the use of seclusion rooms at schools amongst many other issues that have divided the sector for the last few years.
It was Parata who crafted and consulted her way through the legislation, but it was Kaye at the helm on Thursday when years of work came to fruition.
Kaye admits she had mixed feelings about being the one standing in the House when the bill passed and says Parata deserves all the credit.
But while much of her workload over the next four months will be seeing through projects started by her predecessor, Kaye is adamant there’s time to make her own mark. ‘‘I’m hoping I’m not the shortest serving minister of education in our nation’s history.’’
Expect to see Kaye move quickly on new technologies and she’s also set on teachers providing parents with better information on their child’s progress, which not only includes educational achievement but potentially aspects of health and wellbeing too.
Whatever that system looks like, the idea is to reduce the paperwork for principals and teachers, while at the same time still ensuring the requirements around reporting National Standards continues.
Teacher shortages are another issue she’s keen to tackle and an announcement around how to better attract teachers in particular geographical areas and subjects is imminent.
One thing she has ruled out is paying teachers in Auckland a higher wage to cover the more expensive cost of living that comes with working in the country’s biggest city.
Although tight-lipped on what to expect in the May 25 Budget, she did talk at length about the social investment approach Prime Minister Bill English is driving, along with the work that’s already underway in the special education and learning support area.
It’s likely there will be more targeted funding – similar to the 150,000 at-risk kids that were singled out to receive a cash boost in last year’s Budget – but not just for those disadvantaged by socioeconomic factors.
As for the wider review of how schools are funded and the scrapping of the decile system, Kaye says she has yet to decide whether to push it through before the election.
‘‘From my perspective, the primary consideration – out of respect of all the people that have been involved in this process – is do we have the information, is the policy work progressed well enough for the Cabinet to be able to make a decision?
‘‘I’m hopeful we can go into the election being clear, are we going to change it to something or are we not? It’s more that we’re confident with the amount of work that we’ve done ... I, personally, think the political consideration should come second to that.’’
At the end of last year, Kaye was forced to step back from her political portfolios and take leave from Parliament after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
She returned much sooner than many expected but Kaye says she’s better at her job as a result.
‘‘I’m a nerd now. Before I quite liked to socialise and have a glass of wine but I am very focused on looking after myself, in part because it’s been a bloody terrible period.’’
‘‘I’m pretty regimented ... I sleep well ... I also delegate way more than I ever used to,’’ Kaye said.