It turns out we should just systematically under pay women to fix the budget. Hell, why not cut even more from salaries in traditionally underpaid sectors like teaching and nursing? Think of the savings!

Pay equity legislation could save 'billions' for government - PM

Christopher Luxon said the upcoming Budget was not the motivation for rushing through the legislation.

rnz.co.nz

Popping up to say that the Min of Education have open for consultation the new draft framework for relationships and sex education in schools. They've cut out almost every mention of gender and gender diversity. Inside Out have a great guide to submitting here: insideout.org.nz/make-an-urge...

Pretty clear that Prebble joining the Waitangi Tribunal was always just a cheap stunt, setting him up to resign dramatically and claim that the Tribunal is corrupt. Fortunately it looks like he's shouting into the wind, the racist historical revisionism of ACT and Hobson's Pledge is losing.

Richard Prebble: Why I’ve resigned from the Waitangi Tribunal

OPINION: I will not participate in turning the Treaty into a socialist manifesto.

nzherald.co.nz

David Seymour: "Sure, some of the kids have been eating melted plastic. But what about all the kids who haven't been fed melted plastic? Why isn't the media talking about them?" (I'm paraphrasing but barely) www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Whether parents can afford to make their kids a Marmite sandwich is irrelevant. Lunches were introduced because kids didn't have food, the reason doesn't matter. Do we accept responsibility as a society for making sure our kids have kai? That should be a pretty simple question for us to answer.

Tax cut calculator is here: budget.govt.nz/taxcalculato... You can compare to what they campaigned on here: x.com/coughlthom/s...

Tax Calculator - Budget 2024 - 30 May 2024

budget.govt.nz

"Labour don't have a plan" says the guy who didn't even check the weather forecast. Very frustrating to watch UK Labour sleepwalk into government without any kind of ambition or transformational goals though. Basically just tory-light.

British PM Rishi Sunak calls UK national election for 4 July

Ending months of speculation the British PM stood on Downing Street in pouring rain.

rnz.co.nz

This aligns with my anecdotal experience of an attitude shift that happened after the lockdowns. It varies, but the perception that "a few days here and there don't matter", viewing start time as flexible, etc, seem much more widespread now.

The scariest driver of school non-attendance: more parents who just don’t care

Parents in a UK study knew attendance rates had gone down. The problem was, they didn't care. Could the same be true here?

rnz.co.nz

The $153m is just to set up and administer the schools, doesnt include the per-student funding. We know from previous charter schools here that they use this startup funding to provide levels of service (salaries, pastoral care etc) that their business model can't actually sustain. Cooks the books.

Charter schools might increase government costs, deliver marginal benefits - Cabinet papers

Charter schools will likely get higher per-student funding than most state schools, and evidence of their efficacy is mixed.

rnz.co.nz

How long can David Seymour keep branding as "activists" all these institutions established to defend people's rights? Surely before it will start to become obvious that the problem is his policy strips people of rights.

'Increasingly activist' Waitangi Tribunal faces its future under renewed attack from senior ministers

David Seymour has renewed attacks on the what he says is an 'increasingly activist' Tribunal as it faces questions about its future.

rnz.co.nz

All of this and also… a major reason for the importance of school lunches is being missed in discussions… to compensate for any potential nutritional deficiency poor kids might have in their diet at home.

Tom@tomcpearce.bsky.social · 2y ago

One of the huge benefits of school lunches (per the review) was that kids were eating healthier. Seymour is looking to take that away, and replace it with cheaper, processed food. The reason many parents just pack sandwiches (as he says) is because they're time-poor and sandwiches are convenient.

This is an EXACT repeat of the situation that cost Clare Curren her job as minister for broadcasting in 2018. Failure to add something to a diary, lying that it was because it was an ad-hoc meeting, and then it being revealed as a pre-arranged meeting. Totally different standards nowadays it seems.

Sacha@sachadylan.bsky.social · 2y ago

Isn't "favouritism and patronage and clientelism" just Winston First's M.O.? And why are people just accepting Jones' story about this? #nzpol

I wrote about David Seymour's pet charter school project in The Post. Sets out the evidence that charter schools just don't work; any benefits they provide (higher pay, better pastoral care) can and should be delivered through the public system. www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3502...

Charter schools want to have their cake and eat it too. Things like bulk funding and ability to employ unregistered teachers only offer benefits because the rest of the sector holds the line on funding, pay, standards etc. It's just privatisation, not even by stealth.

Doubts about value, results from charter schools - education figures

Reintroduced charter schools will be tightly monitored, but a lack of transparency in reporting was a key criticism they faced last time around.

rnz.co.nz

ACT voters: It's their own fault that the poors have health problems. They waste their money eating junk food instead of a healthy diet. Also ACT voters: Why are we wasting money on giving poor kids the sort of healthy diet that affluent people eat? Junk food is good enough for them!

ACT has decided that sushi is woke now folks.

"Schools that offered hot lunches as opposed to cold lunches also saw little to no leftover meals. Sandwiches and cold lunches were frequently mentioned as being wasted."

When it comes to free school lunches, how much waste can we live with?

Analysis: Schools say it’s impossible not to have some wastage within the school lunches programme. So how much is acceptable for the NZ taxpayer? Indira Stewart examines the waste equation.

1news.co.nz

One of the huge benefits of school lunches (per the review) was that kids were eating healthier. Seymour is looking to take that away, and replace it with cheaper, processed food. The reason many parents just pack sandwiches (as he says) is because they're time-poor and sandwiches are convenient.

Free school lunches: Year 7 students and above to shift to alternative model

A new interim delivery model will kick in next year to allow time for a full redesign of the scheme before any more money is dedicated.

rnz.co.nz

This will lead to reporting of "% of kids at school" data, which is good imo. But be alert for sleight of hand: they can easily say "Under Labour only 53.6% of students were attending school regularly. Now on average we have 84% of kids at school each day" without any actual change in attendance.

Government releases online tool where public can see how many kids are in school | Newshub

"There is a serious need for more accurate, complete, and timely information."

newshub.co.nz

This government is defunding social services and using the money to refund prisons. Not only is this more expensive in the long run, it also creates more crime and more harm. This money needs to be spent addressing the drivers of harm, not on throwing people into cages.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announces $1.9 billion plan to make NZ safer

The Prime Minister says there will be a "significant investment" in funding for frontline Corrections staffing and services.

rnz.co.nz

"Fiscal cliffs" remains the dumbest bit of spin from this government, invented to justify the fact that Nicola Willis didn't read the budget closely enough or didn't understand standard budget practices. It sucks that school lunches are hanging on by tenterhooks.

School lunches funding likely to be time-limited

It's an approach to funding the government has spent months criticising Labour over - calling them "fiscal cliffs" .

rnz.co.nz

Thinking of all the kids who catch the bus home each day from my school. An extra $20-40/week cost for those families, which will take up any tax cut they get and then some.

Public transport subsidies are ending. Here's how much fares will rise

In some places, young people will be paying up to $8 more for a trip, but in others, fares aren't rising at all. Here's the breakdown.

rnz.co.nz

" 'Formby High School said we haven’t had a single case of cyberbullying since the ban was put in place,' [Erica Stanford] said. " The ban that came into place today? Or is she just taking credit for stuff that schools were already doing?

Phone ban in schools begins - will it reduce cyberbullying?

Cellphone use will be banned in schools for students across the country.

nzherald.co.nz

It's worth reading this post about the Cass report. It covers everything pretty well, from the clear ideological stance of the report, to the questionable methodology, to the bits that have since been walked back.

Dr. Cass Backpedals From Review: HRT, Blockers Should Be Made Available

Dr. Cass's latest statements are likely to cast more doubt on the validity of the study, which has come under fire for disregarding substantial evidence on trans care.

erininthemorning.com

D Jukic She/her@dejanajuk.bsky.social · 2y ago

Know nothing about a subject but willing to write about it, that’s Damien Grant on gender affirming healthcare. It’s disappointing that Stuff sees misinfo as just an opinion when in reality Stuff are contributing to making the world unsafe for trans youth. #kikorangi

Know nothing about a subject but willing to write about it, that’s Damien Grant on gender affirming healthcare. It’s disappointing that Stuff sees misinfo as just an opinion when in reality Stuff are contributing to making the world unsafe for trans youth. #kikorangi

The woman who got a dodgy drug testing company to make misleading claims about meth use so that she could kick people out of state houses is now in charge of Pharmac. We are fucked.

Sacha@sachadylan.bsky.social · 2y ago

Look who gets to push through Act's weakening of Pharmac

NZHerald have now run four op-eds and one regular piece about how the high profile failures of government ministers is apparently a good thing. This is the NZ media platform that a recent Curia poll found to be perceived as the most balanced.