Posts by Catherine Delahunty

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  Government cherry-picks research to justify school class size increases - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  Yesterday, I asked a question in Parliament to Education Minister Hekia Parata: CATHERINE DELAHUNTY (Green) to the Minister of Education: Will she rule out implementing Treasury’s advice to increase class sizes in schools? I was expecting a similar rejection to those we have grown used to from John Key in response to some of the [...] read more
  February 9, 2012 12:55 pm - 17 Comments
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  Waitangi Wisdom - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  The Act Party’s sole MP John Banks was moaning in the House this week about the “terrible” protests at Waitangi. The last time he visited Waitangi on Waitangi Day was in 1990 when someone dared to throw a T-shirt at the Queen. Apparently, that makes him an expert.  I have been going to Waitangi every [...] read more
  February 9, 2012 9:22 am - 12 Comments
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  Public education under attack - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  This has been a week of disturbing announcements by the National Government although the leader of the pack was actually John Banks – the lone ACT MP. Before final sign off and maybe as a way to keep the pressure on, John announced that Catherine Isaac (number 3 on the ACT list and rumoured to [...] read more
  February 3, 2012 5:42 pm - 17 Comments
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  Children’s privacy rights at risk - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  The Green Party supports NZEI’s call for schools not to share their  Nationals Standards information because it could lead to the publishing of league tables that unfairly rank schools and infringe on pupils’ privacy. Schools must protect this information from publication because once it is centralised, there is no guarantee it can be kept out [...] read more
  January 30, 2012 4:32 pm - 14 Comments
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  Schools should appoint their own principals - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  I am concerned by media reports that the Ministry of Education is considering taking off boards of trustees the role of hiring their school’s principal. Rumours about such a significant proposal should not be swirling around in the media without a confirmation or denial from the Ministry. School boards and parents should be formally notified [...] read more
  December 19, 2011 7:42 pm - 9 Comments
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  Military helicopters attacking West Papuan villages - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  This week’s stories of an Indonesian military offensive against villages in Paniai West Papua came from sources inside the country, where international media has no access. The Red Cross was kicked out of West Papua some time ago and few aid groups are permitted to operate there. It is therefore difficult to assess the news [...] read more
  December 19, 2011 8:54 am - 2 Comments
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  “Choice” versus fairness in education - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  Why is it that this country continues to adopt failed models from elsewhere instead of strengthening our own structures based on our own experience? The schools and communities of South Auckland and Eastern Christchurch are being used to justify ideological experimentation. After all there are many good schools doing their best in these regions and [...] read more
  December 7, 2011 5:08 pm - 71 Comments
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  Corporate welfare at its worst - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  It seems that National is using the confidence and supply agreement with its former MP John Banks acting as an ACT Party MP to push through some silly ideologically driven policies and hope that the terminal ACT rather than National cops the blame for them when the wheels fall off. Among those polices are several [...] read more
  December 6, 2011 1:40 pm - 12 Comments
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  Toxic Legacies Need Serious Leadership - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  The arsenic issues effecting Moanataiari, a small subdivision in my home town of Thames, are part of the very challenging reality of our not so “clean green” country. That is why I challenged the Minister for the Environment to establish a national register of contaminated sites. This led to the work we are doing on [...] read more
  November 25, 2011 3:23 pm - 1 Comment
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  High time to eliminate violence against women - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Amnesty International begin its sixteen days of activism against gender-based violence, with events happening all over the country. This year there’s a focus on calling on the Solomon Islands to enact laws to protect women from violence, and working to defend Norma Cruz, [...] read more
  November 25, 2011 10:38 am - 5 Comments
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  National’s Unhelpful Education Policy - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  The National Party’s education policy launched yesterday lacks a vision for quality public education. Threatening to punish “low performing schools” and reward “high performance”  is a dangerous, divisive and elitist approach to our public education system. The policy is about continuing to enforce Nationals Standards, which are the central failure in education of the last [...] read more
  November 23, 2011 4:02 pm - 36 Comments
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  Odds against women in the Pay Equity Wheel of Fortune - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  On Saturday, I went to the Grey Lynn festival to talk to people about our women’s policy, and draw attention to the inequities between women and men when it comes to paid work. We invited festival goers to spin the Pay Equity Wheel of Fortune – Show Me The Money! read more
  November 22, 2011 12:43 pm - 12 Comments
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  Coromandel Watch Frog: Protecting our endangered amphibians - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  In between a candidate meeting and a cottage meeting, door knocking and radio interviews, I managed to squeeze in a fantastic event organised by Whangamata Earthwatch and Coromandel Watchdog of Hauraki. The groups invited Phil Bishop, Chief Scientist for IUCN Amphibian Survival Alliance to come and speak  in Whangamata on a Sunday morning and at [...] read more
  November 17, 2011 9:02 am - 5 Comments
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  Te Reo – The First National Language - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  The Maori Party announced a policy today that Te Reo should be available in all schools. We agree as this has been our policy for some time. We also agree it would take conscious capacity building to achieve this. Labour say there could be a backlash which I think is an unfortunate stance. The way [...] read more
  November 10, 2011 11:35 am - 28 Comments
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  Making sense at the Marton lockout - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  On a corner of the State Highway near Marton about half the workforce of the CMP (Canterbury Meat Processors) workforce are locked out and holding a picket. I arrived as the breakfast was coming off the barbecue on day nine of the lockout. The workers held placards calling for a fair agreement and the chance [...] read more
  November 2, 2011 9:29 am - 8 Comments
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  National’s war on the poor - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  This afternoon John Key and Paula Bennett announced the National Party’s long-heralded welfare reform package.  As I expected, it is a punitive war on the poor that will harass beneficiaries into low paid jobs, or in many cases off benefit and into no job at all because the jobs simply don’t exist.  Metiria says National is backing [...] read more
  November 1, 2011 5:34 pm - 75 Comments
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  Murder in West Papua - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  The events of the past two weeks in West Papua have been a savage reminder that our neighbours just to the north are not free. First there was the attack on striking miners at Freeport McMoran, possibly the world’s most disastrous gold mining area, and the competition for that title is huge. The workforce was [...] read more
  October 25, 2011 1:43 pm - 3 Comments
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  Nasty surprise in Disability Commissioner bill? - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  The Government has introduced legislation to establish the permanent position of Disability Commissioner at the Human Rights Commission – or has it? read more
  October 25, 2011 10:15 am - 1 Comment
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  Rena Oil Spill Day 12 - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  Midday at Papamoa Beach Surf Club and the free sausage sizzle is competing with the donated cakes stall. A motley group of citizens is broken up into ten people clusters and decked out in the white overalls and blue rubber gloves. With spades and rakes we are packed off down the beach to start cleaning [...] read more
  October 17, 2011 11:17 am - 8 Comments
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  Rena Oil Spill – Day Ten - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  Green Party member Renee Annan and I drove into the car park at Maketu Surf Club. Clumps of people were wandering around and there was a small pile of contaminated sand bags on the edge of the beach. We had no idea how bad the problems were at Maketü but we figured talking to the [...] read more
  October 17, 2011 7:58 am - 3 Comments