Parliament Archive

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  MPS – structural problems remain

  
  
  
  We had the Reserve Bank Governor in front of Finance and Expenditure Committee today about his Monetary Policy Statement. The MPS is very much a steady as she goes document. But if you look more closely it’s not so pretty. For example it predicts the current account deficit returning to more than 7.2% by 2013 (from 1.8% in 2010). [...] read more
  March 11, 2010 2:34 pm - 37 Comments
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  “Reshaping” the Ministry of Education

  
  
  
  I’m not a morning person at the best of times, and trying to understand what the Minister of Education was saying on “Morning Report” today about cuts to the Ministry of Education cuts was a true challenge. Is this an opposition beat up? Is the Minister directing the Ministry to cut administration services? Is it a [...] read more
  March 11, 2010 11:02 am - 7 Comments
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  Govt understanding of the Tertiary sector: FAIL

  
  
  
  Oh dear. Anyone who felt a wee bit nervous when Steven Joyce became Tertiary Education Minister has a right to feel justified in their fears after his last couple of annoucements. First, we hear there are plans to link funding for tertiary institutions to the pass rates of their students from 2012. This is a terrible [...] read more
  March 10, 2010 3:19 pm - 26 Comments
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  Why are 30,000 kids a day voting with their feet?

  
  
  
  The statistics on truancy are very worrying. Not only do we have 72,000 young people between the ages of 15 and 24 out of work and out of any form of education, but we have 30,000 students a day not wanting to go to school. In response, the Government has doubled funding to deal with [...] read more
  March 3, 2010 2:10 pm - 18 Comments
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  Podcast: Gareth’s challenge to Parliament

  
  
  
  The Greens’ newest and youngest MP, Gareth Hughes, has taken his seat in Parliament and delivered his maiden speech, laying down a challenge to Parliament to take climate change seriously and to listen to the voices of the new generation he represents. This week we present some highlights from his maiden address. Click to play If you’re having [...] read more
  March 3, 2010 9:33 am - 3 Comments
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  No boat ride for me and John

  
  
  
  My Dirty Rivers Rafting Tour is going so well that I invited the PM to join me. Since the launch on the Hutt River in late January, I have visited the Waihou in Waikato and the Taumarere in Northland, attracting some good local interest and starting some great conversations with locals about the state of their [...] read more
  February 16, 2010 5:09 pm - 17 Comments
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  Podcast: Jeanette Fitzsimons’ valedictory

  
  
  
  In case you missed it, highlights of Jeanette’s valedictory are here … 13 years summed up in 6 minutes (!). read more
  February 16, 2010 3:07 pm - No Comments
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  John Key takes a swipe at the Tertiary sector

  
  
  
  The Prime Minister took a swipe at the “increasingly urgent problems in our tertiary education sector” in his statement this week. According to John Key, “there are a large number of tertiary programmes, particularly below degree-level, that have drop-out rates as high as 50 percent, and … some of these programmes fail to properly equip students [...] read more
  February 11, 2010 1:30 pm - 4 Comments
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  New Conservation Minister off to a bad start with DOC review

  
  
  
  The Press this morning carried the news that new Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson has ordered a review into the advocacy role of her department. The story is not online for some reason, so I’ve reproduced the first few paragraphs below: Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson has ordered an investigation into her department’s advocacy role – a move [...] read more
  February 9, 2010 2:38 pm - 60 Comments
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  Podcast: Green Summer Holidays

  
  
  
  This week, the parties are gearing up for the political year, and the MPs are back from their summer holidays. We speak to Green MPs about how they spent their holidays, and discover that they have been relaxing, trying new things, and of course indulging in some old-school political activism. This week’s podcast features the lovely [...] read more
  February 9, 2010 9:45 am - No Comments