Tell Otago to #LoveHumanities
Last week between 300-400 people gathered outside the Union building at Otago University to protest proposed cuts to the Humanities division. Up to 20 jobs are at risk across the History, Anthropology and Archaeology, English, Languages, and Music departments, and the TEU has been vocal in its campaign against the cuts. There was a prior […]
The Productivity Commission: problems dressed up as solutions
The NZ Productivity Commission is currently systematically reviewing tertiary education in this country. Chapter 12 of its draft report is entitled ‘A System that Supports New Models’. Here are some highlights (or lowlights): The re-introduction of interest rates on student loans, universities given complete autonomy to set fees without regulatory caps (‘unregulated fees’) to cover […]
Green vomit and statistical nonsense: lies about immigration and housing
A few days ago the Labour party announced a new policy of increasing police numbers by 1000. I groaned at this news but it didn’t really surprise me. Then yesterday I heard of the new Greens policy on immigration, with James Shaw calling for a drastic reduction in numbers. Is New Zealand First calling the shots here, aided and […]
No Deportations!
On Monday night in quiet leafy suburbs in Lynfield, the silence was broken by calls for justice from a crowd of around 50 people. Justice for the 150 Indian students who have been swindled by immigration agents overseas and tertiary institutions here in New Zealand. The National Party was hosting a public meeting at the Lynfield Community […]
NZEI and PPTA stand up to government’s attacks on public education.
Unionised teachers in the secondary, primary and early childcare unions, PPTA and NZEI, attended paid union meeting nationwide to discuss a fightback against the government’s attacks on public education this week. Thousands of teachers filled the Auckland and Wellington town halls to voice their anger and concern about the government’s plans. Thousands more filled halls […]
“Anti-poverty” group suggests increasing student debt
We live in strange times. In a report released earlier this week, the Child Poverty Action Group – a group formed with the aim of reducing poverty – actually suggested re-introducing interest on student loans. The report did detail the increasingly desperate situation facing all but the most well-off students. Student allowances remain just pitifully […]
Demanding better disability stories
“Rights, not tragedy!” “Assistance to live, not assistance to die!” These were some of the chants of around 30 disability rights protesters outside the Embassy’s preview screening of Me Before You on Wednesday night. The rally was one of many around the world calling for a boycott of the Hollywood romance, a film that plays on the […]
Stop the Slop – Protest at Dunedin Hospital
Andrew Tait gave this speech at a protest outside Dunedin hospital on Friday: Nga mihi nui ki te tangata whenua o tenei rohe Kai Tahu whanui. Ki tewhare e tu nei, tena koe. Ki a koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa. That’s my hospital. I pay for it. My family and friends work there, […]
Massive data study reveals at-risk youth . . . are poor
Since 2013 Statistics New Zealand has collected data from government agencies including the Ministries of Social Development, Health and Education, as well as Child Youth and Family (CYF), Corrections, Police and Housing to create what Bill English calls a “world-leading Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI)”. He says it will help the government solve “long-term, complex social […]
TeachFirst – privatisation by stealth?
At a time when the National Party have overseen cuts to student allowance eligibility and continued underfunding of education, there’s one educational provider that they’re happy to put millions into: Teach First NZ. But their plans for Teach First NZ have recently hit a snag. The Employment Relations Authority ruled that all this time employing […]
