Oops – govt could do better with childhood education initiative (as it admits just a few weeks after Budget Day announcement)
A Government backdown can mean a policy has gone down badly with voters. Or it can mean a programme may not be working as well as was intended, perhaps because of unintended consequences.
In the case of childhood education, a Budget announcement that looked like it was packaged to attract the votes of delighted parents has turned out to have been problematic with its consequences.
A Newshub report says:
The Government has backed down over a condition in its early childhood education policy that raised concerns among centres worried it may lead to increased fees and closures.
In Budget 2023, the Government announced it would spend $1.2 billion over four years to extend 20 hours of free early childhood education to two-year-olds from March next year. The subsidy is currently only available to children aged between three and five. Funding rates were also increased by 4.6 percent.
Many centres welcomed the extension to more children, but concerns were raised about some conditions that came with it.
Three-quarters of the sector called for an urgent meeting with the minister over what they deemed was an unworkable policy.
Associate Education Minister Jo Luxton yesterday said she met with ECE representatives – and:
“They specifically flagged the proposed condition requiring services to offer enrolments for 20 hours only, if requested.
“On the basis of their constructive feedback and with further advice from officials, Minister Tinetti and I have agreed to remove the condition. This change will still enable parents to access more affordable childcare while allowing services to retain flexibility in their enrolment practices to support their viability.”
The Government is having second thoughts on the climate-change front, too.
It has opened public consultations on (a) the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme, and (b) the redesigning of the Permanent Forest Category
It turns out the Climate Change Commission reckons the ETS is not up to snuff, although Climate Change Minister James Shaw put it this way:
“… in its current form, the NZ ETS may not be incentivising emissions reductions at source. Currently it is cheaper for most companies to just buy emissions units, rather than invest in ways to cut pollution”.
And:
“In its current state, the price of carbon is not high enough to drive significant change.”
The public are being invited to give their views on four options.
The “Permanent Forest Category” aims to enable iwi Māori, local Government, and the forestry sector to work with the government in redesigning this category.
The three key redesign considerations are –
The Government has backed down over a condition in its early childhood education policy that raised concerns among centres worried it may lead to increased fees and closures.
In Budget 2023, the Government announced it would spend $1.2 billion over four years to extend 20 hours of free early childhood education to two-year-olds from March next year. The subsidy is currently only available to children aged between three and five. Funding rates were also increased by 4.6 percent.
Many centres welcomed the extension to more children, but concerns were raised about some conditions that came with it.
Three-quarters of the sector called for an urgent meeting with the minister over what they deemed was an unworkable policy.
Associate Education Minister Jo Luxton yesterday said she met with ECE representatives – and:
“They specifically flagged the proposed condition requiring services to offer enrolments for 20 hours only, if requested.
“On the basis of their constructive feedback and with further advice from officials, Minister Tinetti and I have agreed to remove the condition. This change will still enable parents to access more affordable childcare while allowing services to retain flexibility in their enrolment practices to support their viability.”
The Government is having second thoughts on the climate-change front, too.
It has opened public consultations on (a) the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme, and (b) the redesigning of the Permanent Forest Category
It turns out the Climate Change Commission reckons the ETS is not up to snuff, although Climate Change Minister James Shaw put it this way:
“… in its current form, the NZ ETS may not be incentivising emissions reductions at source. Currently it is cheaper for most companies to just buy emissions units, rather than invest in ways to cut pollution”.
And:
“In its current state, the price of carbon is not high enough to drive significant change.”
The public are being invited to give their views on four options.
The “Permanent Forest Category” aims to enable iwi Māori, local Government, and the forestry sector to work with the government in redesigning this category.
The three key redesign considerations are –
- What forests should be allowed in the permanent forest category
- How transition forests should be managed to best ensure a successful transition; and
- What rules will best maximise the benefits of permanent forests in the category
The Government’s announcements on the ECE and the ETS appear on the Government’s official website alongside news that answers questions such as:
- It sounds good – but what is it, exactly?
She proceeded to say an 18-home Kāinga Ora development will deliver a reduced operational carbon footprint of around 35% and reduced space heating electricity use by around 62%, compared with a standard 6 Homestar Kāinga Ora home.
Then she explained that a Passive House is built to a strict standard, where features such as airtight construction, superior insulation and a whole house mechanical ventilation system “deliver a healthy home that is thermally efficient”.
She said the project in Mangere will result in public housing customers paying around $1 a day to heat and cool their homes, while delivering significantly reduced carbon emissions. She did not say how much taxpayers will cough up to achieve this.
- What accomplishments are they chuffed about?
- Which world leaders are being taught a lesson?
- Who will have the privilege of hob-nobbing with our PM?
Our PM, who will lead a 29 strong business delegation to China, visiting Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai, says:.
“The export of traditional goods like dairy, meat and wood to China remain important, but it’s critical we also throw our support behind emerging sectors such as gaming and health and wellness, and the make-up of the delegation reflects our objective of diversifying the breadth of our export offering.”
The delegation includes representatives from our tourism and education sectors, with strong recovery forecast in both as we see demand rebounding.
A champion kapa haka group from up Gisborne way will accompany the delegation to help promote New Zealand as a world class tourism destination.
The delegation will be in China from 25 – 30 June.
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Today on World Refugee Day the Government is celebrating the milestone of resettling 1,500 refugees this quota year.
The Government has responded to concerns raised by the early childhood education (ECE) sector around proposed funding conditions.
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New Zealanders are being invited to have their say on the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) and the NZ ETS permanent forest category, with public consultation opening today, Climate Change Minister James Shaw and Forestry Minister Peeni Henare announced today.
Point of Order is a blog focused on politics and the economy run by veteran newspaper reporters Bob Edlin and Ian Templeton
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