Disabilities shakeup is likely to draw focus from charter schools, but Seymour should explain what “accountability” means
In terms of news on the Government’s official website, we last heard from the PM on Monday when he announced he was headed to Australia until tomorrow for a series of top-level political and business engagements.
We did hear from his deputy, Winston Peters, today. He is in Palau, the final destination of his four-country Pacific tour with a delegation comprising the Chair of the Labour Pacific Caucus, Jenny Salesa; the Chair of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee (FADTC) Tim van de Molen; and FADTC member Teanau Tuiono.
They have already visited Fiji, the Republic of Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia and will arrive back in New Zealand tomorrow, too.
Back home the other coalition government triumvirate leader took the opportunity to try to grab a headline or two by gushing about the charter schools which he eagerly promotes. As Associate Education Minister, he said the Charter Schools Agency (CSA) has received 78 applications to open new charter schools, or to convert existing state schools to charter schools.
Indeed, the demand to set up these schools is greater than the appropriation in the Budget 2024 to fund their establishment.
But isn’t that always the case, when the Government fills a trough and invites eligible oinkers to queue for a slurp of the goodies?
More fascinating was to hear Seymour sounding a bit like Karl Marx:
“This shows the demand from educators to free themselves from the shackles of the state system and meet the needs of students who are being failed by the current system,” says Mr Seymour.
But he is likely to find Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston grabs bigger headlines than he does.
She has announced immediate action will be taken “to stabilise the disability support system” after an independent review found the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha was ‘ill-prepared’ to deliver these services when it was established in 2022.
Cabinet has therefore decided to take the following actions:
They have already visited Fiji, the Republic of Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia and will arrive back in New Zealand tomorrow, too.
Back home the other coalition government triumvirate leader took the opportunity to try to grab a headline or two by gushing about the charter schools which he eagerly promotes. As Associate Education Minister, he said the Charter Schools Agency (CSA) has received 78 applications to open new charter schools, or to convert existing state schools to charter schools.
Indeed, the demand to set up these schools is greater than the appropriation in the Budget 2024 to fund their establishment.
But isn’t that always the case, when the Government fills a trough and invites eligible oinkers to queue for a slurp of the goodies?
More fascinating was to hear Seymour sounding a bit like Karl Marx:
“This shows the demand from educators to free themselves from the shackles of the state system and meet the needs of students who are being failed by the current system,” says Mr Seymour.
But he is likely to find Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston grabs bigger headlines than he does.
She has announced immediate action will be taken “to stabilise the disability support system” after an independent review found the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha was ‘ill-prepared’ to deliver these services when it was established in 2022.
Cabinet has therefore decided to take the following actions:
- The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) will become responsible for delivering disability support services by October 2024.
- The Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha will be upgraded from an agency hosted by MSD to a stand-alone government department with responsibility for leading work to improve the lives of disabled people through strategic policy advice, monitoring the effectiveness of services, education, and advocating for positive change.
- A taskforce will lead implementation of the recommendations and help facilitate the transfer of disability support services to MSD.
- Indicative budgets and monitoring of Needs Assessment and Service Coordination organisations (NASCs) will be reinstated.
- Funding for residential care and service providers will be maintained at 2023/24 levels while a rapid review of pricing is conducted.
- Expanding the Enabling Good Lives approach will be paused to make sure access to support is fair and based on need, not location.
And then:
“Moving disability support services to MSD is significant but necessary.”
When it is necessary to say a change is necessary, it is reasonable to suppose some changes are not necessarily necessary.
The inevitable furore that is likely to be generated by this announcement means less media attention may be paid to two other new announcements.
Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly has announced “a raft of reforms” to modernise and simplify company law and “make New Zealand an easier and safer place to do business”.
These include changes to improve insolvency law and combat “phoenixing” so that when companies go bust, it’s fairer for creditors and other changes that will make it harder for directors to dodge their debts and continue practicing.
Foreign Affairs Minister Peters and Immigration Minister Erica Stanford brought news aimed at supporting the growth of New Zealand’s horticulture and viticulture industries, by revitalising the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Scheme and increasing the cap for the coming season.
The cap on the number of workers is increasing by 1,250 to 20,750 for the 2024/25 season.
Employers will be required to pay workers an average of 30 hours a week over four weeks.
The pause on accommodation cost increases will be lifted and the requirement to pay RSE workers 10 percent above the minimum wage will only apply to experienced workers, recognising their productivity.
Further changes are:
- Improved flexibility for RSE workers to move between employers and regions.
- Workers’ visas will be multi-entry during a season.
- RSE workers will be able to undertake training and skills development not directly related to their role.
- RSE workers will no longer have to be screened for HIV, aligning them with other temporary visa applicant requirements.
- Timor-Leste will be included in the scheme.
The announcements can be found on …
Latest from the Beehive
15 August 2024
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says the Charter Schools Agency (CSA) has received 78 applications to open new charter schools, or to convert existing state schools to charter schools.
New Zealand will support good governance and quality audit activities in the North Pacific, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says.
A raft of reforms to modernise and simplify company law will make New Zealand an easier and safer place to do business Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.
Immediate action will be taken to stabilise the disability support system after an independent review found the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha was ‘ill-prepared’ to deliver these services when it was established in 2022.
14 August 2024
The coalition Government is supporting the growth of New Zealand’s horticulture and viticulture industries, by revitalising the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Scheme and increasing the cap for the coming season.
New Zealand and Palau will cooperate more closely on oceans and marine resources, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says.
Today’s cut in the Official Cash Rate (OCR) to 5.25 per cent is welcome relief for families and businesses, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says.
In his statement, David Seymour said funding provided by Budget 24 will allow 15 new charter schools and the conversion of 35 state schools to charter schools in 2025 and 2026 depending on demand and suitability.
“Due to demand outstripping the funding made available in Budget 24, I acknowledge some sponsors will be disappointed when final decisions are made by the CSA,” says Mr Seymour.
By focusing primarily on student achievement, charter schools allow sponsors and communities to take their own path getting there. They can, with some restrictions, set their own curriculum, hours and days of operation, and governance structure. They also have greater flexibility in how they spend their funding as long as they reach the agreed performance outcomes.”
Stage two of the application process will be undertaken over the coming months before final decisions are made later this year.
The second stage is a detailed assessment of sponsors’ plans for the school before final decisions are made later this year. This will evaluate the focus of the proposed school, the capability of the sponsor, the standard of tuition to be provided, the level of support from the community, and financial and network implications for the Crown.
The first charter contracts will be negotiated and signed before the end of the year so the first schools can open for term one 2025.
Sponsors will have a fixed-term contract of 10 years to operate a charter school, with two rights of renewal for 10 years each. All fixed-term periods are conditional on the school continuing to meet the terms of its contract.
“Charter schools will be subject to a high level of monitoring and accountability and could be shut down if they do not achieve the outcomes they were funded to achieve,” Seymour said.
But what is a high level of monitoring and accountability and will they be subject to the Official Information Act?
In a recent post on No Right Turn, Malcolm Harbrow warns:
National’s charter schools bill is curently before select committee. One of the more odious features of the bill is that it makes charter schools secret and unaccountable by exempting them from the Official Information Act. No policy rationale has been provided for this unconstitutional position, but last time round it was pitched as allowing charter schools to avoid “costly and vexatious requests” – which tells us what National really thinks of transparency and accountability.
But more attention is likely to focus on the statement by Louise Upston about the shake-up at the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha.
The Government had provided a record $1.1 billion funding boost to disability support services in this year’s Budget, she said in obvious anticipation of a furore.
The review which triggered the restructuring found problems largely stemming from the previous government’s ‘rushed’ six-month establishment of the ministry.
“The Ministry’s financial controls were ‘poor’, its monitoring of expenditure ‘inadequate’, and it lacked the public sector disciplines and operational practices seen in other government agencies.
“Numerous risks identified during the Ministry’s planning, including ongoing budget overruns, were not adequately addressed, and a breach of the $2.6 billion Budget appropriation for disability support is likely this year unless we act quickly.
“The previous government left the Ministry ill-prepared from day one to deliver on promises that were made to the disability community.”
The review also found a lack of criteria for access to flexible funding and guidelines for its use was contributing to increasing costs and the ‘inequitable and unfair’ postcode lottery that exists for disabled people in this country.
Cabinet has approved that the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha will become a stand-alone government department, with the intention to enact this by Order in Council in October 2024.
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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