Oh no, the accountability monster has arrived and it doesn’t speak fluent bureaucracy fluff. Apparently, since the dissolution of Te Aka Whai Ora (the Māori Health Authority), some providers are finding life a little less... profitable. Gone are the golden days when identity tick boxes opened the funding floodgates. Now, it’s all back to the big, bad world of open market tendering you know, that pesky thing where competence might actually matter.
Kuka laments that now Māori organisations have to apply for contracts like everyone else. Tragic, really. “We were contacted. We were valued.” Translation: we were paid, no questions asked. Now? Back to GETS (Government Electronic Tender Service), where the uncomfortable burden of merit and efficiency rears its ugly head.
Lady Tureiti, head of Te Kōhao Health, is shocked shocked! that even after exceeding targets in maternity and early childhood, she has to (brace yourself) report on it. Re code, re audit, re explain in other words, prove it wasn’t all just flash presentation decks and cultural consultants in woven ties.
Worse yet, contracts are going to "large, non Māori organisations with Māori sounding names." That is dare we say it capitalism. Supply, demand, performance. No amount of kaumatua name dropping will save you from being outbid if your spreadsheets don't match your stories.
And now, surprise surprise, it’s off to the Waitangi Tribunal which, let’s be honest, has about as much legal power as a strong worded Facebook post. But when the subsidies dry up, the grievance machine kicks into full gear. Apparently, expecting all providers to meet the same standards is tantamount to cultural genocide.
The central complaint seems to be this: “The tail is no longer wagging the dog.” Indeed. And thank goodness. After years of watching taxpayer dollars vanish into endless “kaupapa-driven initiatives” that produce glowing reviews and underwhelming outcomes, it’s refreshing to see a return to, dare we say it, results.
Call it what you like but if the gravy train’s derailed, maybe it’s time to learn how to drive a real engine.
******************************
Steven Mark Gaskell: $100 Million For Basket Weaving 101 - Now Worth the Same as Engineering?"
In a move that will no doubt thrill the Ministry of Feelings, the New Zealand Government has just unveiled another $100 million for “Māori education initiatives” because nothing says educational equity like a ring-fenced fund to build 50 new classrooms to study Shakespeare in te reo.
Yes, Budget 2025 has delivered what some are calling a cultural renaissance and others might describe as ideological charity. With $60 million earmarked for new classrooms and tens of millions more for online STEM classes taught in te reo Māori, we’re apparently on track to solve the country’s tech talent shortage by teaching calculus in a language only 2.8 % of New Zealanders are fluent in. Brilliant.
No one’s arguing against uplifting Māori learners. But here's the kicker, students coming out with a degree in Māori Studies may walk away with a heart full of pride and a head full of whakataukī, but employers in the real world are still looking for JavaScript, not whakapapa.
So where are we heading? If this trend continues, we’ll be expected to nod solemnly when someone demands equal pay for a degree in “Contemporary Māori Basket Weaving Techniques” compared to four years grinding through engineering or welding apprenticeships. Because, you know, "all knowledge is valuable."
Meanwhile, the trades are crying out for workers, IT companies are importing talent, and half the country can’t get a plumber. But rest easy we’ve got cultural advisors for days.
The government said they’d pull back on separatist policies at the last election. Now they’re cutting ribbons on initiatives that sound more like a Te Papa art installation than a practical education strategy. We were promised a unified system, not an education version of apartheid lite.
Sure, measuring success is always tricky. But inflating NCEA pass rates through boutique subjects with no economic demand is the academic equivalent of awarding a gold medal for showing up. It may look good in a press release but it won’t pay the rent.
So next time someone says the education system is failing, remember it’s not failing everyone. Some are thriving in their echo chamber of cultural validation. It just won’t help them get a job.
No one’s arguing against uplifting Māori learners. But here's the kicker, students coming out with a degree in Māori Studies may walk away with a heart full of pride and a head full of whakataukī, but employers in the real world are still looking for JavaScript, not whakapapa.
So where are we heading? If this trend continues, we’ll be expected to nod solemnly when someone demands equal pay for a degree in “Contemporary Māori Basket Weaving Techniques” compared to four years grinding through engineering or welding apprenticeships. Because, you know, "all knowledge is valuable."
Meanwhile, the trades are crying out for workers, IT companies are importing talent, and half the country can’t get a plumber. But rest easy we’ve got cultural advisors for days.
The government said they’d pull back on separatist policies at the last election. Now they’re cutting ribbons on initiatives that sound more like a Te Papa art installation than a practical education strategy. We were promised a unified system, not an education version of apartheid lite.
Sure, measuring success is always tricky. But inflating NCEA pass rates through boutique subjects with no economic demand is the academic equivalent of awarding a gold medal for showing up. It may look good in a press release but it won’t pay the rent.
So next time someone says the education system is failing, remember it’s not failing everyone. Some are thriving in their echo chamber of cultural validation. It just won’t help them get a job.
Source Facebook
2 comments:
If over the years taxpayer money has been disappearing down a big hole with no accountability, when are we getting compensation? Why do only certain groups get reparations? It is time for future governments to be held accountable for every taxpayer dollar spent.
I see it worse than that Janine , Willis and co said they looked at every line and couldnt find anything to reduce debt. the above "Maori Shakespeare " (mis) appropriation and the HRC kauri tree debacle are but two immediate payments that come to mind. All of us know that Ministeries could have been closed and ongoing costs exhumed .
It is as important to stop ongoing costs as reducing debt .
Is Willis a Minister of Finance or a figurehead for LUXON , who has to go. Is it (mis)information or missing information ? Hmmph.
Post a Comment