The other day I wrote about how Erica Stanford has been quietly ushering race-based policy back into New Zealand schools, under the feel-good label of “pastoral care”. Now we learn that while Stanford is pushing things in one direction, the ACT Party has been trying to steer us in another. You can read my original article here:
Erica Stanford sneaks race-based policy back into schools
Matua Kahurangi
· 27 Jun
Just when you thought National put an end to race-based policies and co-governance in public services, Erica Stanford’s new Education and Training Amendment Bill (No 2) makes you wonder if National has completely lost sight of those promises. It reads more like something from the Labour government than the party Kiwis voted in to restore some common sen…
Read full story
ACT has been fighting to strip out the Treaty of Waitangi clause from education legislation altogether. It is about time someone stood up and said our schools should be focused on teaching kids to read, write and do maths, not pushing political or cultural agendas.
The clause in question sits inside Section 127 of the Education and Training Act 2020. It says school boards must not only prioritise achievement, but also "give effect" to the Treaty. That has meant local curriculum must reflect tikanga Māori, mātauranga Māori, te ao Māori, and there must be steps to offer instruction in te reo. Boards are also tasked with achieving "equitable outcomes" for Māori students.
Part of ACT and National’s coalition agreement, does go some way in the right direction. It reinstates academic achievement as the paramount objective of state schooling. Supporting objectives, including the Treaty clause, are moved to a secondary tier. There is also a shuffle in wording with “equitable outcomes” now coming before the more nebulous cultural requirements.
ACT wanted the Treaty clause removed entirely. They were blocked. Leader David Seymour confirmed as much, saying it was “simply political”. Not because ACT changed its mind, but because other parties in government were unwilling to go that far.
Seymour was blunt about the public frustration too. He said many parents complain their kids are wasting time on subjects that seem to serve a broader cultural transformation, not their education. For many families, this feels like indoctrination masquerading as learning. They want their kids taught actual knowledge, not ideology. Who can blame them?
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon tried to justify keeping the Treaty clause by saying the government wants a more “coordinated” approach. That means they will revisit the Treaty references later as part of a wider review, supposedly to bring more clarity. In the meantime, the clause stays put.
Luxon refused to say who blocked ACT’s proposal. He called it a “series of conversations” in Cabinet and left it there. Erica Stanford later admitted that the Treaty clause, and others like it, would be reviewed as part of Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith’s broader Treaty obligations review. Submissions for the Amendment Bill close on 12 June and a report is expected in September.
So while ACT did not get everything it wanted, it drew a clear line. The party is one of the few in Parliament willing to challenge the growing grip of Treaty politics in education. They are not pretending this is about inclusion or wellbeing. They see it for what it is, a political project to reshape our national identity through the classroom.
Whether ACT can follow through will depend on how far National is willing to bend or break. But for now, we should be glad the conversation is finally happening in the open.
The fight over our schools is not just about curriculum. It is about the kind of country we want to be.
Matua Kahurangi is just a bloke sharing thoughts on New Zealand and the world beyond. No fluff, just honest takes. He blogs on https://matuakahurangi.com/ where this article was sourced.
Matua Kahurangi
· 27 Jun
Just when you thought National put an end to race-based policies and co-governance in public services, Erica Stanford’s new Education and Training Amendment Bill (No 2) makes you wonder if National has completely lost sight of those promises. It reads more like something from the Labour government than the party Kiwis voted in to restore some common sen…
Read full story
ACT has been fighting to strip out the Treaty of Waitangi clause from education legislation altogether. It is about time someone stood up and said our schools should be focused on teaching kids to read, write and do maths, not pushing political or cultural agendas.
The clause in question sits inside Section 127 of the Education and Training Act 2020. It says school boards must not only prioritise achievement, but also "give effect" to the Treaty. That has meant local curriculum must reflect tikanga Māori, mātauranga Māori, te ao Māori, and there must be steps to offer instruction in te reo. Boards are also tasked with achieving "equitable outcomes" for Māori students.
Part of ACT and National’s coalition agreement, does go some way in the right direction. It reinstates academic achievement as the paramount objective of state schooling. Supporting objectives, including the Treaty clause, are moved to a secondary tier. There is also a shuffle in wording with “equitable outcomes” now coming before the more nebulous cultural requirements.
ACT wanted the Treaty clause removed entirely. They were blocked. Leader David Seymour confirmed as much, saying it was “simply political”. Not because ACT changed its mind, but because other parties in government were unwilling to go that far.
Seymour was blunt about the public frustration too. He said many parents complain their kids are wasting time on subjects that seem to serve a broader cultural transformation, not their education. For many families, this feels like indoctrination masquerading as learning. They want their kids taught actual knowledge, not ideology. Who can blame them?
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Prime Minister Christopher Luxon tried to justify keeping the Treaty clause by saying the government wants a more “coordinated” approach. That means they will revisit the Treaty references later as part of a wider review, supposedly to bring more clarity. In the meantime, the clause stays put.
Luxon refused to say who blocked ACT’s proposal. He called it a “series of conversations” in Cabinet and left it there. Erica Stanford later admitted that the Treaty clause, and others like it, would be reviewed as part of Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith’s broader Treaty obligations review. Submissions for the Amendment Bill close on 12 June and a report is expected in September.
So while ACT did not get everything it wanted, it drew a clear line. The party is one of the few in Parliament willing to challenge the growing grip of Treaty politics in education. They are not pretending this is about inclusion or wellbeing. They see it for what it is, a political project to reshape our national identity through the classroom.
Whether ACT can follow through will depend on how far National is willing to bend or break. But for now, we should be glad the conversation is finally happening in the open.
The fight over our schools is not just about curriculum. It is about the kind of country we want to be.
Matua Kahurangi is just a bloke sharing thoughts on New Zealand and the world beyond. No fluff, just honest takes. He blogs on https://matuakahurangi.com/ where this article was sourced.
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