Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive 3/12/24

Get out your microscopes – Collins says the Marsden Fund will focus on something called “science”

David Farrar has been railing in recent weeks against the Royal Society of New Zealand’s management of the Marsden Fund – or is it mismanagement?

The society’s demotion of “science” in its priorities when deciding who should benefit from the fund gave rise to these headlines on Kiwiblog:

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 22/8/24

Luxon wants local government to get back to basics – and Brown announces a trough into which councils can dip their snouts

The PM obviously struck a nerve when he addressed Local Government New Zealand.

That’s reflected in an RNZ headline which says PM Christopher Luxon’s speech on waste rubs councils the wrong way while a Post headline declares In attacking councils, Luxon plants himself a thicket of rhetorical contradiction.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 25/7/24

While media are focused on child abuse, the Govt signals legislation to clip judges’ wings and restore Customary Marine Title rules

The news media and political commentariat have feasted on the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care – tabled in Parliament yesterday – and the Government’s immediate response to its findings and recommendations.

Bryce Edwards listed a raft of the resultant media headlines on the Democracy Project website this morning.

Among them:

David Farrar: Repealing Labour’s attempt to reduce choice in early childhood education

David Seymour announced:

The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 25/3/24

How school lunches provide enough leftovers for food bank clients, caravan park residents – and feral pigs

Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024.

In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced us to her “ongoing Fiscal Sustainability Programme”, intended to embed “a culture of responsible spending across Government”.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 20/6/23

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.

David Lillis: What about New Zealand’s Early Childhood Curriculum?

The Curriculum that Governs Early Childhood Education

Feel free to take a look at the Early Childhood curriculum “Te Whāriki He whāriki mātauranga - mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa.”

You can download it from the following URL:

https://www.education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Early-Childhood/Te-Whariki-Early-Childhood-Curriculum-ENG-Web.pdf

The Early Childhood curriculum was made public in 2017 - some years ago. It seems robust from the educational and pedagogical perspectives but there are concerns about its emphasis on one ethnic minority, leading to possible neglect of others.