The Bulletin: Waikato DHB sacked wholesale, commissioner appointed

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Health minister cleans out underperforming DHB, major Zero Carbon announcement coming today, and scope of cannabis referendum revealed. The entire Waikato District Health Board has been shown the door, with health minister David Clark putting a commissioner in their place. It follows a long run of administrative … Read more

The Bulletin: Primary teachers, government at a stalemate

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Another teacher strike looms after offer rejected, Crusaders sources say PM’s office is pressuring for name change, and warnings sounded over prescription drug. Negotiations between the NZEI and the government have hit another roadblock, with primary teachers overwhelmingly rejecting the offered deal. In a release, they said the … Read more

The Bulletin: What to do about China challenge?

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: China conundrum deepens for New Zealand’s diplomats, massive shakeup for polytechs signalled, and seagulls under serious threat. The relationship between the New Zealand and Chinese governments appears to be particularly strained right now. Over the course of this week, there have been a range of individual reports … Read more

The Bulletin: School’s out, everyone is going on strike

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Secondary school teachers vote overwhelmingly for strikes, PM steps in to stop NZDF court costs bid, and Sky TV has a new sport focused CEO. Secondary school teachers have voted overwhelmingly to strike next year, reports Radio NZ. Teachers in the sector are saying basically the same thing … Read more

The Bulletin: What the flood is going on down South?

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Cleanup looms after Southern flooding, National party maintains volume of written questions barrage, and Fletcher shares take a hammering. What the flood is going on in Dunedin? The city and surrounding region is facing a cleanup today, reports the ODT, after heavy rain caused flooding in parts of … Read more

The Bulletin: Minister moves to overhaul Early Childhood Education

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Minister announces major new ECE plan, climate scientist sign open letter calling for more real climate action, and water rationing considered in Hawke’s Bay. A major new plan to overhaul early childhood education has been unveiled by the government. Radio NZ has a rundown of the key details … Read more

The Bulletin: Desperate drive to address teacher shortage

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Massive increase in overseas teacher recruitment drive, NZ activists reject Israeli court ruling, and the horrible state of Lake Horowhenua is in focus.  The government is ramping up efforts to recruit new teachers from overseas, and to lure NZ-trained teachers back home. The numbers being sought are … Read more

Māori don’t need Chris Hipkins to tell us what’s best for our mokopuna

Shane Te Pou looks at the Ministry of Education’s plans to close down the current charter school model, and what it means for Māori education. Unleashing the Rogernomics revolution on New Zealand without warning and without care for the short-term consequences was Labour’s greatest shame of the 20th century. More recently Labour shamed itself with the … Read more

The Bulletin: Counting sheep all the way to the bank

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Glut of good news for sheep farmers, a new poll comes out, and education minister hammers teacher pay aspirations.   It’s a good time to own a flock of sheep. NZ lamb prices have hit a record high, reports the NZ Herald. It’s not expected that they’ll go … Read more

Māori kids lose out when the charter school debate is drowned in ideology

Charter schools are no silver bullet, but the principle behind kura hourua is a form of rangatiratanga (sovereignty) in action. The kōhanga reo example is a reminder that Māori education is too important to fall victim to partisan battles, writes Laura O’Connell Rapira. The Anglican missionaries who arrived in Aotearoa in 1814 came with a mission: convert … Read more

These education reforms put the sector at the precipice of disaster

Education policy should be evidence-based, informed by experts with real experience in the sector. Instead the never-ending drive to modernise every aspect of children’s lives at school is replacing genuine education with social engineering, argues former Auckland Grammar headmaster John Morris Having spent Queen’s Birthday Saturday at the ResearchED Conference in Auckland along with 300 … Read more

The Bulletin: Major changes proposed for high school assessment

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Major changes recommended to NCEA system, new poll has bad news for almost everyone, and two significant announcements will be made today. Huge changes have been recommended to the NCEA system by a review, reports Stuff. In particular, the changes would significantly lower the burden on students … Read more

6000 stupid questions: National’s DDoS attack on the government

A brute force barrage of questions on a new and under-staffed coalition is not uniquely awful, argues Ben Thomas, but nor is it defensible. Is there such a thing as a stupid question? What about 6000 of them? Newsroom’s Sam Sachdeva noted on Friday that the National opposition had lodged 6254 written questions for government … Read more

How the new education minister can treat school leaders fairly

Set by the previous government, a one-size-fits-all proficiency target simplifies a complex picture of school success. Martine Udahemuka of market-oriented think tank the New Zealand Initiative explains how the new education minister can improve on the current system. With a new government comes opportunities to shake up a long-entrenched status quo. Nowhere is this more … Read more