A WIN FOR CHOICE IN EDUCATION

After years of tireless advocacy and commitment to educational reform, the bill to reintroduce charter schools has successfully passed its third reading in Parliament.

This is a huge step forward in providing greater choice and opportunity in education for New Zealand families – especially those who are most disadvantaged under the current system.

Last week David explained why charter schools are so important and why they matter to him:

ACT’s Cameron Luxton also welcomed the announcement, crediting charter schools as one the key reasons he decided to stand as an MP. One National MP recommended Cameron’s maiden speech to anyone who wanted to know why charter schools are so important – watch that highlight here. 

A WORLD-CLASS EDUCATION ONLY COUNTS IF YOU’RE IN CLASS

But having schools that work for students only makes a difference if the kids are actually in the classroom. Charter schools will have higher standards for attendance and achievement and will be required to meet them.The schools’ increased flexibility and freedom to innovate will help to engage students so that they actually want to show up for school. As for state schools, attendance rates are improving but they are still very concerning. 

So while the weekly reporting requirements and clearer expectations to school boards around attendance that we laid out earlier in the year are taking us in the right direction, there’s still work to be done. That’s why this week we unveiled the next phase of the Attendance Action Plan to ensure no child gets left behind. Education is essential for setting kids up for the rest of their lives.

Under the new plan, every student, parent, teacher and school has a role to play. Any student who reaches a threshold of days absent will trigger a response from their school and the Ministry of Education. That will include, in the worst cases, fines and prosecution.

David outlined the new plan to the media in Auckland this week. The Ministry of Education has released a best-practice template of how the Stepped Attendance Response (STAR) system will work.And with some students planning to wag a day off school today to ‘strike for climate’, David’s message was clear: Want to make a difference? Go to school.

MAKING OUR STREETS SAFER

ACT’s coalition commitment to make gang membership an aggravating factor at sentencing was recently passed – a stark shift from Labour’s policy of being kind and handing them millions of taxpayer dollars.

Some opposition MPs raised concerns that our changes were somehow ‘anti-Māori’. Mark Cameron set the record straight, rightly pointing out the reality that the vast majority of Māori are law-abiding citizens. 

As Mark points out, Māori are disproportionately affected as victims of crime, so our changes will improve the lives of all New Zealanders – but especially Māori.We’re also making good progress on a suite of other changes to crack down on crime such as limiting sentencing discounts, more aggravating factors (including for assaulting sole charge workers) and a direct instruction to put the interests of victims first.

Nicole discussed these changes in Parliament here – and it’s bad news for thugs and thieves. 

Also this week, Nicole attended the New Zealand Security Association’s annual industry awards and spoke with those who are too often on the front line defending law-abiding citizens from violent offenders.

Nicole is also progressing changes to improve the regulation of shooting clubs and ranges, streamlining the rules to make them more practical and focused on public safety.

Nicole provided more detail on these changes earlier in the week. If you want to receive updates directly from Nicole on the progress of her reform of the Arms Act, sign up to her mailing list here

UNSHACKLING NEW ZEALAND FROM LABOUR’S VANDALISM

Simon Court welcomed progress on ACT’s coalition commitment to repeal Labour’s oil and gas ban and also promote the use of crown minerals calling it a “step toward prosperity”.

Taking full advantage of the mineral resources at our disposal will boost foreign investment, create high-paying jobs, and offer hope to young people looking to remain in New Zealand for work and family.

Restoring oil and gas exploration is a crucial step to deliver energy security. A high-wage economy depends on affordable and reliable energy. 

We came far too close to blackouts this winter, and ACT is determined to restore energy security so homes stay heated and factories keep running.

Of course, not everyone was happy. Some thugs at Greenpeace locked themselves in the Wellington offices of mining group Straterra in protest. Simon was quick to point out the hypocrisy of the protestors, filming themselves on iPhones made from the very products they’re opposing...

CUTTING RED TAPE IN THE BUILDING SECTOR

Cameron Luxton, Parliament’s only ever Licensed Building Practitioner, was in Parliament this week welcoming moves to lower the cost of building.

The changes will make it easier to use building products that are already approved for use in similar countries overseas, bringing some much needed choice and competition to the sector.

For young New Zealanders, the prospect of home ownership has become more and more of a distant dream over the past few years. Unless we want our best and brightest moving abroad, we need to make it easier to build in New Zealand – and that’s exactly what we’re doing.

END OF LIFE CHOICE

If you missed Q + A last weekend, make sure to check out ACT’s Todd Stephenson discussing his proposed improvements to the End of Life Choice Act, which will extend this option to more New Zealanders suffering from terminal illness.

Todd outlined how some New Zealanders who are experiencing unbearable pain and suffering from their terminal illness are unable to have the option of End of Life Choice because they can’t prove they’re likely to die within six months.

The six month requirement wasn’t in David’s original proposal, but was part of a political compromise in order to get enough support to pass the bill. Todd’s amendment aims to fix this while keeping all other existing requirements.

…AND SO MUCH MORE

Dr Parmjeet Parmar obtained a copy of AUT’s discriminatory travel policy which allocates 30 per cent more points to travel applications for researchers who identify as Māori, and 20 per cent more for Pasifika. She sent a copy to AUT researchers to review themselves and many were outraged. But rather than stand up for its members being discriminated against, the union spokesperson sent this out to its members:

On a more positive note, Parmjeet hosted the launch of the launch of the Ethnic Arts & Trade Foundation in Parliament this week, an event attended by around 200 community members. David welcomed changes to ‘work from home’ policies in the public sector. In opposition, David asked more than 100 Parliamentary questions of different agencies on how often staff were actually in the office. In practically every case, they couldn’t say. The standard policy was ‘flexible by default’. Now, we’ll have real monitoring and reporting.

Brooke van Velden, as Minister of Internal Affairs, announced that parents will soon be able to choose their parent title on their child’s birth certificate. This is a step forward in terms of personal freedom and choice and would allow same-sex couples to, for example, both be listed as ‘mother’ on the birth certificate.Minister Karen Chhour spoke to the Caring Families Aotearoa conference on Tuesday in Christchurch, and was able to share the work she’s doing to improve the way caregivers are expected to work with agencies like Oranga Tamariki.

Todd renewed calls to abolish Human Rights Commission, and instead fund real justice by diverting the funding to the Human Rights Review Tribunal – an organisation that actually stands up for human rights. Todd also appeared on Reality Check Radio to discuss the Government’s new directive to target public services based on need, not race and also his proposed changes to the End of Life Choice Act.

Mark Cameron wrote to the Minister for the Environment asking her to provide farmers regulatory relief from unworkable freshwater regulations. Andrew Hoggard, in response to questions from Mark in Parliament, laid out the Government’s approach to the threat of foot and mouth disease.

Andrew also appeared on the Rural Exchange podcast to discuss his upcoming changes to the Biosecurity Act.

Laura Trask hosted an event at Parliament for an organisation that is using innovative new technology as a possible tool to help tackle underage vaping. To stay up to date with everything our MPs are up to, make sure to search them up on Facebook or Instagram and give them a follow. 

THE WEEK AHEAD

Parliament is in recess for the next two weeks so you’ll see more of our MPs out and about meeting with businesses, schools, and community groups and, of course, hearing from the public on the issues that matter to them.