Abuse in state care report and education funding allocations w/ the National party’s Katie Nimon: 30th July, 2024

The final report from the abuse in state care inquiry was published on Wednesday, 24th July. The report discussed historic and present issues of abuse in state care, particularly how it affects marginalised groups such as Māori, Pasifika, and disabled children and young people. The report then provided several recommendations to parliament on potential policy or funding changes. 

In our weekly catchup with the National party’s Katie Nimon, Wire host Castor asked her about these recommendations and how the government would respond to the report. 

The government also recently made the decision to put some new school developments on hold. These developments, initially proposed to address overcrowding in schools across the country, have been split into three groups, with some going ahead as planned, others going ahead with small changes, and others put on hold indefinitely. 

This decision has met criticism from teachers and principals, particularly due to existing overcrowding issues. While the schools with the highest need will still receive the necessary developments, others slightly lower on the priority list will have to wait. 

For our weekly catchup with the National Party Castor spoke to Katie Nimon about both of these issues, starting with the abuse in state care report.