The Wire with Joel

The Education & Training Act Amendment Bill passed its 3rd reading in Parliament on Tuesday last week, which will see changes to “school objectives” including the removal of the requirement to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles.

While Minister for Vocational Education Penny Simmonds says the bill “clarifies expectations” for broad learning outcomes, the bill has been opposed by the National Iwi Chairs forum alongside a number of schools across the motu who have been reaffirming their commitment to tiriti commitments.

Fire & Emergency New Zealand has launched its biggest ever restructure in a 266 page proposal which will cut more than 140 jobs, excluding those on the frontlines.

Amidst firefighter strikes and the growing challenges presented by climate risks, the Professional Firefighters Union has said the changes will undermine the “core work” undertaken by support people within the agency.

Finally, the IPSOS New Zealand survey rating government performance has recorded the lowest public satisfaction since the survey began in 2017.

It found that 63% of kiwi believe New Zealand is on the wrong track to addressing key issues. 

Wire Host Sara spoke with MP Carl Bates about all of these topics, starting with the Education & Training Act amendment bill

A few weeks ago, Kelston Boys High School in West Auckland said they were at the front of an unsupported, attempted takeover to turn the school into a charter school.

As well as this, more recently, the New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport, a charter school set to be established next year, was signed with a trust that did not exist.

Amendments have also been made to the Education and Training Act, removing a clause requiring school boards give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

The move has seen backlash from the National Iwi Chairs Forum and a growing number of schools, who have launched a petition against the move. 

Finally, the controversial Regulatory Standards Bill has passed its third reading and is now set to be implemented into law.

The bill previously received 156,000 public submissions, with 98.7% of those voicing their opposition to the bill.

For our weekly catch-up with ACT Party’s Simon Court, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to him about these topics.

They started off by asking Court about Kelston Boys High School and the New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport, and how concerning these developments are for the ACT Party.

Last Week, the government passed the regulatory standards bill into the regulatory standards act. Long controversial, failing to pass in its first three readings and subject to enormous opposition in submissions during the process, the law is the child of David Seymour’s ACT party.

But now that this law has passed, these serious concerns are of urgency. Particularly there are loud concerns and criticisms of the primacy granted to corporate interests, in the face of te Tiriti o Waitangi and the environment.

Monday Wire Producer Alex spoke to Greenpeace Campaigner Gen Toop about the bill passing, what it means for the environment, and what should be done in the face of this policy threat.

On the 8th of November, a wildfire tore through 3000 hectares of Tongariro National Park, before being extinguished four days later.

The fire resulted in multiple walks in the region to be closed, including the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. However, as of today, many of these tracks have reopened.

However, the full extent of the fire on the region’s ecosystem is yet to be fully investigated.

On Friday, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host Joel spoke to George Perry, a Professor in the School of Environment at the University of Auckland, about this wildfire, and how detrimental this fire will be on the region's ecosystem, from what we are currently seeing