The Green Party has been caught bending its own party policy after a private school in Taranaki was given $11.7 million to fund an expansion programme.
The money comes from the Government’s $3 billion shovel-ready projects fund, and was announced in a press release from Greens co-leader James Shaw who said the grant to Green School New Zealand would help the school expand its roll from 120 students to 250, creating 200 jobs.
The release was in Shaw’s ministerial capacity, and not in his capacity as Green co-leader.
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Green Party policy is opposed to state funding being given to private schools, and wants it to be gradually phased out.
‘Public funding for private schools should be phased out and transferred to public schools,” says the party’s current education policy.
Shaw said the project was particularly jobs rich in an area that could be particularly hard hit by the Covd-19 induced recession.
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Education union NZEI Te Riu Roa criticised the move
Paul Goulter, NZEI Te Riu Roa national secretary said it came as a “complete surprise”.
“This comes as a complete surprise to us given the Greens’ own clear policy against public funding of private schools.
“We just can’t understand why the Government would go ahead and fund a private school with public money at a time when public schools in the Taranaki region are crying out for this type of investment,” he said.
The sheer scale of the funding is significant. When the Government announced a $400 million package to upgrade New Zealand’s ageing public school infrastructure, it was capped at $400,000. The grant to the Green School would be enough to fund nearly 30 schools at that rate.
Just up the road from Green School, New Plymouth Boys’ and Girls’ High Schools each received $400,000.
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ROBERT KITCHIN/STUFF/DOMINION POST
Green co-leader James Shaw has come under fire for bending Green policy to give a grant to a private school.
James Shaw who said the grant to Green School New Zealand would help the school expand its roll from 120 students to 250, creating 200 jobs.作者: 拿来主义 时间: 2020-8-31 17:20:02