A Slow Day At The Office Perhaps?

National MP Anne Tolley certainly appears to be scraping the bottom of the barrel with her latest media release. In what one assumes to be an effort to show she is not an entirely hopeless and ineffectual education spokesperson (and sadly failing on both counts), Tolley has taken issue with Oteha Valley School banning children from bringing birthday cakes to school to share with the class. Tolley says:

“This ludicrous decision is a direct result of the paranoia that has been generated by Labour’s national healthy eating guidelines, which are due to come into force in June.”

One of the Shore’s “desperate housewives” has obviously forwarded a copy of the school’s latest newsletter, which outlines the reason for this decision as being that the new National Administrative Guidelines (NAG) for healthy eating require schools to:

“Promote healthy food and nutrition for all students, and where food and beverages are sold on school premises, only healthy options can be made available.”

It would appear that the school’s decision to stop parents sending whole birthday cakes to school with their children goes above and beyond what is required by the NAG, and how exactly this is the government’s fault is difficult to discern. Firstly, schools are only required to “promote” healthy food, and secondly, the only obligation on the part of the school regarding banning foods or beverages is when they are being sold on school premises. If the school implements policy beyond that, then that is a matter entirely for the school and its Board of Trustees.

Tolley finishes her release with the following:

“It’s not the occasional piece of cake. Labour’s wishy washy food rules have created a climate of fear in schools where even celebrating birthdays has become a no-no.”

Although she scores a D for her capabilities as an MP, Tolley must certainly receive credit for her ability to turn what would otherwise be a very boring issue, into a poignant little story full of hyperbole and emotive language. Well done Anne; gold stars all round!

 

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Roger’s Return

If last week’s announcement by Act that Roger Douglas was planning a return to Parliament sent shock waves around the country, then today’s revelations about what he plans to do once he’s there must surely be like history repeating itself. It seems that Douglas didn’t quite get his fill of the far right agenda he pursued while Finance Minister for the fourth Labour government, and today outlined some of the policies he would like to pursue should he ever make it back to cabinet. They included:

• Privatizing the health system
• Scrapping Working for Families
• Cut between $3-$5b of government spending
• Drop the top tax rate to 33c in the dollar
• Introduce education vouchers for children

One can only assume that those policies announced today are just the tip of a very large and ugly iceberg. We can also expect privatization of education and state owned assets, welfare cuts, and a general return to the “Rogernomic” and “Ruthenasia” policies of the past. Of course, the prospect of Act being in any position to implement these policies in their own right is very slim indeed, but the likelihood of them gaining enough of the party vote in this year’s general election to make them a real contender for a spot in a right-wing coalition has increased exponentially since National began its move to the left. John Key has certainly been slow in quashing any speculation that Act, Let alone Douglas, would have any prospect of a position in a government he leads.  

National’s dallying over the issue of Douglas will certainly not have alleviated suspicions of a hidden right wing agenda, nor quelled public fears of the type of Prime Minister Key would be. In fact, it is not hard at all to imagine a National government pursuing some, if not all, of the policies outlined by Act today, especially given the large number of current members of National’s caucus who were great admirers of “Rogernomics”, and were happy to continue his legacy under Ruth Richardson during the 1990s. And while John Key has taken a somewhat silent approach to this, Rodney Hide has been very vocal indeed, today saying:

“There are a lot of people in the National Party who agree with what we are saying.”

That is certainly an indication that John Key will have a job on his hands in trying to ensure that National remains a more centrist party than it has been in the past, especially once coalition negotiations start. While today Key is saying there is no possibility whatsoever that National would pursue a far-right agenda should it gain the Treasury benches, the cards dealt after the election and the strength of his desires to become New Zealand’s 38th Prime Minister could certainly change all of that.

 

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Bishop John (Tama)Key?

As John Key’s chief press officer is away on holiday at present, you could be forgiven for thinking that Key had employed the services of Brian Tamaki in the drafting of his speech on state sector bureaucracy this afternoon. Indeed, if anything, Key’s declaration of “enough is enough” smacked of the vague, knee jerk babble of Destiny party policy. But sadly, it was the words of a man who hopes to be New Zealand’s next Prime Minister.

Key’s announcement was both confusing and lacking in substance. He first chastised Labour for the number of employees working in the state sector’s “core bureaucracy”, then in almost the same breath effectively endorsed Labour’s policy by stating employee numbers would be capped, not reduced. As is becoming customary, Key provided no substantial plans for improving state sector performance, but did say:

“We are going to make do with the resource we have”

If Key’s vision for New Zealand’s state sector is to simply “make do”, then he is hardly the ambitious leader full of ideas he makes himself out to be.

National’s hypocrisy aside, the actual growth in the state sector needs to be considered in light of the major advancement in New Zealand’s public services since Labour came into office. Indeed, public services were in a particularly poor state during the 90s, and this has required a lot of work by Labour to restore them to a standard that New Zealanders both deserve and expect. Consequently, this work has required a lot of careful planning and management, which goes a long way to explaining state sector growth.

All three areas outlined in Key’s announcement, health, education and social development, have been undergoing particularly large transformations over the past eight years. It’s both sensible and logical that whenever such transformations are undertaken, there should first be careful planning of how this is to occur, and then support and supervision during implementation. This is the role that so-called “core bureaucrats” play, and despite National’s view, it is a very important one. It is quite ironic that National is the first to cry out for accountability whenever something goes wrong, and yet they are trying to remove the very checks and balances which prevent such problems arising.

Let’s take a look at some of the major drivers in state sector employment in the three areas outlined.

Education:

• Development and implementation of NCEA
• Introduction of free early childhood education services
• Overhaul of New Zealand’s education syllabus
• Development of modern apprenticeships
• Establishment of the Tertiary Education Commission
• Introduction of the Performance Based Research funding model

Health:

• Largest upgrade of public hospitals in New Zealand’s history
• Introduction of Primary Health Organizations
• Development of New Zealand’s Cancer Control Strategy
• Heavy investment in improving rural access to healthcare services
• Development and implementation of a number of public health strategies, including HEHA and Mission On
• Re-establishment of the school dental service

Social Development:

• Development and implementation of Working for Families

It is not surprising that massive investment in these three sectors has reaped great rewards. As well as having some of the lowest unemployment rates in the Western world, New Zealanders are healthier and wealthier than they were under the last National government.Those rewards have not only come because of the excellent frontline services provided by our doctors, teachers, and allied professionals, but also because of the diligent planning, development and support of those working behind the scenes. These so-called “bureaucrats” often work without acknowledgement and, as shown today, whilst being harshly criticised.

 

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