Poll Shows Mallard Out Of Touch

Friday 6 Sep 2002

Revelations that over two-thirds of New Zealanders reject the centralised pay system for secondary teachers shows how hopelessly out of touch Minister of Education Trevor Mallard is, ACT Education Spokesman Donna Awatere Huata said today.

An NBR poll has found that 70 per cent of people support a system of performance-based pay for secondary teacher's, while only 21 per cent opposed it.

"The antiquated, centralised pay system that this government has zealously pursued, as well as the Minister's cosy relationship with the PPTA, has doomed this country to the continued shortage of skilled teachers as well as the subsidisation of bad teachers.

"This country needs a Minister of Education, not a Minister of Teachers. It is time the government listened to the people and gave individual communities the ability to pay good teachers more," Mrs Awatere Huata said.

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