Nanaia
MAHUTA
Education Spokesperson

11 November 2012 MEDIA STATEMENT

Give Foss the flick and fix Novopay, Hekia

News of privacy and security breaches with the Ministry of Educations troubled Novopay system is a worrying addition to the litany of problems with the system and it is now time for Hekia Parata to personally step in to fix things, says Nanaia Mahuta.

“Today’s report of privacy breeches is yet further confirmation of just how botched the introduction of Novopay has been. Clearly the system was nowhere near ready or fit for purpose when it was introduced.

“The problems with Novopay are now so serious and so widespread that the Education Minister Hekia Parata has no choice but to step in over the top of her Associate Minister Craig Foss, who is clearly out of his depth.

“Hekia Parata can not sit by any longer and watch as the Novopay debacle drifts on and on with no end in sight. Teachers, principals and school staff have had a gutsful. They deserve better than a broken pay system and a seemingly indifferent Government.

“Its time for Minister Parata to take charge of the issue as her hapless off-sider simply does not recognise how serous this issue is and continues to minimise the real toll botched-up pay packets are taking on our teachers.

“The Government has not accepted responsibility for the huge amount of time spent by schools trying to fix Novopay errors. Schools have been forced to absorb that cost, taking time away from doing stuff that really matters to improve the teaching and learning environment for their students.

Hekia Parata has desperately tried to dodge this issue. It's the same approach she took when trying to persuade parents that larger class sizes were good for their kids and is taking over her plans to close and merge Christchurch schools. It is not good enough – she needs to step in and step up.

“Getting teachers pay packets sorted properly is basic stuff. Teachers have the right to be paid on time and in full for the good work they do. Stop stuffing around with their lives Ministers Foss and Parata,” says Nanaia Mahuta.

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