Tracey Martin MP

Spokesperson for Education

27 January 2013  
 
Back to school for teachers as Novopay debacle rolls on
 
Teachers head back to work this coming week with the Novopay nightmare hanging like a bad dream, says New Zealand First Education spokesperson Tracey Martin.
 
“National’s fix-it man Steven Joyce has been brought in to sort out the debacle, but would he have tolerated this when he was a boss in the private sector? 
 
“Most private companies would not have put up with such an epic failure – heads would have rolled long ago.
 
“But the Ministry has backed itself into a corner by continuing with a system diagnosed as terminal.
 
“How can teachers concentrate on teaching children when faced with so much anxiety about whether they’ll have enough money in their bank accounts to pay off Christmas credit card debt or meet mortgage payments.
 
“You’ve got no choice Mr Joyce – put your best foot forward and give Novopay the boot,” says Ms Martin.
 
ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On Failures Of Care For Those With Mental Disabilities

Hard to imagine a more disturbing insight into the treatment of the vulnerable than the Health Ministry report on Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau. The Ministry has found that the country’s only kaupapa Maori intellectual disability residential care provider has been “seriously dysfunctional.”

The ministry says the business has failed to recruit and retain quality staff – and says the kaimahi (caregivers) that have been employed are seriously unsuitable for the job, lacking basic knowledge. But Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau doesn’t get all the blame. The report says there’s a significant gap under disability laws to ensure there’s oversight by qualified clinical professionals. More>>