19 March 2013

Seven months is long enough, can we trust Novopay or not?

Schools and families need to know if they can have confidence in Novopay but have been left dangling by the Government’s announcement on the flawed pay system, the Green Party said today.

The Government today announced details of a support package for schools in order for them to manage extra staff time involved in dealing with the Novopay debacle.

But Novopay Minister Steven Joyce failed to say anything that would give schools and families any certainty about Talent2’s ability to manage the payroll now or in the future.

“Schools and families need to know if Novopay is capable of delivering, and if the Government has confidence in Talent2 to ensure Novopay can deliver,” Green Party Co-leader and education spokesperson Metiria Turei said.

“Successive ministers have had enough time to work out if Novopay is up to the task or not.

“While extra money is welcomed, schools and families needed ministers to be explicit about the milestones that they have set for Talent2 in the immediate future, and the consequences for Talent2 if they don’t meet them.

“And ministers need to assure New Zealanders that they have a viable backup plan in the event Novopay fails to meet those milestones.

“It’s just not fair to leave schools and families dangling while the Government continues to delay making a call on Novopay.

“The ‘trust us, she’ll be right’ attitude of the Government in relation to a fundamental part of the running of schools has failed the teachers and families who’ve been affected by this debacle.

“Schools have said that they have no confidence about any aspect of Novopay and the public of New Zealand are rightly asking how the Government could have let this go on for so long.

“The Novopay debacle is symptomatic of this Government’s lack of focus on what really matters in education – people. Young people and the professionals who teach them are what schools are about.

“If it was a system designed to pay chief executives or casino bosses we can be certain the National Government would have been more careful before signing off on the go live,” Mrs Turei said.

ENDS

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