Vicki Buck Gets MP's Support To Open School
Wednesday 7th Jul 1999 Donna Awatere Huata
Media Release

Former Christchurch Mayor Vicki Buck's plans to open the country's first designated " character" school have today received a boost from ACT Education Spokesman Donna Awatere Huata.

Mrs Huata said the Government should give such initiatives to inject excellence and innovation into the education system every encouragement and support.

"Central to ACT's Education policy is funding following the child to allow Charter schools to be set up to best meet the educational needs of every child.

"I find the Minister of Education's excuse for stalling the proposal that Government is unprepared to handle such proposals totally unacceptable. The section of the Education Act that allows the Ministry of Education to give approval for schools of special character is certainly not new.

"The Ministry should not have waited until the first proposal for such a school was in before moving to draw up guidelines for performance.

"The Ministry should be actively encouraging such projects. The evidence is overwhelming that the one-size-fits all education of State Schools is failing thousands of children up and down the country.

"I applaud Vicki Buck for kick starting the Minister and his Ministry. I am writing to the Minister of Education asking that he and his Ministry speed up their work to allow the Buck proposal and others to get off the ground as soon as possible," said Donna Awatere Huata.

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>