Youth Affairs Minister, Tony Ryall, today said Labour's Education Policy reflects their caucus. "It's a 'do nothing, be nothing' policy promising 16 new committees", said Mr Ryall.

"Labour's major policy plank of scrapping bulk funding shows the extent to which they have sold out to teacher unions at children's expense.

"It's hardly surprising given the number of teachers in their caucus and on their membership list.

"Labour's education policy is a sad reflection of how captured it is by teacher unions and how backward looking and ideological it has become.

"Labour's commitment to remove schools' choice to be bulk funded is anti democratic and will be highly disruptive.

"Helen Clark will have to explain to the 15 bulk funded schools, that have 72% of the pupils, in her own electorate of Owairaka, exactly how Labour's retrograde policy will benefit them.

"The NZEI's endorsement of Labour's policy reflects the symbiotic relationship between the Teacher Unions and the Labour Party.

"Its statement that Labour's Policy is a focused agenda only confirms the need for NZEI President, Darrell Ward, to visit the optician.

"The support of Federated Farmers for the redefining of funding of rural schools is a welcome endorsement of National's already announced policy which Labour have shamelessly copied.

"National's commitment to rural education is backed by deeds and is already being implemented", concluded Mr Ryall.

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>>