Wednesday 12 Jun 2002

Bribes being offered for places in Auckland schools are a result of Labour's perverse zoning legislation, ACT Education Spokesman MP Donna Awatere Huata said today.

"Zoning forces parents to put a price on their child's future. Labour's policies damage every family except the very rich who can afford to shift houses.

"Families who can't afford to live in a good `zone' have to cheat their way around Labour's unfair system. That is not fair.

"ACT remains the only political party to consistently oppose school zoning. We will allow good schools much more flexibility. We will end Labour's sickening practice of zoning children into ghetto schools where they aren't allowed to reach their full potential.

"The anti-zoning group I helped form earlier this year is ready to campaign this election for a real change to our antiquated and failing education system.

"Bribery is never justified, but I feel for these parents who only want the best for their kids," Mrs Awatere Huata said.

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