Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Truancy operation needs more teeth
Hon Bill English National Party Education Spokesman
17 October 2006
Truancy operation needs more teeth
Truancy officers need more teeth to drive home parents' legal obligation to make sure their children attend school, says National Party Education spokesman Bill English.
His comments follow a truancy sweep in Christchurch yesterday which netted 65 students playing hookie.
Mr English says the important work of the truancy officers and police involved in the sweep would have been much more effective if they had had a greater range of options, such as referring parents to WINZ to have their family support payments docked.
"The threshold for prosecution is too high for the day-to-day policing of truancy laws, though the threat of prosecution does have a deterrent effect for some parents.
"The link between persistent truancy and criminal offending is strong. Schools and truancy officers work hard to keep kids in school but the buck has to stop with parents.
"If parents rip off the tax or benefit system, they have to pay it back with penalties. The penalties should be at least as tough when they rip off their own children's future.
"The work of truancy officers and police would be much more effective if they had greater powers to hit negligent parents where it hurts - in the pocket," says Mr English.
ENDS
Gordon Campbell: On unemployment, Winston Peters’ low boiling point and music criticism
The Treasury: New Treasury Paper On The Productivity Slowdown
NZ Government: Government Recommits To Equal Pay
Emily Ireland - Local Democracy Reporter: Deputy Mayor ‘disgusted’ By Response To Georgina Beyer Sculpture
Te Pāti Māori: Māori Unemployment Rate Increases By More Than Four-Times National Rates
Government: Streamlining Building Consent Changes
Koi Tu - The Centre for Informed Futures: If Not Journalists, Then Who?
