Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More
Parliament

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | Video | Questions Of the Day | Search

 

Govt Departments Teaching ‘White Privilege’

“Public servants are being required to calculate their ‘white privilege score’”, says ACT Leader David Seymour.

ACT revealed earlier this month that schoolchildren were being taught about white privilege and we can now reveal that education staff are undergoing similar training.

“Staff at the Ministry of Education and the Education Review Office are attending a course called Beyond Diversity – Courageous Conversations About Race.

“The people in charge of our education system are having to ask themselves, ‘What is my white privilege score?’ and ‘What is my relationship to white fragility?’

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

“The Courageous Conversations programme makes a number of claims about so-called ‘white privilege’:

‘“Whiteism”—not recognizing White as a dominating color nor the unearned power and privileges associated with having white skin; having a sense of (White) entitlement…is a condition that more White people must begin to recognize, understand and acknowledge.’

‘…entitled white men do not appreciate the power of their entitlement because they have never experienced the absence of power.’

‘Power, as manifested in the form of privilege, or entitlement, is part of the history, tradition and economic status of white men.’

“The programme suggests that even people who aren’t overtly racist perpetuate racism:

‘We are taught that racism must be intentional and that only bad people commit it. Thus a common white reasoning in crossracial conflicts is that as long as we are good people and don’t intend to perpetuate racism, then our actions don’t count as racism.’

“It also claims that the role of teachers is to end oppression:

‘When history is taught by culturally competent teachers, our society will be much more conscious of the entitlement of some groups, and much more proactive in ending oppression.’

“This is dehumanising. We are saying to educators, ‘we don’t care about you or personal experiences, we’re just going to categorise you based on your colour’.

“This is the kind of attitude we’ve been trying to get away from for centuries, but it’s now pervasive in everything this Government does.

“Ironically, we do need to have courageous conversations about how we value the common dignity of each and every New Zealanders.

“ACT will never accept that New Zealanders should be pushed around on a chess board by government social engineering.”

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines


Gordon Campbell: On The US Opposition To Mortgage Interest Deductibility For Landlords


Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don't think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of political capital by giving landlords a huge $2.9 billion tax break via interest deductibility, while still preaching the need for austerity to the disabled, and to everyone else...
More


 
 

Government: Concerns Conveyed To China Over Cyber Activity
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity... More

ALSO:


Government: GDP Decline Reinforces Government’s Fiscal Plan

Declining GDP for the December quarter reinforces the importance of restoring fiscal discipline to public spending and driving more economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says... More

ALSO:


Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.