$5 million for sing-alongs okay

The NZ Herald has reported that the Tertiary Education Commission has stated that the EIT radio sing-alongs “have been well designed and well run in accordance with the Government’s policy for community education.”

With all respect to the TEC, if giving $5 million to EIT to fund radio sing-alongs meets the policy, then the policy should be changed without delay.

It is simply a rort – a legal rort, but a rort none the less. This is not what people pay taxes for. I don’t mind a proportion of my income helping pay for doctors, engineers, accountants, lawyers and even BA graduates, but radio sing-alongs are my limit.

The costs of these so called community education courses has increased under Labour by around 750%, from $16 million to $115 million. I would have thought a good Minister might have started asking questions once there had been say a 20% increase, but hello a 750% increase should have been obvious to even a George Hawkins that something was wrong.

$116 million a year would get us an air force than isn’t just a taxi service. I know what I would rather have.