Hello KBers … if it is too long don’t read it … but the outcomes of our education system are important.
What NZ’s 2025 PISA Results Tell Us
Alwyn Poole — with analytical/formatting support from AI
New Zealand students scored above the OECD average in mathematics, reading and science, and New Zealand also had a relatively high proportion of top-performing students.
For example:
| New Zealand PISA 2025 performance compared with the OECD average | |||
| Measure | New Zealand | OECD average | Difference |
| Science – Level 2+ | 81% | 74% | +7 pts |
| Mathematics – Level 2+ | 71% | 65% | +6 pts |
| Reading – Level 2+ | 77% | 69% | +8 pts |
| Science – Level 5/6 | 13% | 7% | +6 pts |
| Mathematics – Level 5/6 | 11% | 8% | +3 pts |
| Reading – Level 5+ | 14% | 6% | +8 pts |
However, the trend is much more concerning than the absolute position.
The 2025 results were approximately the same as 2022, but:
mathematics is below 2018 and 2015 levels;
reading is below 2018 and 2015 levels;
science has been comparatively stable for more than a decade;
the gap between high and low performers widened in reading.
Even more concerning:
Since 2015, the percentage of students below Level 2 increased by:
8 percentage points in mathematics
5 percentage points in reading
no significant change in science.
New Zealand still has a reasonably strong education system by international standards, but there is ongoing evidence of deterioration in foundational academic performance.
Key needs for improvement are:
Mathematics: strengthen foundational numeracy, confidence with problem solving, and sustained achievement over time.
Literacy and reading: improve comprehension, vocabulary development, critical reading, and written response skills.
Problem solving: build students’ ability to apply knowledge in unfamiliar and real-world contexts.
Independent learning: develop study planning, self-regulation, reflection, and effective help-seeking habits.
Academic resilience: support perseverance, confidence, and the ability to keep learning when work becomes challenging.
The highest socioeconomic group outperformed the lowest socioeconomic group by 89 points in science. The OECD average gap was 85 points.
Between 2015 and 2025, New Zealand’s socioeconomic performance gap in science remained stable, while the OECD average gap narrowed.
This indicates that simply maintaining the current system may not be enough to reduce educational inequality.
The data also show that only 13% of disadvantaged New Zealand students achieved in the top quarter of science performance.
New Zealand students demonstrate relatively positive attitudes:
78% say they are curious about many different things;
63% say they make additional effort when work becomes challenging;
74% demonstrate a growth mindset.
Students with a growth mindset in New Zealand had a 59-point science performance advantage compared with students with a fixed mindset, after socioeconomic factors were taken into account.
That is substantially larger than the OECD average difference of 28 points.
Recommendation
Our education programmes should therefore not focus exclusively on teaching content.
They should incorporate:
This is one of the clearest areas where an education provider could potentially add value.
Only about 34% of New Zealand students reported that they often or very often plan their approach to studying.
Only 45% regularly ask themselves questions about the material to check whether they have understood it.
This suggests that many students may have reasonable academic ability but lack strong learning-to-learn skills.
And the report provides evidence that these skills matter.
A one-unit increase in:
A clear aim of our system should be teaching students how to learn, rather than simply giving them more academic content – or simply relying on a “knowledge rich curriculum.”
Attendance is still poor – although we have recently seen some incremental change.
In 2025:
32% of students reported missing at least one full day of school during the previous two weeks;
OECD average: 22%.
Attendance is closely connected to learning opportunity.
In New Zealand, classroom disruption is a significant concern:
24% of students said they cannot work well in most or all lessons.
41% reported noise and disorder disrupting most or every science lesson.
36% said classmates do not listen to the teacher.
Students need learning environments where they can:
New Zealand students reported relatively positive teacher support:
75% said teachers show interest in every student’s learning;
69% said teachers continue teaching until students understand;
79% said teachers give extra help when needed.
However, these figures have declined compared with 2015.
So the issue does not appear to be simply “New Zealand teachers aren’t supporting students.”
Instead, the system appears to be under pressure.
New Zealand students reported spending approximately:
2.5 hours per day using digital devices at school for learning.
The OECD average was 1.7 hours.
AI adoption is also already significant.
47% of New Zealand students reported using AI chatbots to help them learn at least once a week.
Other uses include:
We need to teach students how to use AI correctly for learning.
For example:
AI-assisted learning + critical thinking + verification + independent reasoning.
As I said – when the cell phone ban was introduced – students will find a way around it.
New Zealand students use digital devices more than the OECD average:
38% reported that their peers are often distracted by digital devices during most or all science lessons. The OECD average is 28%.
25% of New Zealand students reported being victims of at least one form of bullying a few times per month or more. The OECD average was 20%.
The report also identifies a significant relationship between cyberbullying and achievement.
Students reporting certain forms of cyberbullying scored, on average, 54 points lower in science than their peers.
We need to focus on:
In 2025:
75% of students said parents/guardians asked at least weekly what they did at school;
only 43% reported weekly discussions about problems at school.
In 2022 these figures were 81% and 55%.
As I have always said parents need to be a significant part of the learning ecosystem and very much welcomed by schools as partners.
Our:
The OECD estimates that the reported mean scores could be 10–15 points higher than hypothetical scores including non-respondents.
However, the OECD also says that because the 2022 results were biased in a similar direction, comparisons between 2022 and 2025 are unlikely to be materially affected.
AI says:
“PISA 2025 provides a strong directional indicator of the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand education, while the OECD notes limitations in the New Zealand sample and recommends caution when interpreting absolute scores.”
I would rate the education environment identified by this report as:
| Overall assessment of New Zealand’s education environment based on PISA 2025 indicators | |
| Area | Assessment |
| Overall academic performance | Strong relative to OECD |
| Long-term mathematics trend | Concerning |
| Long-term reading trend | Concerning |
| Science | Relatively stable |
| High achievers | Strong |
| Low achievers | Significant concern |
| Socioeconomic inequality | Significant |
| Growth mindset | Strong opportunity |
| Self-directed learning | Weakness |
| Attendance | Concerning |
| Classroom discipline | Concerning |
| Teacher support | Relatively strong |
| Digital learning | Major opportunity |
| AI in education | Major emerging opportunity |
| Bullying | Significant concern |
| Parent engagement | Declining |
Our Prime Minister has often reference Estonia as a relevant/exemplar nation. So – here is a brief report on achievement, equity, and policy implications
In PISA 2025, both New Zealand and Estonia performed above the OECD average across the main domains of science, mathematics and reading. Estonia, however, remained one of the strongest-performing education systems internationally, with results near the top of the OECD and Europe. New Zealand’s results were solid and broadly stable compared with 2022, but they showed a larger spread of achievement and a continuing challenge in mathematics and equity.
| Domain | New Zealand | Estonia | OECD average | Comparison |
| Science | 509 | 527 | 482 | Estonia scored 18 points higher than New Zealand. |
| Mathematics | 480 | 508 | 463 | Estonia scored 28 points higher than New Zealand. |
| Reading | 497 | 499 | 461 | The two countries were very close, with Estonia 2 points higher. |
| Computational problem solving | 531 | Noted as among Europe’s strongest performers | 500 | New Zealand performed strongly in this innovative domain; Estonia was also reported as a European leader. |
Science: Science was the major domain in PISA 2025. New Zealand’s average score of 509 was above the OECD average and broadly stable over recent PISA cycles. Estonia’s score of 527 placed it among the world’s leading systems and first in Europe according to Estonian education reporting. The gap suggests that Estonia’s students, on average, demonstrated stronger science literacy and application of scientific knowledge.
Mathematics: Mathematics is the clearest area of difference. New Zealand’s average of 480 remained above the OECD average, but Estonia’s 508 was substantially higher. New Zealand also reported that 29% of students were below the baseline proficiency level in mathematics, indicating a significant challenge for foundational numeracy.
Reading: Reading was New Zealand’s strongest area relative to Estonia, with the two countries almost level: New Zealand scored 497 and Estonia 499. However, Estonia’s reading score had declined compared with earlier cycles, while New Zealand’s reading result was broadly similar to 2022 and remained above the OECD average.
New Zealand’s results point to a continuing equity concern. Although the achievement gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students narrowed in 2025, New Zealand still had above-average variation in achievement, meaning outcomes differed widely between students.
Estonia’s system is widely noted for combining high performance with comparatively strong equity, where socio-economic background has less impact on learning outcomes than in many OECD systems.
New Zealand’s PISA 2025 results should be read as cautiously positive. Achievement appears to have stabilised after earlier declines and students remain above OECD averages.
At the same time, Estonia shows that higher average performance and stronger equity can coexist. The comparison suggests three priorities for New Zealand: strengthen foundational mathematics, reduce the long tail of underachievement, and continue improving support for disadvantaged learners without lowering expectations for high performers.
Equity with high expectations: Estonia’s results suggest that broad access to quality learning can lift average achievement while keeping gaps comparatively smaller.
Strong science foundations: Estonia’s high science score indicates the value of coherent curriculum, skilled teaching and sustained attention to scientific literacy.
Reading remains important: Even high-performing systems can experience declines in reading, making literacy a continuing priority for both countries.
Digital learning needs discipline: Both countries’ results highlight the growing importance of computational problem solving, but digital tools need to support—not replace—deep learning.
New Zealand performed above the OECD average in PISA 2025 and showed signs of stabilisation, particularly compared with the post-pandemic decline seen internationally. Estonia, however, remained a benchmark system, outperforming New Zealand in science and mathematics and matching it closely in reading. For New Zealand, the comparison reinforces the need to lift mathematics achievement, reduce achievement variation, and build a more consistently high-performing and equitable education system.
A house effect, in polling terms, is the measurement of whether polls form one company for a party differ from the average of all the other polls for that party. It isn’t bias, it is just saying this is how far from the average a polling company is.
The Overhang calculates house effects every few months, and has just done an update. It shows:
So for all seven parties, Curia has a deviation from the industry average of less than 1%, and less than 0.5% for all but the Greens.
A lot of media reporting on the election result in Saxony-Arnholt. It has two million people and is in former East Germany.
Their Parliament is called a Landtag and they just went to the polls. The results so far are:
So a huge swing from CDU to AFD.
You need 42 seats to govern. The AFD are not quite there but a grand coalition is hard to see.as The Left and BSW are very hard left parties and if CDU tries to govern with them, it will not be pretty. So CDU either has to let AFD govern, or form a coalition of every other party in the Landtag, or another election (which would help AFD).
The AFD has unsavoury elements to it, to put it mildly. But I don’t think people should see the vote for them as a vote for returning to the Nazi past. The vote for them is basically that people didn’t like having 1 million Muslim immigrants come in, and they see AFD as the only party that will stop further immigration.
The Herald reports:
The post-Covid collapse in education has halted amid signs of a narrowing equity gap, as disadvantaged students improved at higher rates than their richer peers.
That’s according to New Zealand’s 2025 Pisa (Programme for International Student Assessment) results, released this evening, which is a benchmark for 15-year-olds in the OECD in science, maths and reading.
We have been decline for two decades in the PISA results, so this is good news. The participation rate was down, so one has to be careful about concluding too much compared to previous assessments. But this is especially good:
So the improvement comes from schools which have the most disadvantaged students. That will mean, if it continues, those kids are going to have better opportunities in life, despite their disadvantaged backgrounds. Education is the best way to provide equality of opportunity.
So from 2000 to 2009, broadly stable. From 2009 to 2022 the declines were 40 in maths, 20 in reading and 28 in science. I understand that 20 points is approximately equivalent to a year’s learning, so that would mean students were 1 to 2 years behind what they were 15 years ago.
But in 2025, maths stabilised, reading dropped slightly and science actually improved. A long way to go, but stopping the decline is a good first step.
UPDATE: I’m told OECD research has found a 8 point drop in PISA scores is associated with a decline in productivity of 1%. So if we can lift our scores back to where they used to be, this could led to a 4% increase in aggregate productivity.
Radio NZ reports:
The foreign minister has made five new diplomatic appointments – including his own ministerial adviser and former chief of staff Jon Johansson as the Ambassador to Sweden. …
Johansson taught at Victoria University for 17 years, and served as Winston Peters’ chief of staff then-senior specialist ministerial adviser in the 2017-20 and 23-26 parliamentary terms.
Peters described him as a “political scientist specialising in political leadership” saying he had “worked the past quarter-century at the intersection of New Zealand politics, media, public service and foreign policy”, before acknowledging his roles as Peters’ staffer.
“In these roles, Jon provided advice to the foreign minister on a broad range of policy issues and participated in the minister’s engagements with counterpart foreign ministers all around the world.”
In 2016, Peters criticised the “brorocracy” of diplomatic appointments after speculation that former Speaker David Carter – who New Zealand First MPs had clashed with – would replace another former Speaker Lockwood Smith as High Commissioner to Britain.
Carter later rubbished the idea, but Peters told media at the time political appointees should be “the absolute exception” and he would recall appointees home if his party held the balance of power at the subsequent election.
This is quite hilarious. Peters has spent years railing against political appointments to diplomatic posts, and then he appoints his former chief of staff to be Ambassador to Sweden.
Personally I don’t have a problem with occasional political appointments. Bolger and Groser to Washington did an excellent job as did Lockwood in the UK.
I have no doubt Johansson will be a diligent and competent Ambassador. A former COS to a Foreign Minister will not be a novice. So the issue is Winston’s consistency, not Johansson’s suitability.
I thought people might be interested in what have been the lows and highs in the last 12 months in the monthly Taxpayers’ Union – Curia poll for each political party. The election is certainly not static.
The party with the least variation has actually been National, who have been consistently between 29% and 31.5%.
Have been sent multiple copies of this speech by the Chief Ombudsman. It has raised many many eyebrows. He is an Independent Officer of Parliament, but shouldn’t claim to speak with the mana of the Parliament.
While the speech was not partisan, I’m not sure the Chief Ombudsman should be saying he stands for systemic change and inviting politicians to agree with him and other speakers.
The Post reports:
Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po has called on Māori to change the trajectory for future generations, urging her people to move from the legacy of Raupatu to a future of Rauora.
In her second Koroneihana address, Te Arikinui told thousands who gathered at Tūrangawaewae Marae and beyond that the mauri of kotahitanga, carried and protected by her father, Kiingi Tuuheitia Potatau Te Wherowhero te tuawhitu, now rests with everyone.
Her use of the term Raupatu refers to the impact of colonisation and intergenerational trauma that has continued to trickle across te ao Māori. Rauora symbolises wellbeing, health and prosperity. …
She challenged Māori to stop asking only what had happened to them, and instead ask what they would do now.
“The question for us is no longer only what happened to us; it is also: What will we do now? When do we decide that what we inherited will not be what we hand on?
“When do we say, ‘The trajectory changes with us’?”
Te Arikinui said the circumstances Māori were born into should not determine the limits of their lives.
“E ruhi mā, e koro mā, tamariki mā, mokopuna mā: Koinei te rā. This is the day. This is the day I say: Raupatu was part of the world I was born into, but Raupatu is not all that I am. I am an uri of Raupatu, but I will be a toa of Rauora. Ka puta. Ka ora,” she said.
“I will not allow the circumstances into which I was born to determine the limits of my life. I will learn. I will work. I will lead. I will build. And I will leave something stronger for those who come after me. Koinei te rā.
For my 2c this is very good advice. It is important to understand that events in the past, such as loss of lands, have resulted in disadvantages that extend on today.
However being overly focused on the past and grievances can be unhealthy and send out a signal that you can’t break free of the past.
It is a reality that almost every country on earth has had a past which was not just imperfect, but sometimes devastating. Cambodia had Pol Pot. Jews had the Holocaust. Germans had their country razed to the ground. Japan had cities nuked. Brazil had atrocities against the indigenous population, Argentina had military dictatorships, Eastern Europe had Soviet Rule. In my observation those countries are very aware of their pasts, but they don’t obsess over them.
The Taxpayers’ Union announced:
Taxpayers’ Union announces election debate series to be live-streamed by the NZ Herald
The Taxpayers’ Union will host seven pre-election electorate debates across the country, live-streamed by the New Zealand Herald and hosted by former Labour MP Anna Lorck and commentator Damien Grant.
Each debate will feature a new electorate poll, giving voters a snapshot of how the race stands before candidates take the stage.
The national Taxpayers’ Union–Curia poll will also be released live at the conclusion of the Mt Albert debate on 8 October and the Tāmaki debate on 3 November.
Debate schedule:
Wellington Bays: Tuesday 15 September
West Coast-Tasman: Tuesday 22 September
Waitaki: Tuesday27 September
Mt Albert: Thursday 8 October*
Tukituki: Wednesday 21 October
Auckland Central: Tuesday 27 October
Tāmaki: Tuesday 3 November*
*Includes release of Taxpayers’ Union–Curia national poll
DPF: All really interesting seats. Two seats where Greens hold, and Labour wants to win off them (and National too). Two seats held by National with strong NZ First candidates. The iconic West Coast-Tasman seat which is an open contest. One seat held by ACT that National is trying to win back and the four way battle in Mt Albert between Labour, National, Greens and Opportunity.
This is not a perfect measure – but some great examples of schools making progress for their students – while acknowledging that those near the top have limited scope to increase their numbers.
Maybe these schools have the secret sauce.
| Roll | Number of Leavers | Percentage of Leavers with University Entrance | |||
| Name | 2025 | 2025 | 2023 % | 2024 % | 2025% |
| Kristin School | 1725 | 182 | 84 | 93.4 | 94.8 |
| Hutt International Boys’ School | 330 | 15 | 88.4 | 86 | 92.4 |
| Carmel College | 1070 | 132 | 76.4 | 85 | 91.5 |
| Waikato Diocesan School For Girls | 695 | 111 | 78.8 | 87.4 | 90.5 |
| Scots College | 1137 | 153 | 79.9 | 83.8 | 89.3 |
| St Catherines College (Kilbirnie) | 207 | 41 | 57.5 | 80.5 | 88.6 |
| St Paul’s College (Ponsonby) | 403 | 59 | 66 | 72.9 | 84.1 |
| Auckland Girls’ Grammar School | 1156 | 202 | 67.1 | 73.8 | 83.9 |
| Westlake Girls’ High School | 2310 | 400 | 74.4 | 76.3 | 83 |
| Lindisfarne College | 561 | 71 | 68.8 | 70.4 | 82.8 |
| Sancta Maria College | 1074 | 132 | 74.7 | 80.5 | 82.7 |
| Dilworth School | 482 | 72 | 64.9 | 65.8 | 81.3 |
| McAuley High School | 786 | 146 | 41.9 | 51.7 | 75.5 |
| John McGlashan College | 532 | 71 | 55.6 | 66.2 | 74.1 |
| Middleton Grange School | 1394 | 186 | 65.2 | 54.2 | 73.1 |
| St Thomas of Canterbury College | 703 | 121 | 57.7 | 63.6 | 71.9 |
| Zayed College for Girls | 187 | 23 | 58.8 | 60.9 | 71.4 |
| New Plymouth Girls’ High School | 1314 | 274 | 48.9 | 48.2 | 66.7 |
| Long Bay College | 1893 | 277 | 55.3 | 61.2 | 65.4 |
| Cashmere High School | 2378 | 439 | 55.2 | 57.1 | 63.2 |
| Wellington High School and Com Ed Centre | 1674 | 304 | 51.7 | 54.4 | 60.3 |
| Ormiston Senior College | 1502 | 431 | 49.3 | 47.4 | 59.6 |
| Sacred Heart Girls’ College (Ham) | 932 | 162 | 50.6 | 51.2 | 59.5 |
| Northcote College | 1489 | 280 | 50.4 | 56.2 | 58.4 |
| Green Bay High School | 1852 | 342 | 43.6 | 52.7 | 58.4 |
| Waitaki Girls’ High School | 406 | 80 | 31.7 | 41.2 | 58.3 |
| Taradale High School | 986 | 261 | 36.9 | 38.9 | 55.1 |
| Kelston Girls’ College | 585 | 97 | 24 | 19.4 | 55 |
| Birkenhead College | 521 | 94 | 31 | 44.2 | 53.3 |
| Lynfield College | 1993 | 297 | 38.7 | 45.6 | 51.7 |
| Rutherford College | 1538 | 250 | 29.3 | 32 | 48.1 |
| Aotea College | 1328 | 206 | 29.2 | 42.9 | 45 |
| Dunstan High School | 590 | 113 | 30.8 | 38.8 | 44.7 |
| Kaipara College | 757 | 143 | 32 | 33.6 | 44.4 |
| Marcellin College | 558 | 109 | 33.9 | 37 | 43.4 |
| Avonside Girls’ High School | 1064 | 195 | 32.8 | 38.2 | 43 |
| Pacific Advance Secondary School | 145 | 43 | 12.5 | 33.3 | 42.9 |
| Te Kura Māori o Porirua | 1908 | 169 | 18.8 | 20 | 42.9 |
| New Plymouth Boys’ High School | 1522 | 283 | 27.9 | 36.6 | 42.7 |
| Timaru Girls’ High School | 468 | 93 | 27 | 40 | 42.7 |
| Napier Boys’ High School | 1311 | 233 | 31.8 | 36.8 | 42.5 |
| Palmerston North Boys’ High School | 1802 | 317 | 36 | 35.7 | 42.2 |
| Massey High School | 2035 | 347 | 26.7 | 31.7 | 41.8 |
| Papamoa College | 1790 | 250 | 35.2 | 33.8 | 41.3 |
| Te Kuiti High School | 319 | 55 | 22.6 | 7.5 | 40.7 |
| Waitakere College | 1974 | 317 | 33.7 | 26.4 | 40.5 |
| Cullinane College | 464 | 65 | 31.2 | 21.5 | 38.9 |
| Kaiapoi High School | 1022 | 203 | 25.9 | 26.2 | 38.9 |
| Taieri College | 1225 | 169 | 23 | 28.2 | 37.8 |
| Tauranga Boys’ College | 2212 | 442 | 30.1 | 33.6 | 37.3 |
| Manurewa High School | 2268 | 467 | 19.2 | 28.3 | 37 |
| Kuranui College | 801 | 155 | 28 | 27.7 | 36.9 |
| Chanel College | 314 | 43 | 22.2 | 34.1 | 35.3 |
| Tokoroa High School | 500 | 110 | 10.8 | 27 | 34.8 |
| Waitaki Boys’ High School | 434 | 66 | 17.6 | 16.9 | 34.6 |
| Westland High School | 388 | 51 | 17 | 20 | 31.7 |
| Southern Cross Campus | 1700 | 187 | 10.4 | 13.3 | 26.2 |
| Paeroa College | 356 | 70 | 11.5 | 13.7 | 23 |
| Mairehau High School | 433 | 92 | 7.3 | 14.4 | 20.5 |
For those who want the full data set:
The seventeen sheets cover:
1. Base data by School Number
2. Base data by EQI
3. Listed by Size
4. Listed by L2 NCEA for leavers 2022 – 2025
5. Listed by L3 NCEA for leavers 2020 – 2025
6. Listed by UE for leavers 2018 – 2025
7. Listed by L3 NCEA to UE for leavers gap – 2028 – 2025
8. Listed by student retention until 17yo 2018 – 2025
9. Listed by Progression to L7+ degree study 2019 – 2024
10. Listed by UE results in EQI 10ths – 2021 – 2025
11. Listed by UE results with EQI coded – 2021 – 2025 (highlighted those doing well from higher EQI situations)
12. STATE only: Listed by UE results with EQI coded – 2021 – 2025
13. National Measures – Attendance & UE Means by EQI 10ths (2022 – 2025)
14. Broad Sector Measures – Overall, Ethnicity, Gender, School Governance, School Type, Geographical Area.
15. Boys’ School Groups (Super 8, South Island) – UE and Retention 2024 – 2025.
16. UE Data for 59 Impressive Improvers – 2023 – 2025.
17. Data Summary and Goal Setting Sheet for Schools to Use.
If you order the data for professional use I will send it immediately (with an invoice that can be paid in your payments cycle). The cost is $400+ GST.
For private use – a donation is a good thing – in recognition of the work and value.
In what would have been a hotly contested selection, National has selected Jessica Rowe for the safe seat of Kaipara ki Mahurangi, vacated by Chris Penk.
She grew up locally in Riverhead, became a journalist and then did a Masters in Global Diplomacy, joining MFAT. She’s been involved in numerous global groups, and is the NZ co-chair of the Australia-NZ Leadership Forum Emerging Leaders Programme.
She was seconded to work in the Beehive to the Foreign Affairs Minister in 2022 and the Climate Change Minister in 2024. A few months ago she became a ministerial advisor to Louise Upston. She also serves as a board member to the Student Volunteer Army.
Her family also run a century-old haberdashery business based in Auckland, and Jessica has business interests in New Zealand wool and property.
An exciting addition to National’s team.
The Herald reports:
The Green Party is promising to nationalise 120 Woolworths and Foodstuffs supermarkets to create a new Government-owned supermarket, KiwiMart, if elected.
The party says the Parliamentary Library costed the policy at $2.8 billion, comprising the cost of nationalising 120 stores and two distribution centres at $1.3b, with a further $1.5b to capitalise KiwiMart as a commercially viable competitor. KiwiMart would have a mandate to prioritise affordability.
You have to laugh or cry at this policy – or both.
Can you think of a more sure fire way to lose $2.8 billion – have the Greens appoint some mates to run 120 supermarkets.
And imagine all the other restrictions the Greens will impose on them. They’ll instruct therm not to stick any foods they deem unhealthy. They’ll also instruct them to ban any non organic food, any food with a high carbon footprint etc.
The Post reports:
The draft report said the most significant example in a pattern of incorrect information from FENZ was about 30 MAN fire trucks bought in 2019 after a cold-call sales pitch. There was no procurement or competitive process for the purchase.
They purchased 30 fire trucks on the basis of a cold call sales pitch? My God. The salesperson definitely earnt their commission, but how could you do such a large purchase without a tender or competitive process?
In December 2024, the majority were apparently in operation. By February 2025, FENZ confirmed none were operational and were not expected to be delivered until September that year. By January 2026 the committee was told 14 were handed over and staff were undergoing training. Then, in March, it was confirmed none were operational and the first 16 were expected to be in operation by the end of the financial year.
“None of the 30 appliances were in operational service during this inquiry, nearly seven years after the MAN cab and chassis units were purchased,” the report said.
So once again we seem to have a government entity that can’t tell the truth to Parliament.
“It is becoming increasingly difficult to understand what is intentional misinformation, and what is unintended errors due to FENZ representatives not fully knowing or understanding their own organisation,” a draft committee opinion said.
So the choice is incompetence or malice, or both!
Henry Cooke writes:
This week showcased the unfortunately strong case for depoliticising political decisions.
First, a group of politicians in Cabinet made a regrettable call that some of them were clearly regretting as they made it – delaying fuel tax hikes, yet again. The political case for putting off fuel taxes going up is strong, especially with the Opposition promising it, but Transport Minister Chris Bishop made quite clear that the economic case does not stack up, given construction costs have risen 45% since 2020, while fuel taxes have stayed flat, meaning every bit of politically untouchable road spending has come instead from general taxation or the bond markets. It would benefit these politicians greatly if these decisions could be made by someone else, with Cabinet only intervening to stop rises, rather than create them in the first place.
This would be sensible. The failure to lift fuel taxes means that rather than road users pay for roads, they are being subsidised out of general taxation. I am a believer in user pays. I absolutely understand though the politics of not wanting to increase petrol tax when petrol prices are so high, due to the Middle East conflict.
Ideally petrol tax (and road user charges) should adjust automatically to match road/transport spending. I am quite happy to pay more, if it means we get roads like Transmission Gully, Kapiti Expressway etc.
The Herald reports:
A woman who murdered her two children, stuffed their bodies into suitcases and abandoned them in a storage unit has had seven years taken off the time she must spend behind bars.
Hakyung Lee is still subject to a life sentence, but her minimum non-parole period has been cut from 17 years to 10.
The reduction has been made after the Court of Appeal noted there was a “stark” disparity between her sentence and that given to Lauren Dickason, another mother who murdered her children.
Dickason is serving a sentence of 18 years for killing her three daughters, but is eligible to apply for parole after only six years.
The disparity between the sentences is stark, because the facts of the cases were starkly different. Both very sad cases with mothers killing their children, but Lee’s offending was far worse.
Dickason smothered her children. She was rightfully found guilty of murder. But she did not flee the scene or deny what she did.
Lee poisoned her children. She stuffed their bodies into suitcase and hid them in a storage container. She left the country on a business class flight and changed her name. When arrested and extradited she denied she did it.
This makes her offending quite different to Dickason who never covered up what she did. Dickason was given a relatively lenient sentence, but that doesn’t justify knocking seven years off Lee’s sentence.
Top 70 Schools: University Entrance (UE) for LEAVERS
Three notes:
– The leavers data includes all students who begin a school year and leave during, or at the end of the year, from any Year level – and don’t enroll in another NZ school.
– The implication here is not that UE is the only valid school qualification – but it is the one that provides the most future options and, on average students leaving school with it earn significantly more:
(“Modelling done by the Ministry of Education in 2024 of earnings at age 30 showed income premiums for those attaining a Level 2 qualification, a Level 3 qualification or for meeting the requirements for University Entrance (UE). These were around $10,000 higher for learners with a Level 2 or Level 3 qualification and $23,000 higher for learners with UE compared to those with no qualifications.”: www.educationcounts.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/208072/Indicator-NCEA-Level-3-2025.pdf)
– This list does not necessarily define NZ’s “best” schools and, in a future post, I will look at those improving fast. National mean was 42.8%.
| Rank | School | UE % |
| 1 | City Impact Church School | 100% |
| 2 | Diocesan School for Girls | 97.2 |
| 3 | Pinehurst School | 96.8 |
| 4 | Kristin School | 94.8 |
| 5 | St Hildas Collegiate | 94.7 |
| 6 | ACG Parnell College | 94.4 |
| 7 | Woodford House | 94.2 |
| 8 | Baradene College | 93.7 |
| 9 | Nga Tawa Diocesan | 93.5 |
| 10 | Craighead Diocesan | 92.7 |
| 11 | Samuel Marsden Collegiate | 92.5 |
| 12= | Rangi Ruru Girls School | 92.4 |
| 12= | St Cuthbert’s College | 92.4 |
| 12= | Hutt International Boys School | 92.4 |
| 15= | Carmel College | 91.5 |
| 15= | Iona College | 91.5 |
| 17 | Huanui College | 90.6 |
| 18= | Waikato Dio School for Girls | 90.5 |
| 18= | Queen Margaret College | 90.5 |
| 20 | King’s College | 90.1 |
| 21 | St Peter’s College (Epsom) | 89.6 |
| 22 | Scots College | 89.3 |
| 23 | St. Kentigern College | 89.1 |
| 24 | Manukau Christian School | 88.9 |
| 25 | St Catherines College (Kilbirnie) | 88.6 |
| 26 | St Andrew’s College | 87.2 |
| 27 | Marist College | 86.5 |
| 28 | Pukekohe Christian School | 86.4 |
| 29 | Springbank School | 85.7 |
| 30 | Wellington Girls College | 85.6 |
| 31 | Christ’s College | 85.4 |
| 32= | St Margaret’s College | 85.0 |
| 32= | Te Kura Maori o Nga Tapuwae | 85.0 |
| 34 | St Mary’s College (Ponsonby) | 84.7 |
| 35 | St Joseph’s Maori Girls College | 84.6 |
| 36 | Columba College | 84.5 |
| 37 | St Paul’s College (Ponsonby) | 84.1 |
| 38 | Auckland Girls Grammar School | 83.9 |
| 39= | Chilton St James School | 83.3 |
| 39= | St Oran’s College | 83.3 |
| 41 | Liston College | 83.2 |
| 42 | Westlake Girls’ High School | 83.0 |
| 43 | Lindisfarne College | 82.8 |
| 44 | Sancta Maria College | 82.7 |
| 45 | Aquinas College | 82.3 |
| 46 | Whitby Collegiate | 82.2 |
| 47 | Macleans College | 81.4 |
| 48 | Dilworth School | 81.3 |
| 49 | Westlake Boys’ High School | 79.9 |
| 50 | ACG Strathallan | 79.3 |
| 51 | ACG Sunderland | 79.1 |
| 52 | Christchurch Adventist School | 78.9 |
| 53 | St Dominic’s Catholic College | 78.2 |
| 54 | Villa Maria College | 77.9 |
| 55 | St Peter’s School (Cambridge) | 77.8 |
| 56 | Glendowie College | 77.6 |
| 57 | Kings Way School | 77.0 |
| 58 | Epsom Girls Grammar School | 76.8 |
| 59 | Wentworth College | 76.6 |
| 60 | Sacred Heart College (Auckland) | 76.5 |
| 61 | Elim Christian College (Mt Albert) | 76.3 |
| 62 | Wellington College | 75.8 |
| 63 | Auckland Grammar School | 75.6 |
| 64 | McAuley High School | 75.5 |
| 65 | Michael Park School | 75.0 |
| 66 | Takapuna Grammar School | 74.6 |
| 67 | Manukura | 74.5 |
| 68 | Rangitoto College | 74.1 |
| 69 | John McGlashan College | 74.1 |
| 70 | St Matthew’s Collegiate (M’ton) | 73.6 |
For those who want the full data set:
The seventeen sheets cover:
1. Base data by School Number
2. Base data by EQI
3. Listed by Size
4. Listed by L2 NCEA for leavers 2022 – 2025
5. Listed by L3 NCEA for leavers 2020 – 2025
6. Listed by UE for leavers 2018 – 2025
7. Listed by L3 NCEA to UE for leavers gap – 2028 – 2025
8. Listed by student retention until 17yo 2018 – 2025
9. Listed by Progression to L7+ degree study 2019 – 2024
10. Listed by UE results in EQI 10ths – 2021 – 2025
11. Listed by UE results with EQI coded – 2021 – 2025 (highlighted those doing well from higher EQI situations)
12. STATE only: Listed by UE results with EQI coded – 2021 – 2025
13. National Measures – Attendance & UE Means by EQI 10ths (2022 – 2025)
14. Broad Sector Measures – Overall, Ethnicity, Gender, School Governance, School Type, Geographical Area.
15. Boys’ School Groups (Super 8, South Island) – UE and Retention 2024 – 2025.
16. UE Data for 59 Impressive Improvers – 2023 – 2025.
17. Data Summary and Goal Setting Sheet for Schools to Use.
If you order the data for professional use I will send it immediately (with an invoice that can be paid in your payments cycle). The cost is $400+ GST.
For private use – a donation is a good thing – in recognition of the work and value.
I have now completed 14 electorate race profiles on my Patreon (paywalled). They are from Invercargill to Waimakariri.
So far I have:
The next two will be Kaikoura and Nelson, and then we move to the North Island.
Audrey Young writes:
Te Pāti Māori not only released a radical Treaty of Waitangi policy this week that would upend New Zealand’s democracy as we know it, co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said the whole policy was a bottom line, meaning it was non-negotiable.
That means Te Pāti Māori would not sign up to a centre-left Government unless it agreed to its policy, and that is the crucial factor. That’s not only a coalition killer, it will make it less likely the parties of the left are elected.
You’d expect Te Pāti Māori policy to be radical and unlike any other party’s. You’d expect the party to champion the Mātike Mai report on constitutional change and make some gains in any coalition agreement.
But to suggest that a 3% party should impose an unelected Te Tiriti of Waitangi Commission with authority over the Government to overturn or prevent Cabinet decisions that it believes breach the Treaty is off the planet.
To suggest that it would be non-negotiable is unfathomable.
To be very clear, TPM’s non-negotiable bottom line is the end of democratic parliamentary sovereignty in NZ. This is what a change of government could deliver.
The UK Government has published a guide for asylum seekers who are living in the UK while awaiting a decision. A summary of the booklet is:
You should not rape women. You should not try to have sex with someone who is asleep, drunk, or unable to consent clearly.
You should not have sex with children. You should not sexually harass strangers. You should not beat your wife, tell her what to wear, or control where she goes.
You should not physically or verbally abuse your partner. You should not prevent women from working, studying, or leaving the house.
And when you are in public spaces, you should not make sexual comments, whistle or make kissing noises. You should not follow someone, or block their path.
And they wonder why there is a backlash!