The Herald reports:

Russia’s track and field team cannot compete at the Rio Olympics because the country has not given up its doping culture but exceptions will be considered for clean athletes, world athletics body IAAF says.

IAAF president Sebastian Coe said after a governing council meeting in Vienna on Friday “although good progress has been made, the IAAF Council was unanimous that RusAF had not met the reinstatement conditions”.

The council found “Russian athletes could not credibly return to international competition without undermining the confidence of their competitors and the public”, Coe added.

The IAAF had met to consider whether Russia had set up a functioning anti-doping structure in response to a report by world anti-doping agency WADA that detailed systematic cheating in Russian athletics.

“The deep-seated culture of tolerance or worse for doping that got RusAF suspended in the first place seems not to have changed materially,” said Rune Andersen, head of the IAAF’s Russia task force.

There were still no strong anti-doping infrastructure in Russia and doping tests were still being hampered, Anderson added.

This is a good decision. All countries probably have some athletes who have cheated with drugs. But in Russia the cheating is state sponsored and sanctioned. Unless Russia remains suspended, there is no incentive for them to genuinely clean up – and other countries would seek to emulate them.

Now the IAAF is acting with some integrity, the question is whether other bodies will do similar.

Stuff reports:

A police officer who left a loaded gun in a bathroom at Parliament will doing “a lot of soul-searching” and could face up to three investigations, a security specialist once responsible for guarding prime ministers says.

Police are investigating how a loaded Glock pistol was left behind in a Parliament bathroom on Thursday.

The gun was recovered by police after they became aware it was there.

In a statement, police said: “As soon as police were made aware that the firearm had been left in the bathroom, staff attended and recovered it from the occupant, and we would like to thank them for their assistance.

“This was a regrettable incident that we are taking seriously, and we acknowledge the potential risk that this could have posed.”

The statement says police have started an investigation into the incident, and would not comment further while they were looking into the matter.

Police have not confirmed who owned the firearm, but police staff most commonly seen around Parliament are members of the Prime Minister’s diplomatic protection service, who are routinely armed.

This is a huge fail by the officer concerned. Everyone makes mistakes and can leave something behind – but a loaded gun in a toilet is another matter.

A huge amount of money is spent on keeping Parliament secure with x-ray machines etc, and to just have a loaded gun sitting in a bathroom is negligent. A small redeeming factor is that the bathroom was probably not one accessible by the public.

Security specialist Lance Burdett, who used to run an Auckland-based VIP protection squad responsible for looking after prime ministers, said the breach was “the worst thing you can do, absolutely”.

“He or she is highly trained, and that’s the first thing you train is never let it [your gun] out of your sight.

“Out on the course, you wear it the whole time… it is never to leave your side so you get used to not leaving it behind and always having it with you.”

Burdett said firearm holsters were often worn on the hip, and it had likely been taken off to use the toilet, then left behind out of “absent-mindedness”.

My guess also.

If the staff member was part of the DPS, they would almost certainly lose their job, while they could face dismissal from the police force entirely.

They would be doing “a lot of soul-searching” while the investigations were underway, Burdett said.

“Whatever repercussions are for the person that’s left it there, they themselves will be putting themselves through more hoops than anyone else ever could.”

SACKING NOT NEEDED – LABOUR

Labour’s police spokesman Stuart Nash didn’t want to see the person responsible fired, instead a written warning should be issued.

“It’s a serious breach but this person is never going to leave their firearm alone again and nothing bad has come from it.”

On this, I agree with Stuart Nash. A decision for Police of course, but from what I know of DPS officers, he or she will be absolutely aghast at their mistake. Also they will probably be “hassled” about it for some years by their colleagues. A severe bollocking should occur, but not a firing.

The Herald reports:

Kiwi Regional Airlines has this afternoon announced that the operation will be wound up.

Air Chathams will purchase Kiwi Regional Airlines’ Saab 340A aircraft and will absorb the aircraft and offer employment to the majority of Kiwi Regional Airlines’ full-time staff and absorb them into its operations from the beginning of August.

Not the most surprising news of the year.

CNN reports:

Despite mounting pledges of allegiance to ISIS, some say they believe Mateen was actually fueled by struggles with his sexuality — and may have latched on to ISIS as a vehicle for his anger.

Several regulars at the gay nightclub said the gunman visited frequently over the past few years. Cord Cedeno said Mateen saw him at Pulse and messaged him on Grindr, a gay dating app.

Cedeno said he wasn’t interested in Mateen, but his friend was.

Treasury has published a paper (by two MOTU economists) looking at the impact of 90 day trials periods. The findings are:

We find no evidence that the policy affected the number of hires by firms on average, either overall or into employment that lasted beyond the trial period. We also do not find an effect on hiring of disadvantaged jobseekers. However, our results suggest that the policy increased hiring in industries with high use of trial periods by 10.3 percent.

So the impact was in industries that were using the trial periods. Makes sense. Many industries won’t want to use trial periods, but those that do did see an increase in hiring.

Specifically they found:

we estimate the policy effect to be a statistically and economically insignificant 0.8 percent increase in hiring on average across all industries. However, within the construction and wholesale trade industries, which report high use of trial periods, we estimate a weakly significant 10.3 percent increase in hiring as a result of the policy.

The 2016 Global Peace Index ranks countries by safety. The top 10:

1. Iceland
2. Denmark
3. Austria
4. New Zealand
5. Portugal
6. Czech Republic
7. Switzerland
8. Canada
9. Japan
10. Slovenia

We were one of only 69 countries not to have a terrorist incident. Deaths from terrorism in 2015 were up 80% from the year before.

Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld writes in the Washington Post:

When our synagogue heard about the horrific tragedy that took place at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, it was at the same time that we were celebrating our festival of Shavuot, which celebrates God’s giving of the Torah.

As Orthodox Jews, we don’t travel or use the Internet on the Sabbath or on holidays, such as Shavuot. But on Sunday night, as we heard the news, I announced from the pulpit that as soon as the holiday ended at 9:17 p.m. Monday, we would travel from our synagogue in Northwest Washington to a gay bar as an act of solidarity. …

Approximately a dozen of us, wearing our kippot, or yarmulkes, went down as soon as the holiday ended. Some of the members of our group are gay, but most are not. We did not know what to expect. As we gathered outside, we saw one large, drunk man talking loudly and wildly. I wondered whether we were in the right place. Then my mother, who was with me, went up to a man who was standing on the side of the building. She told him why we were there. He broke down in tears and told us his cousin was killed at Pulse. He embraced us and invited us into the Fireplace.

We didn’t know what to expect, but it turned out that we had so much in common. We met everyone in the bar. One of the patrons told me that his stepchildren were actually bar-mitzvahed in our congregation. Another one asked for my card so that his church could come and visit. The bartender shut off all of the music in the room, and the crowd became silent as we offered words of prayer and healing. My co-clergy Maharat Ruth Friedman shared a blessing related to the holiday of Shavuot, and she lit memorial candles on the bar ledge. Then everyone in the bar put their hands around each other’s shoulders, and we sang soulful tunes. After that, one of our congregants bought a round of beer for the whole bar.

Everyone in the bar embraced each other. It was powerful and moving and real and raw.

Some us faith for bad ends, other use faith for very good ends – such as this.

Stuff reports:

Richmond’s Salisbury School could close in January in a move its board says is “unbelievably short-sighted”.

Education Minister Hekia Parata on Thursday announced she had initiated consultation with the school’s board over its future.

“The … boarding school has a long history of educating girls with high and complex needs but the successful implementation of the Intensive Wraparound Service [IWS] has reduced the demand for residential schooling,” Parata said.

Salisbury School caters to girls from years 3 to 11 who have high, complex needs.

The school’s board of trustee’s chairman, John Kane, said the announcement was not surprising, but was devastating and “unbelievably short-sighted.”

Schools exist if students wish to go to them. Their roll has dropped from 72 to nine.

Parata said since 2011, the roll at Salisbury had fallen from 72 to nine, pushing the per-student cost of educating girls at the school up to $214,909. In comparison, the average cost of providing support through the Intensive Wraparound Service was $27,000.

“The high cost of continuing to fund Salisbury School for a very small number of students versus the significantly lower cost and higher demand for IWS raises questions about the most effective use of resources for students with high and complex needs,” she said.

At $215,000 per student you could hire each of them two dedicated teachers at home!

Nelson MP Nick Smith said he accepted the school could not go on in its current form.

“You cannot justify $2 million a year, 42 fulltime and part-time staff and the use of a prime eight-hectare site for nine pupils,” Smith said.

“The situation next year becomes even more untenable, with seven of the nine pupils completing their programme under the usual practice for residential schooling.”

Smith said the decline in the roll at Salisbury to “unsustainable levels” was because most families were choosing intensive, localised support.

So next year the school may only have two pupils, yet they still demand to remain open.

And if parent choose intensive localised support over sending their kids to Salisbury – that’s their decision.

The Herald reports:

The Government has vetoed a Labour Party bill which would have extended paid parental leave from 18 weeks to 26 weeks.

Finance Minister Bill English confirmed this afternoon that he had exercised the financial veto – the first time he has used it to sink an entire piece of legislation.

Labour MP Sue Moroney’s bill had broad support in Parliament and was expected to pass into law this month.

But Mr English said it was unaffordable.

“Treasury estimates the cost of this legislation amounts to $278 million over the next four years, a significant extra – unbudgeted – cost,” he said.

“That’s on top of the $251 million a year (net of tax) taxpayers are expected to spend by 2020 under the existing paid parental leave framework.” …

United Future leader Peter Dunne, who wants an eventual increase in paid leave to 52 weeks, said there was a “delicious irony” in the Government’s veto.

“Yesterday Government was saying that putting children at the centre of policy was priority. Today they ban a bill on paid parental leave.”

Why stop at 52 weeks? Why not 156 weeks?

Dunne’s proposal would cost $391 million a year more. That’s around 30% of the total budget every year for new spending.

The Herald reports:

Labour leader Andrew Little has now been served with defamation proceedings by National Party donors and hoteliers Earl and Lani Hagaman.

The Hagamans confirmed in a statement they had now commenced defamation proceedings against Mr Little in the High Court and they had been served on Mr Little.

The defamation suit relates to comments Mr Little made about a management contract Mr Hagaman’s company, Scenic Hotel, was awarded to manage the Matavai Resort on Niue. That was awarded a few weeks after Mr Hagaman donated $101,000 to the National Party during the 2014 campaign.

The Hagamans gave Mr Little a deadline to retract his comments and apologise last month, but Mr Little refused.

“As we said earlier, the reasons we’re taking defamation action have been widely reported in the media and I won’t be repeating his allegations that Earl and I find hurtful, highly offensive and totally false.

We will now clear our names in court”, Lani Hagaman said.

I presume it will go to trial, if not settled, around the middle of next year.

Stuff reports:

British Labour MP Jo Cox has died after being shot and stabbed in her constituency in northern England on Thursday afternoon (Friday morning, NZ Time).

Cox was attacked on Market Street in Birstall, near Leeds, about 12.50pm as she prepared to hold a meeting with constituents.

A 77-year-old man was also attacked, but his injuries were not life-threatening.

Cox, a 41-year-old mother of two, was rushed to hospital in a critical condition, but was pronounced dead at 1.48pm, police said.

Police arrested a 52-year-old man nearby, and recovered weapons, including a firearm.

British media have named the man arrested in connection with the attack as Thomas Mair.

The Telegraph reported Mair lived on a council estate in Bridsall.

A neighbour told the UK paper Mair was a “quiet bloke who keeps to himself”.

Her family, friends and colleagues will be devastated.

The motive for the attack was not yet known.

A large number of police remained near the scene of the attack, and were speaking to many witnesses, Temporary Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police Dee Collins said.

At least one witness heard the suspect shout “Britain First” – the name of a right-wing, anti-immigrant group – before the shooting and during the arrest, Sky News and the Guardian reported.

Cox had been campaigning for Britain to remain in the European Union, but it was not immediately clear whether the attack was related.

Britain First denied any link to the shooting on their website, saying “Britain First obviously is NOT involved and would never encourage behaviour of this sort”.

Too early to know whether the attack was politically motivated, or the assailant was just mad – or both.  But for now, a husband has lost his wife, and two children their mother.

The Herald reports:

A disturbing picture is emerging of Orlando nightclub shooter’s troubled childhood, as former teachers and classmates share confronting memories of him from his primary school days.

Their stories reveal Omar Mateen, then known as Omar Seddique, was having homicidal and misogynistic fantasies as early as age 10.

Leslie Hall, who was Mateen’s classmate at Mariposa Elementary School in Florida and target of his bullying, remembers him getting suspended in the fifth grade for threatening to shoot up the school.

Other classmates and a former teacher have similarly unpleasant recollections of Mateen, describing a boy who was driven to school in a limo, often taunted less affluent kids and even stole toys.

They remember how “all the girls were scared of him”, even his mother and sister.

According to staff members, numerous attempts by the school to intervene failed because of the “enabling” nature of Mateen’s father, Seddique Mateen, who was considered to be the source of his attitude towards women and girls.

I guess when your father is pro-Taliban, then you grow up with a very negative view of women.

Katherine Zurich, 62, who taught Mateen in the fourth and fifth grade, said she tried to reach out to him but found his attitudes too deeply entrenched to penetrate.

“He felt that women were beneath him,” Ms Zurich said.

“He was taught to disrespect them. His mum, his sisters were afraid of him. They had to be subservient to him because he was the son. They treated him like the father, with respect.”

The teacher alleged Omar claimed his father often told him he did not have to listen to women, which was a problem at Mariposa, where most of the faculty at the time was female.

“He seemed to be so disturbed and violent, it was hard to make him change,” the teacher said. “Hard to look back and say what we thought would come true did.”

Ms Hall, who was bullied by Mateen, said he would also take out his aggression on teachers, throwing chairs in class and worse.

“He was very disrespectful,” she said. “He was spitting in teachers’ faces.”

And his father still says he was a good boy who did nothing wrong!

The Herald reports:

Donald Trump greeted Twitter on Flag Day with two words in all caps: “AMERICA FIRST!”

He has made this slogan a theme for his campaign, and he has begun using it to contrast himself with President Obama, whose criticism of Trump’s rhetoric on Tuesday was answered with a Trump statement promising: “When I am president, it will always be America first.”

He wasn’t quite promising “America über alles,” but it comes close. “America First” was the motto of Nazi-friendly Americans in the 1930s, and Trump has more than just a catchphrase in common with them.

During the early 1930s, as the Nazis consolidated control over Germany, the US media baron William Randolph Hearst began touting the slogan “America First” against President Franklin Roosevelt, whom he saw as dangerously likely to “allow the international bankers and the other big influences that have gambled with your prosperity to gamble with your politics”. Hearst regarded Roosevelt’s New Deal as “un-American to the core” and “more communistic than the communists” – unlike Nazism, which he believed had won a great victory for “liberty-loving people” everywhere in defeating communism.

With the beginning of World War II in Europe and the Germans’ swift conquest of the continent, Roosevelt began to commit his administration more firmly to the aid of the those fighting Nazism. He incurred the ire of various anti-intervention constituencies, ranging from committed religious or principled pacifists to American communists, who supported the Nazi-Soviet pact and therefore the notion that the United States should stay out of the European war.

But the most prominent of his opponents were the founders of the America First Committee, formed in September 1940. The committee opposed fighting Nazism and proposed a well-armed America confined largely to the Western Hemisphere. It soon afterwards adopted the noted aviator and enthusiast of fascism, Charles Lindbergh, as their favoured speaker. Lindbergh accepted a medal from Hermann Goering “in the name of the Fuhrer” during a visit to Germany in 1938, and “proudly wore the decoration”, the New York Times reported. He thought democracy was finished in Europe, that the western powers could not effectively resist the Nazi war machine and that the United States had better make terms with Adolf Hitler.

I think Trump stole the slogan off Winston, not Lindbergh!

Stats NZ reported:

Gross domestic product (GDP) increased 0.7 percent in the March 2016 quarter, following an increase of 0.9 percent in the December 2015 quarter, Statistics New Zealand said today. The latest growth was driven by the construction and health industries, but partly offset by decreases in the primary industries and manufacturing.  

“The main driver behind the GDP growth was construction, which rose 4.9 percent. This was the strongest quarterly growth for the industry since March 2014,” national accounts senior manager Gary Dunnet said.

The increase in construction also reflected higher construction-related investment. Investment in other construction (infrastructure such as roading and telecommunications) was up 12 percent – the highest quarterly growth since June 2014. Investment in residential building rose 4.2 percent, driven by strong increases in Auckland and Waikato, but eased in Canterbury.

Rising demand saw service industries grow 0.8 percent this quarter. The health and retail trade industries led the overall increase.

“We saw a larger population reflected in the rise in health care and consumer spending. When the rising population is taken into account, our GDP per capita rose 0.1 percent on the previous quarter,” Mr Dunnet said.

Strong tourist arrivals also supported the growth in service industries, reflecting a 4.9 percent rise in tourist spending.

That’s reasonable growth.  Bill English pointed out:

New Zealand’s annual growth rate of 2.8 per cent was in the top 10 of the OECD. It compares to 2.0 per cent in the United Kingdom and United States, 3.1 per cent in Australia, 1.1 per cent in Canada and 1.8 per cent across the OECD.

And we’re one of the very few countries with the books in surplus!

The Herald editorial:

One of those basic Western, liberal values is a tolerance of diverse views and open debate. Muslims who come here may arrive with distinctly non-Western values on the status of women and decency in dress and relationships. They justify their restrictive codes of dress and conduct on a sense of respect and self-respect that they find deficient in Western liberal values. Westerners find that sort of respect oppressive but it is good to have our attitudes challenged. To bar people because they do not share them would be the antithesis of basic Western, liberal values.

Not at all. Does the Herald editorial writer think for example we should welcome in members of the KKK because it is good to have our values challenged? How about neo-nazis from Europe? Would having more neo-nazis in NZ be good for our NZ as they will challenge our values? By the same basis, I don’t want people immigrating here who think gays should be stoned to death, that execution is the appropriate punishment for apostasy or that women are second class citizens.

The Herald reports:

The TVNZ journalist Paula Bennett’s press secretary leaked to was Rebecca Wright – a journalist with whom the Social Housing Minister has crossed swords in the past, including taking an unsuccessful complaint to the Broadcasting Standards Authority.

The minister’s press secretary told Ms Wright about a police investigation into the handling of a case by Te Puea Marae chairman Hurimoana Dennis, after Mr Dennis informed the minister about the matter in a private meeting last week.

The police investigation is not a criminal investigation into Mr Dennis personally, who could not be immediately reached for comment today.

Opposition MPs have claimed that the press secretary, Lucy Bennett, must have passed on the information with the minister’s permission. Paula Bennett has denied this, saying the first she knew about the leak was when a Radio NZ reporter asked her about it on Tuesday.

She has described the leak as inappropriate and has apologised to Mr Dennis, who is on leave from his role as police inspector and iwi liaison officer while the investigation is underway.

RNZ was the first to ask the minister about the leak. It is not known how RNZ found out about it.

Ms Wright has not responded to requests for comment. Lucy Bennett, who is not related to the minister, declined to comment or confirm Ms Wright was the journalist she spoke to.

My understanding is that what happened was gossip, not a deliberate leak. Press secretaries and reporters exchange gossip all the time. In this particular case, many in the media were already aware of the investigation into Mr Dennis, and an assumption was made Rebecca Wright already knew.

It was an error of judgement on Lucy Bennett’s part, but not any sort of deliberate act.

For those convinced it was some sort of deliberate strategy signed off by the Minister, well if so the last person they would choose to deliberately leak to is Rebecca Wright! As in even if every other journalist in NZ had Ebola, Paula would still not choose to deal with Rebecca Wright, let alone leak to her.

If TVNZ and Radio NZ had revealed immediately that the journalist talked to was Rebecca, then I doubt any one else in the media would have taken seriously the accusation that this was a deliberate leak. The ill will between the Minister and Rebecca is well known. You wonder if it was a deliberate decision not to reveal this, so the story would be more potent.

Stuff reports:

Guests at a glamorous fundraising dinner will be served thimble-sized portions of alcohol with each course because of concerns about drink-driving and the ability of female guests to handle their liquor.

Wellington chef Martin Bosley, who will prepare food for the event, has labelled the decision by health officials as “ridiculous” and says it could have serious ramifications for other events across the country.

Te Āwhina Marae in Motueka will host a seven-course degustation fundraising dinner with Bosley on June 25.

But the Marae says the Nelson-Marlborough Public Health Service was dissatisfied with limits of 100ml per course, or even 75ml, so it will be down to 50ml.

That equates to one-fifteenth of a standard wine bottle, or less than one-sixth of a 330ml can of beer.

Bosley said the limits were very disappointing.

“Are you syringing it into people’s glasses? It’s just ridiculous” he said.

As a chef, “what we do is about generosity,” Bosley said, adding that the relationship between wine and food was key.

A marae team member, who did not want to be named, said the local Public Health Service health was concerned about drink-driving and the ability of female guests to handle alcohol.

“They didn’t really talk much about the standard drinks for men.”

This was despite the marae hiring at least one bus to shuttle guests who might be travelling from Nelson.

After “protracted negotiations” the marae felt compelled to agree to the 50ml per course limit, the team member said.

It was not clear how the rule would be enforced but serving staff were being trained to serve the tiny amounts.

The Nelson-Marlborough District Health Board and Public Health Service did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.

Tony Astle, owner-chef at Antoine’s restaurant in Parnell, Auckland, said the 50ml limit was a case of “bureaucracy gone absolutely berserk”.

“It’s ludicrous and they should be ashamed of themselves.”

A 50 ml maximum serve – insane.

Stuff reports:

Television New Zealand and TV3-owner MediaWorks would not likely be allowed to merge, Prime Minister John Key has indicated.

Key appeared to confirm there had been interest in a transaction short of a merger, after a report of talks between TVNZ and MediaWorks in the Australian media.

“What I am aware of is a bit of discussion that there might have been some interest on the TVNZ side in relation to some of the assets owned by MediaWorks,” Key said. TVNZ spokeswoman Georgie Hills would not identify the “assets” Key was referring to.

Key said a merger was “very unlikely to happen”. 

“I don’t think there is a great deal of support around that on the government side, which is a critical part of it as the Government would have to allow that to happen on the TVNZ side,” he said.

“We like the concept that there are competing networks.”

I like having competing networks also.

However I suspect there is not a very bright future for TV channels. The money is in producing shows, not being a channel. I doubt TVNZ would be worth much in a few years, so I’d sell it while we can, and let the Commerce Commission decide on competition issues.

The Herald reports:

Orlando gunman Omar Mateen’s wife knew he was planning a mass shooting, went on location scouting trips, accompanied her husband to buy ammunition and never warned authorities, new reports claim.

The only thing Noor Zahi Salman did to prevent the worst gun massacre in US history was try to talk her husband out of it, FBI sources told NBC and ABC.

Salman, 30, admitted she was with Mateen, 29, when he bought his ammunition and holster.

And she drove him to Pulse nightclub and other target scenes – including Walt Disney World – “because he wanted to scope them out”.

In fact, they visited Disney World more than once to survey the area before Mateen opted for Pulse, law enforcement sources told CBS.

However, Salman never made any attempts to contact authorities about the impending terror attack.

According to the NBC report, authorities are “considering” charges against Salman for not reporting her husband’s massacre plan. The FBI said she is cooperating fully with the investigation.

Unless there are exceptional circumstances (she had been threatened if she said anything) then I think there is a clear case for her being an accessory.

Chris Bishop wrote on Facebook:

This just makes me want to weep.

I encourage people to read the whole article along with the correspondence (which Stuff.co.nz has put up online too), but here’s a summary of the story:

Te Kura Hourua O Whangarei Terenga Paraoa is a partnership school based in Whangarei which opened in 2014. It’s a new school but since opening it’s been doing well – its roll increased from 50 to 72 in 2015, it graduated five year 13 students all with UE; it placed 4th at the regional kapahaka competition, to name a few. All of its students in 2015 were “priority learners” (Maori, Pasifika, kids with special needs or from low socio-economic backgrounds). The exact kids we really want to be helping.

It’s achieving great NCEA results for its students – 100% NCEA Level 3 and 2 achievement rates in 2015; and 84.2% at Level 1 – well above the average for Maori.

Earlier this year a local high school, Kamo High School, offered to let the kura use their chemistry fume cupboard to mix chemicals for students’ science experiments. Sounds sensible right? Who could possibly be opposed to that? As the Principal of Kamo said, she “saw this as an opportunity to support a highly successful emerging school in our area, and to improve the chemistry results for Maori students.”

Well, the PPTA it seems, the union for secondary teachers. This was a “major issue”. The executive turned up unannounced at the school for a “vital” meeting with the staff. Soon a long menacing letter arrived, threatening all sort of legal repercussions – all over the simple offer to let a nearby school use some science resources.

So now the offer’s been withdrawn. What a shame for the students of the kura. Once again, the PPTA is putting its ideological (and frankly wrong) views about partnership schools ahead of kids in our education system – and kids whom the system has largely failed so far (that’s why partnership schools exist).

This is not an isolated incident. In 2015 a teacher studying to become qualified was asked to leave one of his placements because he was employed at the kura. The PPTA has instructed all its members to “refrain from all professional, sporting and cultural contact with charter schools” – so no playing rugby against them, participating in arts festivals, no debating competitions – nothing.

I find all of this really sad. Partnership schools are a genuine, well-intentioned attempt to try and tackle the long tail of under-achievement in our education system. Every kid deserves a good education. For some, the existing system doesn’t work well. Partnership schools may help them; and the evidence so far is that they are. Nobody is forced to send their children there. No teacher is forced to work there. They’re a choice. I haven’t been to the kura (yet), but I’ve visited South Auckland Middle School in Auckland, and looked at their results. Sadly, many opponents of partnership schools have not bothered to do the same.

So this school agreed to allow students at another school their chemistry fume cupboard and because of that they had almost the entire PPTA Executive descend on their school to threaten them.

UPDATE: I’m informed that it was not the entire PPTA Executive, but just two people – the President and a staffer. Also the visit was known in advance.

Brian Rudman writes:

Sometimes it really is embarrassing to be a baby-boomer. We’re the generation that enjoyed free school milk, free university education and free healthcare, then, after sucking those teats dry, turned off the taps and told those following that the free ride was over.

Now, my fellow oldies sit back in their million dollar, debt-free homes, moaning about a piddling $15 for a transport swipe card which will give them free travel on Auckland’s buses, trains and ferries for the rest of their lives.

Ungrateful indeed.