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An educator in Taranaki is asking James Shaw, who approved a million-dollar Crown grant for a private school, to visit dilapidated schools in the region as a petition gathers steam for the donation to be reduced.
The invitation from Marfell Community School Acting Principal Kealy Warren comes after Shaw apologized in a Zoom call Friday night to Green Party members for a decision he says he would not make again.
Shaw, Associate Minister of Finance and co-leader of the Green Party, announced Wednesday that the Green School, a private school, in Oakura, Taranaki, would receive $ 11.7 million from the $ 3 billion “shovel-ready” project fund. .
Warren said that while it was good that Shaw admitted his mistake, and it was a start, she wondered what his motivation was.
READ MORE:
* The dangers of having a political conscience
* James Shaw apologizes for the school’s decision and says he would not do it again.
* The director of Taranaki sends the government a bill of 26.9 million dollars to ask for equal treatment
“When you say that you caused damage, are you referring to your party and yourself? Or are you acknowledging the principals, children, schools, teachers, and families of Taranaki and the harm they have caused us?
“It affects us, it only affects their votes.”
Warren said he would like Shaw’s next step to be to visit the state schools in Taranaki to see what needs fixing, like leaky and moldy classrooms, and do something about it.
ANDY JACKSON / Stuff
Marfell Elementary Principal Kealy Warren wondered if Shaw regretted the harm to the Green Party or the harm done to Taranaki principals, children, schools and families. From left to right Caleb McKibbin, 8, Leyana Hunia, 9, Principal Kealy Warren, Naiema Vedder, 9.
Warren has openly criticized the decision, sending an open letter to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and a bill to the government billing them for $ 26.9 million in an attempt to obtain equal treatment for her students.
The Ministry of Education called Warren in recent days to make sure he was okay, which he appreciated.
“This is not their fault. They have been giving whatever money they have, and I was very happy to apply for grants to get improvements for our school because I really believed there was no money. But if there is $ 11.7 million floating around, I’m not happy anymore therefore “.
An online petition addressed to James Shaw and Jacinda Ardern was launched Friday night asking the government to reduce the Green School grant. It was gaining momentum and by 12pm on Saturday it had over 6,500 signatures.
ACT party leader David Seymour has also called for the payment to be revoked.
But at the Zoom meeting on Friday night, Shaw said it would be difficult to get out of the deal.
“We entered this in good faith, we cannot just say we would quit. Ultimately, it would be unfair to the other party and you would be exposed to legal risks.
“I want to apologize to you and the Green Party in general for creating a mess right at this time at the beginning of an election campaign,” Shaw said during the call. “I want to apologize for the decision itself. If I were to be in the same position again, I would not make the same decision. “
Hagen Hopkins / Getty Images
Green Party co-leader James Shaw has apologized for the decision to donate $ 11.7 million to a private school in Taranaki, which is against Green Party policies, and says he would not do so again.
Shaw said they were looking for some form of solution.
Green members had been disappointed with previous commitments to carbon-intensive infrastructure, so Shaw said he had tried to make sure this set of projects had a greener, less carbon-intensive hue.
He created a list of exclusions for projects he did not want funded, such as roads, irrigation, and a private university. School, he says, was something he missed.
ANDY JACKSON / Stuff
Behavioral Education coordinator Craig Nielsen (center) said he was impressed that an $ 11.7 million application could be missed. Conductive Education Parents from left Emma Crofskey, Craig Nielsen, Fran Jones.
Craig Nielsen, coordinator of Behavioral Education for Taranaki, an educational program for children with disabilities, said the fact that an application for such a large amount of money was lost scared him.
“How do you lose $ 11.7 million? Where we work, if you lose $ 11.7 million, you’ve actually lost $ 11.7 million. It blows my mind.
“We also work in that children’s space and I absolutely admire the spirit of the Green School, it is so far out of reach and they are supporting a private company.”
Neilsen believed it was a noble thing for Shaw to apologize.
On Saturday morning, Neilsen said he received another email from the Health Ministry saying there was no money for the children in Taranaki Conductive Education in the health budget.
He said they were kicking themselves that they didn’t have the ‘cheek or cheek’ to apply themselves for a ready-to-go project.
“I agree with the economic benefit for the region, it is not my place to say ‘don’t bring 200 jobs’, but I can say ‘bring 200 jobs to build a center for children and the disabled that benefits many more people'” .
SIMON O’CONNOR / Things
Glen Bennett, Labor candidate for New Plymouth, said Labor would have had other priorities for the large sum of money, but said it will benefit Taranaki’s economy in terms of more jobs, construction and attracting people to the region.
New Plymouth Labor candidate Glen Bennett said the investment was promoted by the Green Party and was not an initiative of the Labor Party.
He said Shaw’s apology was the right thing to do and he hoped to move forward in a constructive and positive way.
“We would have had other priorities for such a large sum of money. We don’t see many private schools, so I think it has been a big surprise for the people of this region. “
Bennett said that while the Labor Party did not support funding for private schools, it recognized that it was going to move forward.
“So we look at it this way: It will benefit Taranaki’s economy in terms of providing more jobs in education, construction, and attracting people to the region.
“If I become an MP for the New Plymouth electorate, I will fight to get the best possible support, resources and infrastructure for our state schools. They are the backbone of education. “
