David Seymour: ACT Party leader hits out at schools who encourage students to skip school to attend hīkoi

ACT leader David Seymour is warning principals they're technically public servants - and must display political neutrality. 

The Associate Education Minister is hitting out at schools who've marked absences by students attending a national  hīkoi as 'justified'. 

Thousands marched through Auckland today on the pilgrimage to Parliament, protesting the Treaty Principles Bill. 

Seymour says parents can only urge schools to do the right thing. 

"Ultimately, it's up to communities to say to principals through their school boards - we don't like what you're doing and maybe it's time to get someone new."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Heather do the cl So.

Speaker 2 (00:01):
It appears some schools are encouraging students to take time
off to go and attend the Hekoy protesting the treaty
principal's bill. There's an email from one school to student's
families doing the rounds on social media. It says the
school supports the ongoing hikoy and any student who attends
the Hikoy with their parents will have their absence marketers justified.
David Seymour AXS party leader and also Associate Education ministers

(00:23):
with US. Now, hey, David, yeah, are you frustrated by that?

Speaker 1 (00:29):
Yeah? I am, because you know, educations the kid's only
real shot, especially if you're born without much educations, your chance,
your ladder of opportunity, call it what you will, and
I'm pretty sure that the treaty principal still will not
disadvantage a single child. But missing out on an education
because you're either not there or because you've got a

(00:51):
principal who thinks it's more important to be out joining
a critical party protest movement than learning to read, write,
maths and science the future that disadvantages kids big time?

Speaker 2 (01:06):
Is there anything you can actually do about it?

Speaker 1 (01:09):
In practice? Our schools are run by parent elected boards
with principles appointed by the boards, so they're self governing.
We can only publish the data and urge them to
do the right thing. Ultimately, it's up to communities to
say to their principle through their school boards, we don't
like what you're doing, and maybe it's time to get

(01:31):
someone new.

Speaker 2 (01:32):
So you see this as a breach of the Teaching
Council guidelines.

Speaker 1 (01:35):
How so? Well, principles are public servants required to show
public sector neutrality. So in theory someone could take a
case that they breached political sorry, not public sector political neutrality. Sorry,
So that's certainly a case to be made.

Speaker 2 (01:54):
Are you basically inviting someone to take a case?

Speaker 1 (01:58):
Well, i'd certainly, you know, wouldn't be surprised if somebody
up there took a complaint to the Teaching Council and said,
I've got this principle that I thought was supposed to
be politically neutral and encouraging children to go to something which,
by the way, is not really a Maori protest that
at Mai protest. The organizer Ka Kingi is the son

(02:24):
of any Kappa Kingi. The Marii Party MP's also on
the parliamentary payroll. I don't know if he's got leave
or he's doing it taxpayer.

Speaker 2 (02:33):
Hey, because I was trying to establish it today. Is
he actually as a party Maari staffer?

Speaker 1 (02:37):
Is he? Oh? That's right, He's in the database. So
there's a question around can you employ your family in
the first place? But put even putting that aside, you know,
should a parliamentary staff have been involved in that sort
of political activity is the kind of thing you can say,
is it's a bit bullline, But I just make the
point that those principles, you know, that they may not

(02:59):
realize that this is a pickickly a political party activity
that they are endorsing too.

Speaker 2 (03:06):
Right, Actually, David, thanks for pointing that out. David Cymore,
Associate Education minist as at party leader. For more from
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