David Seymour: School lunches get a makeover going into the second year of operation

ACT leader David Seymour's controversial school lunch programme is getting a makeover going into it's second year of operation.

The changes include catering giant Compass Group no longer providing lunches to primary schools- but they will still provide meals for secondary schools and intermediates. 

Seymour told Heather du Plessis-Allan, "a subcontractor failed in term one of this year, there was a lot of publicity around that. We fixed it, with the help of Compass, and that's why they continue to supply the bulk of meals."

The $3 meal cap is also gone with costs now reaching up to $5 per meal. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Afternoon. The school lunch program is getting a shake up.
The beleaguered caterer Compass Group, has been dropped as a
supplier to primary schools. Ten other suppliers have been chosen,
and while the intermediate and secondary meals cost about three dollars,
the primary meals will cost up to five dollars. David
Seymore is the Associate Education ministan with US Now Hi,
David hey Ever, is this a vote of no confidence

(00:20):
in Compass?

Speaker 2 (00:22):
Not at all. Compass will continue to deliver meals for
the high schools and intermediates. I would guess that is
actually the bulk of the meals that we are delivering.
They faced some very big challenges that weren't of they're
making a subcontractor failed in term one of this year.
There was a lot of publicity around that. We fixed
it with the help of Compass, and that's why they

(00:45):
continue to supply the bulk of meals.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
Why is the meals costing a little bit more with
the primary schools.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
Well, they're not. All of the prices have gone up
from the starting point of three dollars, but there is
some which are more expensive because they are and hard
to serve. Areas out in remote parts of the country.
Those ones are nudging up towards five dollars, others are
a lot lower, and that gives you an average of
three dollars forty six.

Speaker 1 (01:15):
Did you see that the Ministry of Education has written
to glory of ol Christian School.

Speaker 2 (01:20):
I hadn't seen that, but I'm not surprised.

Speaker 1 (01:22):
Why are you not surprised?

Speaker 2 (01:25):
Well, I think the stories that have come out of
that place for a long time are pretty serious. And
the obligation to give each child in this country, no
matter who they are, what their ethnic background, what their religion,
they should have an education that allows them to make
choices in life. That's something that should be upheld everywhere,
and if it's not being upheld at a particular place,
education should be onto it.

Speaker 1 (01:47):
If the ministry does shut the school down, which is
kind of what it seems it's going to do, does
that solve our problem because won't those kids just go
into homeschooling and essentially stay in the place.

Speaker 2 (01:58):
Well, of course, different government departments have different responsibilities of
an education. Are there to make sure that any school
running has run well. On the other hand, there are
other areas such as ministry or social development and auditing
a Tamaiki the Children's Ministry, whose job is to protect
the welfare of children. They each have a job to do.

(02:18):
Whether a child is in a state school or homeschool
is secondary to those other departments jobs.

Speaker 1 (02:24):
Did you see apropos the Labor policy announcement yesterday that
at the moment cervical screening is free for Maori and
Pacifica but not other ethnicities.

Speaker 2 (02:33):
Yeah, and look at this is one of these things
where a government that's come in. If you take something
like bow screening, that was fifty years of age if
you are Maori or Pacific sixty if you're European. We
worked on the evidence we said, actually race doesn't make
a difference to bell cancer. So now it's fifty eight
for everybody. And there's lots of things like this that

(02:54):
we're slowly changing. FARMAC used to have a whole wing
of Maori work on the basis of really nothing, because
medication is medication and we just need to get it
to all people. So there's examples throughout the public service
where people who like me believe our common humanity is
much more important than anything dividing us. We're frustrated, but

(03:16):
we're changing it and we're fixing what matters each each day.

Speaker 1 (03:19):
Are you going to fix this one?

Speaker 2 (03:21):
Well, not me specifically, that would be up to Simming
and Brown the Health Minister. But certainly the influence I
try and bring to bear within the government is that
university universal humanity message is important. We've had big successes
with the history curriculum, with the obligations on school boards
and the University of Auckland lately.

Speaker 1 (03:41):
Are you going to put pressure on sim interchange or
are you going to walk away from this one?

Speaker 2 (03:46):
Well? I can't think of any I've walked away from before.
Certainly I believe that we should be using Need Not Race.
I'm responsible for the Need Not Race circular being put
into the Cabinet Manual and we're going to be pursuing
one as well.

Speaker 1 (04:00):
Great, David, thank you for that. Appreciate it. David Seable,
Associate Education Minister, to keep an eye on that one
with a cervical screening. For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive,
listen live to news Talks. It'd be from four pm weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.