
This Isn't Fair—And It's Time To Fix It: HESSA Petition Calls For Inclusive Student Sports
This follows national attention on the exclusion of home-schooled students and HESSA's ongoing advocacy, including front-page features in the Waikato Times and Bay of Plenty Times, as well as coverage on RNZ's Checkpoint and website.
'This issue has struck a chord with people across the country,' says HESSA Chair Mel Ewart. 'There's a growing consensus that the current student sport system is unfair—and it's time for change.'
School Sport NZ and its regional partners currently exclude home-schooled students from participating in many local, regional, and national competitions. For example, a home-schooled table tennis team in Auckland has been barred from competing in the College Sport Auckland league. HESSA argues this exclusion is discriminatory and contradicts Sport NZ's own diversity and inclusion strategy.
'This is about fairness and kids being able to compete in sports with their friends and peers,' says Ewart. 'Home-school students are domestic students. They deserve the same opportunities to compete in student sports..
HESSA contends that public funding for student sport should be tied to inclusive practices that reflect the values of fairness and equal opportunities for all Kiwi students.
'School Sport NZ holds the social license to sanction student sport in Aotearoa,' says Ewart. 'With that comes a responsibility to ensure no student is excluded from competing simply because of how they are legally educated.'
The petition is now live and open for signatures. HESSA is encouraging all New Zealanders who believe in inclusive sport to sign and share it widely.
Sign the Petition on ActionStation

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

1News
5 hours ago
- 1News
'Call me Mr Cash Man': MP seeks protection for hard currency
Self-proclaimed cash advocate and MP Jamie Arbuckle believes his proposed law protecting hard currency transactions is about more than accessibility — it's also about privacy and preventing "Big Brother" surveillance. The New Zealand First MP's members' legislation, the Cash Transactions Protection Bill, would require vendors to accept cash up to the value of $500, with no limits on the amount of cash that must be accepted for essential items like fuel and food. 'There's a real concern across New Zealand that we're becoming a cashless society, and we've got a lot of people who depend on cash,' the MP told Q+A. He said that particularly applied to people living in rural areas, the elderly who are more comfortable using cash than digital systems, and those on low incomes. A self-professed fan of using cash, Arbuckle said, 'cash is king, and you can call me Mr Cash Man if you like.' ADVERTISEMENT 'I've got to tell you right now, I don't like walking into a shop and not being able to pay cash for a coffee.' Composite image by Vania Chandrawidjaja (Source: iStock/1News) But he said in an increasingly digital world, there was a more serious point to be made about the ability to make anonymous payments. 'People are telling me they want to have the ability to use cash, it's a freedom of choice issue.' 'It's really the only true way of having privacy in a transaction. You don't get that with electronic payments. There's always the concern that Big Brother or someone is able to look at where you've been, what you've purchased, so the majority of people have been very positive about protecting cash use.' A Reserve Bank survey released in June 2025 found that — while electronic and debit card use was by far the most common method of making payments — a significant minority of the country continued to use cash regularly. Around 46% of respondents said they used cash 'to pay for everyday things', down slightly from 48% which an equivalent survey found in June 2023. ADVERTISEMENT The survey also found a majority had used cash at least once in the seven days preceding the survey being taken, with approximately 33% of respondents saying they hadn't used cash in the last week, and a further 3.6% saying they would never use cash. Further research undertaken last year by the Reserve Bank found Kiwis value being able to use physical cash. Director of money and cash Ian Woolford said, '84% of respondents were worried about losing access to banknotes and coins, and want assurance that cash will still be issued by the Reserve Bank and not reduced or replaced by digital cash.' 'We'll keep issuing cash for as long as New Zealanders want to use it," he said in December. "We're doing a lot of work to redesign the cash system, including helping retailers through community cash services trials next year in several rural communities lacking over-the-counter bank or ATM services.' Some businesses have moved to being cash-free, but Arbuckle said in his view, it couldn't be an opt-in and opt-out system. 'The majority of businesses hold cash, so we're only talking about a small amount of businesses that would have to change. ADVERTISEMENT "Cash is legal tender, and you should be able to purchase with cash.' He said if the bill is pulled out of the member's bill biscuit tin, he'd welcome feedback from businesses that might be affected during the select committee process. Q+A with Jack Tame is made with the support of New Zealand On Air


NZ Herald
7 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Kiwi Erika Fairweather disqualified from 400m freestyle world title defence
Erika Fairweather after winning her heat at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Photo / INPHO Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech. Erika Fairweather after winning her heat at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Photo / INPHO Erika Fairweather's defence of her world 400m freestyle title was short-lived after the Kiwi swimmer was disqualified for a false start. The 21-year-old finished fourth in the third heat at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore on Sunday, with a time of 4min 3.39sec - which would've seen her comfortably qualify in sixth for the final. Instead, Fairweather was scratched after what the international broadcasters said was a move on the start. Here's the Fairweather false start at the top of the screen in the blue suit. What do you think? I think the call is technically correct. I don't know what the officials' guidelines are on what is too little to count, but there's definitely early movement there. — Braden Keith (@Braden_Keith) July 27, 2025 Nine-time Olympic gold medallist Katie Ledecky - the most decorated female swimmer in Olympic history - qualified first with a time of 4:01.04.

RNZ News
7 hours ago
- RNZ News
Kiwi Erika Fairweather disqualified from world 400m freestyle title defence
Erika Fairweather narrowly missed bronze at the Paris Olympics. Photo: Photosport Reigning world champion Erica Fairweather has seen her 400m freestyle title defence derailed, when she was disqualified for breaking after her heat in Singapore. The Kiwi swimmer clocked 4m 03.39s, finishing fourth in the third heat, which would have seen her safely through to the final, but she had her performance scrubbed out for allegedly flinching on the starting block before the gun. Her time would have been the sixth fastest in qualifying. Disqualifications in swimming are rare. Fairweather, 21, captured the title at Doha last year in 3m 59.44s, as superstars Ariarne Titmus (Australia), Katie Ledecky (USA) and Summer McIntosh (Canada). She would later finish fourth behind that trio at the Paris Olympics, just 0.26s behind Ledecky for bronze. Ledecky and McIntosh will contest the title , but Olympic champion Titmus has bypassed the meet, while fifth-ranked American Claire Weinstein has also withdrawn from the event. Fairweather is also entered for the 200m freestyle, where she won silver last year, with heats scheduled for Tuesday. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.