Does violence on the screen really lead to violence off them?
Violence in movies and video games normalizes a culture of cruelty says Dr. Henry Giroux, a leading voice on education, media, and democracy. He says modern entertainment packages violence as a product, turning brutality into something exciting, routine, and even justified. Dr Giroux explains how the normalization of violence doesn't just dull us to suffering, it weakens democratic values and discourages us from thinking critically about the world around us.
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RNZ News
4 hours ago
- RNZ News
Tertiary Education Union says sector's become a political football, slams Te Pūkenga disestablishment
Otago Polytechnic will be absorbed into the Open Polytechnic, a move the former is "deeply disappointed" by. Photo: Google Street View The Tertiary Education Union is calling the government's disestablishment of Te Pūkenga a "disaster for regional New Zealand". Vocational Education Minister Penny Simmonds joined Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Monday to announce 10 polytechnics were being re-established. The Southern Institute of Technology she was chief executive of for 23 years was one of them - as was Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology, after Nelson mayor Nick Smith appealed for the government to keep it independent . He was delighted, saying the govenrment's announcement is "the best news for Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough". "We are one of New Zealand's most geographically isolated regions, meaning that for many students who cannot relocate for financial or family reasons, NMIT is the only opportunity for them to upskill and gain a tertiary education," he said in a written statement. "There is now a big job ahead to rebuild NMIT. We look forward to the passage of the legislation and the appointment of a new polytechnic council. Key steps will be re-establishing links with local industry and redeveloping NMIT's international brand and market." Others were not so lucky. The Open Polytechnic will absorb Otago Polytechnic and UCOL, becoming a "federation" that offers online resources, an academic board and other services to those polytechs struggling with money. Otago Polytechnic executive director Megan Pōtiki said it was "deeply disappointed" to be included in the federation model. "Otago Polytechnic currently boasts one of the highest learner completion rates in the polytechnic sector, and we are concerned that the federation model would dilute this offering and impact our organisation's proud reputation and future success. The federation model risks undermining our learner success rates and the quality of teaching ... and ultimately risks undermining our independence and future viability as a regional institution." Minister Simmonds said polytechs in four other regions - Northland, Taranaki, Wellington, and the West Coast - were facing "unique challenges" and needed to show a path to financial viability within a year - or face being merged, or closed. Vocational Education Minister Penny Simmonds. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver Tertiary Education Union national secretary Sandra Grey told RNZ the sector had been suffering for 20 years and had become a political football. She said the minister's announcement was just a return to a model that was failing. "This government has just exacerbated it ... leaving four out in the cold and saying 'you'll just have to do something radically different, like just do online learning then you'll be financially viable' - that's a pretty cruel thing to do to communities. "That doesn't work so well when what you're teaching is cookery, or carpentry. They're not easy to teach online." She said most of the four facing an uncertain future were in rural areas which did not have universities and depended on polytechnics to become a hub of learning and industry. The government's plan, she said, would only deepen the divide between rural and urban learning. The former Industry Training Organisations would be replaced with Industry Skills Boards, which would set standards for industry training, develop qualifications, and endorse the programmes that would lead to them. The minister said they would be supported with Quality Assurance to ensure consistency - saying industries would now have a bigger say. Grey, however, said the plan was problematic because it would require students to go to a temporary holding place for two years - and the government had halved the funding for it. "This government keeps claiming it's giving communities and industry a big say in their future and yet it's making all the decisions for them, taking away all the money from them. "They're not thinking about whether it's genuinely going to serve industry or genuinely serve community, I think they've been warned this is not going to work for anyone, they're just going to go ahead because they made a promise. They could renege on that promise, we'd be quite happy if they turned around. "What we've got to appreciate is these polytechnics are built up over five decades, two generations have put energy, time, taxpayer money into building their polytechnics. These belong to New Zealanders, these polytechnics - and this government is just running roughshod over communities and taking decisions for them and making it impossible to have good training in small communities. "The long-term cost of people missing out on education is poorer health outcomes for people - so more money spent on the health system - poor outcomes socially because people don't get jobs, and lost tax revenue because when people don't train they don't get jobs and they don't contribute to the tax take. "We all lose out when communities lose out and when students don't have courses, this is a disaster if we don't turn it around." Labour's leader Chris Hipkins was the education minister who launched Te Pūkenga, and acknowledged the merger faced difficulties but said the government was turning the system upside down. "Te Pūkenga took too long to get off the ground in my view, but they turned a surplus last year. I think to turn the whole system upside down all over again right at a time when we need to be increasing the number of people we're training is a bit crazy." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scoop
14 hours ago
- Scoop
ACT's Campaign Calculus To 'Keep The Government' And Keep Its Edge
Analysis: For the ACT Party, the challenge this term has been - and remains - how to stand apart from its coalition partners without pulling apart the government. That tension has ebbed and flowed - most clearly on display during the Treaty Principles debate and now reemerging around the Regulatory Standards Bill. But ACT's annual rally on Sunday gave a clear indication of how the party intends to navigate the tightrope for the remaining 15 or so months. For one, David Seymour centred his keynote speech on the cost-of-living, a recognition that that remains the biggest risk to the coalition's reelection. Of course, he did it in distinct ACT-style, making a comparison with his Cabinet colleagues' recent criticisms of the big banks, supermarkets or power companies. "It would be the easiest thing in the world... to write and give a speech saying they're crooked and they need to be punished somehow," Seymour told supporters. "But that would be the curse of zero sum thinking." Though Seymour denied it later, it was hard not to see the comment as a veiled criticism of National and NZ First ministers, given their recent attention on such industries. They might scapegoat those industries, Seymour implied, but ACT won't. Seymour's speech gave a nod to the voters ACT would be targeting next year - landlords, farmers, firearms users, small business owners - all hotly contested constituencies within the coalition. And he was not shy about reminding the 450-strong audience of other differences too. "Our partners... abandoned us in defining the Treaty Principles," he told supporters. But beyond the differences came a curious confirmation: that ACT would be campaigning next year to "keep this government". The seemingly benign commitment is an open admission that a centre-right election victory will almost certainly require a repeat of the three-way coalition. Asked later by RNZ about the declaration, Seymour made it more explicit: "We need to keep these parties in power." These parties. NZ First included. That's perhaps not that surprising given current polling, but it is quite a difference from ACT's approach in 2023 - which saw Seymour viciously attack NZ First and its leader Winston Peters. It's also different from Peters' message several weeks ago as he handed over the deputy prime ministership to Seymour. Then, Peters said he intended to "remove any doubt" next election. Of course, behind the scenes, ACT and NZ First would much prefer to eliminate the other and become the sole coalition partner. National, for its part, would like to get back over 40 percent to regain choice. But none can afford to bring the whole caboodle down in the process. And there, again, is the tightrope. One foot in Cabinet, the other in campaign mode ACT is currently polling roughly 9 percent - a fraction above its 2023 election result and consistent with its average across last year. Historically, a stint in government has proved electoral quicksand for support parties, but ACT and NZ First seem to be defying the trend. In large part, that's due to the political landscape with the major parties languishing in the low 30s, leaving more room for the minor parties. But ACT has also made a deliberate effort not to vanish into Cabinet. The party has kept one foot in government and the other in campaign mode - trumpeting its policy wins, while also criticising its coalition partners when convenient. It has certainly not shied away from provocation, as evidenced even by its choice of guest speaker on Sunday: anti-woke crusader Dr James Lindsay. Look to the "gutsy" pay equity cuts, the Treaty Principles Bill, and now the Regulatory Standards Bill. On each occasion, the backlash was immense, but so too was the airtime. And each time Seymour declared unapologetically: we're not here to be liked, we're here to be right. He said as much again in his Sunday speech: "People will pile on and say I'm defending big business, or whatever, but political risks are part of leadership." The strategy carries risks indeed. Former National leader Simon Bridges, in his 2021 memoir, reflected on the personal toll of such tactics: yes, the party vote stayed up, but not so his personal ratings. David Seymour is experiencing something similar. His own favourability ratings are routinely poor. In the most recent Post/Freshwater Strategy poll, just 25 percent had a favourable view of ACT, while 47 percent were unfavourable - the second worst result of any party, after only Te Pāti Māori. But for a minor party, that trade-off seems worth it, with visibility counting for more than likability. The cost of instability ACT's strategy has also, at times, fed the perception of coalition instability, or of National being dragged around by its smaller partners. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has repeatedly dismissed that, instead framing the dynamic as simply the "maturation of MMP". But voters are still adjusting to that reality. The latest example of friction would appear to be Seymour's Regulatory Standards Bill, bubbling away in the background. NZ First has made clear it wants changes to the legislation, but Seymour says he's yet to even hear what they are. Furthermore, he firmly believes he's under no obligation to make changes and that the coalition agreement already requires National and NZ First's support. The apparent impasse remains unresolved. For all that, though, the governing parties are aware the public does not look kindly on instability. Seymour learned that the hard way in the weeks before the 2023 election when he floated the idea of ACT signing a "confidence-only" deal if National refused to cooperate during negotiations. Almost immediately, the party's support dropped several points in the polls. That lesson still looms over the coalition today, especially given the narrow margins and economic headwinds. All three coalition parties would do well to remember the common enemy. They may be competing for votes inside the tent, but the real fight lies outside it: with the opposition.
RNZ News
15 hours ago
- RNZ News
Government confirms which polytechs to return to regional governance
education about 1 hour ago The government's move to scrap the polytech mega-merger Te Pukenga has taken another big step, with confirmation of which polytechs will return to regional governance. The Vocational Education Minister Penny Simmonds has confirmed which polytechs are financially viable to go it alone, and which still need a nudge. Political reporter Giles Dexter spoke to Melissa Chan-Green. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
