Latest news with #EricaStanford
RNZ News
2 days ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Government to fund one-off national day of reflection for survivors of abuse in care
author:ellen_o'dwyer] Erica Stanford. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone The government has confirmed a one-off national day of reflection for survivors of abuse in care will take place on Wednesday, 12 November, 2025. Lead Coordination Minister for the government's response Erica Stanford said a $1 million fund had been set up for survivor-led groups to apply to hold local or regional events to mark the day. But a survivor says the day felt like "symbolic lip service" with many survivors still waiting for justice or fair redress. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon promised a National Remembrance Day in his apology to survivors in Parliament last year. A year on from the apology, Stanford said the day aimed to acknowledge survivors of abuse in care, raise awareness about a part of New Zealand's history, and remind people of government progress in responding to the recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. The final report from the Royal Commission found abuse was rife in state and faith-based care settings over decades, and the state failed to respond to signs of systemic abuse and neglect. The Commission made 138 reccommendations to the government to right past wrongs, and prevent abuse from occurring again. Stanford said survivors had indicated they would like to mark the one-off day of reflection in their own way - the day would consist of community-led events and activities, as well as activities organised by government agencies that demonstrated "progress, accountability and transparency". "Survivors have indicated they would like to mark the day in their own way and their preference is for survivor-focused groups and organisations to hold local, regional or national events." Up to $10,000 would be available for local events and up to $25,000 for regional events, and applications were open until 31 August. At the time, Luxon said the day would "provide us with an opportunity to stop and reflect on what you endured and ensure we are doing all we can to prevent future abuse". But survivor Tu Chapman, who is the spokesperson for Tikanga-based survivor movement He Kura Morehu, said many were expecting the national day of remembrance to be an enduring event, rather than a one-off day. "It's a little bit of a joke to be honest, one day doesn't acknowledge the decades of abuse, the decades of violence and harm that continues to plague survivors today, and impact us today." Tu Chapman is the spokesperson for Tikanga-based survivor movement He Kura Morehu. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly Chapman said the day felt like lip service when many survivors were still waiting for justice or fair redress. The announcement earlier this year from the government that no public servant would be held accountable for abuse against survivors meant justice had not been delivered, Chapman said. A lack of legislative change designed to prevent abuse in care from happening again was also unjust, Chapman said. Survivor groups applying for the fund for the day of reflection must have legal entity status to apply. Chapman said that would mean some groups would miss out on holding events, because with only four months to apply, there was limited time to set up a legal and governance structure and meet the criteria for funding from a government agency. That would impose barriers on many survivor groups, Chapman said. "We will miss out and other groups will miss out, because the rules aren't realistic for survivor groups." Chapman also questioned whether the $1m was coming out of $774m set aside for abuse in care redress, or another source of funding. The government earlier this year committed $774 million on its redress system, increasing average payments from about $19,000 to $30,000, and opening up an option to top up previously settled claims by up to 50 percent. But it did not follow through on a pledge made on the national day of apology to set up an entirely new redress and compensation scheme, recommended by the Royal Commission of Inquiry and survivors. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
3 days ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Dropping NCEA level 1 'overwhelmingly positive' so far
Westlake Boys' High School on Auckland's North Shore established its own programme called 'Elevate' when it walked away from level 1. Photo: Google Maps As the government mulls what it is going to do about NCEA level 1, a school that dropped it two years ago has no regrets. Education Minister Erica Stanford is promising an announcement shortly about the future of the secondary school qualification. Westlake Boys' High School on Auckland's North Shore established its own programme called 'Elevate' when it walked away from level 1. "We felt that having our own course meant that we could keep the students longer, headmaster Paul Fordham told Morning Report. "We had situations where students were studying NCEA level 1 and when they left for their external examinations, only had one or two exams to sit across a three-or four-week period, which meant they were they were missing out an opportunity to engage with their learning." He said the results from its own programme had been "overwhelmingly positive so far" with good feedback from teachers and families. "It's still quite early on - we don't necessarily have the historical data to support how things are going academically, but the signs are positive across year 12 and 13 that the students have prepared well for level 2 and 3 NCEA." Some changes had to happen with the qualification, he said, but it needn't be "baby out with the bathwater". NCEA had good elements, such as a broad curriculum that gave students a chance to develop skills in lots of different areas, he said. However teachers marking their own students' work wasn't rigourous, or consistent across the country, he said. It's about consistency and and having a universal standard for the whole country. "Ensuring that the value of external examinations at the end of the year is high, and that the way in which we structure the programme to have increased weighting on those will be a positive change. Education Minister Erica Stanford Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii The first place to look would be at the best examples of top-performing schools and how they were serving their students, Fordham said. Stanford said on Monday the announcement on NCEA, planned in the next weeks, followed an the Education Review Office report the previous government's rollout of NCEA level 1. "Because we do not want to repeat the mistakes of the past and we know we need good implementation time frames, good professional learning development and great resources. "We are very focused on making sure that those things happen."
RNZ News
4 days ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Immigration Minister on overseas born NZers moving to Australia
immigration 13 minutes ago Last week, RNZ reported nearly half of the New Zealanders applying for Australian citizenship weren't born here. Minister of Immigration Erica Stanford spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.
NZ Herald
24-07-2025
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Letters: Political interference in commodity prices is never a good look
Trump-like economic interventions such as tariffs will eventually end badly for domestic consumers. Bruce Eliott, St Heliers. NCEA concerns The recent Government briefing highlighting significant concerns about the credibility of NCEA is yet another damning indictment of our education system. However, just as disturbing is Erica Stanford's comment about the confusion among parents about how NCEA works and that 'parents struggle to guide their children on the right pathways'. Taking a quick look at some of the subjects' explanatory notes on the NCEA website, one is confronted with what amounts to a word salad that would confound a lawyer. No wonder parents are confused. This should not be the case. Students and parents should be able to understand what is going on with their children's education. This would ensure parents have consistent lines of communication with teachers and are aware of their child's progress, challenges and needs. Parents and teachers need to work together to achieve this. A strong partnership between both parties benefits everyone but this will not be achieved if parents don't know what is going on. Bernard Walker, Mt Maunganui. Auckland's troubles Your correspondent Gary Hollis (letters, July 24) sees a glimmer of hope from Chris Luxon and Simeon Brown as Auckland MPs, regarding the preservation of what's left of Auckland's once-pristine suburbs. Unfortunately, the destruction of these suburbs is being driven by their colleague Chris Bishop (from Lower Hutt), and Luxon and Brown, together with the Government's other Auckland MPs, have been noticeably silent about it. Perhaps it is time they stood up for Auckland and restrained him? John Burns, Mt Eden. Transgender sport How very sensible that the Government has told Sport NZ to abandon its transgender guidelines even for community sport. Where males identifying as females competed in female sports, this not only compromised fair competition, but was at times very dangerous. Fair and equal competition in New Zealand must always be the accepted benchmark. Dr Hylton Le Grice, Remuera.
NZ Herald
24-07-2025
- Politics
- NZ Herald
NZ's largest teachers' union taking Government to court over resource teacher cuts
Education Minister Erica Stanford announced consultation on reallocating funding for literacy and Māori resource teachers. The NZEI Te Riu Roa claims she had already decided to cut the services. Photo / Mark Mitchell Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech. Already a subscriber? Sign in here Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen. 24 Jul, 2025 01:51 AM 2 mins to read NZ's largest teachers' union taking Government to court over resource teacher cuts Education Minister Erica Stanford announced consultation on reallocating funding for literacy and Māori resource teachers. The NZEI Te Riu Roa claims she had already decided to cut the services. Photo / Mark Mitchell New Zealand's largest teachers' union is taking the Government to court over recent changes to funding resource teachers. Resource teachers work alongside teachers to help students with learning and behaviour difficulties. The latest Budget, in May, confirmed cuts to some resource teacher services. NZEI Te Riu Roa claims Education Minister Erica Stanford had already decided to scrap the services before announcing consultation on reallocating funding for literacy and Māori resource teachers. The union said it had filed for a judicial review in the High Court at Wellington this morning.
