Education Minister Erica Stanford is backing down on a last-minute change to home schooling rules, less than 24 hours after introducing the rule and voting for it in parliament.
The remarkably fast U-turn came about on Wednesday, as children and their parents gathered outside parliament for a picnic to protest the government’s unexpected new rules impacting home schooling.
Stanford first proposed changing the rules just last week. She then debated the new rules, and the coalition parties voted for them, on Tuesday. But by lunchtime on Wednesday, ACT MPs and NZ First leader Winston Peters were outside parliament speaking to kids and parents who were fuming about the last-minute amendment.
And Stanford, just a few minutes before a meeting with home schooling advocates, sent out a statement saying she was backing down on the change, which was voted on fewer [than] just 16 hours prior.
Stuff
Face of the Day
The remarkably fast U-turn came about on Wednesday, as children and their parents gathered outside parliament to protest the government’s unexpected new rules impacting home schooling.
Related
Face of the Day
Gifford became one of the country’s most recognisable sporting voices, but for generations of Christchurch listeners he was equally well known as one half of a hugely successful radio partnership with Simon Barnett.
Face of the Day
His whānau described Rurawhe as a pillar of their family and acknowledged his deep connection to the Rātana faith and its legacy.
Face of the Day
“Barbara Edmonds will be the minister of finance. She is the best qualified person in parliament to be the minister of finance. That is a bottom line. It’s not negotiable” – Hipkins
Face of the Day
“It is a dense economic document, but John Key is a very smart man, so I encourage him to give it a read” – Nicola Willis
Latest
Vague AI Regulation Can Threaten Our Edge
The race against China is not a simple rhetorical device utilized by defense hawks. It is the absolute defining geopolitical contest of the 21st century.
Australia 2050: It’s Time to Dream Big Again
The resources are already here. The people are already here. The opportunity is already here. What’s missing is the vision. And maybe it’s time we stopped asking what Australia will look like after the next election and started asking what Australia could become in the next generation.
Apparently, the Jews Don’t Need to Be Asked
The next time a Star of David appears alongside one of the oldest antisemitic stereotypes in existence, here is a radical suggestion for the media: Ask a Jew.