Our 2011 election manifesto - Labour Party

training and social needs are met and that we recognise this as an investment for the sake
of all New Zealanders‟ futures.
The fundamental areas where priority, greater attention, and investment is required long
term in order to lift success and achievement for the Pacific community are in Education,
Training, Skills Development, Health, Housing, and Economic Development.
Labour will also continue to support Pacific people‟s aspiration to shine in the areas of
language, culture, film and in the creative industries on the national and international stage.
Education
Labour‟s vision is „Children and young people are our future: their skills and confidence in
engaging the world will determine our quality of life in years to come. Investment in
education is vital if we are going to own our future‟.
Labour is committed to supporting Pacific people‟s dreams and aspiration for a successful
future through growing an educated, skilled, qualified and more prosperous Pacific
community from Early Childhood Education (ECE) through to tertiary level opportunities.
The last Labour Government saw improved levels of education for Pasifika people across
the education system: more children participating in quality ECE; more students leaving
school with a qualification; and participation in tertiary education growing faster for Pasifika
people than any other group.
Pasifika Participation & Achievement
Pasifika children are concentrated in schools in low-decile areas and have achievement
rates that are substantially below average. Many of Labour‟s general initiatives will have a
positive impact on Pasifika education, and in particular, Labour is determined to boost
Pasifika children‟s rate of participation in ECE.
Labour will work to lift Pasifika achievement and increase Pasifika participation rates,
particularly in ECE.
Labour will work alongside Pacific providers and their organisations, parents, and
educational institutions to define and develop a Pacific model with strategies that will
drive greater, successful, and enduring participation rates in early childhood
education for Pacific communities.
Pasifika Languages
We must remember that New Zealand is a Pacific Island, with our Pasifika cultures and
languages increasingly important in the way New Zealanders see themselves. We want the
number of New Zealanders able to speak an additional language, particularly their native
tongue, to increase.
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