The Star: January 26, 2017

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22 Thursday January 26 2017 follow us on facebook.com/riseupchristchurch The Star Viewpoint •From page 21 They have shown this by attempting to sell off what isn’t in reality theirs to sell to speculators both NZ and foreign. I am a pakeha myself whose disgusted in this mockery that politicians make of past promises and then expect respect honour and speaking rights at Waitangi Day celebrations. Peaceful protest is my right as a New Zealander and Mr Gough needs to wake up to the reasons we are protesting lately against having this country sold out by this Government to the growing power of global corporations that respect neither our human rights or our environment or the indigenous rights in countries they want to use to grow their profit margins. The dildo throwing I recall was at a politician who is all for letting this happen. Trust Gough to not point out the reason for recent accelerated protests. He’s all for selling us out too. Dave Moore – One must have pretty low expectations for your day when you take a dildo along in your bag and then throw it away. Back to school adds to financial struggle NEXT WEEK thousands of children and young people will swap the freedom of the summer holidays for another year of school. Friends will be reunited after the break, there will be more than a few relieved parents, and inevitably the golden weather will begin! THere will also be an added financial strain on already stretched household budgets still recovering from the Christmas and holiday period. Uniforms, stationary and voluntary donations all add up. THat families are feeling the squeeze is not surprising when you look at the facts. THe price of a child’s state education has risen by 15 per cent since 2007. Figures released by the Australian Scholarships Group planning and education index show that parents can now expect to pay up to $40,000 towards the cost of a child’s state schooling. It is now clear that the National Government’s underfunding has killed off the notion that education in New Zealand is free. In last year’s Budget, National froze 2017 school operational funding and continued a seven year freeze of early childhood education funding. THe simple fact is that Government funding simply hasn’t been keeping up with the cost of educating kids. If they don’t get the money from government, schools have to look elsewhere and parents are the ones most likely to end up footing the bill. I know from talking with teachers and principals that they know that their parents are strapped for cash. A survey of principals late last year shows that many schools will instead be forced to cut teacher aide hours because their communities simply can’t afford to pay more. That means the children who most need extra support miss out. We’ve certainly seen an upswing in the electorate office of people coming in who can’t get the support their child needs. THis is not right. By law, schooling in New Zealand is supposed to be free, but under National that’s simply not the case. Failing to fund education properly is costly to parents, but the biggest losers are our children. Labour has made a very clear commitment to fund schools properly so they don’t have to rely on contributions from parents. Every Kiwi kid deserves a fair shot at a great education. Megan Woods is Labour’s Canterbury spokeswoman Temporary housing units available for farmers LOSING YOUR home is distressing in any circumstance, especially after a natural disaster when whole communities are disrupted. As a small nation prone to various natural disasters, we have to be innovative and flexible in the weeks and months that follow a large-scale event. The magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck near Kaikōura on November 14 caused widespread damage to essential infrastructure – including state highways and other roads – and to thousands of homes and properties. Farm properties were hit particularly hard, with many isolated farmers forced to take matters into their own hands to ensure their stock had access to food and water. The Government recently announced it would sell the temporary housing units used in Christchurch after the 2011 earthquake to help farmers in Gerry Brownlee the Hurunui, Kaikōura and Marlborough districts recover. The 20 temporary units at the Rawhiti Domain in New Brighton were used to support families through the Christchurch earthquakes and will now support those farmers with significantly damaged homes. Farmers will be able to buy a unit for $25,000 and use them while their homes are repaired as they need to stay on their land to keep their businesses running. The Government was in negotiations to sell the remainder of the temporary houses at Rawhiti and Linwood to the city council when the Kaikōura earthquake struck. This option of relocating the temporary housing, now surplus from the Christchurch earthquake recovery, is among the support initiatives the Government has put in place since the Kaikoura earthquake. Between the earthquake and Christmas, the Government’s response included rolling out a wage subsidy package for affected businesses, passing three pieces of emergency legislation to expedite important recovery work and announcing $3.7 million health support for affected regions. The National Government is committed to making New Zealand resilient in the face of natural disasters and will this year continue on the work it has been doing over the last six years. Gerry Brownlee is Minister supporting Greater Christchurch Regeneration
The Star follow us on facebook.com/riseupchristchurch Thursday January 26 2017 23 Proudly supporting Canterbury It’s no secret that Canterbury holds a special place in our heart. In fact, we’ve been looking after Cantabrians since 1999. It’s great to move back into the Central City in Durham St. We’ll keep on helping the economy by employing 347 locals including our call centre that provides our customers with award-winning service. We’re fanatical supporters of Canterbury rugby and love our association with The Court Theatre. We’re also dedicated to partnering with KidsCan and helping young Cantabrians in 39 schools get a better start in life. Kids from the KidsCan partner schools have loved experiencing preview shows at The Court Theatre. Over the last 10 years we’ve given over $5 million to support hundreds of projects in the South Island communities that we’re proud to be part of. We’ll keep on taking care of our environment by generating power from 100% renewable sources – like wind and water - and supporting the Kākāpō Recovery Programme. A big thanks to all of our customers. If you haven’t joined Meridian yet, get a quick, no-obligation price comparison. Join online at meridian.co.nz or call us on 0800 496 496. MER//0146A
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The Star: January 26, 2017

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