I watched some of the last sitting of the house of representatives yesterday, and was disappointing to see Hekia Parata dismissing concerns about her unlawful attempt to close an all girls' special needs school.What really got my blood boiling though was that the Minister of Education didn't acknowledge any wrongdoing on her part whatsoever.
In fact Parata said the advice and reports that showed there would be an increased likelihood of sexual abuse of the 22 girls with special needs if she closed their school could simply be ignored because other advice said it wasn't an issue.
Where that ghost advice originated from or what exactly it was the Minister doesn't divulge, which makes me think that it doesn't exist other than as an excuse for Parata's incompetence.
That incompetence was grossly exhibited when she blatantly ignored clear advice that her decision would cause students harm, so it's no wonder Justice Robert Dobson has ruled against her moronic decision.
Yesterday, the NZ Herald reported:
In a reserved judgment in the High Court at Wellington, Justice Robert Dobson said Ms Parata's order to close Salisbury School, a residential establishment in Nelson, was unlawful because it relied on the possibility of sending some girls to live at Halswell School in Christchurch - a boys' special needs school.
Ms Parata had argued there was no evidence to suggest handicapped adolescent girls would be more vulnerable if moved together with boys. The plan was to have separate living quarters.
But Justice Dobson said that seeing the risks took "no great leap in logic".
The school had raised the issue during a meeting with Ms Parata, and a report about the vulnerability of girls at special needs schools had been earlier published for the Education Ministry and police.
"The minister's decision failed to have regard to available warning signals raised by and on behalf of the [school] trustees about greater levels of risk of abuse in a co-educational setting," Justice Dobson said.
Today, Tumeke reported:
Normally education policy is designed to have a positive effect on the lives of children. To specifically design a situation where special needs female students are sent to another special needs male school to face sexual and physical abuse 7 times greater in risk however seems to be more akin to building a children's playground out of depleted heavy uranium.
This is just the latest episode in a long series of Ministerial stuff-ups and only came to media attention when concerned citizens had to go to the high court in order to get another one of National's unbelievably stupid decisions overturned.
The cost to the tax-payer for yet another court case against the Crown have of course not been divulged... Costs that really should be paid for by the idiotic Minister who's ignored extensive advice, her own ministry's reports and overwhelming opposition to such an incomprehensibly dumb decision.
Parata's stupidity appears to be based on nothing more than saving a few bucks, money that can then be used to pay for the tax-cuts for the rich. National's ideological drive to save a few dollars with complete disregard for the consequences is actually costing the country dearly. We have increased costs of people having to fight the government in court and there are increased costs when things fail because decisions aren't being made in the best interests of the country and all its people.
As the clear frontrunner at ignoring advice, flip-flopping and generally stuffing up her portfolio, Parata has displayed a level of incompetence any Minister in all of New Zealand's political history would have trouble besting. There's no question that she should resign, and currently the only thing that's protecting her is arrogance and a completely deluded Prime Minister.
Today, the Nelson Mail reported:
Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei has called for Parata to be sacked after the judge's ruling.
Ms Turei said this was Ms Parata's "latest and most dangerous failure" and left her position untenable. She called on Prime Minister John Key to sack her.
National had also faced a public backlash over plans to close schools in Canterbury following the earthquakes.
"Hekia Parata's blatant disregard for the safety of girls at Salisbury College in Nelson must be the final straw,'' Ms Turei said.
Ms Parata was unwilling to listen and her refusal to heed warnings about pupil safety was "dangerous and extraordinarily arrogant."
"What kind of minister would put school girls in harm's way? You simply can' t have someone in the job who does that," she said.
