When Money Talks Loudly

Green Party Contortions

The headline said it all: "Greens caught bending party policy to grant $11.7m to private school in Taranaki".  At least that's what newspaper Stuff wanted us to understand.  

The NZ Greens are normally casting their political "support net" well left of centre. When it comes to education that translates into being strongly anti-private schools and strong proponents of  a government run education and schooling system. 

But not in this case.  One of the Green's leaders has been "caught bending party policy".  He has supported government funding of a private school. 

The Green Party has been caught bending its own party policy after a private school in Taranaki was given $11.7 million to fund an expansion programme.

The money comes from the Government’s $3 billion shovel-ready projects fund, and was announced in a press release from Greens co-leader James Shaw who said the grant to Green School New Zealand would help the school expand its roll from 120 students to 250, creating 200 jobs.  “Securing over 200 jobs will help direct more money into the parts of the economy where most people earn their livelihood. These are the parts of the economy that are sustained when public investment is directed at getting people into work and earning money that they then spend in their local communities,” Shaw said.

“The support we are providing will help Green School to meet growing demand from parents all over New Zealand, and the rest of the world, wanting to enrol their children. This will mean more families can take the opportunity to put down roots in Taranaki and contribute to the future growth of the region,” he said. 

OK.  So maybe this strange Green support can be justified by the Greens because it will facilitate work.  All those jobs!  Also, the name of the school will be "Green School".  Presumably this moniker is not because some bloke called Green has donated $11.7 million to fund the school.  Of course not.  The Greens want a school where Greenist ideology will be imparted to aspiring young Greenists. 

Hold on.  It turns out that the pupils of Green School--a private school--will be off shore students.  It will also take NZ students.  But only the richest. 

But Green School New Zealand is a private school which charges up to $24,000 a year for New Zealand students and $43,000 a year for international students.

Green Party policy is opposed to state funding being given to private schools, and wants it to be gradually phased out.  ‘Public funding for private schools should be phased out and transferred to public schools,” says the party’s current education policy.

It seems that Green Party ideology and policy just got run over by one of its leaders.  There's a word for that . . . hypocrisy.