Political footballs and policies for parents
Vaping restrictions, mandated teaching methods for reading, writing and maths and phone bans. Fancy political footwork or strategic and necessary moves to address big problems?
Mōrena and welcome to The Bulletin for Wednesday, August 23, by Anna Rawhiti-Connell. Presented in partnership with Z Energy.
In today’s edition: use of surgical mesh to treat common childbirth injury suspended; Immigration NZ staff say their concerns about controversial visa scheme ignored for a year; Michael Woodhouse believes being male cost him a high slot on their party list; but first youth-focused policies and political footballs
(Image: Getty)
Political footballs in play
The phrase “political football” has been bouncing about this week. It was used by an oncologist in relation to the National party’s cancer treatment policy announcement. Politicians were urged not to treat Māori as one at koroneihana over the weekend. By definition, a political football is “a problem that politicians from different parties argue about and try to use in order to get an advantage for themselves.” Generally speaking, the problem or issues might otherwise be defined as “non-partisan” or specific to a group with real concerns who end up caught in a crossfire of reactionary or short-term solutions. Political footballs aren’t atypical in an election year but it does feel as if we’ve been diagnosed as short on patience by politicians this year. More holistic or slow-grind solutions to big systemic or societal issues have been tossed overboard in favour of policies that might be viewed as addressing the symptoms, and not the disease.
Phone bans and financial literacy in schools
In the last month, we’ve had a slew of policies some have described as reactionary, related to the not-insignificant concerns about young people in New Zealand. National’s proposed phone ban for schools is a solid example. Very legitimate concerns exist about the way young people’s brains are being changed by large amounts of screen time and phone bans are becoming increasingly common around the world. Plenty of research also exists countering their efficacy in a world where you might say the horse has already bolted. A ban provides a fast solution while digging into the vast complexities of ubiquitous technology use is a slow burn. Labour’s plan to introduce financial literacy teaching in schools was broadly welcomed but also accused of being a knee-jerk policy. It prompted fears from principals about curriculum overload and based on evidence, the jury is out on how effective financial literacy education actually is.
Measures to address youth vaping around the world haven’t done much to decrease rates
This morning on The Spinoff, Shanti Mathias has taken a look at how other countries are handling youth vaping following Labour’s announcement of further measures to tackle youth vaping yesterday. Pointedly, she’s found that the range of measures being taken across the globe hasn't done much to decrease rates of youth vaping. Parents are frustrated that a crackdown on retailers is months away, while Action for Smokefree 2025 spokesperson Ben Youdan has described some of the suggested measures as “random” and “blunt”, saying enforcement of the current rules would achieve more. “The danger is we throw broad-brush approaches at that problem rather than looking at, how do we treat those who have some dependence on vaping?”, he said.
Concerns teaching becoming ‘a political football’
This week Labour has also announced that if it wins the election, teachers will be required by law to use government-approved approaches for teaching reading, writing and maths. That follows National’s curriculum policy announcement, focused on "teaching the basics brilliantly" in March. Yesterday, an education researcher said teaching was becoming a political football as the election looms. Dr Nina Hood is the founder of the Education Hub. Speaking to Nine to Noon yesterday, Hood said it says it seems like there are a lot of announcements coming out about education at the moment, and she worries that they’re not always as thought through as they need to be.
The science camp helping Māori and Pasifika students to thrive
Diversity in academia is essential to expanding our knowledge systems and getting better outcomes for communities. Free hands-on science programme DiscoveryCamp is helping expose more young people to the possibilities of science. Applications are open now for the 2024 camp, so if you are, or know any young Pacific or Māori students keen to give it a go, apply today (sponsored).
Use of surgical mesh to treat a common childbirth injury suspended
Following an investigation by an oversight and monitoring group chaired by the Ministry of Health, the use of surgical mesh to treat a common childbirth injury has been suspended in New Zealand because of safety concerns. The announcement, made this morning by Te Whatu Ora, follows a campaign spearheaded by Sally Walker to highlight the harrowing mesh injuries suffered by her and many other women in New Zealand. Walker’s story was featured as part of a Herald investigation into women's health services last year. As Issac Davidson writes, the Health Qualify and Safety Commission and the Health and Disability Commissioner jointly raised concerns about patients harmed by mesh in December. While noting the incidence of harm from mesh was difficult to quantify and report, when it occurred the impact on patients was “significant, and in some cases permanent,” they said.
‘It is completely f......’ — Immigration NZ staff speak out about visa scheme
Reporting for Stuff this morning, Steve Kilgallon has spoken to Immigration NZ (INZ) staff who say their concerns about Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) scheme have been ignored for a year. The scheme is under urgent review following a directive from immigration minister Andrew Little. As covered yesterday in The Bulletin, the scheme has given rise to stories of migrants paying thousands of dollars for visas and arriving here to little or no work. The verbatim quotes from INZ staff are pretty extraordinary. “Senior managers aren’t being honest about how shit the AEWV system is” and “It is completely f...... We know it is f....., and we’ve been telling upper management for 12 months it is f.....”. Staff say they’ve been told to focus on faster processing times and that employers are being allowed to bring in migrants without any paperwork or financial checks, even when immigration officers fear jobs may be fake.
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Click and Collect
Outgoing National MP Michael Woodhouse believes being male cost him and many other National MPs a high slot on their party list
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Sporting snippets
If you enjoy watching rugby players rapidly cycle through a range of emotions, Dane Coles on the Steve Hansen news is worth a watch
Football Fern Hannah Wilkinson on how the team could’ve gone further in the Fifa World Cup and the shape the women’s game now
Got some feedback about The Bulletin, or anything in the news? Get in touch with me at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz.
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