Actions speak louder than words minister - PPTA

Media Release
September 28 2010

Actions speak louder than words minister - PPTA

Education minister Anne Tolley will have to put her words into actions if her speech to PPTA’s annual conference is to be more than empty rhetoric, PPTA president Kate Gainsford says.

Teacher delegates from throughout the country listened intently to the minister in the hope of hearing something informative. Instead they received a speech that was heavy on platitudes and light on substance, Gainsford said.

Tolley claimed that she valued and respected teachers and repeatedly urged PPTA to return to the bargaining table, but Gainsford said there needed to be some assurances from government first.

“We will be happy to go back to the table when the ministry assures us that issues around class size, health and safety and professional development can be discussed in good faith, and that all clawbacks of current provisions are removed – it will take a lot more than rhetoric,” she said.

Tolley faced a tough grilling from members during a question and answer session following the speech, covering topics from bailing out failed finance companies to diverting money from secondary to the tertiary sector for the government’s Youth Guarantee policy.

She first denied that money had been moved from one sector to another claiming that the funding for the Youth Guarantee was “new money”, but later conceded that it was in fact money that had been “re-prioritised” from the adult community education sector.

In her speech thanking the minister for attending, PPTA junior vice president Jill Gray told Tolley that actions spoke louder than words in the classroom, where it counted.

“With the greatest respect, and I say this with sorrow rather than anger, we hear the words about your investment in education, but your actions must match the rhetoric.”

Teachers needed time to implement the New Zealand curriculum and standards alignment, she said.

“They need time to do the work, time to make it work, time for moderation, time to stay up to date with professional development…whilst we have listened to you we hope that your ministry will keep you informed of our concerns and the way in which this union is fighting for a better education system. We want to make secondary teaching a profession that will continue to attract the best and brightest young graduates,” she said.

Full coverage of Tolley’s speech and question and answer session can be found at www.ppta.org.nz along with live video streaming of the conference events.

ENDS

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