Real Issues No. 265 – Child Abuse, Lobbying, Teachers' Pay

Maxim Institute - real issues - No. 265 9 August 2007 www.maxim.org.nz

A bit of give and take Rebuilding relationship Voice of peace?

IN THE NEWS Report suggests new policy 'deeply divided' Worrying new findings link stress and work

Reaching Past The Back Fence

It is difficult not to despair, watching yet another young face of a child abuse victim, failed by individual choices, failed by family, and by society. The country seems to watch helplessly as the brutal circumstances of another child's death, this time Nia Glassie, are brought to our attention. We are shocked, we mourn, we have difficulty comprehending such evil. And we rightly ask what we can do, what we must do, to stop the relentless parade of photographs and stories. Massey University researcher Dr John Kirkland 'believe(s) it takes three generations of positive action to tackle these problems.'

Dr Kirkland suggests that at the core of abuse is 'learned behaviour.' We all pick up things from our immediate environments, and if children are growing up surrounded by abuse they are likely to copy this behaviour when they become adults. This is just one factor among many that contributes to the generational cycle of abuse. The fact that it could take three generations to dig out the roots of these 'destructive' relationships is not an excuse for inaction, rather it heightens our sense of urgency; we must begin now, and we must begin at the beginning.

The surface problems tend to be the ones that get the most attention -- people's financial situations, job prospects, housing and drug dependencies -- and these problems are important. But there are deeper and more basic issues too; in Dr Kirkland's words, 'understanding the dynamics of relationships, and identifying and dealing with destructive ones.' Moving a family to a nice house will not provide a culture in which education is cherished nor will it address a family's ability to maintain healthy relationships, either internal or external. Family and community life is first and foremost a web of relationships which give us strength, belonging and connection, and if we want to start somewhere, we might start with them.

Our lives rarely extend past the back fence, past the walls we build for ourselves. They surround us to such a degree that many of us barely know our neighbours' names. Without even this first step in connectedness how can we be at a point to support our neighbours? Or even to know when they are struggling and in need of support? How will the children surrounded by an abusive environment ever see a loving family in action? Our institutional leaders have pointed out to us the problem and have started to target some of the surface issues, but an uprooting of embedded culture must happen from the bottom as well as the top.

LOBBYISTS' COURTING DAYS ARE NUMBERED

The United States Congress passed legislation this week which, if signed by President Bush, will put in place strict new laws on lobbying. The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 will place harsh restrictions on the actions of both lobbyists and lawmakers, increasing their transparency and the frequency of reporting. It will also make more information readily available to the public. The law, passed by an overwhelming majority, shows how desperate the situation in America has become. In comparison, New Zealand's current electoral finance arrangements are working well and the US situation illustrates how unnecessary the proposed reforms here are.

The new law would restrict the behaviours of both lobby groups and politicians. It would place prohibitions on the giving of gifts by lobbyists such as free travel, sports tickets and meals over the value of US$50. Information on 'donation bundling' -- a practice where lobbyists gather together multiple donations to give to a lawmaker in one lump sum -- must be disclosed if the aggregate total is US$15,000 or over in a six month period. A website would be set up to allow public perusal of these donations, as well as a website allowing the public to view 'Senate privately paid travel.'

A large part of the business of professional lobbyists involves courting lawmakers by 'wining and dining' them, and lavishing them with gifts such as sports tickets and private aeroplane travel, in an attempt to have their requests prioritised. The law would have a huge impact on both the lobbyists and the politicians, but as one Senator pointed out, 'our priority must be to convince our constituents that we are here to advocate their best interests, not those of well-connected lobbyists.'

Considering the situation in America and the measures that Congress has been forced to take, puts into perspective the alleged 'electoral finance issues' we have in New Zealand. The United States is a huge country with a teeming horde of interest groups, all trying to drum up public support for their causes. Laws like this are needed there to ensure that public interest is genuine, and to prevent corruption. In a small country like New Zealand, we are fortunate that even those at the grassroots can hear directly from our leaders without going through a lobbyist: in New Zealand, politics is less about gifts, favours and professionals, and more about direct engagement. We are still small and cohesive enough not to need complicated legal machinery. Read the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 http://www.govtrack.us/data/us/bills.text/110/s/s1.pdf

HIGHER TEACHERS' PAY: BUT FOR WHAT?

The secondary teachers' union (PPTA) has rejected the Government's pay offer, a 10.6 percent pay rise over three years, and this Wednesday, the primary teachers' union (NZEI) is set to begin negotiating its pay claim. The NZEI is proposing a 4 percent pay rise for the next two years, which includes a backdated component, that would mean a 4 percent increase from 1 July 2007.

Currently government policy dictates teachers' pay. Rates are fixed, collectively negotiated and dependent on the length of time in the job, rather than the quality of teaching. As the PPTA has pointed out, the outcome of these negotiations has broader implications than just teachers' salaries, including the recruitment and retention of the high quality teachers we all want for our children. In order for teaching to be seen as a viable option for talented graduates, and for schools to keep great teachers, aspiring teachers need to see a bright future. While immediate salary increases may help in the short term, current recruitment and retention problems will only be improved in the long term by examining not just the amount we pay, but what we pay it for: moving away from rewarding bureaucracy and length of time in the job, towards teacher quality.

The NZEI is moving in the right direction advocating for higher pay for senior classroom teachers so that they do not need to move into management for an increase in remuneration, but research shows there is not necessarily a link between time spent as a teacher and the quality of teaching. For a pay increase to be effective then, it needs to based on how good a teacher is at teaching, rather than simply the number of years they have been in the job. Over time, introducing pay differentiation through performance-based pay schemes that reward good teachers could help to increase the quality of the teaching. If you pay good teachers more, you are likely to get more of them; a fact that may seem obvious, but is still argued by some.

When it comes to teachers' pay a great deal is at stake -- ensuring that there are people in our schools, who are passionate about what they are doing and good at it, is vital if we are to have a successful education system. Teachers should be paid well, but they should also be paid with discernment. Good teachers simply deserve to be paid more and introducing such an idea should be considered if we want high quality teachers to enter, and stay in the profession.

IN THE NEWS

DECLINE IN YOUTH OFFENDING RATE

The release of Youth Justice Statistics in New Zealand: 1992 to 2006 this week highlights our failure to address the disproportionate number of Maori youth committing crime. The report shows the number of Maori 14-16 year olds apprehended is higher than the number of NZ European children, which given the substantially lower proportion of Maori in the overall population, means that Maori are alarmingly over-represented in the statistics.

The report also found that between 1995 and 2006 the overall number of Police apprehensions increased for 14-16 year olds. However, the population of 14-16 year olds also increased, so when worked out as a rate per 10,000 overall there has been a slight decline.

Read Youth Justice Statistics in New Zealand: 1992 to 2006

http://www.justice.govt.nz/pubs/reports/2007/nz-youth-justice-statistics-1 992-2006/report.pdf

BRITAIN CONSIDERS MANDATORY RECORDING OF DONOR STATUS ON BIRTH CERTIFICATES

Britain is to consider the idea of including the fact that a child was conceived using donated gametes on birth certificates, following the report of the Joint Committee on the Human Tissue and Embryos (Draft) Bill. In their recommendation to Government the Committee held that when a child is conceived using a donated egg or sperm, 'it is in the best interests of the child to know of their donor conception,' and putting such information on the birth certificate 'would create the incentive for the parent(s)' to ensure they told their child. The Committee also acknowledged the counter-argument that this could raise the 'important issue of privacy, as well as issues of human rights and data protection,' and so has recommended 'further consideration' by the Government. Read the report of the Joint Committee on the Human Tissue and Embryos (Draft) Bill http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/jt200607/jtselect/jtembryos/169/1 69.pdf

TALKING POINT

'The true test of civilization is not the census, nor the size of cities, nor the crops -- no, but the kind of man the country turns out.'

Ralph Waldo Emerson

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