New Zealand First is alleging National and Act have breached the coalition agreement as the three governing parties claim victory regarding a backdown on proposed homeschool regulations.

It was confirmed today the third reading of the Education and Training (System Reform) Amendment Bill, expected to take place in the House today, was delayed so an amendment relating to homeschooling could be removed from the proposed legislation.

The regulation, which was added after the bill went through public submissions, increased oversight of people wishing to homeschool children.

It followed concerns from education officials that the state lacked oversight of children not in a registered school, highlighted by instances relating to the Gloriavale community and the disappearance of Tom Phillips and his children.

The amendment’s inclusion sparked significant opposition within the homeschooling community, leading to MPs receiving hundreds of emails urging the Government to reconsider.

However, the decision to remove the amendment has caused tension within the coalition as Act and NZ First claim their party was behind the change.

Shortly after Education Minister Erica Stanford confirmed the decision, Act released a statement heralding a “major victory” after Act MP Laura McClure had written to Stanford to warn of unforeseen consequences.

“Draconian new restrictions on homeschooling were a mistake, rushed into law at the last minute,” Act leader David Seymour said.

“This is a victory for democracy, showing that people can be heard by politicians and change can result.”

NZ First leader Winston Peters meets with people concerned about an amendment relating to homeschooling laws. Photo / Adam Pearse

NZ First met with Stanford late last night and through this morning to discuss the issue.

Leader Winston Peters today claimed his party was the reason the Government had changed its position, describing Act’s comments as “pretentious mimicry”.

He argued it breached the coalition agreement, adding he felt National had made a similar breach regarding funding for the St John ambulance service.

“In the coalition agreement, it says that parties will respect those who’ve made the contribution, so this is a breach of the coalition agreement in that context.”

The item Peters is referring to says: “Although many policies may overlap, New Zealand First’s policies outlined in this agreement will be promoted and acknowledged as New Zealand First’s policy and contribution to the coalition Government.”

Policies relating to homeschooling are not explictly outlined in the National/NZ First coalition agreement.

When asked about potential tension between Act and NZ First over the matter, Seymour said: “Success has many fathers, failure is an orphan.”

He said he was surprised Peters had accused Act of breaching the coalition agreement.

“Clearly this is a coalition government where all of us are responsible for all of the policies, and that’s for good or for ill.

“We should all be working together as a team, not trying to poke holes in each other’s policies or jealously guard them either.”

National deputy leader Nicola Willis argued the St John funding proved the two parties worked well together.

Stanford claimed the Government had “held hands” on the change, acknowledging the consequences of the regulation hadn’t been clear.

“There were additional complexities that we had not anticipated.”

Stanford maintained an issue did exist within the homeschooling sector, which she described as having a “very high trust model”.

“When we approve an application for someone to do homeschooling, we may well never see them again unless a concern is raised, which means that essentially there is extraordinarily limited oversight of the sector that is in contradiction to all of the countries we compare ourselves to.”

Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.