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MPs split on students protesting climate change

Author
Newstalk ZB, NZ Herald,
Publish Date
Tue, 5 Mar 2019, 4:52PM
The local protests follow a growing international movement. (Photo / File)

MPs split on students protesting climate change

Author
Newstalk ZB, NZ Herald,
Publish Date
Tue, 5 Mar 2019, 4:52PM

The Education Minister says kids who skip school next Friday need to be doing it for the right reasons.

Thousands of New Zealand school students plan to go take part in the worldwide day of action over global warming on March 15.

The issue has divided politicians across the spectrum. 

The Climate Change Minister has been accused of encouraging students to miss school for a protest.

James Shaw says whether they do so, is up to them.

He says everyone has to make up their own mind about whether or not they want to participate.

"I can completely why these kids are fighting for their futures. They've been let down by adults for the last 30 years, and they are thinking 'how can we get their attention?'"

Chris Hipkins told Larry Williams he's not encouraging, or discouraging pupils from taking part.

"I'm certainly not going to tell them not to do it, but if they are going to do it, they should take part in it. It's not an excuse to wag school."

He says if kids make a choice to participate in a civic action, that's for the school to manage, as they do on a daily basis. He adds that the Government will not be telling them what to do. 

Hipkins says we should pay attention to what children think about climate change. 

"I think it's great that they want to have their voice heard."

He does clarify that if kids make this choice, they will miss out on their education. 

Government Minister Phil Twyford said today it was great to see young people getting involved in issues like climate change because "if there's one issue that's going to affect the next generation it's climate change".

Fellow Minister Damien O'Connor said there were teacher-only days so March 15 would be a "kids-only" day.

"These kids are smart, we are dealing with their future."

O'Connor said he would be "absolutely" happy for his five daughters to skip school to attend the protest.

But Opposition leader Simon Bridges said it might be better if the day of action took place at the same day as secondary teachers went on strike, April 3.

"It's a serious issue but I certainly wouldn't want to say anything that encourages students to be taking time out of their schooling. They've got a lot of time at other points of the day, the weekend to be doing this," he said.

Education spokesperson Nikki Kaye says she supports kids' right to have their voices heard, but doing it in school time feels like a political stunt.

"The only point I would make it is that it is really important to get permission, because if you are 12 or 13 years old, and you are unsupervised, that's difficult."

Hipkins agrees that that would be a wise move, but it would again be an issue for schools to manage. 

Labour MP Greg O'Connor said it should be up to parents to decide what their children were going to do.

"Students now, they're a mature little bunch. I think we should just leave it right up to the parents, and every parent should decide what their child is going to do," O'Connor told reporters.

"We want more kids involved in politics, and it's a good discussion."

The global strike is expected to bring tens of thousands of students on to the streets across Europe, the United States, Australia and other countries.

Last week, national co-ordinator Sophie Handford said protests were being organised in more than 20 towns from Russell in the Bay of Islands to Invercargill.

"We are thinking like definitely in the thousands across the country," she said. "If we hit 5000, that will be awesome. If we hit more than that, that will be even better."

NZ Secondary Principals Council chairman James Morris said school principals would not condone the strike.

"Whilst most principals would support students expressing support for climate change action, they would be reluctant to approve students taking time away from their classes to do so," he told the Herald last week.

However, Ministry of Education deputy secretary Ellen MacGregor-Reid said awareness of the environment was an important part of the NZ curriculum.

"The NZ curriculum also encourages students to participate and take action as critical, informed and responsible citizens," she said.

The global movement was sparked by a 15-year-old Swedish schoolgirl Greta Thunberg, who decided last August to stay away from school until the Swedish general election on September 9.

She protested by sitting outside the Riksdag (Parliament) every day during school hours with a sign, "Skolstrejk för klimatet (School strike for climate)".

 

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