14 June 2002

Trevor Mallard has to go over his completely incompetent handling of the secondary teachers' pay row, says National Leader Bill English.

"No Education Minister has ever had to deal with strikes by school children and the unprecedented ban on extra-curricular activity. Since yesterday, we've had thousands of young people walking out around the country and Trevor Mallard's showing utterly no leadership is trying to sort out this mess.

"He seems more concerned about his feud with the PPTA than he is about educating young New Zealanders.

"Parents like me are frustrated and angry that this row is getting worse, and there's no path ahead to resolution.

"Helen Clark has to show there's a way out of this, and the first thing to do is sack the Minister. Any relationship that ever existed between Trevor Mallard and the PPTA has clearly gone, with it now reaching the stage that no-one knows who is right and who is wrong.

"I know, as a parent and as a political leader, that this dispute is destroying the chances of thousands of young people getting the qualifications that they need.

"After 14 months of negotiation, all Trevor Mallard can say is that it's getting "very serious". How much more serious can it get? Helen Clark has to get rid of the Minister, and find an urgent solution," says Mr English.

Ends

© Scoop Media