“ACT in Government would refocus government agencies to carry out effective delivery of services for all New Zealanders, instead of lazy race-based targeting” says ACT Deputy Leader Brooke van Velden.

“The delivery of public services should be according to individual needs, and not aimed at privileging any particular group. ACT would require the public service to target individuals based on need through better use of data, and more decentralised service delivery.

“The Ministry of Education’s recent Equity Index is a blueprint for how the public service could operate using better data. The Equity Index compares 37 different student characteristics with actual performance.

“The Equity Index directs funds to students with the same characteristics as those who were disadvantaged in the past. It considers a range of student characteristics instead of assuming everything is about race, as other areas of policy such as health increasingly do.

“ACT would seek to ensure that Government policy is driven by the best data and evidence, instead of lazy assumptions that race alone is the major driver of differences in our society.

“Besides funding, ACT would also decentralise the delivery of services to people local communities who are in touch with their neighbours’ needs. “Labour has consistently sought to solve complex problems by creating large, centralised bureaucracies, with a parallel Māori structure. It has not explained how the creation of a divided centralised bureaucracy will resolve problems.

“The rationale for co-government appears to be that creating additional tiers of Māori bureaucracy will somehow trickle down to ordinary Māori experiencing poor outcomes, despite there being no evidence that will happen.

“The frustration at the inflexibility and sluggishness of the Wellington bureaucracy, suggests that greater centralisation, but with ethnic separation, is not going to result in better outcomes on the ground.

“ACT believes that decentralised systems close to communities allow for greater innovation and responsiveness. That’s why we’re proposing moving from an ethnicity-based, centralised system to a more equal and socially responsible one.

“One example of successful devolution was the creation of Partnership Schools Kura Hourua. Most of the schools were run by Māori or Pasifika trusts. Partnership schools/kura were outcome-focused. They had freedom to manage and govern, and a broadly similar level of funding to that for state schools. They developed innovative solutions that matched local needs while still meeting high-quality standards.

“This enabled them to attract students who have previously not been well served by the education system and led to equitable achievement outcomes for those students. Within two years of their establishment, an independent review found that most partnership schools/kura had positive outcomes for students across a range of areas.

“Sadly, one of Labour’s first acts was to abolish the schools.

“Government agencies will be refocused on effective delivery of services for all New Zealanders and vague criteria for “Te Tiriti” will be ended.”

ACT's Democracy or Co-Government policy paper can be found here.

© Scoop Media