Mr Wellington criticises ‘media sensationalism’

Press, 12 May 1984, Page 8

Mr Wellington criticises ‘media sensationalism’

PA Invercargill The Minister of Education, Mr Wellington, criticised the news media for not reporting on Government education spending, when he opened the New Zealand School Committees’ Federation conference in Invercargill yesterday. Newspapers had largely persuaded the New Zealand taxpayers to believe that their tax dollar was not being used for the benefit of their children and grandchildren, he said. “Media sensationalism” had created the wrong impression that the Government has emptied the education coffers at an unprecedented rate. “Many New Zealanders are left in the dark about

where their tax-provided funds have actually been spent, or are being spent in the education sector. “Given that New Zealand was built in part on respect for education and achievement in education, this is a serious omission by so many newspapers,” Mr Wellington, said. This “highly selective” writing failed to recognise that the total cost of the national education system was about to exceed $l7OO million, spent at a rate of $8.4 million every school day. He said there had been recent announcements to expand the reading recovery programme; increase discretionary ancillary hours for special education from 370,000 to 388,000 from

September 1; increase teaching numbers in special education; and take over the I.H.C.’s responsibility for the education of severely handicapped children. In many cases the press had not or had “refused” to communicate these “massive inputs” to the community at large and particularly to parents, he said. Mr Wellington said he had seen no-one report that in his time as Minister, $156 million had been spent improving school buildings at a time of falling rolls.

Education in New Zealand had been well-funded over the last six years with percentage increases in primary education spending since 1976 being 15.6, 16.1, 14.1, 14.4, 22, 22.9, and 18.6, he said.