increase font size
Green Party co-leader James Shaw.
Green Party co-leader James Shaw has described the Ministry of Education’s decision to carpet 800 small and rural schools in synthetic carpets as “bonkers”.
In July, it was discovered that the Ministry of Education had elected to award a contract to carpet 800 small and rural schools to American manufacturer Miliken Group. The company manufactures solution-dyed carpets, chemical products, textile materials, and healthcare goods.
At the time, the contract – a part of the Government’s Improving Classrooms for Small and Remote Schools programme – was valued at $8 million.
The decision was labelled as “absolutely ridiculous” and a “slap in the face” by critics, which included Federated Farmers, Groundswell, The Campaign for Wool NZ and teachers.
Shaw, in an interview with Country TV, said the decision was a “very poor” one.
“I’m a bit frustrated about it because quite early in our first term, it was one of the real points of agreement between us [the Green Party], Labour and New Zealand First, was that we wanted Government facilities to be built and fitted out with sustainable materials, i.e. things like wool and wood that are grown here in New Zealand rather than plastics and steel and so on,” he says.
Shaw says the fact that point of agreement hasn’t flown on into decisions like the one around the carpets is “frustrating”.
Get the full story on Country TV, tonight at 7.30pm on sky channel 81, or get 30 days FREE access, online and on demand at www.countrytv.co.nz.
OPINION: It's hard to comprehend the ignorance and stupidity of the so-called leaders in the Ministry of Education who for some incomprehensible reason seemed hell bent on perpetuating the myth that agriculture is just for ‘dummies’.
The new Minister of Horticulture, Nicola Grigg, says the reason that she came into Parliament was because of her interest in and commitment to agriculture.
OPINION: James Shaw is the last of the real Greens – a person who until the end has lived up to the ideals of the original NZ Green Party, which first entered Parliament in 1999 when one of its founders, Jeanette Fitzsimmons, historically won the Coromandel seat. Rod Donald and Mike Ward were the other key founding members.
OPINION: Will departing Greens coleader James Shaw set up a new party?
Tributes from across the political divide flowed last week for James Shaw, the Green Party co-leader who has called time on his nine year political career.
Independent Waikato milk processor Tatua has set another new record for conventional farmgate milk price paid to New Zealand farmers.
OPINION: Environment Canterbury's (ECan) decision recently to declare a so-called “nitrate emergency” is laughable.
An early adopter of a 10-in-7 variable milking regime, the Lincoln University Demonstration Dairy Farm (LUDF) is tweaking the system this season in search of further boosting farm performance and profitability.
The dairy sector is in a relatively stable position, with strong milk price payout forecasts continuing to offset ongoing high farm costs, according to DairyNZ.
A shameless political stunt is how Federated Farmers is describing the Canterbury Regional Council decision to declare “a nitrate emergency” on the back of its latest annual groundwater quality survey.
Fonterra has delivered a fifth straight year of record organic milk price for farmer suppliers.
