Associate Education Minister David Seymour says students participating in today’s climate strike would be better off attending school rather than missing classes to protest.
Seymour said he expected schools to record students taking part in the demonstrations as having “explained but unjustified absences”, rejecting the stance taken under the previous Labour Government that school strikes could be considered justified.
“The previous government said protesting instead of attending school could be justified. In my view, that is unacceptable,” Seymour said.
He argued students wanting to support the cause should instead protest outside school hours.
“If students want to show how much this cause means to them, they could march on Saturday in their own time. That would send a stronger message than taking a day off school,” he said.
Seymour pointed to declining participation in school climate strikes since the large-scale protests seen in 2019, saying it reflected improving attitudes toward school attendance.
“The silver lining is that we’ve come a long way since 2019, when around 170,000 students took the day off school. Only a fraction of that number is taking part now. That is evidence that attitudes towards school attendance are improving as the Government, schools, parents, and students make it a priority,” he said.
He acknowledged some students were concerned about climate issues and their futures but said education was the best pathway to making a meaningful impact.
“If you want to make real change in the world, you need to turn up to school and get a good education now,” Seymour said.
The minister said regular attendance was closely linked to improved educational achievement and better long-term outcomes, including employment opportunities, higher incomes, and stronger community participation.
“I encourage students, parents, and educators to prioritise education. That is what this Government is doing, and it is what New Zealand needs for a better future,” he said.
Image credit: Li-An Lim
Oh don’t worry Dave, soon there will be no places for Kiwi kids in schools, with the place overrun with Indian immigrants. Thanks so much for the India trade “deal” ACT, National and Labour. As for the whole climate alarm-ism stick, remind me again who’s been pushing that? Can’t have it both ways Dave.
Students aren’t concerned about climate issues – only left wing hack teachers and schoolboard busybodies are.
Kids will take any excuse to bunk off or leave school early, that’s all that’s happening here.
These government parasites who spend all day teaching kids to become “activists” instead of doctors, lawyers or accountants are a festering communist cancer in our society that needs to be cut out as soon as possible.
There’s no left or right anymore, only globalists and non globalists. Do you see National and co re-opening Marsden Point, for example? All are on the same page, praising the fight against climate change, often headed by large multi nationals , who are in many instances the worst polluters on the planet.
Meanwhile, the church parliament puppet Watts pushes ‘Carbon Credit’ market expansion with new climate guidance.
https://dailytelegraph.co.nz/money/watts-pushes-carbon-credit-market-expansion-with-new-climate-guidance/
Maybe because science is now about photosynthesis rather than Cows are bad because of climate hoax
For sure kids need educating but educating with the three R’s not all the woke rubbish! Can’t stand it when a teacher or those who should know better have no grammar especially in this day and age when you do y actually have to do anything if you don’t want ie AI
If we ban petrol and diesel and prohibit carbon and methane and cows and only buy EV’s and all go vegan and eat humanely euthanised cockroaches and flies and ban meat cosumption and make it compulsary to enforce sex changes on infants and mandate big-pharma injections and prosecute those who don’t address trans people by their prefered pronouns and we enforce carbon-tax on people who don’t wear face-diapers when told to – then we will all live happily and at the same time we will be preventing the south pole from melting and killing the penguins and inundating our cities underwater and we will be slowing the current global climate-change emergency catastrophe. Thank you. Carry on… Next…
It will be a beauuuuutifully safe and secure life.
And healthy until u have to get euthanised.
Well what can you expect having Marxist teachers preaching globalist agenda, kids are growing up dumb.
Show me a mainstream party that’s not globalist.
Seems those teachers need to be fired for not doing what they’re qualified to teach on..They apparently haven’t got the memo its now global cooling currently as Al Gores latest scam on climate is its cooling,yeah a full 180 from the lies from his man made global warming..Pity he didn’t do his research thoroughly the first time round he’d know we’re in a cooling period & ave been for a while..No more lies & no more politically run science which is now pretty much corrupted beyond repair… You can only cry wolf once do it again & nobody will believe you when there’s no wolf yet again as if we humans have any control over the dam sun
“STRIKE – STUDENTS REFUSE TO LEARN ANYTHING”.
MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS SEYMOUR AND GET IN YOUR BOX AND CONCENTRATE ON WHAT “WE” ARE PAYING YOU TO DO BCOS SO FAR YOU AINT DONE IT.
YOU NEED TO DO WHAT WE TELL YOU NOT OTHER WAY AROUND.
KEEP PROTESTING KIDS. A WORTHY CAUSE IS GETTING RID OF THE CLIMATE HOAX AS
DANE WHITTINGTON WILL PROVE AS THE LEADING PRESENTER AND RESEARCHER OF
G E O E N G I N E E R I N G. !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go educate yourself Seymour a paid puppet like the rest of the liars bludging off the taxpayer
That’s right, Kids- keep protesting, as this is a right that Seymour and his Zionist Ilk wants to take away, as noted on the lawns of Parliament during the Covid Bio-Weapon enactment with MP’s aiming water at the protestors and the cops using ILLEGAL brain-damaging sonic riot-kontrol weapons on the rightful and legal protesters!
Disgusting bloody parasitic creatures in the Wasp Nest…!