Hipkins puts unions ahead of thousands of students

“In tonight’s battle of the Chris’s only one is standing up for the education of thousands of Kiwi students. Chris Hipkins’ position to abolish charter schools shows he will trade the wellbeing and future success of thousands of students to keep his union mates happy,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“Christopher Luxon’s response to him was bang on. Charter schools are great, and they're getting great results for the students enrolled. In twelve months the number of schools has more than doubled and enrolments increased more than sixfold.

“Hipkins can explain to these families why their child should go back to the school they were struggling at because he wants to keep his union mates happy. Their biggest fear is that charter schools will succeed and it’s playing out in real time. They take a cut of teachers’ salaries to negotiate collective agreements, and they know charter schools sit outside those agreements.

“Families are choosing these schools because they offer something different. Some schools have had so much demand they have needed larger premises. North West College, for example, grew from 22 students in March 2025 to 150 by July this year.

“More importantly, we are starting to see the results. Five of the first seven charter schools exceeded their attendance targets in their first year, and five exceeded their achievement targets.

“At TIPENE, initial assessments in February 2025 found more than half of students were below expected levels in maths, reading and writing. By the end of the year, 81 per cent were achieving at or above the expected level in maths, 79 per cent in reading and 80 per cent in writing.

“At BUSY School, students had an average attendance rate of just 19 per cent before enrolling. Their attendance at the charter school rose to 83 per cent. These are young people for whom the existing system was not working, now attending and learning.

“There are children in classrooms today whose families have deliberately chosen these schools because they believe they better meet their needs.

“They also give taxpayers a better deal. A new primary charter school with 100 students would receive around $401,675 in establishment staff and operations funding. The same school set up as a state school would cost the taxpayer $638,249.

“ACT wants all students to have the chance to unlock their potential. For thousands of Kiwi students this will only happen with charter schools.”