New North Island classrooms ease pressure on teaching space
Education Minister Erica Stanford launches new classrooms at Hamilton East School.
Photo:
RNZ/Libby Kirkby-McLeod
The Government has announced 32 new classrooms for the central North Island, including four at a school facing pressure to convert their library to meet demand.
Education Minister Erica Stanford made the $33 million investment announcement at Hamilton East School, a primary school with a roll of about 533 students.
Hamilton has been
New Zealand's fastest growing city
for the last couple of years.
Hamilton East School principal Philippa Wright said she was under considerable pressure to use the library as a classroom to deal with school growth.
"It's actually used all day, not just as a library, but also as a safe space for some of our students with high needs," she said.
Last year, RNZ reported about
students at Hamilton's Fraser High School
who were being taught in the library.
Wright said she would encourage other schools to push back on pressure from the Ministry of Education to use libraries as classroom space.
"My point is we are developing readers, so we need a place for them to read."
She pointed out closing libraries in schools didn't help meet the Government priority of improved literacy.
Stanford said schools having to use library space for classrooms was concerning.
"It starts with a library and then, the next minute, they are in staffrooms, because of the lack of classroom space - but that's what today is all about. It's about the 8000 extra student places that we delivered through this budget."
Education Minister Erica Stanford is welcomed to Hamilton East School.
Photo:
RNZ/Libby Kirkby-McLeod
Stanford said the ministry was dealing with a backlog of need, but every budget, they put in more new roll-growth classrooms.
Along with the four new classrooms at Hamilton East, two classrooms will be built at Waipawa School in Hawke's Bay, three at Maungatapu School in Tauranga, two at Te Kauwhata Primary School in Waikato, two at Kawerau South School in the Bay of Plenty and 19 at Taihape Area School, as part of a major redevelopment of that campus.
Construction on the new classrooms will begin over the next 12 months.
"We are powering up efficiencies in school property delivery, so more schools, communities and children benefit sooner," Stanford said. "The use of standardised building designs, offsite manufacturing and streamlining procurement have lowered the average cost of a classroom by 28 percent, allowing 30 percent more classrooms to be delivered last year, compared to 2023.
"We will continue to drive this down, so more Kiwi kids can thrive."
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero
,
a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
Analysis: Tensions and timing test Luxon on first official China visit
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is officially welcomed with a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People, Beijing. Photo: Supplied / Dan Brunskill Analysis - Luck was not on Christopher Luxon's side for his first official trip to China. Even before the visit began, the prime minister was battling for control of the narrative, as a suite of former political leaders - including Helen Clark and Don Brash - accused the coalition of antagonising China through its embrace of the US. A clearly irritated Luxon batted away the warning - "maybe listen to fewer former politicians" - but the commentary persisted. In fact, the superpower struggle was given more prominence by events unfolding in the Middle East as Israel launched open warfare on Iran, with the US and China backing opposing sides. No surprise New Zealanders at home showed more interest in US President Donald Trump's "will-he-won't-he" contemplations than in Luxon's Shanghai sales pitch. Then came news of the Cook Islands diplomacy crisis right on the eve of Luxon's big sit-down with President Xi Jinping. Luxon had to have been cursing the timing, as his pre-meeting media conference was consumed by questions about the government's decision to suspend funding to the Pacific nation after its controversial agreements with China earlier this year. He tried valiantly to characterise New Zealand's issue as being solely with the Cook Islands government, but it was impossible to ignore China's contribution as one-half of the deals in question. Photo: Dan Brunskill That was evidenced by a pointed response from China's Foreign Ministry: that its cooperation with the Cook Islands "should not be disrupted or restrained by any third party". Such comments were not repeated, however, in the brief public parts of Luxon's high-level meetings at the Great Hall of the People. The leaders on both sides were direct in their opening remarks but not at all confrontational. Christopher Luxon has held talks with one of the world's most powerful people, Chinese President Xi Jinping, who began by acknowledging "ups and downs" in the bilateral relationship. Photo: Office of the Prime Minister President Xi Jinping acknowledged "ups and downs" in the relationship while Luxon pointedly noted the importance of "stability in our region". But both also stressed the value of their ties. Premier Li Qiang even welcomed the "candid" nature of the conversations. Certainly, there was nothing to suggest China is contemplating economic retribution, as some have suggested. Supporters of the government's approach will see that as proof its strategy is working. Its critics will caution it means only that there is still time to change course. Christopher Luxon at talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on 20 June 2025 (NZT). Photo: Office of the Prime Minister To understand China's perspective, one can look to the state media for an indication. On Thursday, state tabloid Global Times hosted a piece by Qin Sheng, associate professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Sheng said the China-NZ relationship could provide an example of "healthy interaction" in a world of "rising geopolitical rivalry and pervasive uncertainty". At the same time, Sheng warned that the US was "actively wooing" New Zealand to join its "small circles aimed at containing China" including AUKUS pillar two. "For New Zealand, it is important to see the broader picture and ensure that its choices align with the prevailing trend of history." From a personal perspective, the PM would've been thrilled that Xi had been "impressed" by him in their first meeting at APEC last year. Alas, that sentiment is unlikely to filter through to the NZ public in any meaningful way. All travelling media noted the paltry audience interest in the stories filed as they landed on the afternoon of the public holiday Matariki. More bad luck. Broadly speaking, business leaders in the delegation were enthused and positive about the China visit, but there were some quiet grumblings. Photo: RNZ / Craig McCulloch Two particular gripes came up multiple times in conversations. The trip's length - just two nights in Shanghai and one in Beijing - was considered too brief from a business perspective. It was hard not to notice the extra empty seats on the 757 returning home with several delegates clearly deciding to stay on in Beijing a little longer. Several businesspeople also questioned Luxon's strategy for luring back Chinese tourists and his characterisation of the issue as a "marketing challenge". When speaking to reporters, Luxon repeatedly insisted the problem was that New Zealand lacked "share of mind" in China and simply needed more promotion. The blame, he said, lay with Labour for being too slow to come out of Covid-19. Never mind that China itself had been slower. Photo: Dan Brunskill Those spoken to by RNZ suggested the more pressing concern was cost - and pointed out the coalition had hiked visa fees and tripled the International Visitor Levy. Luxon's focus will now shift to the NATO forum which is he due to attend in the Netherlands in the coming days. In his final media conference in Beijing, Luxon made clear he considered his attendance there to be quite separate from his China mission. But he must know the two are very much connected and will be viewed as such. In recent comments, NATO chief Mark Rutte has grouped China together with Russia, Iran and North Korea, as effective foes of the West. Asked about the remarks, Luxon said he had seen "no evidence" of those four powers actively working together against the West. One wonders how that "difference of opinion" - as Luxon put it - will go down when the PM arrives at the Hague. Just last week, China expert Jason Young told RNZ that one of New Zealand's biggest challenges over the next two decades would be navigating that tension between its Western security partners and its largest trading partner China. There can be no relying on luck for that. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
18 hours ago
- RNZ News
Destiny Church protesters set flags on fire in Auckland rally
Protesters at a Destiny Church rally in Auckland, 21 June 2025. Photo: RNZ Fire and Emergency crews have been called to a Destiny Church march in downtown Auckland after flags were set on fire. Hundreds have marched from Aotea Square down Queen Street in what the church billed as a rally "in defence of faith, flag and family". At one point flags - which an RNZ reporter said appeared to include rainbow flags and flags representing mainstream media - were set alight. Rally goers then put the flames out with water and arriving fire crews then left without taking action. During the march, people chanted "no immigration without assimilation". Destiny Church said the march was to take "a bold public stand for Christian values, Kiwi identity and the future of this nation". Church leader Brian Tamaki claimed "uncontrolled immigration" in the United Kingdom had led to spikes in crime and a collapse in British identity. Tamaki said the church was building a "Commonwealth crusade" to "reclaim Christina nations". Protesters and counter-protesters at a Destiny Church rally in Auckland, 21 June 2025. Photo: RNZ The Destiny marchers were met by about 20 counterprotestors waving tino rangatiratanga and Palestine flags. A large number of Police were also in attendance. Ahead of the march, Tamaki said church leaders had sent an open letter to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon calling for a reversal on a position that the country has no official religion. He said a demand included enforcing a "no immigration without assimilation" policy. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Newsroom
18 hours ago
- Newsroom
PM appeals to China's ego in the pursuit of peace and order
Analysis: The Prime Minister has singled out the Pacific, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as tension points during his meetings with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing. And when pushed, he all-but confirmed he also raised China's live-firing exercises in the Tasman Sea in February – something he's previously said 'alarmed' New Zealanders. But in contrast to what NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte says, Luxon pushed back against the idea of a 'China threat', saying he did not believe China was creating a fearsome foursome with Iran, Russia and North Korea. 'We haven't seen any evidence of a wholesale force from those four countries coming together against the West in that way. And so that might be a difference of opinion, but that's very much how we put it.' In Beijing on Friday, Luxon engaged in a series of leader meetings at the historic Great Hall of the People, including with President Xi Jinping, as well as his Chinese counterpart Premier Li Qiang. He came away from those meetings saying the China-New Zealand relationship was in 'good heart'. Ahead of his meeting with Li, Luxon received an official welcome, with the full military pomp and ceremony – just hours ahead of flying to Europe to spend time with New Zealand's security partners at the NATO summit. In the Luxon-Xi meeting, neither side skirted around the edges, directly addressing the fact that the relationship had been a rocky one. 'More than 50 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties to China, New Zealand relationship has experienced many ups and downs, but we have always respected each other and worked together,' Xi said in his opening remarks ahead of his closed-door meeting with Luxon. The Prime Minister responded in the same way, with a directness that was respectful and predictable – exactly the type of communication the New Zealand side said it was striving for in its relationship with China. The Chinese and New Zealand teams at the formal leaders' meeting. Photo: Pool In what seemed to be an attempt at positive manifestation, Luxon appealed to China's view of itself as a predictable, constructive player at a time of global turmoil. 'We are meeting at a time of increasing global uncertainty and strain, and the world looks to China as a major global power to play a constructive role in addressing many of the challenges that are facing us all,' Luxon said. In this context, ongoing discussions with China were 'more important than ever before – and we value it highly'. 'Stability in our region and our deep and abiding support for the rules-based system are fundamental to New Zealand's interests … our long-standing connections and cooperation supports us to continue our positive, constructive, open and comprehensive discussions, as partners should do.' While Luxon did not mention the US, China already sees itself as the antithesis to Donald Trump's chaos. Playing to that ego in the hope of maintaining peace in the region (and the globe) couldn't hurt. 'As a small country, you have to acknowledge we're not a medium power, not a large power, right? So I have to find ways to influence what I believe in and what we believe in in New Zealand – which is a set of values – and actually put voice to those values and articulate them well,' Luxon said following the bilateral. In return, Li said that Xi had 'chartered the direction for the next phase' of the relationship, while also saying that New Zealand should place greater emphasis on cooperation. 'In these turbulent times, the fundamental interests of both countries call for the relationship to be defined and underpinned by cooperation, rather than anything else,' Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand Wang Xiaolong said. The meetings took place against the back-drop of heightened tensions in the Indo-Pacific Region. Following China's live-firing combat exercises in the Tasman in February, China has said it planned for the normalisation of deployment of the naval forces of the People's Liberation Army into the South Pacific. Meanwhile, the day before the meetings, AFP reported that a tranche of classified government briefing notes showed deep concern within the New Zealand government in the wake of the surprise intercontinental ballistic missile launch off the coast of Tahiti last year, which China shrugged off as 'routine.' In briefing documents provided to Foreign Minister Winston Peters, officials called the missile launch a 'significant and concerning development'. On the flip side, China has consistently hit back at New Zealand's indication of joining Aukus Pillar II, warning against joining 'small circles', and stoking a regional arms race. This was another topic Luxon wouldn't be drawn on following his day of meetings. China has also pushed back at New Zealand's retaliatory action against the Cook Islands after Prime Minister Mark Brown signed a strategic deal with Beijing, without consulting New Zealand. Luxon refused to confirm whether the Cook Islands issue was raised in his meetings with Xi and Li, but said he raised the importance of respecting the Pacific Islands Forum as the way to advance development in the Pacific. It seemed to be a tight-lipped Luxon way of acknowledging the under-lying issue with China's role in the Cook Islands saga, without disclosing the specifics of what was said in the room. During a 25-minute press conference at the conclusion of Luxon's three-day trip that had covered Shanghai and Beijing, the Prime Minister went out of his way to not divulge any further information about the diplomatic discussions, beyond what was included in his press release and a joint statement. 'We need to respect that they are private diplomatic conversations,' he said. 'What I can reassure you is that I raise issues of common interest; I raise issues of difference. We had a very fulsome conversation. We discussed everything we needed to discuss.' While it was expected for some topics to remain in the room, Luxon joined the tradition of New Zealand prime ministers to be particularly evasive following discussions with China's leaders. But he reassured Kiwis and security partners that – 'as you would expect in a mature relationship' – New Zealand canvassed the range of topics 'very openly, very candidly'. Despite the direct acknowledgement of the shared differences, there was more positive than negative in the remarks between the two countries. It seemed China still regarded New Zealand as 'the best in the west' and understood the importance of keeping New Zealand onside at a time of increasing global uncertainty. This marked Luxon's second meeting with Xi. In November, the president asked for a bilateral on the sidelines of the Apec summit in Peru. Xi referenced this first face-to-face, saying the two had a 'good discussion' last year, saying he was 'very impressed' with Luxon and appreciated his 'positive attitude'. Both sides played up the positives of the trading relationship, with Luxon noting the $39 billion in two-way trade and opportunities for further collaboration. But one trade area that remained a sticking point was China's bid to join the CPTPP. China has been angling to join the trade grouping since 2021, and ahead of this visit government officials made a point of saying they believed they had taken steps to meet all the Auckland Principles required for ascension into the partnership. Despite repeated questioning Luxon refused to say whether New Zealand supported China's bid to join the CPTPP, relying on the final 'principle' that required consensus from all 12 countries. But a joint statement issued by the two countries said New Zealand had 'noted' China's application. Chinese Premier Li Qiang with Christopher Luxon as he inspects an honour guard. Photo: Pool The Xi meeting, which was scheduled for 40 minutes, lasted about an hour. It came after a bilateral with Zhao Leji, the chairman of the country's top legislative body – akin to the Speaker of the House – and before a detailed bilateral with Luxon's counterpart Premier Li Qiang. Following the final meeting, Li and Luxon had a banquet dinner with the full delegation of officials and business leaders. For these crucial first meetings, the Prime Minister brought along Wellington's full diplomatic might. Ambassador to China Jonathan Austin, Foreign Secretary Bede Corry and division head Wendy Matthews all joined Luxon in the room. And for good measure, he took in former senior diplomat and head of DPMC Ben King, Customs chief executive Christine Stevenson, as well as foreign affairs advisers from both DPMC and PMO. While it was unlikely either side was surprised by the topics raised, the experienced officials in the room would have been listening carefully to the specific language used and how things were said. It was the nuance in China's statements and responses that would communicate the CCP's strength of feeling on specific issues. From Beijing, Luxon left his business delegation and the Airforce 757 and jumped on a commercial jet to Brussels late Friday night. The juxtaposition of the Beijing visit abutted against the Prime Minister's trip to NATO provided a fitting illustration of New Zealand's competing priorities, which Luxon said were inextricably linked.
