Today’s face of the day needs to put on a pair of Jackboots to better stomp down the dirt over the coffin of University Student accommodation. This government is big on knee jerk reactions to tragedies. Instead of focussing on the cause and therefore how in the future to prevent what happened they instead cause large scale negative consequences due to their habit of shooting first and asking questions later.
Chris Hipkins has made a decision that will kill off all University run Student accommodation by making it too risky a business for them to manage. If you ran a business that could get fined $100,000 if something completely out of your control happened would you want to take that risk?
Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced on Monday that universities could be fined up to $100,000 for failing to take care of students in their halls as part of the law change.
stuff.co.nz/national/politics/116573032/government-announces-new-code-and-fines-for-university-halls-following-death
The law change comes after the nation was shocked by the death of Mason Pendrous, whose body was discovered weeks after he died at Sonoda, a University of Canterbury hall of residence.
Just like with the gun laws this is a quick and showy knee jerk law to make it look as if the government cares and is doing something. A law like this is much easier than actually looking at the issues involved in this one tragic case.