Way back in August 2017, not long before New Zealand’s last General Election, Jacinda Ardern stood before a bunch of enthralled, mainly Pacifica school kids at Kelston Girls High and announced that should the Labour Party win the upcoming election, they would give five ‘free‘ driving lessons, a defensive driving course and driving tests for all senior students at our nations high schools.
The kids were naturally very excited by this revelation, and others, that came with Ardern’s newly minted School Leaver Toolkit. The key points from that policy announcement were:
- Five hours of free professional driving lessons, a free defensive driving course, and free learner’s and restricted licence tests for all senior students.
- Options in workplace competency and practical certificates such as first aid, heavy machinery licences, marine licences, pest control licences, hospitality certificates, security qualifications and other vocational certificates.
- Optional courses in budgeting and financial literacy.
- Compulsory civics course on how democracy works for students in Years 11 to 13.
This was of course a re-hash of their 2015 announcement but then that is something we have come to expect from them, re-announcing announcements like they are fresh and new.
So what has become of Labour’s School Leaver Toolkit?
Well there was another announcement in April 2019 that it was all about to happen this time, really and for true. I even wrote about it back then suggesting that some of it might be a good idea.
Eventually, it was launched in late 2019 and what you have is… wait for it… A website! You can check it out here. Apparently, this is what an allocated Fifty Million gets you. Why don’t you pop on over and see if you can find out where to sign your child up for their free driving lessons, defensive driving courses and tests?
Actually, maybe don’t waste your time. The only reference that I could find with my limited computery type knowledge was a couple of paragraphs that included links to another government website on how to get your licence!
Apparently ‘more on driver education will be added to the toolkit in the near future.’ They are also going to sick ‘The Whole of Government’ onto it, whatever that means. Hmmn, we’ll see I guess.
So another fail from the Labour Government. They have had five years to get their ‘free’ driving lessons over the line from when they first announced it. Two of those years in opposition when they had all the time in the world to nut out a workable policy, and nearly three years where they have actually been in power and and could have got things up and running.
But no, all we get is a website. I wonder how many hits it gets from school leavers each day?
But I reckon there are legs with this yet. After being announced first in 2015, then again in 2017, then again in April 2019 before they sort of got their pathetic attempts going in late 2019, there must surely be room for another announcement in 2020, like maybe a few weeks out from an election or something?
I said a while ago that we might all have to vote for Labour just to keep the Toxic Green Melons out, as a Labour government on its own might not be too bad, given how they are so hopeless at actually getting anything done. The lack of free driving lessons after three whole years in government might tend to back that up.
Of course when I wrote that National were in the middle of what might become known as the ‘Todd Muller Period of Inaction, Lost Opportunities and Pointless Wetness’, so now that the National Party have finally seen the light and appointed someone who can get by without so much as a ‘cup of tea and a lie down’, they might actually have a chance.
But rest assured, failed policies will become indelibly etched into the history of this, the most useless, feckless, opaque and morally corrupt government New Zealand has ever had.
Do not worry about your kids’ free lessons though as I’m sure there will be another announcement every couple of years from here on out.
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