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"The Neoliberal Assault on Mātauranga Māori" - 10 July 2025

Government's Vocational Education 'Reforms' Represent Colonial Violence in Modern Dress

Ivor Jones The Māori Green Ltn

10 Jul 2025 — 14 min read

Kia ora koutou,

The coalition government's latest attack on vocational education represents nothing less than a systematic dismantling of Māori educational rights wrapped in the false rhetoric of "industry leadership" and "efficiency." What industry groups have rightfully labeled as "fundamentally flawed" is in reality a calculated assault on working-class communities, with Māori and Pacific peoples bearing the heaviest burden.

The Colonial Continuity of Educational Violence

This government's actions must be understood within the continuum of colonial education policy that has systematically undermined Māori knowledge systems and participation since 1867. The Native Schools Act established a system designed to strip Māori children of their language and culture, forcing English-only instruction and manual labor training to create a compliant workforce for colonial capitalism. Today's "reforms" continue this legacy through different means but with identical intent.

The removal of dedicated funding for Māori and Pacific learners represents a return to the colonial fiction of "one law for all" - the same racist rhetoric that denies the specific impacts of structural racism and the Crown's obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Education advocates correctly identify this as a regression to "the days of a one-size-fits-all model" that has consistently failed our people.

Neoliberal Ideology Masquerading as Reform

Minister Penny Simmonds, the architect of this destruction, embodies the neoliberal technocrat who views education purely through the lens of market efficiency. Her background as CEO of Southern Institute of Technology where she implemented "Zero Fees" schemes reveals the contradiction at the heart of her current role - someone who understood the value of accessible education now implementing policies that restrict it.

The government's justification for these cuts exposes their ideological bankrupcy. Simmonds claims the funding changes move from "ethnicity-based" to "needs-based" funding, ignoring that ethnicity IS a predictor of need precisely because of systemic racism. This colorblind racism pretends that removing support for Māori students addresses inequality rather than entrenching it.

The Violence of "Industry Leadership"

The replacement of Workforce Development Councils with Industry Skills Boards receiving half the funding represents privatization by stealth. Industry groups themselves recognize this as "knocking the knees out" of the VET system, warning that reduced government funding makes the system "unworkable."

This shift to "industry leadership" is neoliberal doublespeak for corporate control over working-class training. The proposed levy system places the burden of funding essential training on industry itself, creating conditions for cherry-picking profitable programs while abandoning those serving Māori and Pacific communities.

The government's own data reveals the devastating impact on Māori participation. Māori make up 17.2% of industry trainees but historically have lower completion rates due to structural barriers the government is now removing support for addressing.

Te Tiriti Obligations Abandoned

The elimination of Māori-specific funding violates the Crown's obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi to ensure equitable outcomes for Māori. Research consistently shows that targeted support is essential for Māori success in vocational education, yet this government prioritizes ideological purity over constitutional obligations.

The funding cuts come alongside broader attacks on Māori rights, including the removal of co-governance arrangements and cuts to Māori language education funding. This represents a coordinated assault on Māori self-determination across multiple sectors.

The Broader Context of Right-Wing Extremism

These education "reforms" must be understood within the coalition government's broader far-right agenda. The reintroduction of charter schools represents the thin edge of education privatization, while ACT leader David Seymour's calls for wholesale privatization of public services reveal the ultimate neoliberal endgame.

The removal of diversity, equity and inclusion targets from the public service, justified through culture war rhetoric about "woke" policies, creates the ideological framework for dismantling all equity initiatives.

Economic Violence Against Working Communities

The government's funding cuts represent economic violence against working-class communities already struggling with the cost-of-living crisis. Industry representatives warn that reduced funding will create "more disengagement from industry" precisely when skills shortages demand greater investment in training.

The reduction of apprenticeship support to first-year trainees only abandons thousands of Māori learners mid-training. Changes to Apprenticeship Boost will particularly impact Māori who are overrepresented in affected industries but face completion barriers the government is removing support for addressing.

Resistance and Rangatiratanga

The universal opposition to these changes from industry groups, unions, and education providers reveals the isolation of this extremist government. When Civil Contractors NZ describes the reforms as "fundamentally flawed" and focused on "cutting costs and protecting unsustainable polytechnics," they expose the ideological rather than practical motivations driving policy.

Māori resistance to these attacks must be grounded in assertion of tino rangatiratanga over our educational destiny. The success of kura kaupapa Māori demonstrates alternative models that prioritize Māori values and knowledge systems over colonial structures.

Our communities must demand not just the restoration of funding but fundamental transformation toward education systems that serve our people rather than corporate interests. This means supporting Māori and Pacific Trades Training programs that recognize community leadership in education delivery.

Exposing the Colonial Matrix

This government's vocational education assault reveals the enduring operation of what scholars term the "colonial matrix of power" - the intersection of racism, capitalism, and patriarchy that maintains settler dominance. The simultaneous attack on Māori funding, worker rights, and environmental protections demonstrates the systemic nature of this violence.

The rhetoric of "failed experiments" used to justify dismantling Te Pūkenga deliberately obscures the institution's financial success, including a $16.6 million surplus that exposes the lie of unsustainability. This success is precisely why it must be destroyed - effective public institutions threaten neoliberal ideology.

The Path Forward

The resistance to these attacks must be grounded in broader analysis of colonialism and capitalism as interconnected systems of oppression. Educational justice cannot be separated from broader struggles for economic justice, environmental protection, and Māori sovereignty.

We must expose how this government's education policies serve the interests of capital over communities, creating a compliant workforce for exploitative industries while denying working-class youth the critical thinking skills necessary for liberation.

The fight for educational justice is ultimately a fight for the kind of society we want to build - one based on cooperation rather than competition, community wellbeing rather than corporate profit, and indigenous knowledge rather than colonial domination.

This government's vocational education "reforms" represent nothing less than educational apartheid designed to entrench class and racial hierarchies through unequal access to training and development. The removal of Māori-specific funding while maintaining support for disabled students and those with low achievement reveals the deliberate targeting of indigenous peoples for exclusion.

We must name this violence for what it is and organize accordingly. Our resistance must be grounded in kaupapa Māori principles while building solidarity with all working communities under attack from this extremist government.

The struggle for educational justice is inseparable from the broader fight for indigenous sovereignty and working-class liberation. By understanding these connections, we build the foundation for transformative change that serves our people rather than their oppressors.

Readers who find value in exposing these attacks on our communities are invited to consider a koha to support this essential work: HTDM: 03-1546-0415173-000. The MGL understands these are tough economic times for whānau, so please only contribute if you have capacity and wish to do so.

Kia kaha, kia maia, kia manawanui

https://earnlearn-tepukenga.ac.nz

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