A contemporary example of New Zealand political rhetoric on education can be found in a speech by Associate Education Minister David Seymour to the ACT Party Rally in 2025. This text sets clear social objectives for education, framed around the concepts of "shared reality," "individual merit," and "equal rights regardless of birth."
The substance of this rhetoric is a direct challenge to what the text refers to as "the scourge of identity politics" and "zero-sum thinking." The speaker positions a "knowledge-rich curriculum" and "evidence-based instruction" as the primary mechanisms for societal improvement. The social objective is to create a unified, free, and equal society where success is based on individual effort and merit, rather than group identity. The text explicitly links educational policy to wider social and economic goals, suggesting that a focus on "basics" like literacy and numeracy will lead to positive outcomes in law and order, work, and housing. The policy's social objectives are defined by what they oppose—policies perceived as divisive or based on race.
However, a key limitation in the substance of this rhetoric is the lack of explicit detail on how these broad social objectives will be achieved for all learners, particularly those who have historically been underserved by the education system. While it mentions the goal of improving outcomes for Māori students, the emphasis on a "need not race" approach to social services and a rebalancing of the curriculum appears to be at odds with the bicultural aims and principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi embedded in previous educational frameworks. This rhetorical approach simplifies complex social challenges into a binary of "problem-solving" versus "finger-pointing," which may overlook the systemic barriers that require a nuanced, rather than a one-size-fits-all, approach. The text's focus on individual responsibility and market-driven outcomes presents a significant philosophical shift from previous policies that emphasised community engagement, cultural identity, and inclusive practices as central to educational success.
References
* Seymour, D. (2025, July 13). Speech to ACT Rally 2025. Retrieved from ACT New Zealand.
* The New Zealand Curriculum. (n.d.). The New Zealand Curriculum. Retrieved from https://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/content/download/1108/11989/file/the-new-zealand-curriculum.pdf
* Ministry of Education. (2024, April). The Statement of National Education and Learning Priorities (NELP) & Tertiary Education Strategy (TES). Retrieved from https://web-assets.education.govt.nz/s3fs-public/2024-04/FULL-NELP-2020.pdf?VersionId=KI1hgMV3pmnjj.vvkOzujWh.fmZXdTHv