Friday, September 21, 2012

Year 2 CERA. Reckoning: 22.09.12. Nothing About Us Without Us, Education Protest

Education Protest focus. Sat, 22.09.12, noon. Education Protest, netball courts, Hagley Park. Organizers: Wayne Hawker, Rev Coleman. Despite quakes & CERA devastation around us, public protests drew like-minded people together, so I enjoyed snapping Christchurch crowds, a change from quake destroyed environs.


Canterbury Education: After CERA minister Brownlee's & MOE minister Parata's announcements about closing 13 schools, merging 18 schools & relocating 7 schools, the protest drew about 4 000 parents, kids & educators to the netball courts.

As merging was closure of half the proposed merged schools, that meant 20+ school properties could be NZ National govt proposed asset sales. Kendal School & Burnside Primary School near my home were valuable Burnside assets. NZ National govt could get millions of dollars from those asset sales. Never mind billions of dollars realized from other schools sales, post closures & mergers.  

I often drove to South New Brighton where Luke's girlfriend lived near South New Brighton School. MOE proposed merging South New Brighton School with Central New Brighton school, which was on valuable New Brighton commercial land. Asset sale of CNB School could realize mega-bucks for NZ National govt. Never mind CNB School parents & kids being forced to commute to SNB School, causing traffic congestion on Southshore Spit.

Merging the 2 schools was a dumb idea by MOE. SNB School was on a dead-end road on Southshore Spit, bordered by Avon-Heathcote Estuary & the Pacific. If a tsunami hit, residents & school kids would be trapped, as the only exit from Southshore Spit was South Brighton Bridge, which was damaged in the 22.02.11 Killer Quake.

Some protestors sat on stands, speakers occupied another stand. Most of the crowd stood before them. All ages were at the protest, including disabled people in wheelchairs. Speakers included educators, a councillor & children. Three little, green uniformed girls from Yaldhurst School, sat at the top of the speakers' stand, signing for deaf people in the crowd.

Cantabrians had endured 11 000 quakes over the last 2 years, then had to endure MOE's inept announcements & dissembling about revamping Canterbury education. Pity MOE didn't revamp all NZ schools simultaneously. As MOE only picked on quaked Canterbury, it was National govt's disaster capitalism again, compounding quake strife.

As the 2011 census was postponed due to Canterbury quakes, MOE was trying to revamp schools with 2006 census records. Although post quakes there'd been population shifts between suburbs & away from Christchurch, MOE based its school revamp proposals on ideology & cost cutting, rather than demography & clear population facts.

Example 1: Although E suburbs beyond Ferrymead Bridge had several primary schools, like at Redcliffs & Sumner, there was no high school in the area. Yet MOE fiddled with revamping schools in other E suburbs like Avondale & Aranui. In 1995 what stopped us settling in Sumner was that there was no nearby high school. Our sons would've had to bus long distances to a high school. 17 years later there was still no nearby high school for Sumner.

Example 2: In our 17 years living in Christchurch no new high schools were built. Although there were housing developments, like Aidanfield in the Halswell district, where we lived for 8 years, no new high school was built there. Post quakes Halswell continued to grow with housing developments by Halswell Junction Rd & Wigram Rd. Not a cheep about a new high school in the area from MOE, just a rebuild of quake damaged Halswell Primary.

A protest placard: ONLY FOOLS CLOSE SCHOOLS! Like MOE wanted Canterbury Education "renewal" by destroying perfectly good schools & communities, CERA's CCDU Blueprint wanted a Green Frame in Christchurch's, quake closed, CBD, by destroying perfectly good business properties.

Post quake Canterbury land was zoned by colour: white, red, orange, green zones. Since the 04.09.10 Darfield Quake, more than 2 years before, bureaucrats dictated how & where Christchurch citizens should live & do business (apartheid) & MOE added insult to injury with Canterbury schools "renewal".

At a meeting, MOE "renewal" minions separated & forced Canterbury school principals to wear coloured badges, red, yellow, green, based on whether their schools would be "rejuvenated, consolidated, restored."

NZ National govt / CERA was obsessed with revamping Christchurch red zone CBD, but did little about sorting out EQC / insurer hassles regarding 28 000 green-blue zone, TC3 properties. MOE's school clusters for "rejuvenation, consolidation, restoration" aggravated Christchurch quake woes.


Speeches were made, protestors clapped, chanted, waved placards, banners & flags. Media sidled around making notes, videos, taking pics & interviewing. Being deaf, I couldn't hear speeches, but placards, banners, pennants & flags gave the gist:

   UNITE +
SAVE OUR
SCHOOLS!


  DEMOCRACY
    IS FALLING
THROUGH THE
      CRACKS


SAVE PHILLIPSTOWN
              SAVE
            PHILLY
     PHILLIPSTOWN!!!


             KEY   PARATA
                   BULLIES
ADAMS  BROWNLEE  CARTER


N I'LL STOP BUGGERIZING
                     ON
              FACEBOOK
IF YOU STOP BUGGERIZING
                SCHOOLS.


          NATIONAL
DOING MORE DAMAGE
          TO CHCH
    SINCE FEB 2010 [sic 2011]


  GOVT
  PLANS
  CAUSE
   MORE
DAMAGE

   HEKIA
    FAILS
      TO
ACHIEVE


SAVE
OUR
SCHOOLS


                             YEAH
REJUVENATE
                             RIGHT


     SACK
NATIONAL


      WHAT THE HEKIA
SAVE OURUHIA SCHOOL...

           I LOVE
       RICHMOND
SCHOOL... PLEASE
 DON'T CLOSE MY
         SCHOOL!

SAVE OUR SCHOOL


WE'RE NOT ENDING
WITHOUT A FIGHT!


      I LOVE MY TEACHER
I LOVE RICHMOND SCHOOL
     PLEASE DON'T CLOSE
            MY SCHOOL!


 WE WANT
A FAIR GO
  FOR ALL
    KIWIS


      SAVE
         OUR
SCHOOLS


I LIKE
MY
TEACH
ER!


DON'T TAKE
OUR CHOICE
AWAY [heart pic]
SAVE BURNHAM


               WE [heart pic]
RICHMOND SCHOOL


DEMOCRACY NOT AUTOCRACY
             STOP THE  HIJACK
          SAVE OUR SCHOOLS


WHY
SMALL
SCHOOLS?





STOP AND
LISTEN
LET US HAVE
             A SAY

WHAT THE
    HEKIA
THINKING

  EDUCATION
         NOT!
ERADICATION

BUILD
JAILS
CLOSE
SCHOOL
CLEVER


  TANGATA AKONA KI TE KURA
       (TONA KAINGA TAURUA)
TUNGA KI TE HAPORI, TAU ANA!

IF A PERSON IS EDUCATED AT HIS OWN SCHOOL
           HE WILL STAND WITH CONFIDENCE
                     IN HIS OWN COMMUNITY


HANDS
  OFF
HEKIA!



      WE DREAM IT,
        BELIEVE IT,
   AND ACHIEVE IT...
THEN HEKIA TAKES
      IT ALL AWAY



WE SAY NO!
LEAVE OUR
  SCHOOLS
    ALONE!


            OUR SCHOOLS,
            OUR CHILDREN
              OUR FUTURE
LISTEN TO THE COMMUNITY

GREEN PARTY PRINCIPLES...



DEMOCRACY
  HARD WON
  DEFEND IT

HOME RULE FOR
  CANTERBURY
   BRING BACK
   DEMOCRACY


GREEN...


PPTA
POST PRIMARY TEACHERS ASSOCIATION

WOT THE
HEKIA

   BEWARE
[piranha pic]
   PARANA



               STOP THINK
LOCAL SCHOOLS ARE VITAL
          DON'T FRACTURE
           CHRISTCHURCH
            COMMUNITIES


        SAVE
    DEMOCRACY
AND OUR SCHOOLS

     BURNSIDE
      PRIMARY 
       SCHOOL
     KEEP OUR
SCHOOL OPEN
 


PLAYCENTRE
   VALUES
       WHANAU

PLAYCENTRE
   SUPPORTS
      CHCH
        FAMILIES


LISTEN
TO OUR
CHILDREN


HURT MANNING, HURT OUR
MIND
SOS
SAVE OUR SCHOOL

CONSULTATION
YEAH
RIGHT!

KEEP OUR
SCHOOL


       SAVE
YALDHURST
    SCHOOL


NATIONAL
SUCKS

CHRISTCHURCH
DON'T GIVE UP
THE FIGHT!!


HEARTBREAK
         FOR
    SCHOOLS

EDUCATION
         IS
IMPORTANT


WHAT DO WE DO NOW MISS?
HOP ON A BUS AND GO TO A
SCHOOL. I DON'T KNOW
WHERE!!


NO CHOICE FOR
INTERMEDIATE
SCHOOLS


WHAT ARE YOU GOING
TO DO WITH THE MONEY
YOU SAVE FROM SCHOOL
CLOSURES MINISTER?


          SAVE
    YALDHURST
MODEL SCHOOL


SAVE GOOD
  SCHOOLS
FROM BAD
 POLITICS!




KEY
KILLS

BIGGER
IS NOT
BETTER

SAVE OUR SCHOOLS

TEACHERS
   GOVT

SAVE OUR SCHOOLS




LYTTELTON
     WEST
    IS NOT
IMPRESSED


 IF YOU'RE
  WAITING
FOR A SIGN
      THIS
      IS IT.

       WE NEED
[Pics of 3 N robots]
   THE DOCTOR



    SAVE OUR SCHOOLS
            AVONDALE
             STAND UP
           FIGHT BACK
KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF
IT'S MY SCHOOL!!
IT'S MY COMMUNITY!!




GROWING POPULATION
GROWING ROLL
NO EQ DAMAGE
WHY YALDHURST?



    SAVE
     OUR
SCHOOLS

PEOPLE
   NOT!
PROFIT


   SAVE OUR
COMMUNITY


       THE
   [heart pic]
OF HORNBY


SAVE OUR
KENDAL SCH



PARATA, LISTEN
TO THE PEOPLE

SAVE KENDAL
SCHOOL!!!!

THIS SOCIAL
EXPERIMENT
WON'T WORK

SAVE OUR
COMMUNITY
SAVE PHILLIPSTOWN
SCHOOL!

UNITE+
SAVE OUR
SCHOOLS!

          STOP
   EDUQUAKES
            ON
ELECTION DAY

PROCESS?
CONSULTATION?
YEAH RIGHT!!

THE FREEVILLE
SCHOOL COMMUNITY
DESERVES BETTER


KEY
SUPPORTS
CHRISTCHURCH
YEAH RIGHT
TUI [mock ad]

SURVIVING
     11,000
  QUAKES
     EASY
   PEASEY

RECOVERY
PEOPLE
PEOPLE
PEOPLE



  KEEP
CALM
  AND
  SAY
   NO


ENOUGH
ALREADY!


STAND
    UP
 FIGHT
 BACK


NATS
HATE
CHILDREN


STOP THE
CREEPING
TAKEOVER



FREEVILLE ROCKS

BRANSTON INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL

CHOICE


HERE'S
GLENMOOR
OPINION


GET YOUR
HANDS OFF
FREEVILLE
SCHOOL

    NO VOTE
         NO
DEMOCRACY


CHRISTCHURCH KIDS
        GLENMOOR
SCHOOL!...


Placard: PM John Key with 2 devil horns pics.


UNITE


LISTEN
TO CANTERBURY.
DON'T DO THIS
               HEKIA!


    NATIONAL
     F*CKING
        WITH
CANTABRIANS
        SINCE
    22 FEB 2011


NATIONAL
DOING MORE DAMAGE
TO CHCH
SINCE FEBRUARY 2011


  GOVT
  PLANS
  CAUSE
   MORE 
DAMAGE

NEW ZEALAND
NURSES
ORGANIZATION [flag]


...BULLIES...

        SAVE
     DEMOCRACY
AND OUR SCHOOLS


WE
WILL
FIGHT!!



WE HAD DEMOCRACY ONCE
               PROTECT IT
                FROM THE
               HIJACKERS


   UNITE +
SAVE OUR
SCHOOLS

KIA KAHA
CHCH


SHAME


ROCKED 7.1
RATTLED 6.3
ROLLED 6.3
LIQUEFACTION
EASTSIDE
4 LIFE [T shirt]


                 EDUCATION... IT'S ALL
ABOUT THE KIDS..YEAH RIGHT


LEAVE OUR KIDS
       ALONE!!
SAVE OUR
    SCHOOLS!






SOS
SAVE OUR SCHOOL  [dog coat]


FIGHT FOR EVERY
      CHILD'S
RIGHT TO WALK
      TO SCHOOL


NATIONAL
  SUCKS


HELL NO HEKIA!!
  LEAVE OUR SCHOOLS
      ALONE!


 
 


STOP CLOSING
OUR
SCHOOLS!


SAVE MY
FUTURE...








        SOS
 SAVE MY
      SCHOOL
LINWOOD AVE




  YOU ARE NOT
    THE KEY TO
THE SOLUTION


SAVE
BURNHAM
SCHOOL
WE WILL SOLDIER ON!






WANT                  NEVER GIVE UP!    
TO                    [Cartoon of strangled bird]   WHAT
EAT                                                                THE
OUR                                                               HEK
CANTERBURY                                           YEAH!!
KIDS??



PEOPLE
BEFORE
FASCISM


RICHMOND
  SCHOOL
WORTH
     SAVING!


   SAVE
    OUR
SCHOOL

    SAVE OUR
      SCHOOL
MANNING INT

MORE HEART [heart pic]
BREAK FOR
OUR CHCH


 

 
 







 
SAVE
MANNING

 

CHCH
CHILDREN
DESERVE
THE VERY
BEST



SAVE
MANNING
LOVE MANNING

NO CHOICE FOR
INTERMEDIATE
SCHOOLS - EASTSIDE





PLEASE DON'T
     CLOSE
RICHMOND
   SCHOOL



P-S- OFF PARATA
GO AWAY.
IN THEIR SCHOOLS
OUR STUDENTS
NEED TO STAY /
GET YOURSELF SOME
COMPASSION & COURTESY...


A LIFE JACKET SHOULD
             NOT
BE PART OF ANY
SCHOOL'S UNIFORM



SOS...
NOT AUTOCRACY
NOT OLIGOPOLY
SAVE
OUR
SCHOOLS


ONLY FOOLS
CLOSE SCHOOLS


SOS

   SAVE
MANNING

IT'S NOT ABOUT
THE MONEY
NEK MINUT





EDUCATE NOT
     EDUCUT






SAVE OUR
   FUTURE
     SHIRLEY
INTERMEDIATE
 


 NOTHING
   ABOUT
       US
WITHOUT
       US



STOP THINK
LOCAL SCHOOLS ARE VITAL
DON'T FRACTURE
CHRISTCHURCH
COMMUNITIES








      MANNING
INTERMEDIATE [3 pennants]


SAVE
  SOS
OURUHIA
SCHOOL


JUSTICE
AND JOY




















                OUR COMMUNITY
                   OUR SCHOOLS -
DON'T HIJACK FACILITIES. WE NEED
CONSULTATION AND COLLABORATION,
         NOT DICTATORIAL DECISIONS


 HIDDEN AGENDA
              FOR
MIDDLE SCHOOLS


PLAYCENTRE BUILDS
             STRONG
      COMMUNITIES




  LET
   US
VOTE


MAORI
EDUCATION          YEAH RIGHT
VALUED                       MOE [Mock Tui advert]

 

DON'T BE
MEAN AND
MOVE OUR
FREEVILLE


DEMOCRACY


SAM
AGE 5 [person pic]
TOM
AGE 9 [heart pic]


TOGETHER WE
PLEDGE TO
 PROTECT
   DEMOCRACY  [15 m banner for signing / commenting, also signed at recent Democracy Protest]




Apropos MOE's proposed closure of Kendal School & Burnside Primary, if Brownlee & Parata perused EQC's land report by "Tonkin & Taylor, Canterbury Earthquakes 2010 and 2011, as at 29 February 2012," they'd see T & T didn't look at individual Burnside properties, as there was so little land damage by quakes there. MOE's generalization that school closures in Burnside & elsewhere were due to quakes was dumb. 



Tonkin & Taylor's report website gave introductory discourse, but the full paper report, found in public libraries, had many aerial photographs, with detailed coloured legends covering lateral spreading, cracks, liquefaction, ponding, new springs, rock fall, etc, in Christchurch & outlying quake damaged districts.



Thurs 27.09.12. One News, PM Key, who grew up in Ilam, moved the gull posts, saying Burnside Primary had borer, therefore could be rebuilt ($9 million) or merged with Cobham Intermediate next door. Risible, as borer was cheaply killed by gassing.

Burnside Primary would be rebuilt. Nearby Kendal School would be closed.


*Trekked Hagley Park, netball courts. 216 images

Sat 29.09.12. 3.44am, M3.8 quake, 9km depth, 10km E of Christchurch (GeoNet). Didn't feel it, asleep in bed.

As for Aranui schools merger proposed by MOE, a drive along Breezes Rd would show Aranui Primary (centenary 2012) Aranui HS, Chisnallwood Intermediate, Avondale Primary all close together. Merging the lot on Aranui HS campus was destruction rather than creation. Timing of the schools merger announcement was expedient, as the area was recovering from quakes, roads & housing in disarray. SCIRT hadn't even fixed Breezes Rd yet.

Granted Avonside / Avondale residential red zone was close by, but not even NZ National govt could say how those red zone suburbs would develop post quakes, as their figures about school rolls, bldgs & facilities were inaccurate & MOE hadn't consulted schools before its school closures / mergers announcement.

Two years post 04.09.10 Darfield Quake & 19 months post 22.02.11 Killer Quake, little recovery / rebuild was happening in Christchurch CBD & suburbs. Scattered rebuild I saw was done by private sector, not big talk, NZ National govt / CERA / CCDU.

Post quakes, NZ National govt was a destroyer, disguised as public safety: demolitions; red zoning of perfectly good commercial & residential properties; 28 000 blue green TC3, uninsurable residential properties; CCDU buyouts of CBD properties for its Blueprint CBD Frame, Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae, Blueprint stadium; school mergers & closures, in Canterbury.

Mon 08.10.12. Cranmer Court demolition saga, Kilmore St / Montreal St, opp Cranmer Sq: Heritage hailers tried stopping Cranmer Court demolition, which had started in June, but stopped when an Aussie buyer was interested, but the deal fell through, so Heritage hailers, including Lorraine North & the Wizard, protested again.

The protest went on till Thurs 11.10.12, when councillors, including Broughton, voted 5-4, a stay of demolition for 30 days, to look for another buyer, for part demolished Cranmer Court. CERA's CCDU boss Isaacs rejected that farcical delay by Councillors.

Problem with Heritage hailers: They never offered to pay for bldgs they wanted to save, expecting others to pay for their delusions, neither did they have any reasonable plan for the saving of bldgs, just hysterical ranting whenever bldgs were demolished. Never mind Cranmer Court apartment owners wanting to demolish & rebuild.

Contrary to Heritage hailers' whining, Cranmer Court was unsafe. In the 04.09.10 Darfield Quake, stone turrets loosened, stone chimneys fell & stone, triangular gables snapped off. Thereafter the bldg was evacuated & steel mesh fence cordoned, octagon windows nylon-strapped to stop collapse by aftershocks. Pigeons roosted in the ruins & flew in & out of gaping holes in walls.

In the 22.02.11 Killer Quake, Cranmer Court octagon turrets collapsed, windows smashed, roofs & walls collapsed. Thereafter damaged walls & windows were boarded & used as giant photo art boards. Cranmer Court was steel mesh fence cordoned for months. Yet Heritage hailers thought Cranmer Court was safe. They didn't explain why no one had lived there since the quakes?

Cranmer Court had begun as a Normal School, then a teachers training college, then stood vacant for a decade, unused by the MOE, unsafe, then revamped as quake prone apartments. Cranmer Court ruin would be demolished. 2023. New Cranmer Terraces would be on site.

Heritage hailers tried to save quake damaged bldgs designated "Heritage," while 1 000s of Christchurch citizens endured quake damaged, unrepaired houses; endured TC3 houses awaiting geotech drilling reports; battling EQC & insurers for payouts or repairs. Pity Heritage hailers showed no compassion nor anger at that post quake housing disaster, compounded by NZ National govt's & CERA's inaction over slow EQC & insurers.

A drive beyond Christchurch on Canterbury Plains showed degraded natural Heritage (polluted by cattle effluent allowed by ECAN) not an unseen city, not quake ruined cathedrals, not quake damaged Cranmer Court, not quake damaged bldgs, but lethal Port Hills during the 22.02.11 Killer Quake. Pity Heritage hailers hadn't eradicated Port Hills gorse. 

Wed 10.10.12. 11.51am, M4.2 quake, 11km depth, 15km E of Christchurch. (GeoNet). Rumbled by, shook our Burnside house. Felt like furniture moving / thumping below. E, CBD, closer to the epicentre, Leah said shaking of her London St school was yuk. W, Hornby, Halswell Junction Rd, about 30km from the epicentre, Luke said he didn't feel the quake.

Coda:

Wed 22.05.13. MOE would announce an interim decision about 5 Aranui schools: Chisnallwood Intermediate would stay as is until a 2020 review. Aranui, Avondale, Wainoni primary schools & Aranui HS would all close & would merge into a super school Y1-13, to be built on the Aranui HS site, opened Jan 2017. The new super school would be named Haeata Community Campus.

MOE gobbledegook published in Christchurch Mail, 23.05.13:

"We have looked at earthquake damage, population movement and future population growth, building issues, school locations and what opportunities exist to create more 21st century schools, with great new facilities...

We have a chance to build brighter, more modern schools in better locations, which will ensure all children have access to good, quality education within a close distance of where they live [An insult to current teachers. Kids who formerly walked to schools would need to catch buses]...

The creation of a single-site campus with provision for all ages will assist better transitions between schooling stages and share valuable resources and facilities for the surrounding communities..."

Why didn't CERA minister Brownlee & Ilam citizens want a bright, super school to be built in Brownlee's Ilam constituency? Brownlee & Parata could combine Burnside HS, Burnside Primary, Kendal School, Cobham Intermediate into a super school Y1-13, to share valuable resources & facilities too!

Meanwhile, Fri 24.05.13, Phillipstown School protested that if their merger with Woolston School went ahead Phillipstown low socio-economic children would have to walk a long distance to Woolston School across dangerous intersections like Aldwins Rd / Ferry Rd crossing. Leah would remark that Phillipstown principal had aged visibly since school mergers were announced in 2012. MOE would have no mercy on Phillipstown School & despite protests, Phillipstown School would close & Phillipstown principal would become a Lyttelton log trucker, 2015.

Content & pics Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.

See NZ Ministry of Education, Canterbury Schools, Restore, Consolidate, Rejuvenate Proposals (Stuff Co).

See  Razing of Cranmer Courts barbaric (The Press / Stuff Co).

See Police called to Cranmer Courts protest (The Press / Stuff Co).

See From classroom to lorry, principal reinvents himself (The Press /Stuff Co).

See Ministry of Education sorry for schools bungling (The Press / Stuff Co).

See Rev Coleman: Munted. There was no dialogue no transparency (Stuff Co).stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/122558553/munted-there-was-no-dialogue-no-transparency