New Zealand's Private 'Welfare School'

School principals are up in arms over an $11.7M grant given to a new 'green school' made of bamboo.   

The $11.7 million would be funded via the $3 billion set aside for infrastructure in the Covid-19 Response and Recovery Fund, he said.

It's not just principals, unions and the Opposition who are furious - his own party candidates and former MPs are ordering him to fix it.

Angry at the $11.7 million funding of a private school, a Taranaki principal has sent the Government a $26.9m invoice in an attempt to get equal treatment for her students.

On Wednesday, Associate Minister of Finance and Green Party co-leader James Shaw announced the Green School in Ōākura would be given the funding for its multi million-dollar expansion project.

This was heavily criticised by many in the region, including Marfell Community School acting principal Kealy Warren, who sent an open letter to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Thursday.

On Friday, Warren then sent the Government an invoice for $26.9m – to be paid within 30 days.

She arrived at the figure by dividing the $11.7m grant to the Green School by 50 students, which worked out to be $234,000 per head.

Warren then multiplied the figure by her 115 students, to get $26.9m for her school and included a $90 administration fee.

“Please make payment to the school office in person so that you can see the impact the decision to fund the Green School has had,” the invoice read.

Amid significant backlash for backing a $11.7 million grant to an exclusive private school, Greens co-leader James Shaw is urging voters to not ditch the party over "one mistake".

And despite pressure on Shaw to try pull the funding, Finance Minister Grant Robertson has ruled out doing a U-turn.

"The Government has made an agreement here," Roberson said.

"I can understand that there are people who perhaps don't like it or would rather the decision was changed. The Government's got to act in good faith here with an applicant, so I've got no intention to [reverse it]."

Edwards said the school applied for funding for an expansion project in good faith and was struggling with the backlash.

"It was for a shovel-ready infrastructure project. We also ticked the green box and ticked the box that said that the consequence of the investment would be an injection into the economy which in our case was a sizeable one."

The application went through the appropriate review bodies and was approved, but it was never meant to be just a grant, Edwards said.

"It was never, ever an $11.7 million grant. There was a small portion that was going to be a grant and the other elements were essentially loans."

Edwards said the language around the money had become confused, but he could not clarify whether it was now considered a grant or not.

"I can't really answer that question, not because I'm dodging it, but because I'm not responsible for that application."

"I'm surprised he didn't resign yesterday. I think he should," Collins said.

Shaw also held up the process of releasing the list of government grants for "shovel-ready projects", she said.

"It's not just that he advocated for a particular Green School that doesn't even have education registration to be a school, but that he's actually held up all these projects on the basis that he was holding the rest of the government basically to ransom," Collins said.

"This is totally unacceptable."

Every day at 2 pm, the gong sounds and regardless of what is happening, everyone will be silent for one minute. Students can also use the yoga and meditation space (the only structure not of bamboo but made of ironwood and teak).

A self-described “New Age architect” who has publicly expressed Covid-19 conspiracy theories held a “sacred ceremony” at Oakura’s Green School, which has been promised $11.7 million in “shovel ready” money by the Government for an expansion project.

Recently, Christof and Alaya Melchizedek ran a “lion's gate abundance and manifestation ceremony” that included “bio-energy field cleaning” and “DNA activation” at the school, which is sited between New Plymouth and Oakura.

In a Facebook post, which has since been deleted, Christof Melchizedek called Covid-19 a “manufactured natural disaster” and a “UN 2030 vision” that included “vaccinated nanochip technology” and the “looming possibility of vaccination agendas”, which are all claims circulated by conspiracy theorists.

There were at least 44 infrastructure projects awaiting Green Party co-leader James Shaw's approval when he emailed ministerial colleagues to draw a line in the sand over the Green School.

The projects are collectively worth about $1.3 billion, of which the Government contribution is earmarked at $600 million.

Shaw is now being accused of "hypocrisy" and "disgraceful" tactics by the Opposition for potentially putting that funding and hundreds of jobs at risk by appearing to refuse to sign off the projects unless the private school was included.

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