What Mr Wellington Means by Consultation

When the Minister talks of consultative provess what he really means is that the Government cons relevant organisations into believing that by launching into a thorough investigation of an issue they will be listened to. But this really diverts their attention and he proceeds to secretively make decisions which are contrary to the spirit of the investigation.

But this time Mr Wellington has done more than simply con people. In many respects it has backfired on him because those conned are now aware that they have been conned. They are now aware of what the consultative process really is — a diversionary fraud. Mr Wellington lacks the ability and skill of his predecessor Les Gandar. When Mr Gandar did a con job he did it properly.

Past reviews have been handled differently. Recent examples are the Johnson Report, the Marshall Report, and the Review of Teacher Training. In these cases nothing was done to undermine them during the conduct of them. But in the Review of Financial Assistance for Post-Compulsory Study Mr Wellington undermined it mid-stream. The Review is now likely to collapse. NZUSA has withdrawn in protest — other organisations are likely to follow suit. In de facto recognition of this the Department of Education has cancelled the Review's more immediate meetings.

Mr Wellington's blatant sabotage of the Review has meant that the credibility of him and his Department, have been dealt a severe blow. Many organisations including NZUSA have put a lot of time and effort and resources into the Review. It is questionable whether, they would be prepared to enter into the "consultative process" again.