Editorial: Act leader David Seymour has a knack of delivering a good message the wrong way

A hair was found in one of the Compass supplied school lunches, according to Labour MP Carmel Sepuloni.

Editorial

Act leader and soon to be Deputy New Zealand Prime Minister David Seymour has developed a knack of saying the right thing but delivering it the wrong way.

His Treaty Principles Bill is a prime example of that. If you listen to what he is actually saying, it does have some merit and is worthy of an ongoing conversation at least.

But because the words are coming from Seymour’s mouth, a large section of New Zealanders can’t hear the words through Seymour’s political rhetoric.

As New Zealand grows up as a nation, the time will come when a real nationwide conversation about the Treaty of Waitangi, where it sits in our past, present and New Zealand’s future must be had.

Seymour’s determination to rewrite the last 50 years of legal decisions and thousands of court cases in one fell swoop won’t fly this time around. His bill will be killed at the second justice select committee sitting.

The same goes for Seymour’s disastrous start to his new budget lunch in schools programme. Looking to save costs is not a bad thing.

But ensuring food safety is a priority and what we don’t want to see is a child develop a serious illness because food was labelled wrong or not sealed correctly.

Eyebrows were raised when Compass - who have a history of problems in New Zealand and overseas, with issues relating to food quality and safety, meal sizes and workers’ rights - won the multimillion-dollar contract to supply the school lunches.

Associate Minister of Education David Seymour samples the menu as he announces the healthy school lunches programme at the banqueting hall in Parliament, Wellington.

Previously schools who qualified for the school lunch programme contracted local businesses to supply lunches and were well served. But the education ministry could not afford to continue with the model, where some lunches were costing $8.90 a pop.

But in the first two weeks of Compass delivery, there have been numerous complaints about the food, delays in delivery and the nutritional value of the food supplied. Some schools have opted to buy pizza or supply children with sausages and bread. Hardly top of the nutrition ladder.

Seymour then said students who receive the free lunch should just be grateful for what they get.

“These are free meals being paid by the taxpayer, they are very good according to many of the people receiving them,” Seymour told RNZ.

That’s just nasty, even by Seymour’s standards. Eat what you are given and give thanks it’s free? This is not Oliver Twist.

It would be interesting to see how long Seymour could last on the $3 budget lunch Compass is supplying to school children.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon expects Seymour to give the school lunch issues his “full attention”.

“David Seymour will work his way through those issues - he’s the minister responsible for it and I expect he will [find a solution],” Luxon said, while in Vietnam.

Carmel Sepuloni at one of the schools in her electorate checking out the new school lunch delivery.

Labour deputy leader Carmel Sepuloni has been visiting schools in her Kelston electorate checking on the new service and the nutritional value.

She has called for Seymour to resign over his failed school lunch programme.

But instead of offering a smorgasbord of kai to cater for a range of different tastes, Compass should stick to basics like fruit, a sandwich and yoghurt. It’s worked for generations of New Zealanders already.