ACT Party leader David Seymour. Photo / Alex Burton.
ACT Party leader David Seymour. Photo / Alex Burton.
The Act Party is calling on Auckland University to scrap its compulsory courses covering the Treaty of Waitangi, describing the course as a “perversion of academic freedom” and “indoctrination”.
The University of Auckland launched its Waipapa Taumata Rau (WTR) courses this semester, which are compulsory for first-year undergraduates.
A university spokesperson defended the courses, saying they are faculty-specific and relevant to the student’s studies.
“The courses focus on knowledge associated with this place [including Te Tiriti o Waitangi], our university, our city and our country and why it matters for their programme.”
Act Party leader David Seymour said while there is “an element of truth” that the University of Auckland is independent and can do what it wants, he intends to “appoint better people” to the university council who he said have the “ultimate say”.
Seymour said he was frustrated the university hadn’t ”quite got the memo that the people changed the government”.
ACT leader David Seymour talks about free speech at a Hong Kong protest held at the University of Auckland Quad in 2020. Photo / Peter Meecham
“I’ve had so many constituents in the Epsom electorate who are students who say this is not only not of interest to us but more importantly it’s a perversion of academic freedom.”
Seymour said professors are usually “free to criticise the course material” and it was unusual for a course to be compulsory across the university.
“This is quite different, it is actually a form of indoctrination because it’s largely being taught by people outside a particular faculty, for frankly political purposes rather than educational.
“Unfortunately, I’m hearing a lot of people, particularly in the electorate I represent, are now looking at overseas universities because they feel unable to speak up against these things and they know it’s not the best for their future”.
“It’s no wonder Auckland University is slipping down the international rankings when they’re charging students up to $5730 for a course that has no relevance to their studies or future careers abroad,” Parmar said.
The course cost is the same or similar to most of the universities' other 100-level courses for international students.
A university spokesperson said there were five different courses on offer, one for each faculty, which “will be particularly helpful for students coming from outside of Auckland including our international students”.
“The WTR courses offer core knowledge and essential skills to help transition new students into university, helping them adjust to university life and setting them up for success in their future studies.”
Each course is different, with the focus being on the content and skills needs of each faculty, the spokesperson said.
The Act Party posted a photoshopped Tui beer ‘Yeah right’-style meme mocking University of Auckland's international ranking on social media.
“For example, in the Faculty of Arts and Education, WTR 100 explores how histories and cultures inform the diverse knowledge systems underpinning arts, creative practices, education, humanities and social sciences.
“In the Faculty of Business and Economics, WTRBUS 100 uses a Māori-owned business as a case study to demonstrate knowledge systems relevant to business.”
DB Breweries-owned Tui launched a broadside of its own on Facebook late last night, jabbing the libertarian party with a meme of their own: “Tui, the official beer of Act - Yeah right”.
“Hey @actnewzealand, keep my beers’ name out of your mouth”, Tui posted above the meme, in a nod to the infamous moment actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock across the face for jokes about his wife at the 2022 Oscars.
The University of Auckland has been approached for comment regarding Seymour’s latest claims.
Jaime Lyth is a multimedia journalist for the New Zealand Herald, focusing on crime and breaking news. Lyth began working under the NZ Herald masthead in 2021 as a reporter for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei.
