KEY POINTS:
National has accused Labour of "blind ideology" for criticising plans to allow the private sector to build and own state schools, saying such an initiative was a key education policy of Labour's own "beloveds" - the British Labour Party.
National's education spokeswoman, Katherine Rich, said encouraging private sector investment in state schools was now "mainstream Labour Party policy in the United Kingdom and Australia".
Although Education Minister Steve Maharey has slated National's proposals, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair widely promoted private sector involvement in the state schooling system.
Earlier this year, Mr Blair credited it with modernising schools more quickly, bringing more business, expertise and money into the education system and described it as "an opportunity to revolutionise education by harnessing the best of the public and private sectors".
Mr Maharey has said National's proposal was further evidence the party was hell-bent on privatisation.
Ms Rich said Maharey's response was empty ideological ranting.
"This [private investment in state schooling] is part of Steve Maharey's beloved Tony Blair's famous 'third way'. Maharey has drawn all his ideas from that, yet he conveniently forgets this part."
Ms Rich also accused Labour of hypocrisy, saying Mr Maharey had presided over the biggest expansion of private provision in the early childhood sector that the country had ever seen.
Mr Maharey hit back by saying the National Party was trying to distract attention from what he expected would be a hugely unpopular policy.
"I welcome the National Party going to the polls next time and telling New Zealanders that they want schools to make a profit for a private investor and that they will allow the division between the haves and the have-nots to emerge."
He said New Zealand, Australia and Britain all had very different education systems.
New Zealand aligned itself more closely with countries with robust public education systems, such as Finland, Denmark and Sweden.
He doubted anyone would refer to the British school system as one New Zealand should emulate, he said.
"We are regarded as the sixth-best education system in the world."
Mr Maharey's concerns won backing from NZ First, whose education spokesman, Brian Donnelly, said schools were "not a commodity to be exploited for profit by National's privatising mates".
He said the common theme running through National's comments on education, health, the partial sale of some state assets, and the education path was privatisation.
"The key question National has failed to answer is who will get rich from its plans and who will pay."
