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Weta Workshop co-owner Richard Taylor has waded into a row criticising the Government for its failure to fund the Dyslexia Foundation.
The multiple Oscar-winning Wellingtonian, who has won awards for his work on movies such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong, said children who struggled in school because they used a different part of their brains needed support and respect.
"We entrust our children to the education system and we rightly expect it to accommodate them and provide a supportive learning environment that allows their true potential to be revealed, regardless of the child's particular attributes or challenges," said Mr Taylor, who is dyslexic.
Mr Taylor's comments followed revelations last week that the Government had not come up with a specific funding package to target dyslexia.
Education Minister Chris Carter has instead committed to improving accessibility to information on dyslexia, and pointed to an annual $43.5 million package allocated for dyslexic children within a wider funding package aimed at literacy.
But this has disappointed the Dyslexia Foundation of New Zealand, which had high expectations that they were to receive financial assistance to develop specific programmes.
Dyslexia Foundation of New Zealand trustee chairman, Guy Pope-Mayell, said he had received assurances from Labour Ministers Steve Maharey and Mr Carter that funding would be available.
"He gave me an assurance the programme would be supported financially and here we are in the middle of 2008 and we don't have anything specific.
"Our argument is dyslexia represents 10 per cent of the population so it needs to be specifically funded and there needs to be [specific] initiatives, which is what we put to the minister.
"But he at this point in time has failed to deliver any specific package related to that."
Mr Pope-Mayell said about $10 million was needed for the professional development of teachers to address the needs of dyslexic students who are thought to number about 70,000.
"What we're wanting from Government is an indication that it's not just lip service but that they are going to deliver something."
The Herald put questions to Mr Carter but he was unavailable for comment.
A spokesman from Mr Carter's office said the minister would "continue to look at ways he can work with the foundation".
