Former ACT party president Catherine Isaac is yet to be confirmed to head a charter schools trial but her appointment would have the support of the Prime Minister.
According to Fairfax Media, John Key told reporters at a National caucus retreat that while he thinks “very highly” of Ms Isaac, Associate Education Minister John Banks had jumped the gun in announcing her appointment this morning.
Mr Banks, Parliament's sole ACT MP, said this morning that Isaacs, who was second on the ACT party list last election, would head a five-member implementation committee for the charter schools.
Ms Isaac’s name was “in the mix,” Mr Key said, but Mr Banks was “one step ahead of the process”. Mr Key said the finalised appointment has not yet been made.
Ms Isaac’s potential employment has been criticised by the Green Party as “disturbing” and “jobs for the Government’s mates”, but Mr Key says this isn’t the case.
He also said the number of people applying for roles would be low if the Government ruled out candidates on the basis of their political affiliations.
“We as a Government have been quite careful with our appointments… we have appointed lots of people who have links to our opponents,” he said.
Mr Banks said Ms Isaac’s possible appointment was “very sensible” given her contacts within the public policy and education sector, and any suggestion of nepotism was “the negative spin of the media”.
The charter schools trials, which are part of ACT’s support agreement with the Government, will be carried out in Auckland and Christchurch
The trial charter schools are expected to be operational by the end of this Parliamentary term in 2014.
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