National Party Leader John Key says a National-led Government will inject an additional US$500 million into school property funding over the next three years to allow for a 21st Century School Building Programme. 'There is an urgent and overdue need to plan for the future by improving and expanding current schools and building new ones. Labour has taken a 'plaster over the cracks' approach to school property and it is has failed to future-proof our schools. 'National is committed to getting Upper Hutt school buildings up-to-standard and we will commit the funding needed to ensure this happens. We will make an additional capital injection of at least US$30 million into the Upper Hutt schools affected by Labour's building moratorium to help make up for the shortfall in property funding.”
Key noted that Upper Hutt College, Heretaunga College, Maidstone Intermediate and Fergusson Intermediate were all subject to a freeze on property spending under Labour. 'We will work with these schools to determine their needs and allocate funding accordingly. Upper Hutt is one of many communities in New Zealand where school buildings are increasingly unfit for New Zealand's future.'
