Media Release
Parents’ Alliance cautiously welcomes ACT's fiscal plan but needs to know more
MEDIA RELEASE
11 October 2026
Parents' Alliance cautiously welcomes ACT's fiscal plan but needs to know more
The Parents' Alliance welcomes ACT's proposed funding for a new Epsom secondary school led by two of New Zealand’s best educators, a Year 11 Young Investors Fund, and Working with Children Check.
But the Parents’ Alliance says families need clearer answers on which Ministry of Education functions count as "frontline" particularly around learning support. More clarity is also needed on where disability support cuts would come from.*
“A new school in Epsom is badly needed as populations increase. The new school provides more choice for families and protects existing school zones,” said Parents’ Alliance Chair Cameron Bagrie.
“A key principle for the Parents’ Alliance is greater school choice for parents. The proposal to make the school unzoned provides parents across Auckland more school choice.”
“The Parents’ Alliance also supports the Year 11 Investors Fund and the Working with Children Check that is a portable national clearance for paid workers and volunteers who work with chidlren, with ongoing checks against new Police information," said Bagrie.
Act’s fiscal plan aims to reduce debt by $12.4 billion. ACT will return spending, outside protected frontline services, to its 2017 level per person, adjusted for inflation and population grown. ACT would cut other non-welfare spending back to 2017 levels but it hasn’t stated which Ministry of Education functions are ‘frontline’ education services.
"It is reassuring to hear that Act doesn’t want to cut frontline education services, but 'frontline' needs defining. Learning support, curriculum resources and teacher training are largely run outside the school gate. Parents deserve to know whether those are protected or on the chopping block."
“We also need to understand what the cuts to disabilities support funding means,” says Bagrie.
The Parents' Alliance is also seeking clarification on ACT's plan to save $653 million over four years from health and disability benefits. ACT names Jobseeker Support and the Supported Living Payment for reassessment, but its policy also refers to "all health and disability benefits".*
Parents need to know whether that includes the Child Disability Allowance, Disability Allowance, Individualised Funding, Enabling Good Lives or Carer Support. These help families pay for the therapies and specialist services that help children with disabilities learn, which schools often cannot provide or fund.
The Alliance is also concerned about assessments by MSD-approved doctors who don't know the child. For children with autism, intellectual disabilities or other complex needs, an unfamiliar assessor can be distressing and miss the full picture.
“ACT must say clearly which supports are affected, which are protected, and how it will spare families unnecessary reassessments,” says Bagrie.
ENDS
* ACT has since confirmed the policy focuses on Jobseeker Support – Health Condition or Disability and the Supported Living Payment
Media contact: Cameron Bagrie, Chair and Spokesperson, The Parents’ Alliance 027 290 9844
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About the Parents' Alliance: The Parents' Alliance The Parents’ Alliance Te Kotahitanga o ngā Mātua, Le Lotogatasi o Mātua, 家长联盟, पारिवारिक मंच is a national group building a collective voice for parents, grandparents and whānau in education.