Does anyone ever feel like we are living in a Day of the Triffids scenario? Except it’s not an aggressive plant attacking us, but rather those who are pushing 100 genders and blinding the children and the woke  I will gladly not be woke to save our children from following the pied piper of Hamelin.

Speaking of following…

Most people have some sort of spiritual belief. Christians, follow God and the word in the Bible. They believe He created them male and female (Genesis  1:27). 

Therefore when a Christian teacher is stood down, and stripped of his or her teaching registration because they would not go against their core beliefs, one has to question this being a sackable offense? 

What I am talking about? We have just learnt that the Teachers Council has terminated the right to teach for a teacher who would not follow the Ministry of Education's dictates that teachers call a student by their preferred ‘gender identity’.

Did we see this coming? If not we should have! Yes, this has occurred in New Zealand. Yet, when I was questioned in a Select Committee presentation back in 2019 regarding the Ministry of Education teaching children radical sexual education, MP Kieran McAnulty said he didn’t think NZ had a problem.

Five years ago, while a teacher,  I called this out - teaching children that they can be born in the wrong body. I was told by most teachers that it wasn’t happening.   Well NZ does have a problem and responsible adults telling children and young people that they can choose to be a boy if they are a girl, or vice versa. All this has come about because radical groups of gender activists have wormed their way into the corridors of power.

We now have State endorsed grooming of our children, your children.

This is what the Teachers Council had to say about this teacher who was prepared to stand up for Biblical beliefs.

“He is entitled to his views and religious beliefs. What we must do is consider whether he has insight and rehabilitative prospects that we could address.” 

Or did they mean ‘re-education’? We all know what that looks like. Involuntary political indoctrination. Oh, wait, that’s already happening in our schools. I think it is safe to say that given this teacher has had his registration taken from him, the Teaching Council won’t be reinstating it anytime soon. 

This is a direct and full-on attack on Christianity. Are we going to see every Christian school or educator hounded when all they are doing is what every person has a fundamental right to do? Let’s make our human rights under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights clear.

Universal Declaration 

Article 18

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in a community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes the freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through media and regardless of frontiers.

In the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act it states..

13.  Freedom of thought, conscience, and religion

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, and belief,

including the right to adopt and to hold opinions without interference.

14.  Freedom of expression

Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, including the freedom to seek,

receive, and impart information and opinions of any kind in any form.

15 Manifestation of religion and belief

Every person has the right to manifest that person’s religion or belief in worship,

observance, practice, or teaching, either individually or in community

with others, and either in public or in private.

When every Christian or person with a religious belief is vilified and discriminated against, tarnished with derogatory terms, and our country turns a blind eye, this will become the accepted norm.

Well, not anymore. Many groups on the Left say they want inclusion, but that works both ways. Inclusion means accepting that some people have different views. But we accept them, even if we disagree with them. That’s part of being a pluralistic society.

The question is, when and when is it not justifiable for the Teaching Council to infringe on the rights of an employee? This act of the Teaching Council is inconsistent with this teacher's right under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

If elected, New Conservative will work to ensure this sort of suppression of human rights is not possible. New Conservative will work in Parliament to make the Bill of Rights supreme. 

Moving forward then,  how do we address the protection for the teacher and then the rights of the student? One way would be to keep politically charged ideologies out of the school environment. Only a few years ago this nonsense about changing pronouns would have been laughed at or called out as a conspiracy theory. 

Back to the Teaching Council. Here is my personal experience.

Recently I was successful in creating a  Citizens-initiated-Referendum. The purpose of the referendum was to call for a halt to teaching that our children can be born in the wrong body and that they could change their sex. In the Council's opposition to it, I was told.

“Gender equality is a fundamental human right and means ensuring that everybody has an equal opportunity and is not discriminated against because of their characteristics. We believe that gender diversity, the knowledge/education about it, and the appreciation of it should be treated in the same way to promote human rights.”

Here the Teaching Council conflates gender equality with gender diversity and it is clear that the discrimination is about the two gender (sexes) being given equal weight, not about some deluded idea that there is a gender spectrum. Their code describes all the ways a teacher can be at odds with their expected standards. 

In their letter to me opposing my referendum, they make a not-so-subtle threat of disciplinary actions against me personally as a teacher, for not toeing the line of parroting gender diversity as normal or by affirming someone’s false sense of self.

So in essence by using my citizens' right to bring a referendum, I will be sanctioned and it is highly likely that my teaching career will be finished.

Strike 3, I’m out, Even criminals don’t go straight to Strike 3, they are lucky to get a slap on the wrist.  So now in this country standing up for what you believe is now an offense that will result in the termination of your career.  What a warped government we have! Is this the New Zealand we want? 

Helen Houghton

Leader New Conservative