Document 3:

Parliamentary committees recommend

Strengthen NZ citizenship education
- MPs want Ed. Ministry encouraged

New Zealand's "Ministry of Education should be encouraged to strengthen the place of citizenship education in the curriculum and make more teaching resources available for this purpose".

This recommendation to the Government is made in the civics education section of the report on the Inquiry into the 2004 Local Authority Elections. This report of Parliament's Justice and electoral Committee, chaired by Labour MP Tim Barnett, was published under the authority of the House of Representatives on 10 August 2005.

The multi party committere said "all studies of citizenship education indicate that the lack of good resources is hindering the implementation of learning that promotes active participation as citizens, even when there is a strong desire for such education.

Find out more... full report is published online at http://www.clerk.parliament.govt.nz/Publications/CommitteeReport/

The Inquiry to review New Zealand's existing constitutional arrangements also reported to the House just before the 47th Parliament rose in August. The committee, chaired by Hon Peter Dunne, said " to foster greater understanding of our constitutional arrangements in the long term we recommend that increased effort should be made to improve civics and citizenship education in schools." The recommendation said this was " to provide young people with the knowledge needed to become responsible and engaged citizens".

Find out more...full report is published online at http://www.constitutional.parliament.govt.nz/