Craig Foss: no care, no responsibility

Craig Foss is hiding behind his officials as he desperately tries to avoid taking responsibility for the Novopay debacle, says Nanaia Mahuta.

As Associate Education Minister, Craig Foss is in charge of overseeing the introduction of the new teachers’ pay system.  But he is refusing to answer Written Parliamentary Questions (attached) about the length of time it is taking to answer queries from schools about the myriad of pay botch-ups over the last two months.

“Craig Foss is in denial over Novopay.  He should be fronting up to teachers and the public, but instead he is trying to shove the blame for the system’s failings onto the Ministry of Education.

“The Ministry must take its share of responsibility for the situation, but the Associate Minister should be accountable too.  It’s not good enough for him to refuse to answer questions by saying it’s the Ministry’s responsibility and nothing to do with him.

“It may come as a surprise to Mr Foss, but his annual paycheque as a Minister of $257,800 comes with some responsibilities.  What is the point of having an Associate Education Minister if he won’t step-up when there are major problems on his patch?

“Obviously he never asked the right questions before the new system was rolled out.  Now he won’t even answer simple, relevant questions.

“Craig Foss has let teachers, principals, schools and students down.  Instead of ducking for cover he should get on with the job he is paid to do - making sure that teachers are paid on time and in full for the good work that they do,” says Nanaia Mahuta.