Fit? I don't fink so.

Since the new Tory government took power there has been a lot of talk about whether or not some of its Ministers are fit to do their job.

The likes of Kate Wilkinson, have clearly shown they're out of their depth.

Paula Bennett and Judith Collins have so far toed the party line and really only initiated the sort of populist agenda on which their party was elected - boot camps and container prisons. Neither has shown they have the vision needed to be truly effective ministers.

Bill English, while probably a very good Minister of Finance (depending on your economic views, of course), has exposed the self righteous, born-to-rule mentality that is the underbelly of modern Tory outfits.

There are several National ministers who are simply doing what all Tory Ministers will do and probably doing it competently (again depending on your political views) and there are those such as Phil Heatley and his Hoki quota - a stupid, ideologically driven move that reeks of the old boys' club and gins with the Talleys (Open Country, anyone?).

And then there is Anne Tolley. It seemed she'd been in the chair for seconds before she poured millions into private schools while gutting long standing and valuable community education courses nationwide. Now, we know that Tories hate any kind of adult, community or further education that isn't focused on producing factory fodder. Some of us are old enough to remember the attacks on the WEA. A conspiracy theorist might suggest that this attitude has to do with keeping the prols in their place but I couldn't possibly comment. I am, however, gobsmacked by Tolley's latest cock up. The link at the top of this post refers to Tolley backing out of plan to cut 770 teachers from our educational workforce. Many will view this as a good decision but let's look at the process. Tolley is quoted as saying she backed out of the plan at the last minute when she realised that it referred "actual" - well - people. I'm not sure what she thought cutting staff must have meant but you've got question her competency - and her motives.
She has clearly said that she has promised to carry through on a commitment to cut $50 million from the education budget. I'm not sure where she intends to make these savings but an amount like that has to affect staffing levels at some point. So we can start to come to some sort of conclusion about her fitness to do her job:

Either Anne Tolley is willing to gut education to reach her budgetary goal, in which case she’s leaving an appalling legacy behind her;

or she’s not competent enough to read the difference between actual cuts and cuts to recruitment.

I am sadly afraid it is probably the former but if not it has to be the latter.

Either way - like too many of her colleagues her fitness for office has to be questioned.