Kura and kōhanga reo providers won't get support from ACT leader David Seymour for any bid to set up a separate Kura Kaupapa-Wharekura commission to allocate their funding.
Seymour told the host of The Hui Julian Wilcox that when money was allocated under a previous National-ACT Government for charter or partnership schools, it was done from a single provider.
"There weren't two parallel boards with different sets of conditions getting taxpayer money."
Seymour also doubled down on ACT's promise to abolish pre-sentencing reports into the cultural background of offenders, saying the focus needs to be on the victim not the defendant.
And he pointed to the disproportionate number of Māori who are victims of crime.
"This approach to crime of thinking that the offender's welfare is more important than the victim ain't been good for anyone."
Seymour defended his decision to publicly share a code designed to lift COVID-19 vaccinations amongst Māori.
Wilcox told Seymour that although Māori are around 15 percent of the population, 38 percent of those who died with COVID-19 under the age of 60 were Māori - and challenged him over whether his actions in releasing the code had contributed to that outcome.
The ACT leader said if anything he had helped make more people aware of the code. He added that although many Māori have worse health outcomes, there are also many Māori who do not need the extra assistance.
"There are much better ways to achieve equitable outcomes than racial profiling."
Made with support from New Zealand On Air and Te Māngai Pāho.
