Green Party vote for education cuts AGAIN
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environment |
news report 
Monday July 03, 2006 03:17
by >>>>>> - NIPSA
Greens vote to cut public transport use
Green Party Councillor, Brian Wilson, on the Education Board for County Down has voted for the removal of concessionary bus passes for children.
As part of the government attack on education services in Co Down children will have their bus passes removed from the beginning of the new school term in September. The families of these children will face a choice of sending their children to school on foot or using cars (if they have them) to transport them to school.
Two Councillors on the Education Board, Charlie Tosh of the DUP and Brian Wilson of the Green Party, voted for the cuts.
The decision by the Green Party means that they have not only attacked the right of children to education again but they have directly attacked the use of public transport.
Comments (10 of 10)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10It's all too popular in mainstream press to accuse any unpopular political idea as being a deliberate attack on the people or our way of life, or even being just plain crazy. To honestly and conscientiously call this an "attack", you would first have to have analysed the figures, and proved that what is being proposed really MUST have a negative (ie, undesired) effect. Cutting funding is not necessarily bad, if people are wasting money, and the money encourages bad practises.
Oh, I was mislead a little by the title (cuts in education itself, rather than bus passes), and just skimmed the article to see that you didn't provide an argument to back up your claims. Yes, this is a little more clear-cut. I apologise for bringing up the need for research here, since it's not entirely relevant. Hopefully it will still provide food for thought for future articles though, and you can accept it that spirit that it was offered :)
Modern industrial urban consumer society is the result of the mass education as individuals seek to exploit resources.
This must be immediately halted.
Can't you see that?
Lee I am not sure where the confusion arises but I will try to clarify things.
Education services in the South Eastern Education and Library Board area, Co Down, have been under attack by the government.
The government give a reduced budget to the Board in March.
The administration of that budget is controlled by a 34 member board which is appointed by the Minister for Education.
One of the Board members is Brian Wilson a Green Party Councillor from Bangor.
Brain Wilson voted to accept the original budget proposal in March.
Brian Wilson subsequently voted to cut concessionary bus passes for children in the SEELB area.
This means that these children will no longer get access to bus services.
In these circumstance parents are faced with three choices
Pay for the bus pass
Make their children walk to school
Use private transport
I think you will agree that this means that the Green Party rep has voted for cuts and has voted for a policy which will mean more cars on the roads.
Surely the kids have other options on how to get school.
We're in the 21 st century now, kids have skateboards, rollerblades and bikes.
So just coz they don't have a bus anymore doesn't mean they have to end up putting more cars on the road.................... does it?
I am sure there are one hundred and one interesting ways you could make your way to school but I think that most people would accept that public transport is the best option. Not many parents are over joyed to send their young children out early morning in mid winter in the rain to cycle, walk or pogo to school.
The point the article is making (badly it would seem) is that a party that advocates the use of public transport has voted to make it unavailable to children.
The Green Party have let down children again!
Sounds like the Green Party are as bad as Sinn Fein and Labour when it comes to meekly implementing the capitalist agenda.
Education Boards in Northern Ireland are one of the few bodies with real powers where the political parties have been in action.
The following parties sit on boards, Alliance, SF, DUP, UUP, SDLP and Greens.
All have voted for cuts at one stage or another (though there are individuals who to their credit have fought against them).
The Greens have taken a place on the Boards for the first time this year and it is fair to say many people thought that they might have been more radical than the rest.
It turns out they are just another anti working class pro cuts party.
Dissapointed but not suprised to hear the Green party councllor voting the way he did. What has suprised me is some of the "Green" comments above. Anyone who has any kind of social concience must oppose these cuts. Some of the "Flippant " remarks above clearly show the Greens up for what they really are.
Being part of the struggle to maintain services for children within SEELB has been an eye-opener to say the least.
People have voted, and not known what exactly they are voting for or against.
A Board member has come in to the Board room whilst a vote was in progress, asked what was being voted for, put BOTH hands in the air, and said, "my side are saying yes (to cuts), so I must also, even though I do not know what its for".
Disgraceful, shocking, and sometimes unbelievable.
I'll make no bones in saying if there is a hell, I hope these people rot in it!
Brian Wilson was an example of a poorly prepared Board member who made choices, the wrong choices, then never appeared at SEELB again. As he is no longer my employer, I say.......
Shame on this excuse for a man!
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