But National s education spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says the proposed curriculum lacks balance. The themes are mainly about identity and identity politics. That s part of our story - but there are other elements to New Zealand s history, he says.
Questions such as how did we make a living as a country and grow to attain one of the highest living standards in the world don t feature prominently, he says, and deserve much more than a passing reference . New Zealand is also one the oldest democracies in the world, with strong traditions of freedom and the rule of law - which is rare in this world. How did those institutions develop? Again, this is not a central theme.