The leader of New Zealand’s libertarian ACT Party David Seymour is pushing Auckland University to end what he calls the “indoctrination” of first-year students by forcing them to pass compulsory courses on Māori history.
The “Waipapa Taumata Rau” courses, covering the Treaty of Waitangi and traditional Māori knowledge systems, cost international students up to $5,370, which is the same or similar cost to most other 100-level courses for international students. It was launched this semester.
Last year, the university dropped out of the Times Higher Education top 150 universities ranking for the first time since 2020.
Seymour said it was evident the university hadn’t “quite got the memo that the people changed the government,” and that while there is “an element of truth” to the fact that universities are independent and in charge of their curriculums, he intends to “appoint better people” to the university council, which he says has “the ultimate say.”
He pointed out that professors are usually “free to criticise the course material,” and that it was unusual for a course to be compulsory across the university.
“It is actually a form of indoctrination because it’s largely being taught by people outside a particular faculty, for frankly political purposes rather than educational,” he said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, I’m hearing a lot of people, particularly in the electorate I represent, are now looking at overseas universities because they feel unable to speak up against these things and they know it’s not the best for their future.
While the population of Seymour’s seat of Epsom is predominantly European, it has a significant Asian population. The median household income is $118,300—the highest of all New Zealand electorates.
A university spokesperson defended the courses, saying they are relevant to the students’ studies.
“The courses focus on knowledge associated with this place [including the Treaty], our university, our city and our country and why it matters for their programme,” they said in a statement to the New Zealand Herald.
There are five different courses on offer, one for each faculty, which will be “particularly helpful for students coming from outside of Auckland, including our international students.
“The courses offer core knowledge and essential skills to help transition new students into university, helping them adjust to university life and setting them up for success in their future studies.”
