Our Inconvenient Truth

1 day ago
3 min read

by Rebecca Thomas

In 2006, An Inconvenient Truth shook the world awake.

I remember exactly where I was when I first watched it — that unmistakable lump in my throat, the burning urgency in my chest. I’ve played it countless times in staff PLD sessions, used it in classrooms with students. Al Gore’s sobering documentary laid bare the consequences of ignoring climate change — a slow-burning crisis gaining force with every passing moment of indifference.

But the line that has never left me was this: “How long will we look away?”

Two days ago, a new inconvenient truth was published — and this one hits even closer to home.

The latest UNICEF Innocenti Report Card 19 ranks Aotearoa New Zealand 32nd out of 39 high-income countries for child well-being.

We sit near the bottom on nearly every core measure:

36th in mental health
35th in physical health
25th in education and skills development

And yet — No government campaign.

No media blitz.

No televised urgency.

Just silence.

When the system fails our tamariki, the truth may be inconvenient — but ignoring it is unforgivable.

Between 2018 and 2022, our children experienced a decline in life satisfaction, physical health, and academic achievement. This isn’t theoretical. It’s not a footnote in a leaked government report. These are real children in real classrooms, carrying the weight of an indifferent system.

So if we’re not willing to ask the hard questions now — when?

What does a thriving education system actually look like?

Let’s take a look at the top-ranking countries from the very same UNICEF report:

Netherlands (1st overall)

Prioritises well-being and academic progress side by side
Shorter school days, more play, stronger student-teacher relationships
Teachers are trusted, respected, and well-supported

Denmark

Community-based schooling, deeply rooted in child development
Low-stakes assessment, built on high-trust models
Mental health and belonging are not extras — they’re embedded

France

Major investment in early childhood education
National frameworks for student mental health and social care

Meanwhile, here in Aotearoa...

Child poverty and inequality continue to rise
We’re in the middle of an acute teacher shortage — some roles remain unfilled for months
Schools are crying out for counsellors, learning support, behaviour teams, and simply functioning infrastructure

We are watching a slow-motion crisis. The suicide statistics are startling:

New Zealand continues to have the highest rate of youth suicide among OECD and EU countries — and that is a devastating truth. Even a slight improvement in the numbers cannot mask the fact that we remain in crisis.

And still, we pretend it’s manageable.

We’ve seen governments move with speed when headlines demand it. Emergency motions. Overnight law changes. But when it comes to child well-being?

No urgency. No movement. No plan.

This upcoming Budget is a perfect opportunity to show that this data matters — that our children matter. After all, we’ve seen this government move swiftly when it suits them.

Just yesterday, David Seymour announced $123 million for a new school attendance service.

More monitoring
More case management systems
More contracts and compliance

Yet still no commitment to the underlying causes of disengagement — mental distress, poverty, trauma, overworked teachers, and schools starved of relational supports.

You can’t data-manage your way out of disconnection.

You can’t monitor your way into belonging.

If a child doesn’t feel safe, seen, or supported at school, they won’t turn up. Not because they’re defiant — but because they’re in crisis.

Wouldn’t it be something to see $123 million put toward what truly keeps kids in school — their relationships, their mental health, their hauora?

I’ll even offer a few pointers if it helps:

Rebuild support services in and around schools — including mental health, learning support, and trauma-informed behavioural guidance
Sustainably invest in teacher workforce development — training, pay, and retention
Fund equity — make sure money gets to the communities and schools that need it most
Take a child-centred approach across all policy — education, housing, health, welfare. It’s all connected.

This is not just an education issue.

This is about the wellbeing of an entire generation.

The inconvenient truth?

We could fix this.

We have the knowledge.

We have global models to learn from.

We even have the money — when the moment is politically convenient.

Let’s refuse to look away.

Because yes, this truth may be inconvenient.

But it’s ours to face.