Canary in the Mine

New Zealanders have little appetite for ditching the monarchy and creating a republic, a major new poll shows. The Fairfax-ACNielsen poll showed a large majority of Kiwis would prefer to keep the Queen as head of state than see the country go it alone. Only 27 per cent of those surveyed in the poll taken last week said they thought New Zealand should become a republic, while 63% said it should not.

It is time to rethink our multicultural society. "It is a sign of the paucity of debate in Britain that multiculturalism is used interchangeably with 'immigration'. It is, instead, a specific form of immigration where the foreigners are not encouraged to integrate. The alternative is the "melting pot" method of integrationism used by the United States, whose newcomers must learn English, salute the flag and sign up to a set of values. They must buy into a basic idea that they have to belong. This would be seen as cultural imperialism in Britain, where a mosaic-style of immigration has been preferred. The natural consequence has been segregated ghettos - and pockets of radicalism, left alone to seethe. Americans look on aghast at the Britain's immigration mismanagement. "You seem to shun these folks off to the side, and let them behave as if they never left Islamabad," says Deroy Murdock, fellow at the Atlas Foundation. Even in Islamabad, the Pakistan Times had this to say last week: "The sad fact is that Muslims in the UK have turned their face from the obligation to integrate with British society at large." The penny is dropping, worldwide. Trevor Phillips, head of the Commission for Racial Equality, warned last year that it was time to end multiculturalism, as the segregation it breeds had simply entrenched inequality. It is time to "assert a core of Britishness".

The NZ Government is to cut $160 million of funding from polytechnic courses labelled "low value" in a major shake-up of tertiary education, Education Minister Trevor Mallard announced today.

"It is significant that despite the heavy school taxes which all must pay, an increasing number of parents are willing to assume the added burden of private tuition to assure their children the kind of educational discipline they want them to have. Many families are prepared to forego expensive gewgaws in order to do this, believing that the scholastic and ethical standards are higher in private than in government schools. They are scarcely in the mood for expensive frills and experiments of dubious value, preferring to have a more direct and final say about what, how, and by whom their children are taught. If they are not intrigued by efforts to instill in their offsprings’ minds enthusiasm for the United Nations, world government, TVA experiments, and “progressive” education, but prefer that they be instructed in the background and meaning of our Constitution, the clear and precise use of our language, and the mastery of mathematics or another language or two, they would like to choose their school. Many American parents feel rightly that they, and not the State, should be responsible for what their children become; that education should be divorced from political control; and that those who prefer private instruction for their children should not be taxed for the upkeep of facilities which they did not choose nor curricula to which they do not want them exposed."

Children are starting primary school unable to sit up straight or hold a pencil because they lack basic skills. A group of primary schools on Auckland's North Shore say growing numbers of five-year-olds are starting school lacking essential motor skills. Some teachers suggest the problem is linked to a mania for safety outdoors which conditions people to avoid risks. At least one is telling parents to concentrate more on teaching pre-schoolers to hit a ball than read a book.

In case you need to know, here's the United Future party list.

If you were of the generation dosed daily with cod liver oil - and no doubt, like me, hated it - it's now time to thank your parents. The behaviour of pre-school children improves dramatically when given a daily dose of fish oils, according to the first study made into dietary supplements for young people under the age of three.

Edward Heath, who took the UK into the European Economic Community as the nation's prime minister in 1973, has died. He was 89.

Be warned: the following site has the complete chapter-by-chapter summary of the latest Harry Potter book (including who kissed who, and who dies). Hint: It was not Edward Heath.