The Petition has moved to https://petitions.parliament.nz/5a099f8c-ed93-4450-1bb9-08dba4353411 so please sign and share from there. To present it to Parliament it needs to be on their official page. Thank you!

We, the families living in Horokiwi, kindly request the Ministry of Education to reevaluate and modify our present school zoning options. Currently, our children are zoned only for schools in Lower Hutt, which leads to significant inconvenience and extended travel times for parents working in Wellington City.

As a unique suburb situated between Wellington City and Lower Hutt, we face considerable challenges due to no public transport options and no direct access to Horokiwi Road from SH2 Southbound. Our community requires more schooling choices to better fulfill residents' needs. This problem has persisted for years, and we want this to change.

At present, if a child from Horokiwi attends Hutt Valley High School (which is the secondary school we are zoned for), the daily morning commute for a parent dropping off their child at school and then proceeding to work in the city is approximately 60 minutes. Subsequently, when it is time to collect their child from school, parents must exit the city and drive to Lower Hutt (while passing the turn off to Horokiwi Road), retrieve their child, and return towards Wellington – eventually making a U-turn at Ngauranga Gorge to rejoin the motorway and head towards Horokiwi Road. This journey takes another 60 minutes! Inevitably, this commute becomes even longer in instances of heavy traffic or when children engage in after-school activities that coincide with rush hour.  At the very least, parents spend 2 hours every day commuting – adding up to an overwhelming 10 hours per week!

Alternatively, if the zoning included Wellington Colleges (e.g., Wellington Girls College), the travel times would be significantly reduced. A 30-minute drive into the city would suffice for both school drop-offs and work commutes in the morning while afternoons would require only 20 minutes for return trips from work and school to home. Zoning for boys' or co-ed colleges within Wellington City would still bring considerable advantages in terms of reduced commuting times. Plus, it offers the advantage of public bus transportation for children within the city. Several Horokiwi families already have children attending primary schools like Thorndon Primary School within Wellington City.

We know that some Horokiwi families benefit from Lower Hutt school zoning because of their own personal circumstances; therefore, we do not advocate for its removal. Instead, we call upon the Ministry of Education to offer alternative zoning options that would significantly improve travel times for those employed in Wellington City, while also benefiting our children and making a positive impact on the community.

There is also the additional concern unique to Wellington which involves the potential isolation from children in Lower Hutt in the event of an earthquake or flooding. The prospect of being stranded in the city without the ability to reach children at the other end of the motorway during a natural disaster is a genuine concern.

We respectfully request that the Ministry of Education take swift action and explore alternative school zoning options for our community.