(RELAXED HIP-HOP MUSIC) Tonight ` teaching and bad language. A long time ago... The kids love her... High five. ...and so does the boss. I think Razia is an excellent teacher. I really do. But the bureaucrats don't like the way she talks. (SIGHS) It was a bit devastating. Plus, a dad gets hit with a fine... ...because the camera couldn't see the kids. It was hard to see, but there you can just sort of see Archie's head just jutting up above there. It's a fine defence, but it's fallen on deaf ears. There was three people in the vehicle. Do they not include children as people? And a real sticky situation. I've got myself a mess, mate. Topsoil ` great for growing veggies. But this stuff is driving him potty. I was pretty pissed off, to be quite honest. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2018 Kia ora, welcome to the show. Teaching is the one profession that creates all other professions. But it is in trouble ` big trouble. We have too many kids and too few teachers. The shortage is affecting secondary, intermediate, primary and early childhood sectors. It's expected to go from bad to worse in the coming years. And, if this story is anything to go by, we can't help but feel bureaucracy has a bit to answer for. Here's Gill. (CHILDREN CHATTER) Every child has a dream of what they might be one day. Dancer. Pirate. I'm a ballerina. Same goes for Razia, even as a grown up ` one dream that she thought was pretty achievable. Early childhood teacher. But despite accolades from parents,... From day one, I remembered Razia being the best. ...the support of employers... I think Razia's an excellent teacher. I really do. ...and a bachelor's degree done here in New Zealand,... It was really good. Mostly I've gotten, like, As and Bs. A long time ago... ...her passion for a career path in early childhood teaching is being denied. She applied for her provisional registration which we all fully expected that she would get, but that didn't happen. Why? Well, apparently, her English isn't up to scratch. (SIGHS) It was a bit devastating. And to be honest, it was soul destroying. (GASPS) Do you think the bear is trouble? Sounds good enough to us. But because Razia was born overseas, she has to take a language test like IELTS, and until she passes... You're still regarded as an unqualified teacher, so your level of degree and your three years of hard work means nothing. This is despite speaking English as she grew up in Fiji... My education basically was all conducted and instructed in English. ...and years of study in English for her degree in Auckland. You have to do presentations; you have to write essays; you have to do research. So what were some of the topics you covered? So there was holistic development; there was building relationships. There was te reo Maori as well. I asked the teaching council why that wasn't enough. Because often these people are coming from a country where English is a second language. And so we need to be assured that that level of language proficiency in English is sufficient to be good teacher in New Zealand. Yes. Thing is, the owners of this centre truly believe Razia's English is good enough. We understand that there are standards to be maintained in our profession, and that should be the case, absolutely. What we are saying is the council is making it unnecessarily difficult for some teachers like Razia who, we believe, have proven their English capabilities through their studies, through their residency, through previous jobs they've had in this country in New Zealand. And what do you think of her English? I think it's excellent. We have never ever had issue with Razia's English, not once. But we have an issue with IELTS. Of four tests, it's the most common, because it's the most easily accessible. But is it the most easily understood? On its website, this describes what they're testing ` I can understand that they might find that difficult. But we're only wanting level 7. And level 7 is good. It's not perfect. The test has four parts, all requiring level 7. Razia has been really close. Reading - 7. Speaking ` 7. Listening ` 7. But writing ` 6.5. Where am I losing my 0.5 in my writing? I've got no idea. I got myself through my degree, you know. There was nothing wrong. It all went so well. My academic script was so brilliant. Why, why, why am I losing that 0.5, and where? It's not like she hasn't given it a good go. I've taken it five times. But she's none the wiser about where she's going wrong. Are you losing 0.5 in your grammar? Or are you losing that 0.5 in your spelling? Or are you losing that 0.5 because you are not putting things in right paragraph? Because they can't get their tests back to learn from their mistakes. Do you think that's a failing? I think that if you're looking at it from a teaching perspective, it possibly is. So what are you planning to do? We're currently looking at another range of tests that might be more culturally appropriate. Put it away. About time, says Razia, but too late for her. With a daughter and another in the oven, finances are tight and three years of study has been costly. So for the actual test is where you pay $385. She's paid that five times, plus forking out for tutoring. For the last 3 years, I think I've nearly spent $14,000. Can you please get me the spices as well? Money is one of the reasons passing's so important. Registered, she'd start at $23 an hour. Unregistered, it's just $18 an hour. Getting paid at the rate where a person who is working in a supermarket is getting, what's point of the whole degree? Where is number three on the board? It affects her day-to-day working too. Ka pai! You can't be on the floor on your own. You have to be with a person who is a registered teacher. I cannot open centre on own; I cannot close centre on own. I can't be on a management level. Where's the numbers? Where? There! Behind you! (GASPS) So the cost to Razia is high, but some say it's also bad for early childhood teaching as a whole. Because we don't have enough teachers here in New Zealand. We do need to get overseas teachers to come in. And it annoys me, I think. Annoys Kirsty and I that the council will put initial obstacles in the path of these fabulous teachers who just can't get qualified. What would you like to see happen? I'd like to see IELTS test abolished altogether, if I'm honest. It was designed by the British council in the UK. It's been around for a number of years, at least 30 years. It's out of date. I'd love to see a New Zealand-designed test. I'd love to see te reo Maori being part of that test as well. Tahi, rua... Razia can use te reo Maori, plus Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi, should they be needed. Give a high five in the air. Now, though, as a last ditch attempt, Razia's hoping some testimonials sent in by staff and parents will persuade the council to give her registration without having to pass. Keeping our fingers crossed that this time, we might be able to get it through. And what if they say no? It'd be hard for me. I might not proceed with my teaching career. But she can. Would you believe it ` just before we went to air... How are you? So good news. Thank you. Thank you... Razia's registration was approved. Amazing. And have you told your husband yet? (LAUGHS) There was lots of tears. To be honest, it's a big, big achievement for me personally. Thank you so much for all that has come true today. Now, that is a good outcome. Yes. And good on you, Razia, for sticking with it. Yeah, exactly. And well done to the Teaching Council too for changing your mind. A bit of discretion often involves a bit of common sense. We could do with a lot more of that in this country. Yes. All right. Coming up after the break ` are you sick of soaring petrol prices? Have you noticed it's really expensive now for you to fill up? Oh, yes. The signs are clear. Motorists have had enough. But are we guilty of wasting petrol? It's pretty obvious, but giving your car some love can go a long way ` literally. And a young dad is pinged in the T3 lane. Pretty angry, to be honest about it. But he really does have a fine defence. There was three people in the vehicle. Do they not include children as people? * Welcome back. Petrol prices have been a hot topic of conversation lately. Now, the Government reckons we're getting fleeced at the pump. But are we really? There's no denying the price seems to be going up and up. But could we do more to spend less? Here's Anna. With petrol prices hitting an all-time high, filling up the tank these days will cost you a whole lot more. Have you noticed it in your pocket yet? Yeah, definitely. Yeah. Very expensive. This is about the best-priced Mobil in... pretty much in Auckland, really. Um, to get the cheaper fuel, I don't mind queuing. Let's see what Jacinda turns up with this opening of the books. From Te Anau ` 2.48 a litre. The Mount ` 2.26. Wanaka ` 2.63. And if you're in Auckland, just getting to the pump for a decent deal can cost you, at least in time. Yep, that's a queue. So what can you do to keep your running costs down in between trips to the servie? First up, drive smoothly. No fast acceleration followed by harsh braking. Safe following distances and maintaining the speed limit. Be cool about keeping cool. Your air conditioning is effective at cooling your car, but so is winding your window down. So in slow-moving traffic around town, you might save fuel by having your window open on nice hot summer's day. Heavy loads use more fuel, so don't use your car for storage! Your car's working harder. Everything's under my duress. And it can just be unnecessary and just burning more fuel for no reason. And it's pretty obvious, but giving your car some love can really go a long way ` literally. Loving your car means giving it some maintenance. And your engine loves clean oil, and if it's operating satisfactorily, then it will use less fuel. Try to avoid short trips. They really suck the gas. Cold engines don't run very efficiently, so if you're going to do a trip, then it needs to be a minimum of 15 minutes. And if you're one of the drivers joining queues like this for gas-grabbing deals... # Money on my mind. Money on my mind. You should know, it might not be worth the savings. 30 to 40 minutes waiting in a queue of traffic, driving out of your way to get there ` the gains would be very negligible. Consider, you know, is it really worth it? But if the price of petrol gets any higher, maybe the best answer is to just stop driving. I've got a lot of weights in my car ` workout quite a bit. I'm going to leave them in the garage now. I can see that, yes. LAUGHS: Yes. Now, don't worry, we also didn't leave the bag of rubbish on that berm. We're not like that. No. That's not us. Right. Continuing with our motoring theme ` let's talk T2, T3 lanes. You get them in most big cities. They give car poolers a fast track to their destination. And check this out, those in the provinces ` the average Aucklander spends about two weeks a year in traffic jams, so you can understand why people are tempted to use and abuse the old T2 and T3 lane. Yes, but what happens when you're falsely accused and the authorities won't listen? Here's Garth. If you've ever been here, in heavy traffic... Lily, Lily. Kids a bit more cramped than usual. Put your foot on your own seat. At that moment, would there be anything better than a T3 lane? A stretch of road whose sole purpose is to get all three of you quickly past that jam. Paul Martin took the T3 lane and wound up in another jam. And just trying to get somebody to listen to me. He's facing a hefty fine. If I was liable for it, I'd just pay it. It's 170 bucks, but it's also a principle at stake. I don't wanna pay it, cos I'm not liable for it. There was three people in the vehicle. Do they not include children as people? Paul's problem is that he says young Lily and Archie were in the back. Peep-poo! Oh, I didn't see you there. But Auckland Transport says, 'We didn't see them. Prove it.' You've got that. What's that? Not easy, due to the tinted windows and the cargo Paul was also carrying that fateful morning. I was picking up the gazebos for MeatStock. MeatStock is a barbecue competition. Paul is a competitive barbecuer. So I had two gazebos in the side, in the passenger side, with the seat folded down. Two children were in the back. To passing traffic, you can make that all out ` just. But from the roadside, it looks like Paul all alone, which is why the guy from Auckland Transport clocked him. Even at that time, I thought, 'Oh no. I could have some trouble with this,' but didn't think to even stop cos it was, you know, probably gonna block up traffic. When the fine arrived, Paul thought a phone call to Auckland Transport would fix it. It was hard to see, and you can sort of` It's a bit hard on the phone, but there you can just sort of see Archie's head just jutting up above there, but... More calls followed. He sent back their photos with his explanation. Basically taken some photos of how the vehicle was set up in the morning. Then Paul offered to go to court to explain himself, but somehow Auckland Transport skipped that step and turned up the heat. They give you a bit of empathy and stuff like that, but at the end of the day, they just keep sending you reminder notices. And it wasn't until I started getting them from Baycorp threatening, that I thought, 'Oh, what's going on here?' Paul put Baycorp straight, and Auckland Transport flipped it to the Ministry of Justice for enforcement proceedings. Basically, you haven't been able to show that I don't have three people in the vehicle. I've explained what was going on in the morning. And just really want someone to have a look and come back to me. Auckland Transport turned down his appeal, telling Paul he should have asked to go to court sooner ` which he had. But that hadn't happened. (CHUCKLES) Yeah, I'm pretty angry about it, to be honest. You don't seem to be able to get a chance to actually go forward and explain what's happened. T3 lanes are vital in our big congested cities. But if they're the bypass, where is the heart? Where's the compassion? The main driver for all of this is to lower congestion on our network and for the T3, T2 lanes and bus lanes to be used as they're designed to be used. Seeing a single person going past in the T3 lane when they're doing the right thing ` that's pretty frustrating for the public. This is John. He runs the part of Auckland Transport that controls who gets fined and how. Does the driver have to prove that there were three people in the car? We have to prove that they didn't have three people in the car. Which, for Paul, is good news, because... The ticket has been waived. We re-reviewed the footage. I've had a look at it as well. He absolutely resolutely says his children were in the car. We accept his word and the infringement has been waived. He admits there was also an issue with how Auckland Transport dealt with Paul's request to go to court, which, of course, won't be necessary now, leaving Paul to focus on what he really wants to put before a judge, with plenty of that special sauce. No trade secrets coming out here, are there? No, no. Can't give you any secrets, or I'll have to kill ya. (BOTH LAUGH) You've got the knife. I'm not gonna argue. Good result, good barbecuing. And well done to Auckland Transport for fronting up. Absolutely. A little heads up too ` they reckon they've got some flash new cameras. They're testing them and they will help them peer into cars with tinted windows better. So if you're strapping a dog or a dummy into the backseat, you have been warned. Not something us in the provinces have to worry about. Coming up after the break ` what exactly is topsoil? Felt it, and it was quite crumbly. Is it fair to call this topsoil? I've got a box full of a mess. And if it is topsoil, should you be able to make pottery from it? Topsoil ashtray. And fencing out neighbourly disputes. The neighbours ` they don't want to help pay for it. We've got some tips on how to avoid boundary wars. Are they meant to? * Welcome back. It's spring. It's planting season, which means topsoil. What does topsoil mean to you? Ooh, topsoil? Dark, rich-coloured. Yes. Lots of nutrients, lots of organic material, maybe some worms. Perfect. And that would get the veggies growing, of course. But 'topsoil' can be different things to different people, and confusion over classification has led to this sticky situation. John Angell's garden has cheetahs, lions, spring onions, lettuce, strawberries... I'm crazy on the veggies. I love it. ...and topsoil. I've got myself a mess, mate. Well, maybe it's topsoil. Maybe it's something else. I've got a box full of a mess. John doesn't want it, doesn't need it, can't grow anything in it and can't get rid it because a life spent building has ruined his body. All I want is it to be removed. And with me bad back, and I've got injuries to my feet, I can't get a wheelbarrow up there. Let's go back a step. A month ago, Tazz and Coco went on a trip. John's wife, Barbara, was off to Spotlight for buttons. John needed some topsoil for his veggie garden, so they pulled in here ` The Goods Shed in Thorndon. John says he found a topsoil with a lot of sand in it. I went up and felt it, and it was quite crumbly. And then he says he went to the counter and ordered a metre of topsoil. Delivered. It cost me about $135 all up. He wanted the sandier topsoil but got delivered the blend with more clay. John says he didn't notice till it was in his planter box and after overnight rain, his veggie garden turned into a water feature. The water was right up to there. Well, I suppose I could put some goldfish in. You need your foot in there, mate. John believes the topsoil was unusable. He tried breaking it down with a sieve. I did about five or six buckets. Yeah, I'd had enough. In the end, he came to this conclusion. I bought clay, mate. It's clay. The Goods Shed say this is clay-based topsoil. They gave us a photo of what it looks like in the shop. That's hard work for a vegetable. To add insult to injury, John dug out his own clay to make way for topsoil. I've dug clay out so that I can buy some clay to replace it with my free clay. John complained to The Goods Shed. Some topsoil that I ordered... And... He offered me a couple of the bags of the compost. He says that hasn't really helped. I was pretty pissed off, to be quite honest. It's then that John went rouge. First, he dug. Then he rolled. He hadn't done this before. I'm self taught. He did it while I was out. Then, according to his wife, Barbara, he snuck into the kitchen. Thinking I'd make myself an egg cup. The egg doesn't quite fit in it. John Angell made pottery with topsoil. A top soil ashtray. He doesn't think it will be a big earner. If the government hadn't put all these taxes on tobacco, I may have got rid of it all with me ashtrays. We rang Craig Crosby, director of The Goods Shed. He says it's very clear in the shop what the product is. Craig then emailed us noting... We then spoke to Pete McKissack from McMud Earthworks, who made the topsoil. He says they've sold this product for 15 years. It's used on sports fields all over Wellington, in the Botanical Gardens and is rigorously tested. He says there is no way it's 100% clay. Pete believes the problem is Wellington's rain. The Nursery and Garden Association says there are no regulations or industry standards around topsoil, which doesn't really help John Angell, who wants just one thing. If they could have the decency to just come round and remove it... Look, I don't give a damn about the money. Lesson learnt, as far as I'm concerned. The Goods Shed, which has good reviews online, say they don't have a pick-up service, but have offered more compost. Which means John's pottery career may not be over just yet. Now, I know no one feels like they've done anything wrong here, but can someone please just go and please pick up John's topsoil? It's spring; it's planting season. We all need to move on with our lives. Right. Look, in our experience, there are few things that destroy a neighbourly relationship quicker than arguments over the fence. We mean the actual fence ` like how high it is, who gets the good-looking side and, of course, who pays what. Yes. So here are some tips to help make sure your boundary line doesn't become a battlefield. Lizzie needs a new fence. The one here is completely rotten. Sounds straight forward, except... The neighbours, they don't want to help pay for it. Are they meant to? Generally, yes, you should share the cost of the fence. Unless you want to build something fancy. Then you might have to pay more. No. I just want something really basic. So what do I do now? Well, if you've talked to them and they don't want to pay, then you might have to give them a fencing notice. A fencing notice? Not that kind of fencing. This kind of fencing. Oh, right. Of course. (CHUCKLES) A fencing notice outlines where you want the fence to go, how it's going to be built and an estimate of the cost. They'll have 21 days to object. If they don't, you can assume they're all good with it. OK! So then I can build the fence. That's right. If you and your neighbour can't agree, though, well, you might have to take it to the Disputes Tribunal. I don't like the sound of that. Fair enough. Lizzie, check out the Community Law web page. There's lots of good info there and a sample fencing notice that might come in handy. Awesome. Thanks. Wow. A fencing notice ` who would have thought? I know. Learn something every day, don't you? Yeah. So that's the show. But we really are always here to help. Our programme is all about you at home ` your problems, your pet peeves, your grumps, your issues, so please do contact us. Yes, we're on Facebook, or you can email us ` Or write to us ` Thank you for watching. Got to go get the old topsoil out of the car, save some gas. Until next week, pomarie. Copyright Able 2018