ACT’s War on Knowledge: Why Political Censorship Has No Place in Our Universities
By Dr Harpreet Singh | drhsinghnz.substack.com | FB: @Dr.Harpreet.Singh.NZ
As an academic and a graduate of the University of Auckland, I have seen firsthand how education shapes critical thinking and innovation. I believe universities must remain places of open inquiry, where ideas are tested and knowledge is pursued without fear or favour. That principle is now under pressure, and it matters more than ever to speak up.
New Zealand’s universities are meant to be places where ideas are tested, debated, and challenged. They are not meant to be controlled by political parties. Yet the ACT Party’s call to scrap the University of Auckland’s Waipapa Taumata Rau (WTR) courses is not just a policy suggestion. It is an attempt to dictate what can and cannot be taught in our universities. That is political censorship, and it is an attack on academic freedom.
The WTR courses are not indoctrination. They are 15-point, faculty-specific core papers that introduce students to knowledge systems, knowledge of place, and Te Tiriti o Waitangi, while building essential academic skills such as critical and ethical thinking, communication, and collaboration. These are the skills employers demand in a world where cultural competence and ethical reasoning matter as much as technical expertise.
Critics claim these courses waste time and reduce student choice. The truth is that WTR is designed to help students succeed from day one. For example, WTR 100, which serves Arts and related degrees, focuses on critical engagement, collaborative work, and ethical reflection, while also developing practical study skills such as research, writing, and presenting. Assessment is based on presentations, reflective writing, group work, and class tasks. There is no final exam. This is active learning that encourages debate and critical thought.
The argument that international students will be driven away is equally hollow. Education New Zealand’s International Student Experience Surveys in 2023 and 2024 show that more than 80 per cent of students rated their experience positively and would recommend New Zealand as a study destination. Cultural literacy and a sense of belonging are part of what makes New Zealand attractive. Suggesting that students will leave because they learn about the Treaty of Waitangi is not only unfounded, it underestimates their desire to understand the society they live and study in.
The most dangerous part of this debate is the principle at stake. When politicians try to remove courses because they dislike the ideas being discussed, that is not about quality; it is about control. Universities should never have their curriculum dictated by political fashion. Academic freedom means allowing scholars to design courses based on evidence, pedagogy, and the needs of graduates, not the preferences of a political party.
Graduates do not work in isolation. Whether they enter business, health, engineering, education, or creative industries, they must navigate communities, regulations, iwi–Crown partnerships, sustainability commitments, and ethical expectations. WTR prepares students for this reality. It turns local context into global capability: the ability to engage across worldviews, reason ethically, communicate clearly, and collaborate effectively.
If there is a debate to be had, it should be about improving WTR, not erasing it. But ACT’s demand to abolish these courses is not about quality or choice. It is about control. It is an attempt to silence ideas they do not like and to dictate what universities can teach. That is political censorship, pure and simple. If we allow politicians to decide which knowledge is acceptable, we undermine the very foundation of higher education. Today, it is the Treaty. Tomorrow it could be climate science, gender studies, or any field that challenges ideology. Academic freedom is not negotiable. Once we let political parties rewrite curricula, we stop being a democracy that values knowledge and start becoming a state that fears it. That is a future New Zealand must never accept.