Wednesday 12 December 2018

Petrol Maths

Stolen from David Farrar. 

"So when petrol prices are around $2.50 a litre, how much money does the Government get from you to fill up a 50 litre car?

  • National Land Transport Fund $31.51
  • GST $16.31 (on a $2.50 retail price)
  • Regional Fuel Tax (in Auckland) $5.00
  • ACC Levy $3.00
  • Local Authorities Fuel Tax $0.33
  • Engine Fuel Monitoring Levy $0.15

But that isn’t all. To pay for the $125 petrol bill, you need to (if top tax rate) earn $186.57 which means there was also income tax of $61.57.
So every-time you spend $125 filling up the car with petrol, the Government will have got $117.86 as you will have had to have earned almost $190 to pay for it!"


Note from Damon: This might not be the content to use in a financial literacy class as it may just make the students angry.

Tuesday 4 December 2018


Good teachers/tutors make the difference

Note: The quality of teacher/tutors is directly related to outcomes.

Chauvel (2014) notes:


New Zealand research conducted over the last 10 years has consistently highlighted that the quality of teaching and the effectiveness of the learning environments facilitated by teaching staff is crucial to Pasifika and Māori learner engagement in tertiary education. As stated by Alton-Lee (2003): “…high achievement for diverse groups of learners is an outcome of the skilled and cumulative pedagogical actions of teaching in creating and optimising an effective learning environment… Quality teaching influences the quality of student participation, involvement and achievement (including social outcomes)” (p.1-2).


Supporting teachers and tutors is pivotal to improving learning outcomes. Not sure why this is argued?