Forget the colour of the cat — Let’s focus on catching the mice

There’s an old saying: It doesn’t matter whether a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice. In other words, what matters isn’t how a solution looks, it’s whether it works.

But in New Zealand, the mice are still getting away, not because we’ve picked the wrong cat, but because we’re still arguing over which one’s allowed to hunt.

Dr Parmjeet Parmar’s proposed Education and Training (Equal Treatment) Amendment Bill, and the NZ Herald’s recent editorial unpacking it, have reignited debate about fairness in tertiary education. The editorial is right to point out the uncomfortable truth: race-based entry policies may have diversified university cohorts, but they still mostly benefit the wealthy.

So here’s the question: if race-based approaches haven’t delivered equity, do we throw out targeting altogether?

That would be a mistake.

The real issue is not race, it’s access. And access is still profoundly shaped by socioeconomic status.

At First Foundation, we’ve supported more than 1,100 young New Zealanders who are academically capable but economically constrained. Many are Māori, Pacific, or from refugee and migrant backgrounds. Most are the first in their family to attend university. What they share isn’t ethnicity, it’s the absence of networks, financial stability, and pathways into higher education.

As our founder Steve Carden said: "Many youth from our poorest neighbourhoods are not short on ability, they’re short on aspiration. It’s the poverty of expectation, far more than the material poverty, which is holding a generation of kids back."

And this is what the research keeps telling us. Just 12% of students from decile 1 schools attained University Entrance in 2022, compared to 70% from decile 8-10. For Māori students at decile 1 schools, it was just 7%. That’s not a pipeline — it’s a sieve.

The biggest predictor of education success in New Zealand remains family income and education level — not effort or talent. Equal treatment doesn’t mean much when the starting line isn’t the same.

One of the clearest illustrations of this came from the recent University of Otago report into health sciences. It found that, despite diversity initiatives, students from low-income backgrounds are “nearly absent” from health courses — and concluded:

“The near exclusion of students from schools in the lowest socio-economic quintile across essentially all of our analyses is a notable finding that should prompt reflection as to how our education system and society marginalise such students, and fail to enable them to pursue tertiary education at anywhere near the level of their more socio-economically advantaged peers.”

That’s a damning indictment. And it’s not about race. It’s about access, resourcing, and the compounding effects of inequity.

That’s why we support comments made this week by Andrew Coster, head of the Government’s Social Investment Agency: "The system needs to be more responsive. It needs to be focused on outcomes, not inputs."

If you genuinely want a high-performing, fair system, you don’t flatten support. You target it based on evidence. You invest in what works.

Since 1998, First Foundation has offered a three-pillar model: financial assistance, dedicated mentoring, and structured exposure to the world of work. Our average household income is under $65,000. Our scholars have over 85% retention rates. Many now work as doctors, engineers, lawyers, and entrepreneurs. They come back to mentor others. They pay it forward.

The impact is generational. And it’s measurable.

A bachelor’s degree increases lifetime earnings by $1.15 million. NZIER research shows that better access to tertiary qualifications for underserved learners could generate $11 billion in additional wages over the next 30 years. These gains go beyond economics, they include improved health, civic participation, and community wellbeing.

One of our alumnae, Julie Vidal, now a lawyer and youth advocate, put it best:

"I know many of our rangatahi are hardworking, deserving, and worthy. They just don’t have access to opportunity. First Foundation wrapped around me when I needed it most. Now my siblings see university as normal. That changes everything."

This isn’t about handouts. It’s about designing a system that recognises barriers and dismantles them, so aspiration is matched by access.

To be clear: it’s right to question whether current equity policies are delivering results. But the answer isn’t to go colour-blind or class-blind. It’s to be smarter. More targeted. More outcome-focused.

Because the real opportunity in front of us is not ideological. It’s practical. New Zealand doesn’t have a talent shortage, it has an opportunity shortage.

If we want to catch the mice, close gaps, boost innovation, build a thriving economy, we need to stop obsessing over the colour of the cat.

Let’s scale what works. Let’s invest where it counts. And let’s unlock the full potential of all our young people.

Let's chat.