By Charlie Dreaver of RNZ
Rural families are concerned about how the rising price of fuel will affect the new school term.
School children are currently on holiday, but Term 2 starts on Monday.
Rural Women chief executive Sandra Kirby said the impact of high fuel prices was more significant in rural communities because of the greater distances people needed to travel and the lack of public transport options.
Families were worried about how the school run would hit them financially, she said.
“We’ve got parents that are travelling half an hour at least to get their kids to school, and we have heard that attendance may be challenged from the sheer cost of fuel.”
Parents were also worried fuel prices would affect relief teachers and support workers’ ability to travel to rural schools, Kirby said.
Members were already reporting that they were changing their daily routines and limiting when they were heading into town, she said.
“Going to town includes things like groceries, but it also includes getting family members, children and adults to their sports practices, their sports games, their out-of-school activities.
“As people look to reduce travel, then it’s obviously going to be those things that get impacted first,” she said.
Rural Women had already had to cancel two events, and the cost of fuel was definitely a factor, Kirby said.
“People just can’t commit to going out.
“That’s a nice to have and not a necessity.”
She had advised people to carpool when they could, and also to check on their neighbours and the more vulnerable members of their community.
Comparing the situation to the Covid-19 pandemic, she stressed the importance of making sure people stayed connected, had what they needed and were not socially isolated.
- RNZ