The Informed Hearts Behind the Headlines

Photo by Duskfall Crew on Unsplash

Last week, I published the details of one of the many educators in New Zealand still suffering the consequences of the covid era policies. My colleague Kathryn Pick, co-author of the NZTSOS Submission to the Royal Commission of Covid Inquiry, has been unfairly struck-off the teaching register. For her, this is a devastating blow, ending her professional career, her role as Principal and 30 years of teaching and learning service within her local community. You can revisit that short article here:

I'm publishing today - on Kathryn's behalf - her formal written rebuttal to the misleading legacy media article about her. (In true legacy media style, they didn't ask Kathryn for comment before going to print with the hit piece). You may see her letter also republished in relevant platforms such as The Health Forum NZ. To skip her letter, please see her new GiveSendGo page below, that is set-up to help her pay her significant Court fees:

A Rebuttal to Stuff from Kathryn Pick

By Kathryn Pick:

This is a response to New Zealand’s Stuff publishing (13^th August 2026) ‘Principal collected children’s Covid details for an anti‑mandate court fight.’ Misleadingly, that headline states, as if it was a fact, the very allegation the [Teaching] Tribunal itself admitted was ‘unverified’.

I was principal of a small, rural, regional primary school. I have spent my career caring and advocating for children. In December 2021, I was faced with families experiencing circumstances that were difficult, frightening and, in some cases, genuinely unsafe. I asked questions because that was my responsibility; to understand what was happening and why and thereby support the families in my school. To be told that my concerns were irrelevant, was not only confusing, but also deeply hurtful and fundamentally at odds with what good leadership demands: recognising when people are struggling and having the courage to advocate and act in their interests when they need you most. It is now widely acknowledged, worldwide, that the covid era policies were unnecessary, harmful and often illegal.

The Tribunal admitted it did not have any evidence that I collected children’s covid information to fight the government in court, because this evidence doesn’t exist. In February 2026, The Tribunal acknowledged, in writing, that it was unclear what I knew about how the information would be used — and it resolved that uncertainty not with evidence, but with an unfair assumption. It is that unproven assumption the media has now weaponized against me, reporting it as truth. Media often adopts a particular framing which can unfairly prejudice readers by implying an individual’s actions were deliberate and motivated by political agendas. My starting point was far more authentic and immediate: I was a principal navigating the welfare and safety needs of children and their families during an extraordinarily difficult period and constantly changing rules.

Just before Christmas 2021, my school community experienced a covid outbreak, and entire families were instructed to isolate for a minimum of three weeks, including over Christmas and New Year. In a small rural regional community, the impact of this policy went far beyond inconvenience. While most families were able to isolate safely, some were navigating family harm environments, poverty, chronic illness, mental health or addiction challenges, and/or were solo parents without support. These challenges were intensified by exaggerated, negative media messaging and isolation.

I was forced into making real-time decisions about the wellbeing of my children and families, and in the chaos that was prevalent, this was generally without the answers, clarity or support I needed in my role as a community leader. This is the context in which I sought crucial answers about the accuracy and reliability of the repeated covid testing. With a second opinion my families may have been able to be released from their imposed isolation earlier. That — and nothing else — was my motive for collecting my families’ covid test results. The data was not collected for any court case.

Much later, as a member of the voluntary, Incorporated Society group, New Zealand Teachers Speaking Out with Science (NZTSOS) I supported them in documenting evidence of the impact of the mandate on the education sector. This included children, families, school staff and wider communities. With the consent of the families involved, some of the information they shared was included in a legal affidavit. I have consistently maintained that I did not know whether, or how, that information might ultimately be used. At the time, affidavits were being gathered from other experienced educators across New Zealand to document their personal and professional experiences. I understood my role to be contributing to that broader collection of evidence. As the numerous legal NZ court cases and the more than 31,000 submissions to Part Two of the NZ Royal Commission Covid Inquiry illustrates, many educationalists and other professionals, collected data in affidavit format, ensuring lawyers, often within tight time restrictions, were provided with accurate evidence for future caselaw, here and overseas.

Most significantly, in its Minute of 11 February 2026, the Tribunal stated it was unclear what knowledge I had of how the information would be used — the central issue in determining an assessment of ‘serious misconduct’. Despite recognising that uncertainty, the Tribunal treated my lawful decision not to attend a further hearing and be cross‑examined, as grounds to draw an adverse inference. That inference was then misused to falsely conclude that I had full knowledge and intent, effectively replacing the Tribunal’s own stated uncertainty with an assumption against me. That assumption — never tested and never proven — is precisely what Stuff media has published as fact. The claim that I collected children’s covid details “for” an anti-mandate court fight is not a finding based on evidence; it is the Tribunal’s inference, repeated as if it were a truth. An acknowledged uncertainty became an assumption, and that assumption became a misleading headline.

A judgment of ‘serious misconduct’ should not rest on an inference drawn solely from a respondent’s lawful choice not to give further evidence — particularly when an agreed ‘Summary of Facts’ had already been submitted, which my lawyer advised was the basis on which the decision would be made. The Tribunal’s approach not only relied on an assumption in place of evidence but reversed the very uncertainty it had identified only weeks earlier.

That adverse inference resulted in the cancellation of my teaching registration and the loss of a career spanning more than 30 years. There was no finding that I had put any child at risk. Yet cancellation is the same maximum penalty available to the Tribunal in cases involving the sexual abuse of children. I believe that deserves consideration. Accountability matters, but so does context, intent and proportionality.

I have always believed that, particularly in times of crisis, leadership requires more than simply following process. It requires sound judgement, empathy, courage and a willingness to act when the wellbeing of others is at stake. That is what I did. While the consequences have been profound, I remain proud of the support I offered to families during a frightening and uncertain time. My hope is that this fuller context allows people to see my actions for what they were: an attempt to protect and care for children and families, not a political act. What has happened to me risks having a chilling effect on those in leadership roles —the message from NZ Teaching Council is that community-centred leadership, empathy and proactive advocacy for vulnerable children are liabilities or risks, rather than qualities we should be encouraging.

*ENDS*

Please help support my colleague, Kathryn in any way you can. May be you can donate the price of a cup of coffee?... or more if you can. Or just sharing my articles helps by getting the truth out. Please also share her fundraising GiveSendGo page within your own networks (link below).

NB Kathryn is one of many individuals still carrying the weight of the covid era policies, including the 'no jab, no job' mandates. Do you have a story to tell? Please get in touch.

On behalf of all us educators caught in this tyranny - a BIG THANK YOU for all the positive, supportive messages and donations already received.

Truth will win!

A Rebuttal to Stuff from Kathryn Pick

Sign up for Informed Heart