SpeechDr PARMJEET PARMAR (Chairperson of the Education and Workforce Committee): Thank you Madam Chair for this opportunity to lead this debate as the chair of the Education and Workforce Committee. I want to start by thanking all members on the committee and I also want to acknowledge both Ministers the Hon Chris Hipkins and also the Hon Iain Lees-Galloway.I want to start by talking about a couple of process issues and I would like to start by talking about the education sector first. This is regarding the Hon Chris Hipkins. The committee worked around the availability of the Minister. A date that worked for the Minister was provided by the Minister so the committee agreed to meet and have the Minister for an Estimates hearing on that date. The committee decided the length of the time and the Minister's office agreed to that but then very close to when the Minister was to appear before the select committee for the Estimates hearing the Minister unilaterally decided to cut down the time. We understand there was a reason for that and I want to—Marja Lubeck: I raise a point of order Madam Chairperson. I hate to interrupt the member but I believe that this debate should be a reflection of the committee's deliberation on the Estimates. I don't believe that our chair is doing that in that position.CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): It is reasonable that the chair is expected to give a report of what happened at the meeting without political inference. I was listening. I think it's marginal but I don't think that she actually went too far. But I take the member's point.Dr PARMJEET PARMAR: Speaking to that point of order—CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): No I don't need you to speak to the point of order. I'm saying that you can carry on but it is marginal and you need to get back to a wider discussion of what happened in the select committee. It is reasonable to report if the Minister cut down the time—that's fair enough—but continue on.Dr PARMJEET PARMAR: Thank you. I would like to also add that in the report of the Education and Workforce Committee—this is to the House—the Estimates process has been part of that report. It has been included in the report so it's very much documented in the report back to the House.There were two issues about the process that I would like to talk about. One is that the Minister cut down the time. But I want to give some credit to the Minister because then he didn't provide any opening remarks; he went straight to the questions which was good. It gave the opportunity to members to ask questions but then still that didn't compensate for the time that was cut down.The second process issue which is again in this report back to the House—I would like to highlight that as this time the Budget was later than the usual time in the month of May for the supplementary questions to be lodged members had only a few days to dig into the Budget to prepare those supplementary questions. As we know the standard questions are provided beforehand but I'm talking about specific Budget-related questions. Members provide those questions before an Estimates hearing in the hope that the responses will be received before the Minister appears before the select committee but that didn't happen. So there were several questions asked during the select committee process about the Minister not being able to provide responses to those supplementary questions that were lodged before the Estimates hearing. That added to the frustration of some of the members on the select committee because members felt that they didn't get a proper opportunity to scrutinise the Minister and also Budget 2019.I really hope that this doesn't happen again next year because for Opposition members it's their opportunity to scrutinise the Budget and also scrutinise the Minister based on responses they get to those written questions.Kieran McAnulty: Anything else in the report perhaps?Dr PARMJEET PARMAR: It's a very important point and it's a process question. This is the opportunity for Opposition members to scrutinise the Minister and that should not be curtailed.Kieran McAnulty: The member is a committee chair.Dr PARMJEET PARMAR: I want to repeat that that should not be curtailed. That opportunity should be there for Opposition members.CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): Could I just interrupt the member because I think you've made your point. As the chair I would ask you now to come to the report on the actual examination.Dr PARMJEET PARMAR: Thank you Madam Chair because the member kept interrupting from there.CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): Well you don't have to answer.Dr PARMJEET PARMAR: Thank you Madam Chair. Coming to the select committee process the Estimates hearing there were wide-ranging questions.Kieran McAnulty: One minute 20.Dr PARMJEET PARMAR: We know that this Education and Workforce—CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): That doesn't help.Dr PARMJEET PARMAR: —Committee covers a wide range of portfolios. The good thing is that we have just two Ministers looking after these wide-ranging portfolios: the Hon Chris Hipkins for early education also primary and secondary and tertiary education and then the Hon Iain Lees-Galloway for ACC immigration and workplace relations. During the select committee process members asked about several areas. Very quickly I would like to—CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): I'm sorry to interrupt the member but the time has come to leave the committee. The committee will resume at 7.30.Sitting suspended from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.Dr PARMJEET PARMAR: Thank you Madam Chair for this opportunity to finish my call. Before the dinner break I was talking about Vote Education and I raised a couple of issues around the process. Now very quickly I would like to touch on Vote Labour Market. In Vote Labour Market we covered a wide range of topics—we talked about business confidence and the Minister talked about the Government's goal to increase the minimum wage to $20 by 2021. We also talked about labour market productivity—this is in workplace relations—and also ensuring that businesses are supported.