Lee MelissaMELISSA LEE (National): Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker for the opportunity to take a brief call in support of the third reading of the Education Legislation Bill. I would like to just take a moment to acknowledge the Hon Hekia Parata the Minister of Education who announced her decision not to stand for re-election to this House next year. I have mentioned many times in this House that I have seen her passion for her portfolio and her passion for children. Raising the education outcomes for children was her motivation for her portfolio and I would like to thank her for the work that she has done in her term as Minister. I think we have all seen the great advocate that she has been for education in this Parliament and she will be missed by all of us—at least from this side of the House—when she leaves.On to the bill: this is an omnibus bill that amends several Acts to improve administrative and governance arrangements for educational entities and funding organisations across the education sector. This bill supports our vision of an education system that reflects modern New Zealand's schooling needs and focuses on achievement for all students around the country. In the Education and Science Committee we had a number of discussions—quite robust sometimes—on this bill and I thank the committee secretariat for the sterling work that it always provides. I also thank the members my colleagues who actually sit on the select committee. Often when we do differ in our opinions I think we have mutual respect for each other's opinions and we have worked very constructively on this bill.The bill will now allow for boards of trustees to appoint students to trainee teacher positions helping schools to employ people working towards their teaching qualifications with real field experience and hands-on work in the classroom enhancing their own learning and training while supporting the needs of the school community. The bill also will allow boards to have more flexibility in meeting the needs of their school-zone community by streamlining the process that would be needed to vary a school's opening hours if the variation is for operational reasons and on an occasional or short-term basis. Some schools for example have a high proportion of their pool of families working in one industry or have seasonal community needs and varying hours would make it more effective for those communities to get their children to school and to be able to spend more time together as a family. It is something that I personally champion and I think it is a good move for some schools to do.Practical policies to support learning are needed and this bill will support students around our nation getting the tools they require through better management of their learning environment and providing new options for the school community. Arcane outdated rules and regulations have been holding many New Zealand students back and have impacted the ability of some schools to do their best at raising student achievement. Removing unnecessary legislation and administration and promoting innovative 21st century education are what we need to do for our schooling community. I would like to end by saying that I commend the honourable Minister for the work that she has done and I commend this bill to the House.