Parata Hekia: General DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeParata Hekia: General Debate[Sitting date: 25 February 2015. Volume:703;Page:1910. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon HEKIA PARATA (Minister of Education): I am delighted to stand and contribute to this general debate. I want to do so on the basis of discussing what kind of country we are what sort of leadership we are entitled to expect what sorts of values we want to see inculcated in our young people how we provide that and the sort of leadership that is available to them. Yesterday the Prime Minister exhibited all those values. We are a country that plays its part. We are small. We are distant. We are descended from people who were great adventurers and navigators who crossed the Pacific looking for something better and who were prepared to build that something better but in so doing recognise that we have links across this world. We are part of a community that is connected and linked and we are bringing up children in this society who understand that connectedness who want to continue the traditions of our country of travel of meeting other people and of being safe to explore and go on adventures. That means that we do have to be aware and wary of many of the risks and dangers that characterise the world that our young people are growing up in.We also want to make sure that they understand the history that they are descendants from. Before them there have been many New Zealanders who have gone into theatres of war who have seen that defining our belief of what the quality of citizenship is in this country. It is important that we continue to not only maintain the respect for those traditions that are invoked on Anzac Day and in the year of the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Gallipoli but keep that responsibility current.The Prime Minister in announcing yesterday the decision of the Government that we would continue to play our part is continuing to invoke that pride of citizenship that is so important to us and to who we are as New Zealanders and as Kiwis. I for one am personally absolutely committed to that direction. I for one am one of those young people—well actually I am not that young. In comparison to some of my colleagues on the other side of the House I probably am. But certainly I grew up going to dawn ceremonies on Anzac Day in Ruatōria and now in Wellington. I grew up with the names of heroes and heroines on our war memorials and in our marae around this country. Now I am a proud chair of the Ngārimu VC and 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial Scholarship Fund Board which invokes all of those memories. The people who joined those battalions and who join our Defence Force today joined knowing that they want to be able to have that opportunity. The whole point by definition of having a defence force is that they are training to carry out those responsibilities. So we cannot on the one hand evoke the emotion of turning up to Anzac Day and then turn away from the actual practical reality of what that means. No this Government is not prepared to do that and this Prime Minister has demonstrated the courage the wisdom and also the great belief in who we are to take that stand.As the Minister of Education I consider that critical for young New Zealanders because we have a curriculum that says to them that these are the values of who we are. We play our part. We want them to be travellers. We want them to be explorers. We want them to be mindful of risk. We want them to be relationship developers. We want them to be communicators. And we should not turn away as a nation when that responsibility looks us in the face and says: “Will you stand alongside the allies whom in times of both war and trade we look to for those relationships?”. So no this Government will not turn away from those responsibilities and it is important that not only we confront them in a timely fashion but we demonstrate to young New Zealanders that that is part of who we are. We are descended from people who played their part who took the risks and who were prepared to do what was necessary. And so as the Minister of Education I believe that our schools are playing their part and are making those contributions. We have invested in connectedness. We have invested in ensuring that young people can critically think—critically think—and analyse what their responsibilities are.We are seeing progress in our education system and that actually should reassure all of us that we are continuing to build a strong nation and a nation that is being led by a Government and a Prime Minister who understands that we must govern not just for now and the immediate future but for our future and our ability to hold our heads high. That is why New Zealand got such a big vote to go on to the United Nations Security Council. It is because we are recognised for our integrity and for the part we play. So I am proud to stand alongside our Prime Minister our Government and the decision that has been made to continue this responsibility as New Zealanders.