Ogilvy Bernie: Debate on Crown Entities Public Organisations  and State Enterprises — In Committee 
Ogilvy Bernie: Debate on Crown Entities Public Organisations  and State Enterprises — In Committee 
[Volume:626;Page:21320] 
BERNIE OGILVY (United Future) 
: 
 I rise on behalf of United Future to look at the financial reviews of three Crown entities. When I read out the names of the three education Crown entities—the New Zealand Qualifications Authority the New Zealand Teachers Council and the Tertiary Education Commission—what comes to mind for parents taxpayers learners and children when those three entities are made known across the airwaves in alleyways and in the schools and universities around New Zealand? People will reply straight away to my question by saying that the issue common to all three is that they have been poor performers. 
All three entities have been in the news as I understand it for very wrong reasons. All appear to be unable to control their own appetite for increase and for their own purposes. All impose on those they are looking after—monitoring and auditing—what they are not prepared to see imposed on themselves. In fact they are less able to control themselves than the schools universities or whatever that they are in charge of. Worse still I have noticed as have a lot of people that there is a tremendous overlap between those Crown entities. There is duplication and sheer waste when for instance the New Zealand Qualifications Authority the New Zealand Teachers Council and the Tertiary Education Commission all work separately to assess and appraise private training enterprises. I know of at least two teachers colleges where that has happened. There is a lot of duplication and waste. That is what comes to mind for a lot of people. 
 It has already been said that it is a fearful thing. It is of concern to myself and others and I think to some on the Education and Science Committee that it is intended that the Ministry of Education take some of those entities under its wing. We in United Future do not sense that their independence should be squished and squashed away and lost. They need true statutory independence to do their jobs. 
Some members have been talking in the House about the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) programmes which in my mind and in the mind of everybody in the National Party started as a dream in order to bring forth learning into our schools. But NCEA has not ended as a dream; it has ended as a nightmare for a lot of people and certainly for a lot of students and employers around this nation. Do I need to say more? Well others have said a lot and tonight I want to quote from the Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA) advisory officer Julie Ellison. She said that there was enough evidence in the report the PPTA had to show that some very poor-quality moderators were operating. That is only one comment she made. More dollars have been spent on NCEA with fewer outcomes than people have deserved. 
What is the New Zealand Teachers Council renowned for? It has produced more chief executive officers than any other Crown entity in the last 2 or 3 years that I have been in Parliament. It is amazing! The only thing it has ever produced as I see it is a code of ethics. When I asked in the select committee what that really meant—did it mean accountability?—they said it was definitely not a code of accountability. Then I asked why they went to all that trouble over $103000 worth to produce a toothless wonder in reality. 
So many people out there are declaring that the Teachers Council needs a complete rewrite—a complete rerun—because it is a toothless wonder. As for the Tertiary Education Commission it is becoming a very very protectionist organisation for a few what I would call State institutions. For instance I have on the table in front of me an application of concern from Unitec for that institution to obtain university status. The amount of money that has been spent by all parties at this time in our maturity to come to an obvious answer is laughable.