Mahuta NanaiaCHARTER SCHOOLS (APPLICATION OF OFFICIAL INFORMATION AND OMBUDSMEN ACTS) BILLFirst ReadingHon NANAIA MAHUTA (Labour—Hauraki-Waikato): I move That the Charter Schools (Application of Official Information and Ombudsmen Acts) Bill be now read a first time. Should it be successful I nominate the Education and Science Committee to consider the bill. I am pleased that my member's bill has been drawn from the ballot to highlight the double standard the Government is creating in the education system between charter schools and public schools. A classic divide is now emerging in our education system which is based on ideology—in fact it occurred over a cup of tea between ACT and National. It is based on failed charter school models from other countries like the USA and the UK which the evidence in itself shows did not work and is not working. Why are we following blindly down this track?Blind ideology is not the foundation of a good quality public education system. The bill proposes to shift away from offering special treatment to charter schools and to bring them into line with other schools in our public education system. So what is this special treatment that I am referring to? The fact that charter schools are funded at a different rate to public schools is a shame. The fact that charter schools get bonus payments even though the terms of their contracts are not publicly visible and neither is their educational performance comparable to the expectations of our public schools—that is also a shame.Charter schools are able to make a profit. The terms of the agreements of charter schools are not publicly transparent. So my bill will enhance public confidence. My bill will ensure that charter schools are subject to the Official Information Act and the Ombudsmen Act which they are currently exempt from. The bill will impose greater accountability for the use of taxpayers' money so that these schools face the same level of scrutiny as any other schools in our public education system and that is as it should be. The Ombudsman has called the current exemption situation unconstitutional which calls into question how has the Government allowed publicly funded charter schools to be exempt from public accountability. It is not just about transparency of funding; it is also about transparency of school policies and decisions that impact on our children's learning environment.But let us pause for a moment and think about that learning environment and some of the shocking situations that required the Ombudsman to step in. In 2011 when serious bullying accusations were being made in a school in Wellington an investigation took place. Were it not for the ability of the Ombudsman to gather information that was not readily available from the Education Review Office (ERO) or the Ministry of Education some of the improvements and recommendations that we now have within the education system would not have been made. It is really important to ensure that the Ombudsmen Act and the Official Information Act exist. These are the pillars of accountability in our public system and they should apply equally to charter schools.Let us also pause and have a look at the issue of suspensions stand downs and exclusions. The Ombudsman himself said that by not enabling a complaint to the Ombudsman the absence of independent oversight [in] partnership schools could potentially employ expulsion or exclusion procedures as a means of indirectly circumventing the requirement to accept all students irrespective of background or ability who apply for entry [at a charter school]."—ostensibly a backdoor method of choosing winners. These are really important comments when we think about the practical applications of what this bill is trying to achieve. Unfortunately there have already been too many issues with charter schools which just goes to show how important greater transparency is within the charter school system. Te Pūmanawa o te Wairua in Northland was closed by the ministry after just 2 years of operating. It spent a whole heap of money on buying land—a farm. There were already problems recognised in this school before charter school approval was given yet the ministry and the Minister and the Government continue to pursue establishing this charter school. Bullying drug-use claims and issues around teaching capacity were things that emerged. This is the very reason why we would want to see the pragmatic approach in my bill being implemented.An Auckland charter school has had complaints made against it by parents and a teacher about behaviour policies bullying and a lack of cultural awareness. Like the 2011 example that I raised this would be the exact reason why you would want to have the Ombudsman and their independent oversight being able to investigate such claims to assure parents and students that the policies and processes being implemented at a charter school are sound and are fair.There is also a document that has just been released to show that charter schools' NCEA results have been massively overinflated raising concerns on a case by case basis about the robust nature of the statistics and outcomes being reported through these charter schools. I see the member for ACT guffawing over there but he knows as many members on the Education and Science Committee know that this is a tragedy. It should not happen and it is not the way in which we believe a good education system is founded.All of these examples demonstrate that we need greater accountability not just for the taxpayer but for the parents and the students who attend these schools—it is so important. Millions of dollars are going to charter schools—over four times the rate of State schools yet there is very little accountability for that money. Labour believes that every dollar invested in education should go to supporting the learning outcomes of children but sadly it is unclear whether it is happening or not. In fact many charter schools can derive a profit from their operations.David Seymour: Oh no!Hon NANAIA MAHUTA: The member says "Oh no!" so he accepts that a profit is being made by charter schools yet our public schools still continue to struggle. They are not being funded what they should be funded. A student going to a charter school is paid more than a student going to a public school—how is that right? How is that right? It is not right. Funding for our State schools has been frozen and parents have been asked to contribute more towards their children's education through voluntary donations.Coming back to the bill—under Labour a two-tiered education system creating winners and losers haves and have-nots via charter schools will not be supported. But let us get back to the point: greater transparency and accountability in our current education system is absolutely necessary. In fact reporting on a level playing field would be fantastic to ensure that we could compare apples with apples. This bill will go a long way towards ensuring that that happens. You cannot have a system where boards can hide their operations their policies and their processes when public schools are expected to be accountable to their parent communities and to the Education Act for what they do.The bill proposes to level the education landscape so that transparency and accountability of charter schools is the same as of any other school in our State sector. It is a simple amendment that I am proposing: it is to ensure that the Ombudsmen Act and the Official Information Act apply equally. It does fill a gap that currently exists that is not covered by ERO or the Ministry of Education. The Ombudsman when the charter schools were being established commented on this. He made a number of fine points in his submission to ensure that the select committee and the Government would give greater consideration to the proposal that I am now putting before the House. We have now had the benefit of hindsight. There are local examples that members in this House can point to to justify why this bill would be a sensible and pragmatic approach to levelling the education landscape and ensuring greater transparency and accountability in reporting and to give parents the assurance that if they had a concern those concerns would be heard fairly with the oversight of an independent body and not under the shroud of a school board that is not as accountable.So I implore the House to consider the pragmatic approach that I am offering in the bill. It is one that is supported by previous representations of the Ombudsman and it is one that will ensure again greater transparency in the current education offerings that we have between charter schools and public schools. Kia ora."