Peachey Allan: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
Peachey Allan: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
[Volume:653;Page:2445] 
ALLAN PEACHEY (National—Tamaki) 
: 
 Was that speech we have just heard from the previous Minister of Education Chris Carter a contribution to a parliamentary debate or a eulogy for a failed Government? For the entire 5 minutes— 
Chris Tremain 
: It was a eulogy for a failed Government. 
ALLAN PEACHEY 
: I agree with Mr Tremain that it was a eulogy for a failed Government. In 5 long minutes—replicating the 9 long years of a Labour Government—Mr Carter did not mention once that during the 9 years of the Labour Government not one extra New Zealand child learnt to read write or do maths. The tale that has bedevilled New Zealand schooling for so many years remains. 
The previous Minister skirted right across that issue. But the good news is that New Zealand parents and their children can look forward to a brighter future. They can at long last look to the prospect of this country being very very clear about the standards of reading writing and mathematics that they will have to achieve if they are to find a productive role as adults in the New Zealand community. 
There is a very important underlying message here that for 9 years the Labour Government ignored. All children are expected to and can learn. The 9 years of excuses for why some schools are failing and for why large numbers of children are not learning the social deficit theories and all that sort of nonsense is now in the past. The New Zealand schooling system under the current Government and the current Minister is moving into a new era—an era in which children will be expected to learn and in which they their families and their schools will be held accountable for their learning. For the first time in many many years parents will have a very clear definition of what their children should know and the extent to which they know it. 
Sue Moroney 
: They have that already. 
ALLAN PEACHEY 
: Oh somebody is interjecting from the other side of the House saying that we have that already. Perhaps that member would like to take a call and explain to this House why between 20 and 35 percent of our children are not learning the basics of reading and mathematics. Why is that? The Labour Party has never ever been prepared to face up to the reality that too many of our children are not learning and are not being expected to learn and that schools are not being expected to teach what our young people need to know if they are to find profitable roles in our community in the future. Members opposite do not want to talk about that because their mindset has been so set in this business of making excuses. We know that as long as we are prepared to make excuses— 
Hon Steve Chadwick 
: Not on education. 
ALLAN PEACHEY 
: There are members on the other side of the House who clearly understand this issue and who have a proven track record in not accepting excuses for failures in schooling. It is just a shame that a few more members opposite do not get the point. 
The future for our children lies in the quality of schooling that they receive and that will be enhanced by the move to national standards and to clear simple reporting to parents. Of course the big challenge that the Government will face is what it will do about those youngsters who are not meeting the required standards but at least for the first time we will have got rid of the excuses and put expectations in place.