Roy Heather: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Roy Heather: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
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Hon HEATHER ROY (Deputy Leader—ACT) 
: 
 I rise to speak on behalf of the ACT Party in response to the Prime Minister’s statement. The previous speaker Kennedy Graham lamented the vision that the Prime Minister outlined and the plans he has put in place for moving New Zealand forward with an emphasis on the economy. The ACT Party is very supportive of course as one would expect of that approach. I comment that at least the Government has a vision for this country unlike the speech delivered today by the Leader of the Opposition who would have been much better advised to read out Sir Roger Douglas’ speech that he provided for him yesterday. 
That aside I was delighted as an Associate Minister of Education to see the statements that the Prime Minister made today regarding education. He said: “Reform is needed to better equip New Zealanders particularly young New Zealanders to face the significant economic challenges they will face in an increasingly competitive world. In this regard there is no more important area for reform than education.” He is absolutely correct. Education is the key to improving people’s opportunities and chances of leading a productive life and contributing well to society. He went on to say: “This Government views our education system as one of the fundamental tools for creating an egalitarian society where all New Zealanders have an opportunity to succeed.” Reaching their full potential is what we should be aiming at for each and every one of our young people attending schools. 
The National-ACT confidence and supply agreement was discussed by the ACT Leader Rodney Hide in his speech in response to the Prime Minister’s speech. He outlined the successes that we have had in the past year and where we would like to put our emphasis in the coming year. One of the areas in our confidence and supply agreement that I will talk about this evening is education. We put together our inter-party working group to consider and report on policy options relating to the funding and regulation of schools that will increase parental choice and school autonomy. The important thing of course is to enhance school choice. 
The National Party stated before the last election that it would work over time to increase the educational choices available to parents and pupils so that families will have more freedom to select the schooling options that best meet the individual needs of their children. ACT of course has always campaigned hard on school choice. We want to see greater choice and competition in education. That is very important because New Zealand needs to lift the level of education across the board. 
The inter-party working group worked steadfastly through last year and we are looking forward to soon releasing our report. The group which I chaired was made up of National MPs Hekia Parata Chester Borrows and Jonathan Young; Maori Party MP Te Ururoa Flavell; and I was joined by Sir Roger Douglas from the ACT Party. We visited a number of schools that excel in each of their areas. They varied widely from kura kaupapa schools to small area schools through to some of the larger urban schools. Each of them had one common theme. They explored the greatest potential of their students and focused heavily on outcomes which of course is what we want to see from all schools. 
Why is choice important? Why does ACT promote and campaign on school choice at every election? The answer is a simple one. Education is not one size fits all. Those people who have two children will know that no two are exactly alike and that their educational opportunities and their abilities vary widely. One cannot assume that just because the school around the corner might be the closest to where a family lives it is the one that best suits the children’s needs or that it will produce the outcomes that we want every child to have the opportunity to reach. 
To create and maintain an economically productive and competitive country we must provide every New Zealand child with a quality education that enables that child to participate in modern society. Every child should be able to read a bus timetable to read and write and to have numeracy skills that allow him or her to get through everyday life. Although some of our students are obtaining very high levels of achievement our current education system still fails one in five students. If this statistic is not of concern to each and every MP in the House it should be. The students who are not reaching the required standard and fail are not equipped with the skills necessary to make a meaningful contribution to New Zealand society. 
ACT proposes and has always proposed an education system that promotes accountability and innovation and creates real incentives for schools to raise standards and address student failure. That is not “mission impossible”. Many schools already achieve that standard but sadly too many do not. It is possible by extending school choice to parents and providing every family with the right to select the education that is best suited to their child and this is an important part of any democratic society. Such a system would entail encouraging a range of providers to enter the market. It allows schools autonomy and provides families with funding that follows their child to any school they select. Importantly this system would be supported by the provision to parents of good information on schools and a competent workforce of teachers. 
The national standards have been in the news for the last couple of weeks. It is actually pretty difficult to understand the vocal opposition that the opponents of national standards are in the midst of at the moment in a frenzy to slow down the progress and in some cases to stop it. 
The national standards are a particularly valuable contribution to our current education system. They will provide clear benchmarks against which expected levels of student achievement can be measured and they will provide parents with the information that they want—in fact demand—and have requested on their child’s educational progress. If student failure is to be attacked and it should be it has to be identified and addressed. National standards are crucial to this happening in a meaningful way. If parents are to be active participants in their children’s education they need to have a clear idea of how they are progressing how they are doing what they can and cannot do and the quality of education that their school is providing. 
A well-educated society ensures that every member has the capability to make a significant contribution. This is the making of a productive and prosperous country that is capable of overcoming challenges and participating in an increasingly globalised and sophisticated society. 
Why are national standards important? I have touched on some of the reasons. The Government has responded to a request from parents asking for access to clear and plain language reporting on their child’s progress. Any parent will be able to tell of reports they have read where they do not understand the language that is being used they do not understand what the teacher is trying to tell them and certainly in many respects they are not a reflection of the child they know. Parents access information in any way they can—formally when this is available and sadly this is too often not the case and informally through networks. Many people choose a school—mothers in particular will choose a school for their child when they have a choice—as a result of what others around them are telling them; that is information they are getting in a very informal sense. This is not the best way to make decisions but they are getting information of one sort. 
Parents have a right to the same information that is available to schools. As I said previously if parents are to be active participants in their children’s education they need a clear idea of how their child is progressing and the quality of the education their school is providing. Parents do want information on their child’s progress and the national standards provide the infrastructure to ensure that this is available. The policy has drawn criticism and generated much controversy but why should we be content in the knowledge that one in five of our schoolchildren is failing? The fact that we are content as a nation to sit by and allow the status quo to continue is a terrible injustice and it needs to be addressed. 
That is why school choice is important why the ACT Party will continue to promote it and why I am looking forward to being able to release the report that the inter-party working group has worked long and hard to produce. It will inform the country on ways that school choice can be put into place so that all children can benefit. The level of education across the board not just in the good schools will be enhanced significantly.