Mackey Moana: Carter Observatory Act Repeal Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
Mackey Moana: Carter Observatory Act Repeal Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:663;Page:11353] 
MOANA MACKEY (Labour) 
: 
 I was very disappointed that I did not get to take a call on Part 1 of this very important legislation the Carter Observatory Act Repeal Bill. 
Hon Member 
: So were we. 
MOANA MACKEY 
: I look forward to Mr Peachey’s contribution. He gave a very good contribution in the first reading of this bill and I look forward to his contribution in the Committee stage. If he takes this legislation seriously then he should be prepared to get on his pins and contribute particularly as he is chair of the Education and Science Committee. This part of the process is to look at what the select committee did and to challenge whether any changes truly needed to be made. The select committee came back and said— 
Jo Goodhew 
: It didn’t. 
MOANA MACKEY 
: I ask Mrs Goodhew to calm down. It is called democracy. I know she may not like it but the fact is that we need to go through this process. Part 2 deals with the repeal of the Carter Observatory Act and the transfer of property and liabilities to the Wellington City Council. It really must be put on record the gratitude that this Chamber has both for the original donation of the Carter Observatory and also to the Wellington City Council when it stepped in to provide a lifeline for this national treasure. We should not be in any doubt that the ratepayers of Wellington have had to pick this up and the rest of the country can very very rightly feel pleased that they were prepared to do that. If they had not then we may have been in a position of not having a national observatory and also not having an excellent resource for education an excellent resource for teaching and an excellent resource for the promotion of science in the Wellington area. I have visited the Carter Observatory on many occasions and have very much enjoyed it. It is with a tinge of sadness that we say goodbye to our national observatory but we look forward to its future. 
The Carter Observatory board needs to go through a number of processes in order to transfer its assets and liabilities across to the Wellington City Council. It will be very interesting to see what comes out of the final report of the board in particular because the Carter Observatory has played a very extensive role in education in this country—far more I think than most members would actually be aware of. It is New Zealand Qualifications Authority accredited and it assisted in providing curriculum support for schools. Given that we have lost our science advisers in schools that support is even more critical for groups such as the Carter Observatory— 
Hon Judith Collins 
: Science teachers. 
MOANA MACKEY 
: They are science advisers I say to Mrs Collins. 
Hon Judith Collins 
: What about science teachers? Why don’t they advise? 
MOANA MACKEY 
: Why are science teachers not advisers? I think that question sums up National’s attitude towards science. In primary schools we have relied on science advisers because most primary school teachers do not have a degree in science. 
Jo Goodhew 
: Point of order. 
MOANA MACKEY 
: I am responding to an interjection. If Mrs Collins does not want me to go off track then she should not interject. We have a point of order Mr Chairperson. 
Jo Goodhew 
: I raise a point of order Mr Chairperson. I ask that you rule on relevance. I cannot find that issue. I have looked for it; it is not in Part 2. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy) 
: I was indicating to the member that she was straying outside the debate. The member should desist from responding to irrelevant interjections. Let us contain ourselves to clauses 6 to 12 in Part 2 and the schedule. 
Hon Judith Collins 
: Just get some science teachers. 
MOANA MACKEY 
: I am enjoying this display of ignorance about science in our education system. 
I hope that in that final report we will see some explanation about the role that the Carter Observatory has been carrying out and how it intends to continue to carry it out. With the loss of science advisers who advise our primary school teachers on the science curriculum—because primary school teachers do not have science degrees by and large—it is more important that places like the Carter Observatory are able to come in. I hope that when the final report is prepared and presented we are able to get access to it. The report is submitted to the Minister in charge and I sincerely hope that if in that report the observatory has concerns about gaps that need to be filled with the loss of the national observatory as it becomes a tourism and educational facility the Minister will be able to take those concerns on board and will be able to guarantee that any gaps will be plugged. That is why that final report under clause 10 of this bill is so important. 
It will also be interesting to see the board’s activities and the areas it has been involved in because science seems to fly below the radar a little bit in this country. Members will be most interested to see the kinds of areas that the Carter Observatory has been getting involved in—and they are many and varied. It is a private tertiary provider; again not a lot of people know that but the observatory should be acknowledged for the work it has done in that area.