Peachey Allan: Education Amendment Bill (No 2) — Second Reading 
Peachey Allan: Education Amendment Bill (No 2) — Second Reading 
[Volume:660;Page:15619] 
ALLAN PEACHEY (National—Tamaki) 
: 
 I begin by acknowledging the opening remarks of the Hon Trevor Mallard and I thank him for what he had to say. I join him in recognising the work the Education and Science Committee has done on the Education Amendment Bill (No 2) and the work it does generally on education issues. There are huge philosophical and practical differences between some of us on the committee and certainly between Mr Mallard and me but what is never in doubt is that both of us and other members of the committee have at heart the best interests of children and education in New Zealand. Although we have some very rigorous debates and we do not always agree the committee has shown an ability to find pretty broad common ground on a lot of issues. Sure there are differences over this bill but the committee members worked very hard to come back with recommendations that were as good as we possibly could make them. I also acknowledge Mr Mallard’s support as the deputy chairperson. He is a very experienced member with a very good grasp of the Standing Orders and procedures— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Don’t go too far I might lose this election. 
ALLAN PEACHEY 
: —and if I continue I may even get him demoted to the backbenches opposite. 
The Education Amendment Bill (No 2) makes changes in six broad areas and I will run through them very quickly. The first change is the introduction of secondary-tertiary programmes to give greater opportunities for youngsters at secondary school to have part of their education in a workplace or at a tertiary institution. Secondly the bill exempts limited attendance centres from early childhood education licensing requirements; in other words it exempts short-stay places at shopping malls swimming pools and that sort of thing. Thirdly it changes refund provisions for international students enrolled at private training organisations. Fourthly it updates the law regarding independent schools and in doing so responds to a Law Commission report called  
Private Schools and the Law 
. Fifthly it makes changes to the priority order for admission to schools that have enrolment schemes. A number of us on the committee certainly including me reflected long and hard on that because I understand from my own background that every time we put in a priority we are giving somebody an advantage over somebody else. I am very keen on the idea that all youngsters should have a fair crack at getting into a school of their choice. There are very good reasons why some schools are so enormously popular and others are not. I do not share Mr Mallard’s view about spreading capital around and all the rest of it. My objective has always been to get as many youngsters as possible into the best schools. 
Finally the bill removes inconsistencies regarding the New Zealand Teachers Council and the imposition of suspensions. That issue came to the Education and Science Committee late. I appreciate the cooperation that committee members showed in enabling us to deal with it in a timely fashion. I also want to take a moment to acknowledge the contribution made by the New Zealand Educational Institute the Post Primary Teachers Association and the School Trustees Association. They made themselves available at very short notice and I acknowledge that they were put under some pressure to respond to the committee. They did that and I appreciate that. 
This bill amounts to an extension of the Government’s desire to maximise participation in schooling and education to keep students engaged in education for as long as possible and to ensure that above all the State gets value for its investment in education. I commend the bill to the House.