Mallard Trevor: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Mallard Trevor: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:666;Page:13774] 
8. 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Labour—Hutt South) 
 to the  
Minister of Education 
: How many letters and emails has she received from school board of trustee representatives since she told the House on 24 August 2010 that members of the New Zealand School Trustees Association are “extremely supportive of National Standards” that expressed support for the current national standards and how many have expressed concern about the national standards? 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY (Minister of Education) 
: 
 I am advised that correspondence is logged by the name of the signatory and it is not always recorded that correspondence is from a board member. However five letters and emails have been received and logged as being correspondence from a board of trustees member. All were supportive of national standards and contained the following positive statements: “As an experienced trustee who is not afraid to challenge the current norms when we’re discussing student achievement I along with my fellow trustees are very much in favour of the new standards. Despite what you may hear”— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: If the Minister had listened to the question she would know that it was very simple in terms of what it asked. I think the Minister answered it quite a while back. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Has she read the letter she received by email yesterday from a board of trustees chair outlining “his very serious concerns” about national standards and describing the situation that schools are currently in as “trying to fly an aeroplane that is still being built” which was written by David Bishop chairperson of Spotswood Primary School board of trustees of whom I had never heard before he sent me the email yesterday? 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY 
: No but I did go back and look at the emails that the member talked about on 24 August. Of the 51 emails only 20 were received this year. The rest of them were received last year and some of them were received during the consultation period. When I looked at the 20 emails received this year from board of trustees members who that member said were anti national standards I found that in fact they were asking questions about national standards and were not expressing any discontent with the standards themselves. 
Allan Peachey 
: What reports has the Minister seen that show that boards of trustees are getting on with the job of implementing national standards? 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY 
: The Education Review Office recently found that 80 percent of schools are either well prepared to work with the standards or have preparation under way. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Yes 20 percent were ready. 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY 
: Regardless of what that member and that party think the facts are that the majority of schools are getting on with the job of implementing national standards telling parents and whanau how their children are achieving and giving our children the skills that they need to succeed. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: How does she reconcile her statement that the applause while she was on the stage at the New Zealand School Trustees Association conference was a sign of support for her standards with the association president’s statement that the applause was in recognition of the president’s 21 years of service as a school trustee? 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY 
: Easily because I did not say that. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I do not know what to do because she said that in the House Mr Speaker. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: No no. The Minister absolutely answered the question. Does the member have a supplementary question? 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Yes but I will be back with another pointless letter I am sure. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member will just ask his supplementary question. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Does she maintain that the New Zealand School Trustees Association is “extremely supportive of national standards” following its president’s comments that she “ ‘never said’ the boards were supportive of the policy”? 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY 
: I said to the member who asked the question that I was at the New Zealand School Trustees Association conference and I know that the comments made to me about the national standards were many and supportive. However Lorraine Kerr the president says “If we truly subscribe to the notion that our schools exist for our students and that students are at the centre of all quality teaching and learning then a degree of discomfort is an acceptable price to pay for a very real opportunity to improve the lot of every student. We are saying let’s just get on with it.” 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: If the Minister is so certain of her national standards will she agree to Gary Hawke and John Hattie who are working for the Prime Minister and her appearing before the Education and Science Committee in order to outline progress that they are making in their committee? 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY 
: Actually that is an advisory group that provides free and frank advice to me as the Minister. I just remind the member that he said himself in— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The Minister may wish to tell the House what she would like to tell the House but the question was a very specific one. The question did not contain any criticism of the Government’s policy; it simply asked whether the Minister would consider allowing two people—from memory Gary Hawke and Professor Hattie—to appear in front of the Education and Science Committee. That is not an unreasonable question. 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY 
: Actually it is not my business to dictate what happens in the select committee. The committee is perfectly free to invite whomever it would like to appear in front of it.