Mallard Trevor: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Mallard Trevor: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:668;Page:15080] 
8. 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Labour—Hutt South) 
 to the  
Minister of Education 
: Does she agree with Te Ururoa Flavell when he said “Unlike National Standards in mainstream schooling Nga Whanaketanga has been trialled and has a direct connection to the curriculum.”; if not why not? 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY (Minister of Education) 
: 
 No; because national standards also have a direct connection to the curriculum. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Is that connection a linear connection? 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY 
: I just happen to have with me in the House a chart that shows very clearly the level of the standards in reading writing and maths and underneath them all where they are connected to the curriculum. If the member asking the question is interested I am happy to forward him a copy. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Does she agree with Te Ururoa Flavell when he said: “The Government bureaucracy must never think that they know more than our communities and I commend them for reaching out to Maori for giving them a real say in the future education of their children.”; if so why does she think she knows more than teachers and parents in Pakeha communities who have been raising concerns about national standards or is that one of the things that happen just for Maori? 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY 
: I agree totally with Te Ururoa Flavell when he said in his press release: “Whanau hapu and iwi have worked so hard for so long to build an entire kaupapa Maori education system from scratch—one that reflects their world view and tikanga and ensures their language and culture are maintained by future generations.” I also agree with him that the community should have a say in the education of their children and that is why it is so important that national standards will deliver good information to parents on the progress that their children are making in reading writing and maths so that they not only can ensure that their children are getting a good education from the schools but also can be part of it and help. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Will the Minister explain in plain English what her writing standards mean when they state that at the end of year 7 a student “plans effectively by using mind-mapping in addition to other planning strategies and uses her information literacy skills to find and make use of relevant information for her writing purpose;”? What does that mean in plain English? 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY 
: I am not a teacher in a classroom. As the Minister I am not required to deliver the curriculum to children in the classroom but I do have a responsibility to ensure that teachers have the resources and the support in order to deliver the New Zealand curriculum to schools. So it is my responsibility to make sure that teachers have the information and the resources that they need to deliver exactly that in relation to the curriculum. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: How then can a parent be expected to understand what a standard means if the Minister says that she herself does not have to understand it? 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY 
: I refer the member again to the very good wallchart that I hold up now. For each one of the years displayed on the chart there is a booklet that explains to parents in very good clear language exactly what the expectations are. If they are not explained in language that the parents can understand the most important part is the conversation that happens between the teacher and the parents. National standards are about creating good information that is shared by schools and homes. 
Louise Upston 
: What feedback has the Minister received about national standards in mainstream schooling? 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY 
: Following last week’s reports of a boycott by boards of trustees which was fostered by the Labour Party and unions many upset parents have emailed me about national standards. One stated: “This country really does need to have those national standards. Please put these standards in place and let them be implemented.” Another parent wrote to me and summed up the situation: “Thousands of Kiwi parents simply want to know where our kids stack up.” This Government is absolutely committed to making sure that parents have that information. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Is it still her intention to dismiss boards that do not fully implement national standards? 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY 
: That has never been my intention. In fact the papers that have been taken through to Cabinet—papers that that member has in his possession because I released them to him—show that we have in place a very good process of working with schools that are having difficulty implementing the standards to make sure that they have the support they need that they are assisted by the Ministry of Education and that they get professional development for their teachers wherever it is needed. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I might get myself into trouble here but the Minister told Kathryn Ryan on the radio very clearly that it was her intention to dismiss boards. I do not think she can just deny the fact. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: That is not a point of order and the member knows that. He should not do that. There are other ways of pursuing concern about an answer but he should not use that way. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Can you outline whether that involves a change in your policy? You have had a policy when we have complained of breaches of privilege in terms of errors that Ministers have made in the past that we cannot— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member listened to the Minister’s answer very carefully. What the member can do with his information where he believes that the Minister indicated a different course of action would be taken is question the Minister even more tightly to pin the Minister down. To come back to the member’s exact point of order I say that primary questions are a matter of some formality in this House so Ministers need to be very careful how they answer primary questions. They should be careful how they answer any question but it is difficult for a Minister to be absolutely accurate in response to every supplementary question. But in response to a primary question they must be absolutely accurate so the opportunity exists for the member to pin the Minister down more tightly on the matter.