Pillay Lynne: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Pillay Lynne: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:624;Page:19311] 
5.  
LYNNE PILLAY (Labour—Waitakere) 
 to the  
Minister of Education 
: What progress has the Government made towards its targets for industry training? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Minister of Education) 
: 
 I am very very pleased to report that as at the end of last year nearly 140000 people were engaged in industry training. 
Hon Steve Maharey 
: How many? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: Nearly 140000 thanks to my former Associate Minister Steve Maharey. We are well on track to meet the target of 150000 by the end of the year. Funding for industry training has nearly doubled since we have been in Government and it contrasts with the cuts made in the death throes of the former National Government. 
Lynne Pillay 
: What progress has the Government made towards its manifesto target of having 7500 Modern Apprentices by June 2006? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: I am very very pleased to say that not only will we meet that target but we will get there a year early. I am however sad to say that we are still to get an apology from the National Party which said on the introduction of the Modern Apprenticeships scheme that: “$42 million is being spent on 3000 apprentices who will not get any work.” There is a word for that but I am not allowed to say it here. 
Simon Power 
: Can the Minister confirm that in the last 2 years the Government has spent $159 million more on Te Wananga o Aotearoa than it has on trades training and that since 2000 the funding for non-formal education of the Twilight Golf and radio sing-along variety has increased at 15 times the rate of funding for trades training? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: I cannot confirm that but I can confirm that the National Party said that Modern Apprenticeships were pathetic and that it will get rid of them. That is National’s policy; it does not like trades people. 
Simon Power 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. The Minister’s rant about the National Party in no way addressed the specific question that I asked. I asked him to confirm the comparison of funding between the wananga and trades training. I would ask that you ask him to answer that question or at the very least to address it. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: The Minister did address the question by saying that he did not know. If the answer had stopped there there probably would not have been a point of order. 
Hon Brian Donnelly 
: Will the Minister confirm that there would not even be a Modern Apprenticeship Training Act if it had not been for New Zealand First? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: Unlike the previous questioner I am prepared to take that member’s word on that. [ 
Interruption 
] 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Yes the Minister will withdraw and apologise. 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: I do. I withdraw and apologise. 
Hon Brian Donnelly 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. The point is: if the member has withdrawn the statement that he made will he actually answer the question? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: I can confirm what that honourable member said. 
Bernie Ogilvy 
: Is the Minister willing to increase the target of industry training’s Modern Apprenticeships to 10000 as advocated by the Industry Training Federation and by United Future in its Budget bids; if not why not? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: The member will see the answer to that at the appropriate moment in the fullness of time.