Peck Mark: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Peck Mark: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:620;Page:15456] 
7.  
MARK PECK (Labour—Invercargill) 
 to the  
Minister of Education 
: What reports has he received on the success of the Government’s initiatives in the areas of literacy and numeracy? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Minister of Education) 
: 
 I have seen a report that indicates that United States’ literacy levels are higher than New Zealand’s when in fact Programme for International Student Assessment results show that our 15-year-olds are third in the OECD for literacy and the US is in 16th position. I have also seen a report that concedes that previous Governments did not do enough to address literacy and numeracy issues and that after 20 years of arguing this Government has finally got things on the right track. I welcome that endorsement from Bill English of our work to lift education standards; it contrasts with the comments made by Don Brash running down the New Zealand education system. 
Mark Peck 
: What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that all our students develop essential literacy and numeracy skills? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: As part of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement all students are now required to meet basic literacy and numeracy standards. For the first time we have level 2 literacy requirements for entrance to university. We have raised the standard of education so that all students can develop the skills needed for a modern workforce. However literacy and numeracy do appear to be a problem for some. For example I have found no evidence to support the claim that 25 percent of our school leavers are illiterate. I am glad to see that Bill English does not agree with that. It would be good if Don Brash used one of his occasional visits to the House to stop running down New Zealand. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The last part of the last sentence is not in order. 
Simon Power 
: Is the Minister satisfied with the prioritisation of education spending when literacy and numeracy projects play second fiddle to pet projects of his Associate Minister whose successful Budget bid for a new polytechnic slush fund was slammed by Treasury which said it had “no clear funding needs or benefits” would “create risks of double-dipping” and would be “low value for money”; if so why? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: While I am Associate Minister of Finance and am always very careful to be respectful of the comments of Treasury I think that if the member looked at the money that went into the polytech capitalisation fund and into literacy he would see that an enormous amount more goes into literacy than into the polytech fund. I do not agree with that member or with Bill English who say that our schools are awash with cash. It is just not true. [ 
Interruption 
] 
Gerry Brownlee 
: They’re all losing it. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: And the member is about to lose his place in this House. 
Murray Smith 
: Does the Minister accept the comments made by Kevin Bryant Chief Executive of the Agriculture Industry Training Organisation who told a recent principals’ conference that the school system had failed them because of Government underfunding; and in the light of Mr Bryant’s justification of those comments is he prepared to give priority to the literacy and numeracy needs of secondary and tertiary students given that the Government’s own research shows that 20 percent of agriculture trainees have major literacy problems and 25 percent have significant difficulties with numeracy? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: I think the member has an important point—that is historically there have been problems in the literacy area. This Government has put an enormous amount of funding into mainly the primary education system but also more recently secondary literacy work. I know that my colleague the Associate Minister who looks after tertiary education is doing a lot of work on foundation courses in order to ensure that people who are in industry training and in our polytechnic system get the literacy work that is necessary. However for some people especially Don Brash it is just too late. 
Murray Smith 
: I seek leave to table an article dated 4 September and headed “Underfunding blamed for failure of school system”. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table it. Is there any objection? There is objection.