Luxton JoJO LUXTON (Labour): Thank you Madam Speaker. I'd just like to start off my contribution this evening by congratulating the Hon Nikki Kaye for having her member's bill pulled out of the ballot box—and I think rightfully so. It's going to be a fantastic bill to be looking at at the Education and Workforce Committee. It's going to be quite an exciting bill to be having the debate and the conversations around and we do know that it is quite timely. As my colleague Jan Tinetti said before there hasn't really been a strategy around second languages as such within our education sector.I myself don't have specific experience within the primary education or intermediate school sector but what I do have knowledge of is what it's like in the early childhood sector and particularly the area where I work in Ashburton where it's very multicultural nowadays. I can recall this little gentleman a delightful young man; at the age of two he could speak three languages. He had two parents from different countries plus English in New Zealand and I tell you that he was one bright cookie. What is quite fascinating is that when they use language a lot more as they get older the words from the different languages come through; so it's actually quite difficult as an adult to decipher what it is they're actually saying because all these different words from different languages are coming through. But what we do know and what the research has said and what others have mentioned this evening is that learning a second language is extremely beneficial and really good for cognitive development. When children learn a second language that is I think the prime time for people to be learning a second language. I know myself at my age I would find it extremely difficult to pick up a second language but when children are young their minds are just sponges and they soak everything up. I think that's a fantastic time to be introducing second languages.I'm extremely pleased to see Te Reo and sign language obviously front and foremost in this. And whilst I see there are at least ten priority languages I do have some—not concerns or queries around that but I know that that will be discussed further in select committee. One of the things that I've been thinking about with this piece of legislation is that yes I think it's so important that children and families have identify and use their own language. That's really important because it gives them an important sense of self and identity and a greater sense of belonging but I have concerns though that whilst it's going to be consulted on amongst the community—and I'm hoping also as my colleague Jan Tinetti said the teaching sector will be involved in this as well—as the Hon Nikki Kaye pointed out what might be a priority language let's say up in Auckland could well be a different priority language somewhere down in the South Island. And my concern is that there might be a child who is hugely passionate and excited about the language they are learning at their school in Auckland and then they shift to the South Island and that language is not an opportunity for them anymore. So that is one of the concerns that I have and how we can work with that and mitigate those sorts of things happening. Because that is a reality; people shift around quite frequently around the country.The other concern I have is around our teachers and the skill base that they may have to be able to teach second languages. I mean we've got teacher shortages as we know but how are we going to ensure that we've got the educators that can provide these second languages? That's just something that I think is important to consider.The other thing I wanted to—I had some other train of thought but now it's just gone from my head. But I also think—oh yes that's what it is. Thinking about when children move from primary and intermediate schools to secondary schools is the ability therefore in respect of that language that they may have learnt and become actually really passionate about going to be lost because it's not available in that secondary sector? And what we do know is that if we don't continually practise something or speak a language or whatever it might be we could potentially lose that skill and what we want to see is some of these skills and these languages learnt at school be able to be continued on into the workforce. There's huge opportunity there. So they're just some of the things that I think are really fantastic a couple of concerns but I commend this bill to the House.