Delahunty Catherine: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Delahunty Catherine: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 28 November 2012. Volume:686;Page:6854. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
6. 
CATHERINE DELAHUNTY (Green) 
 to the  
Minister of Education 
: What evidence if any has she received that creating bigger super schools in Christchurch will benefit students and their communities? 
Hon HEKIA PARATA (Minister of Education) 
: 
 Tena hoki koe e te Kaiwhakawa. Tena tatou e te Whare. Tena koe e te kaipatapatai. I am not proposing bigger super-schools in Christchurch. What I am proposing are fit for purpose 21st century educational environments focused on better outcomes for all of our children. This will include some small schools and some big schools and will retain diversity and choice in the system. 
Catherine Delahunty 
: Why do the Ministry of Education criteria for assessing schools in the Christchurch renewal project show that schools with 150 students or fewer get a black mark against their name? 
Hon HEKIA PARATA 
: The evidence is very clear that there are 9500 fewer students in the Christchurch education network so we have to look at what spaces are vacant across classrooms. The size of the schools and the utility of the schools have been a consideration and in all the schools we have considered there has been underutilisation. 
Catherine Delahunty 
: I seek leave to table the Belfast learning community cluster document which shows schools of 150 pupils or fewer in the negative column. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? 
Hon Member 
: Where did it come from? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Oh I beg your pardon members. I have not made it clear to the members where the document came from. The source of the document? 
Catherine Delahunty 
: It was a document that was sent to schools by the Ministry of Education called Catalyst for Change—Proposal. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table this document. Is there any objection? There is objection. 
Catherine Delahunty 
: What is wrong with smaller schools like Ouruhia that have robust rolls population growth in their area great Education Review Office reports and no quake damage? Why are they on her blacklist simply because they are small? 
Hon HEKIA PARATA 
: It is not about the size of the school. It is about the quality of the teaching that occurs in the school. The Ouruhia school has a proposal in front of it that has not yet been decided upon. 
Nicky Wagner 
: Where can members of the public get information about this Government’s education renewal plan? 
Hon HEKIA PARATA 
: I am in a consultation process with schools. All the material information about education renewal in Greater Christchurch is publicly available on the www.shapingeducation.minedu.govt.nz website. There are no secret agendas. 
Dr Megan Woods 
: Why did the Minister wait until Friday 23 November to finally release the alternative options for schools and clusters that her officials had presented her with? 
Hon HEKIA PARATA 
: All of the information material to the proposals before schools was made available to them on 13 October. The information that I released on Friday was additional background information. 
Catherine Delahunty 
: Will she remove this 150 pupil minimum category from the negative column on the basis—here it is—that there is no evidence that small schools are bad and that communities do not want their schools super-sized? 
Hon HEKIA PARATA 
: I will just repeat that it is not the size of a school; it is the quality of teaching and learning that occurs there. 
Catherine Delahunty 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. My question was straightforward. Will she— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member’s question indeed did not ask that. The question asked whether the Minister would remove the schools of fewer than 150 pupils from what was described as a negative column in some ministry publication. That was what the question was. 
Hon HEKIA PARATA 
: No. That document is in the public domain together with the wider context that allows full and intelligent consideration of the total proposal. 
Catherine Delahunty 
: Mr Speaker— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! Is this a point of order? 
Catherine Delahunty 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I did not ask whether it was in the public domain— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: No order! [ 
Interruption 
] Order! The Minister has absolutely answered the question now. The member asked whether the Minister would remove those schools from what was described as a negative list and the Minister has said no.