Hipkins Chris: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeHipkins Chris: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 27 August 2015. Volume:708;Page:6252. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]9.CHRIS HIPKINS (Labour—Rimutaka) to the Minister of Education: Does she stand by her predecessor’s statement in 2010 regarding truancy that “We cannot sit back and do nothing. These figures are really shocking and we need to get serious about tackling this problem”; if so by how much has the truancy rate increased since then?Hon HEKIA PARATA (Minister of Education): I do indeed stand by my colleague’s statement and wholeheartedly support her sentiment. Since 2011 there has been a 0.6 percent increase in unexplained absences. One unjustified absence is one too many—we want kids to be in school and learning. What we saw under the previous Labour Government was a 41 percent increase in the rate of unexplained absence and it was so complacent that it measured truancy only every 2 years. Under this Government we are working hard and that is why since 2011 we have had an electronic survey every year to encourage a more regular collection of data and give us a better understanding of who the kids are who are not consistently attending school and how we can keep them at school and learning.Chris Hipkins: Does the Attendance in New Zealand Schools 2014 survey result show that one in every 78 students regularly bunked school in 2013—a 30 percent increase on the number the year before?Hon HEKIA PARATA: No it does not. What it shows is that the frequent truant rate increased from 1 percent in 2013 to 1.3 percent in 2014 while—[Interruption] I am glad the Opposition takes so much pleasure in checking—Mr SPEAKER: Order! Just complete the answer.Hon HEKIA PARATA: So we are working very hard to keep kids at school and playing with percentages may be what the Opposition wants to do but we are focused on getting kids to school.Chris Hipkins: Why is a 30 percent increase in the number of students regularly skipping classes acceptable and what confidence can parents have that she is dealing with the issue given that after 7 years of a National Government the problem is getting worse?Mr SPEAKER: The Hon Hekia Parata either of those two supplementary questions.Hon HEKIA PARATA: What the Attendance Service deals with is chronic truancy. What the member is referring to is overall truancy which of course is a partnership between parents and schools and the Government. The Government is doing its part to get and keep kids at school. That is why we have introduced Positive Behaviour for Learning in 600 schools. That is why we have introduced Kia Eke Panuku which has seen Māori attendance and suspensions halved in the time we have been in Government and also Pasifika absences have decreased since we have been in Government. But overall truancy is a partnership between parents their children schools and the Government.Chris Hipkins: Is it acceptable that students were absent for almost 10 percent of their classes last year and thousands of students—thousands of students—were wagging school on a regular basis?Hon HEKIA PARATA: Of course it is not. It is not acceptable and that is why we have introduced a new attendance service we have increased the funding to it to $9.5 million we have introduced 24 new providers across the country we are working with six social sector trials we are engaging with parents to see that their kids are at school and we are providing more engaged pathways through the vocational pathways 5250 trades academy places 10000 fees-free places—Mr SPEAKER: Order! Bring the answer to a conclusion.Hon HEKIA PARATA: We are working hard at this.Chris Hipkins: Has she seen the comment: “In a country as small as ours it is ludicrous to think we can’t keep proper track on where our young people are. We can do much better for our young people because if we don’t there will be more mindless murders like that of Michael Choy.”; if so and if everything is going so well as she says has Bill English—the author of that comment—asked her to explain why truancy continues to go up after 7 years of a National Government?Mr SPEAKER: Again either of those two supplementary questions.Hon HEKIA PARATA: I along with other Ministers are constantly scrutinised because we believe in transparency and self-review on how well we are doing. I have not once said that I am complacent about this. What I was demonstrating was that we are investing significantly into this area so that we get consistent attendance. Can I just draw the member’s understanding to the distinction between kids being sick and therefore not being at school kids coming from families dealing with mental health illness and who are not at school and kids who are chronically truant. There is a difference between the surveys that have been reported today.