Kaye Nikki: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Kaye Nikki: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 01 May 2012. Volume:679;Page:1798. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
NIKKI KAYE (National—Auckland Central) 
: 
 I am very pleased to speak on this financial review. Can I start off by acknowledging the previous chair of the Education and Science Committee Allan Peachey. He was someone who had a huge respect in this House and I think all members would acknowledge the huge contribution he made to our country in terms of education. Can I acknowledge the Hon Hekia Parata our Minister of Education and the fantastic job that she is doing for us and this Government and the Hon Anne Tolley who also did an outstanding job.  
Many of us in the National Party believe in equality of opportunity not outcome. For many of us we will fight to the death in this Parliament to ensure that some of our most disadvantaged children get the best opportunities in life. A large part of that is access to good quality education. What we are very proud of in this Parliament is that not only have we raised standards but also we have focused on ensuring that we resource our education system properly. When it comes to the Budget we are very proud that the increases we have seen have been in both health and education.  
If we look at some of our achievements we have managed to fund 18 new schools we have managed to fund 400 school buildings we have employed 1600 more teachers and we have focused 50 education experts and $36 million to target those children who are falling behind. We know in this House that actually this country has some of the most outstanding educators in the world but we also know that there are a group of children who are not doing so well. So everything that we do whether it is better resources which we have provided in the last 3½ years or whether it is national standards is about ensuring that those kids who are falling behind get the best start in life that they can. We have also been very focused on programmes like the Youth Guarantee. We know that some children in New Zealand do not suit a classroom environment. We are focused in ensuring that those kids do not drop out of school. The Youth Guarantee offers free study at selected private training establishments and polytechnics and institutes of technology. We have seen 12500 Youth Guarantee places for 16 and 17-year-olds; that will happen by 2014.  
I want to talk about something that I am very passionate about and that is close to my heart which is ensuring that New Zealand schoolkids can lead the world in digital literacy. When you look at the last 3½ years we have committed an extraordinary amount of money through the ultra-fast broadband fund $1.5 billion to make sure that our kids can lead the world in digital literacy. As many members will be aware there is an inquiry in front of our Parliament to ensure that kids across New Zealand whatever school they may be in have equality of access to technology.  
We have also focused on service academies—that is military-style programmes for years 12 and 13 which are run at schools with the Defence Force. We have already opened eight new academies for over 800 students with 13 more opening in 2012.  
We have been absolutely focused as well on ensuring that rural kids get a good education. That has been partly through the Ultra-fast Broadband Initiative and Rural Broadband Initiative. We have committed that over 97 percent of our schools will have ultra-fast broadband access by 2015. The Rural Broadband Initiative will put $300 million into this. I am very proud to be part of a Government that is not only providing extra and additional resources—and we have seen that through the new schools that we have opened we have seen that through the many school buildings that we have built and we are seeing that through the investment that we are making in new technology—but is also saying that we are unashamedly focused on raising standards for our most disadvantaged children.  
Can I acknowledge that this does not just happen. It is not just about money; it is not just about good policy. It is also about leadership. Those members of the House who look at their schools and see that some of their schools are failing know how important leadership and governance is. Can I say that I am very proud to be part of an education team led by the Hon Hekia Parata who has made some hard calls in the last period that she has been in there. She is not afraid to say that this Government has standards and that this Government will not let children be left behind. We have seen some of those hard decisions and I am sure there will be more challenges that we will have in this area. But what we are very clear on on this side of the House is that when it comes to future Budgets we are absolutely focused on ensuring that education is a priority but we are also focused on ensuring that we get good value for money. We are also focused on the fact that we understand—