Mallard Trevor: Education (Disestablishment of Early Childhood Development Board) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Mallard Trevor: Education (Disestablishment of Early Childhood Development Board) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:611;Page:8555] 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Minister of Education) 
: 
 I move  
That the Education (Disestablishment of Early Childhood Development Board) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. 
 It is my intention to move that the bill be referred to the Education and Science Committee at the conclusion of this debate. 
This bill amends the Education Act 1989 to carry out the legislative disestablishment of the education Crown entity the Early Childhood Development Board. The Review of the Centre done as part of the State services work of this Government found an important issue with fragmentation and with the loss of focus on the big picture that fragmentation can cause. I considered the Review of the Centre advice appropriate when I received the recommendations coming out of the working-party on the Early Childhood Strategic Plan—something around which there was a lot of discussion and I think a very large degree of unanimity politically and amongst the sector.  Although New Zealand already has a relatively strong early childhood education sector compared with other countries the plan provides opportunities to build on its strengths. One of the changes in focus required by the plan is greater involvement by the Government in early childhood education rather than the free-market approach. I think it is fair to say that the involvement of the Government has been welcomed widely. In particular rural communities feel that they miss out in the early childhood area under the free-market approach because they consider that they need more resources more intervention and more support. 
A lot of work is being done to integrate the work being done by the Early Childhood Development Board into the Ministry of Education in order to combine the capabilities and strengths of both organisations in ways that will contribute to the overall lifting of access quality and collaboration across the early childhood education sector. The outcomes of the integration will be to improve the effectiveness of early childhood education delivery to provide a combined and strong leadership for early childhood education services and to lift the early childhood education capability of the Ministry of Education. I am the first to accept that the ministry has been very light in this area especially in the areas of Maori and Pasifika early childhood education. In fact I think it is fair to say that overall when I became Minister the early childhood education sector in the Ministry of Education was not capable of doing the sort of intervention work and development work that I think this whole Parliament thinks is necessary in order to improve the quality of early childhood education. The outcomes will also include: developing closer links between early childhood education policy development policy implementation and shared strategies; developing strong links between information advice and support functions which have been disparate until now; and maintaining national cohesion. 
I want to make it clear that this decision in no way reflects on the work that the Early Childhood Development Board has done to promote and develop quality early childhood education. It has had a particular focus on Maori and Pasifika communities which I know has been very greatly appreciated by those communities. Even in the past 12 months knowing that change was about to occur it has kept its eye on the ball and has licensed more non-registered services than its objectives in its annual plan required. I think the board is to be commended for that. 
The integration process will transfer most of the board’s business to the Ministry of Education as at 1 October 2003. A new organisational design for the ministry is currently being finalised and is out for consultation. Early Childhood Development Board staff will be appointed to the ministry under the relevant provisions of the State Sector Act and a transfer protocol has been negotiated with the Public Service Association. 
This bill provides for the formal disestablishment of the Early Childhood Development Board as a legal entity and the consequential matters that that entails. Just to make it clear an interim board will be appointed to carry out any requisite legal matters until the time that this legislation passes. The bill transfers the functions assets liabilities and rights to the Ministry of Education makes the necessary amendments to legislation and provides for the Secretary for Education to take responsibility for providing Parliament with a final report after the end of the year. 
The bill also empowers the ministry to take over the payments to licence - exempt early childhood services. These are small grants to services such as playgroups. The grants allow them to pay for such things as hall hire play equipment and safety modifications. The Early Childhood Development Board was able to pay the grants under section 321 of the Education Act 1989 because it was a body corporate as the section requires. Members will probably be surprised to learn that the ministry as part of the Crown and not a body corporate has no authorisation to make such payments. I think it is a gap in the law and obviously we are taking advantage of this legislation to fill this gap. 
I understand that there is a lot of support from around the House for this legislation because people who have been consulting the early childhood sector know that it is very widely supported. Everyone out there in the sector knows that it is something that is wanted and desired and it is really just a matter of Parliament doing the will of the sector in this case.