Hobbs Marian: Education (Tertiary Reforms) Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
Hobbs Marian: Education (Tertiary Reforms) Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:644;Page:13676] 
Hon MARIAN HOBBS (Labour—Wellington Central) 
: 
 Sometimes when I hear the member Paul Hutchison—who has just resumed his seat—speak on tertiary education I have the feeling that he is interested only in personalities whether it be the chair of the Tertiary Education Commission or the wonderful Janice Shiner who has spent 4 very productive years in New Zealand. He does not talk about policy nor does he talk about the system which this bill will ensure is improved and lasts regardless of the personalities of Ministers heads of departments or heads of commissions. 
The other fallacy that that man always brings up is the fallacy around academic freedom. Academic freedom was never challenged in this legislation for the reason that this bill is an amendment bill. It amends the Education Act 1989 and academic freedom is spelt out in a section of the Education Act. People got so nervous about this issue that we restated the definition of academic freedom in this amendment bill. It is rather tautologous; it is in the amendment bill and it is in the Act that this bill amends. It is in there twice. 
I rise to support the third reading of the Education (Tertiary Reforms) Amendment Bill. Earlier speeches on the bill have outlined many of the improvements to the tertiary education sector that will be enacted through the legislation. In particular we have heard that the bill initiates a set of more streamlined steering instruments than previously existed to assist the Tertiary Education Commission to invest specifically in the Government’s and the country’s priorities and to respond to key stakeholder interests. 
Do we need more engineers? Are we short of scientists? Do we need to invest there or do we need to keep on producing lawyers for the National Party? 
Sue Moroney 
: Not just for the National Party. 
Hon MARIAN HOBBS 
: I have just realised that I say to my colleague. I am very very sorry. I just skipped blissfully over that. There are certain lawyers who are absolutely wonderful; there are others whom we have an abundance of. 
This approach will assist tertiary education organisations to realise Government expectations for the funding they receive while also allowing greater certainty for those organisations due to the Government’s commitment to finding its priorities over a longer term. I will say that again. For too long tertiary organisations have had a 1-year funding window. This bill gives 3 years. In short the funding for and the outcomes sought from tertiary education will be more firmly geared towards achieving strategic benefit for all New Zealanders. As the Minister for Tertiary Education has expressed in his speech this new approach towards investing in tertiary education provision will enable a high-performing tertiary education sector one that is vital for our country. 
In the joined-up tertiary education system we have in this country a high-performing sector is one that meets the needs of all New Zealanders regardless of the type of education they engage in. I would suggest that the joined-up nature of the tertiary education sector is one of the sector’s major strengths. Rather than elevating particular levels or forms of study above others we have a system that encompasses industry training post-graduate university study adult and community education—which is often the way people re-enter training—and other areas of study. All these areas of provision provide benefits for this country and its people and they will be enhanced by the bill providing for more considered planning across the tertiary sector. I give members an example. I often hear people complain about how our workforce is not able to be as productive as one would like it to be. One of the reasons for that is the high level of inability in reading and in mathematics—literacy and numeracy. This factor is as much a part of this tertiary planning as the need for scientists or accountants is. 
The bill will facilitate the distinctive contribution of all areas of tertiary education provisions partly by requiring that tertiary education organisations work closely with stakeholders to ascertain their needs and to respond to those needs through the plans proposed to and approved by the commission. The collaborative aspect—not a competitive one for a change—put in place by this change will lead to a step change in the responsiveness of organisations to those with the most interest in the kinds of teaching and research available. It is exciting to know that the link between investment plans Government long-term strategy and medium-term tertiary priorities will mean that each part of the tertiary sector can be confident of the role it has to play in achieving those priorities. 
The move towards an outcome-focused system will also enhance the confidence of sub-sectors such as the polytechs which play an extraordinary part and role here. They are not something to be run down and neglected as is portrayed. They are vital. They found the demand-driven system problematic with the competitiveness and uncertainty that came with it which had polytechs trying to poach from other polytechs up and down the country. Instead they are for example able to serve the needs of the energy industry in New Plymouth and do not have to make up strange courses in order to get the numbers. That was a system that was put in place by the National Party. It was “bums on seats”. 
Dr Paul Hutchison 
: It was Maharey. 
Hon MARIAN HOBBS 
: No I am sorry. It was absolutely “bums on seats” and it was particularly led by Lockwood Smith. I remember it very clearly as a member of the education movement. 
A statement of the Government’s long-term strategy and medium-term priorities will be essential in helping the sector plan for the future. It provides a transparency and a clarity that will let tertiary organisations see what the system as a whole needs to provide and what role they play in the fulfilment of that whole. I am also confident that the changes proposed by the bill around quality assurance of adult and community education will solidify a far better approach to approving the course offered by these providers. I would find it very strange if the Opposition disagreed with that given the noise it created on these issues some years ago. These changes recognise that many of these providers do not have the critical mass of established tertiary education institutions to deal with undue levels of scrutiny and compliance. 
This bill is a comprehensive bill that does not improve planning just for universities or wananga or industry training; it is a bill that works to improve planning across the whole tertiary education sector. It means that individual tertiary organisations can plan better but it also means that we can plan better across the whole tertiary education sector. It is not about just making sure that Victoria University or the Southern Institute of Technology continues to meet society’s needs; it is about the whole sector. It is not about competition; it is about collaboration. In that way it is efficient; it saves us money and resources that otherwise could be spent in a most frivolous way. 
Finally I would like to emphasise that this bill will act as a significant enabler of stakeholder-driven change which in itself will lead to better investment of Government funding. This approach is not top-down. [ 
Interruption 
] This approach is very much—as that member would know if he knew anything about the adult and community education sector—from the bottom up. 
Furthermore the explicit connection between investment and meeting Government priorities through plans reinforces the particular relevance of each sub-sector of the tertiary education system so that all students—wherever they are—can be confident that they are entering study that is worthwhile for themselves and for New Zealand and that they will have jobs.