Swarbrick ChlöeCHLÖE SWARBRICK (Green): Tēnā koe e Te Māngai. Tēnā koutou e Te Whare. I also would like to follow on from my colleagues in acknowledging this special day that being 125 years of women's suffrage. I myself am wearing this white camellia which was gifted to all female MPs currently in this Parliament. I'm No. 146 for the record as others have been citing their numbers. I want to use this opportunity that the conversation around suffrage opens up for us to reflect on the past 125 years with regard to democracy and representation and agency which are really the core things at the heart of this piece of legislation this member's bill proposed by the incredible Jan Tinetti who I'm privileged I feel to call a colleague given that she has very deep and very long personal experience in the education sector. I would note that with a number of stakeholders that I've been engaged with over the past year in my time as education spokesperson for the Greens she has been cited as somebody with incredible mana in this space someone who is incredibly well respected for her track record and for her advocacy.So as we reflect on the past 125 years I think it's important also to figure out how we design our future intentionally and what that to me looks like not is not just kind of wading along and perhaps continuing to unconsciously perpetuate the issues and the flaws that we've seen in systems past. What this piece of legislation does is put stakeholders and education at the heart of decisions around the National Education and Learning Priorities. The way that it does that in particular which I'll get to later as I run through the process that we went through in the select committee—the select committee process I'll note was a whole bunch of fun in the Education and Workforce Committee as it always is. I love our select committee and our polarised intensive discussions.Reading through the departmental report—which of course we went through line by line with officials throughout that process—I'd note that 17 submissions were in support. One was unclear but suggested changes to the system regarding learning support which notably we did indeed pick up in the majority report. One submission didn't quite appear to address the issues in the bill but there was only one submission that was opposed.One of the notable submissions was of course that of the Children's Commissioner Judge Andrew Becroft. In response to actually a number of the points raised by the Opposition with regard to their fears or concerns that this may be superseded by the conversation and the reviews that we're having in the education space Judge Andrew Becroft said that he believes that the scope of this bill was wide enough to accommodate any changes post those education conversations or reviews. Indeed officials in the departmental report did not recommend delay because changes could be incorporated subsequent to those reviews and the education conversations report back.So to speak to some of the debate points as raised—particularly by members of the Opposition including the select committee chair Parmjeet Parmar—noting that this was a waste of time both for the select committee and indeed for the House this evening I'd just say that actually this is about the democratic process. The whole point of this going before the select committee and us hearing from submitters was to engage in the broader conversation about who indeed should be involved as stakeholders in ongoing development and evolution of the education system. So too Ms Parmar said the sector is evolving really fast. To that point I would simply state that surely it then makes the most sense to be actually engaging with people who are at the coalface who are—to borrow a term from the vernacular of the Opposition—the consumers of this good or service that is education.So then to speak to the points raised by Tim Macindoe who stated that This is not a big bill. It's trivial." and that indeed it was hard to imagine anything more trivial because it had no substance I would just really like to point to what we do have here and to the list of people who the Minister of Education will now be required to consult with. It's extensive and it's important that it is cohesive and it's important that it touches on the lives of all of the people who do consume education. The Minister of Education must consult with children and now—as a result of the majority report back from the select committee—young people too. The reason that we have included the terminology "and young people;" is because we want to ensure that we're not just consulting with those in early learning or in the start of the compulsory sector but all the way through to senior secondary students. So too we'll be consulting with "national bodies representing the interests of teachers". You know teachers—those teachers who the Opposition are now declaring that they care so deeply about. Well members of the Opposition members of the National Party if you would love to hear the voices of the teachers then surely you would love to support this bill. So too the Minister of Education will be required to hear from principals from governing bodies of schools from early childhood services from parents—who the Opposition I note often invoke in this House with regards to legislation on education. But perhaps most importantly with regard to the process that we've been through throughout the Education and Workforce Committee's scrutiny on this bill is the inclusion now of a number of other stakeholders. I personally think in my capacity as the Greens' spokesperson on education following in the footsteps of an almighty stalwart like Catherine Delahunty in the space of learning support that the disability community will now have to be consulted with and support staff in schools those in Māori education organisations and Pacific education organisations and—as the National Party I'm sure would love to hear—proprietors of State integrated schools and those of designated character schools.So this was not by any means a waste of time. What we've ended up with is a bill that has evolved throughout the select committee process and indeed is much better off for it because we have incorporated the voices of those who have submitted.I note in my final 2½-odd minutes that none of this is happening in a vacuum. This is happening in the context of the changes that we are making to the broader education system—perhaps most notably the increases in funding as we've seen in the Budget passed earlier this year. For myself personally the things that get me really excited are the new funding for learning support to ensure that early intervention help is available for another 8000 kids in this country and so too the new funding to support another 1000 children with high and complex needs.On the point of the broader reviews that are currently being undertaken which I'm sure the speaker from the Opposition following me will herald as the sky falling in the most important and largest one there is the Education Conversation in which we are undertaking a new plan for the next 30 years—the next three decades—of education in this country. I would say to that point that for all of the criticism that is being thrown by the National Party we're extending an olive branch here as members of the Government. We want you involved in this plan to develop the education system for the next 30 years—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Poto Williams): Order! Order! You are straying from the subject.CHLÖE SWARBRICK: I appreciate that Madam Assistant Speaker. So in summation on this day celebrating 125 years of women's suffrage when we have the opportunity to consider the second reading of this member's bill the Education (National Education and Learning Priorities) Amendment Bill in the name of my colleague Jan Tinetti we have the opportunity to choose to intentionally design the education system moving forward. This is not a piece of legislation that is happening in isolation. It is something which I am incredibly proud to support as a member of the Green Party and a member of this Parliament. Kia ora."