Hutchison Paul: General Debate 
Hutchison Paul: General Debate 
[Volume:646;Page:15064] 
Dr PAUL HUTCHISON (National—Port Waikato) 
: 
 In no coincidence to the previous speaker I looked in the  
Oxford Dictionary 
 and I see “strut: pompous or affected” and that is proceeded by “strudel: a confection of thin pastry rolled up round a filling and baked”. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: I would just like to ask the speaker to consider that he too is using an imputation and members cannot get around the rules against unparliamentary behaviour or language by circumlocution. I also refer him to Speaker’s ruling 51/4. Mr Cosgrove might like to look at that as well. 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I accept your ruling absolutely. But could I make a plea that you allow the member to continue with what he is saying because it is reasonably hilarious and it shows him up for what he is. I take no offence and I encourage him continue. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: The member is trifling with the Chair. 
Dr PAUL HUTCHISON 
: I will not continue along that vein because it is clearly futile but I add that the next word is “struthious: of or like an ostrich.” Despite that over the last 8 years we have seen reform after reform in tertiary education perpetrated by this Labour Government. We know that on average those reforms have been called every 2 years and they have been associated with the most extraordinary waste of money that New Zealand has ever seen—about $1 billion. There was twilight golf homeopathy for pets pendulism and the singalong. They were mainly brought in by former Minister Maharey but were presided over by none other than Minister Cullen. Not only were those excesses but also the bureaucratic costs of those reforms were calculated at about $419 million and totalled $1 billion of precious education resources wasted. 
What does the Labour Government do now after it has run out of all these reforms? It has brought in some more reforms. We are deeply concerned about them. At select committee this morning 2006-07 was described as the busiest year ever for the Tertiary Education Commission yet in that year the Tertiary Education Commission had a staff turnover of 25.5 percent. This is the organisation that the Labour Government has charged with bringing in the biggest reforms ever in tertiary education—reforms it says are so crucial—yet the commission has a staff turnover of a quarter of all personnel. Not only that but also we have seen the chairman of the Tertiary Education Commission leave the Minister for Tertiary Education has left twice and the chief executive officer of the Tertiary Education Commission is about to leave in a couple of months’ time. There is no one left to take responsibility or accountability for these reforms that the Labour Government regards as being absolutely crucial. This is utterly typical of a Labour Government in disarray—a Labour Government that has failed to institute good governance or good succession planning in an area that it suggests is absolutely vital. 
Let us take a look at the so-called tertiary reforms themselves. The Government has just announced that it is going to undertake a review of land-based agricultural education. I am sure those members on the Government side of the Chamber will know that skills in agriculture are badly wanting. But this Government has decided that before it brings in the review it will take away hundreds of equivalent full-time employees from some of our specialist educational polytechs such as Tai Poutini Polytechnic Aoraki Polytechnic the Southern Institute of Technology and Telford Rural Polytechnic. It is totally illogical to have the review after the Government has caused disarray in the sector. What is even worse is that these very important agricultural equivalent full-time employees are going to institutions that are not necessarily going to use them in agriculture even though there is an incredible need. We have had no confirmation from the Labour Government that that is the case. [ 
Interruption 
] 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: I am on my feet. I am sorry to interrupt the member but would the members on my right please look at Speakers’ ruling 57/3. 
Dr PAUL HUTCHISON 
: Even further we have a situation that defies belief where we have specialist agricultural institutions such as Telford which the Tertiary Education Commission says is actually doing a good job losing their agricultural equivalent full-time employees to institutions such as the Western Institute of Technology up in New Plymouth which has been chronically failing has been under a Crown commissioner and gave up agricultural teaching 4 or 5 years ago. It is totally and utterly illogical.