Cunliffe David: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeCunliffe David: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 16 September 2015. Volume:708;Page:6677. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]12.Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Labour—New Lynn) to the Minister for Tertiary Education Skills and Employment: Does he stand by all his statements to the House last week in respect of tertiary education organisations?Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister for Tertiary Education Skills and Employment): Yes.Hon David Cunliffe: Does he stand by his statement regarding funding requirements on tertiary organisations that oversight agencies are “entitled to expect that the governors and operators meet those requirements and make representations to the Tertiary Education Commission that are correct.”?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Yes I do.Hon David Cunliffe: Is he aware that a sitting National MP was a member of that board and oversaw this systemic rorting; if so has he asked Barbara Kuriger MP why rorting at Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre went on for so long under her watch and what she did about it?Mr SPEAKER: The Hon Steven Joyce—either of those two supplementary questions.Hon STEVEN JOYCE: I think the member is being deliberately nasty and—Mr SPEAKER: Order! Just answer the question.Hon STEVEN JOYCE: In relation to Taratahi there are some issues as the member knows. I would point out that there is an investigation from the Tertiary Education Commission and from other agencies. I think we should let those other agencies complete their investigations.Hon David Cunliffe: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Respectfully I do not believe that the Minister has addressed the specific question—Mr SPEAKER: Order! The question was quite long. There were two parts to the question—was he aware that this particular National member was on the board and the second part was whether he had spoken to her—Hon David Cunliffe: Had he asked her yes and—Mr SPEAKER: The Hon Steven Joyce if he could address either of those two supplementary questions.Hon STEVEN JOYCE: No.Hon David Cunliffe: Why was no action taken by the Tai Poutini Polytechnic council in relation to a Protected Disclosures Act investigation requested by a quality assurance manager in 2013 because of a “failure to maintain an auditable standard of enrolment and credit and because of health and safety concerns.”?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: If the member would like to provide the information that he claims to be the case then I would be more than happy to have a look at it for him. I have looked at the information that he has provided through the media last week in relation to some suggested matters with Tai Poutini Polytechnic and so far have not been able to discern anything that has not already been previously addressed. But if he has an issue he would like to raise I am more than happy for him to supply that information and I will address it.Hon David Cunliffe: I seek leave to table a document showing that allegations of systemic rorting were raised with the Tai Poutini Polytechnic council on 20 December 2013—it being a letter from a then quality assurance manager dated 20 December 2013 to a then council member.Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought to table that particular document. Is there any objection? There is none. It can be tabled.Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.Hon David Cunliffe: I seek leave to table a letter to myself from that quality assurance manager—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! This is a point of order.Hon David Cunliffe: —and I refer to the fact that the letter is not publicly available—and it asks why the Tertiary Education Commission would investigate and say that the figures for the courses were accurate when evidence—Mr SPEAKER: Order! The letter has now been described. It does not need to be further described. Leave is sought to table that particular letter to the honourable member. Is there any objection? There is objection.Hon David Cunliffe: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Just to clarify that was there objection—Mr SPEAKER: Order! I ruled that there was objection. I heard objection.Hon David Cunliffe: How can the public have confidence in the National Government’s oversight of tertiary institutions when more examples of tertiary rorting are coming to light every week and now a member of its own caucus is implicated in this scandal?Mr SPEAKER: Order! The last part of the question is out of order. I will allow the very first part; the last part is completely out of order.Hon STEVEN JOYCE: “Detective Sherlock” over there has so far released some information into the public domain—Chris Hipkins: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! A point of order has been called.Chris Hipkins: You have been much more rigid in your application of the Standing Orders and Speakers’ rulings this week and one of the most basic Standing Orders is that members have to be referred to by their appropriate names or titles.Mr SPEAKER: I actually did not hear the interjection. I do acknowledge that if there was an interjection I did not hear it. If the Minister would start his answer again—he was simply asked how New Zealanders could have confidence in tertiary education. [Interruption] No I do not need any assistance from the member. The member has asked the question and it has not yet been answered.Hon STEVEN JOYCE: The member raised some information in the public domain in the last few days all of which has been raised previously with the Tertiary Education Commission and the New Zealand Qualifications Authority and thoroughly investigated at the time. From what I can see the member has got completely the wrong end of the stick but if he has new information I repeat my invitation to him. Rather than grandstanding about it I am happy to read it and see whether it needs acting on.