Dowie SarahSARAH DOWIE (National—Invercargill): Thank you Madam Assistant Speaker for the opportunity to speak on this Education (Teaching Council of Aotearoa) Amendment Bill and of course I rise in opposition to it.But before I do launch in to the substantive part of my speech I do want to thank the members of the Education and Workforce Committee for the privilege of electing me to be the chair. We can debate the hows and whys of how that came about but I take that role extremely seriously. I am quite prepared to facilitate an environment which is a safe environment to discuss ideas. That's what politics is all about especially in the education space.I'm not sure what that previous speaker was getting at but I know that the members on this side certainly do value teachers. I have some of the best teachers in New Zealand based in my electorate. I'm talking about the Peter Hopgoods the Stan Tiatias the Katie Pennicotts that have received awards for throwing deficit learning out the window and making sure that the kids in their schools have every opportunity to achieve their hopes and dreams through a magnificent platform of education.So look I'm not sure what that previous speaker was getting at but certainly we value education and as the chairperson of the Education and Workforce Committee I take the ideas based in this portfolio very very seriously. To the new members again collegial"—it's an important word. We are doing work on the select committee creating that safe environment to talk about it but also there will be contention. I think this is one of these bills that does create tension. The reason for that is because we have seen so much change with this new incoming Government in the education space that I believe that this bill—albeit somewhat small and albeit that it seems to on the face of it prima facie simply change the make-up of the Teaching Council—I think given the changes that are going on has more wide-reaching ramifications and needs to be considered. So if you look at some of the changes that this Government has already brought in in my opinion quite hastily and without consideration—you're talking about the abolition of national standards without any fixed ideas about what it is going to be replaced with. You can debate the pros and cons of the free tertiary fees—you can debate that depending on where you are—and the abolition of charter schools. We have to look at the cornerstone of what keeps the teaching profession on a level peg and what maintains that standard. The cornerstone of that is this Teaching Council. So at the very same time as these wide-ranging sweeping changes throughout the education portfolio we are now looking at changing the teaching council and the make-up of that.We need to look quite critically at these changes. I don't want to come from an ideology. I want to really debate the merits of how our kids are going to be given that platform to achieve. But if you're going to start making changes to this council at this very time—sorry Madam Assistant Speaker; I used the word "you" and I saw your eyebrows raise. If you're going to change the make-up of this council at this stage I think it is reckless because we need to keep things consistent. As a parent I want to know that things in the education system are kept consistent for the time being until we know what we are getting.As a parent while I value what teachers provide—my goodness; some of them are saints absolutely—I need to know that my children will go to school and be able to compete on a global stage. The only way we can understand that is if we know exactly how they are achieving. And yes Minister there will be some teachers that can adequately explain that and will have the experience to give feedback in an appropriate manner but without national standards of course we won't be able to know where those children pitch for example in New Zealand and then the world.This council is the very cornerstone of what maintains standards in the New Zealand education system. We are changing that at the very time that things are changing with this new Government in the education space. I think this bill is going to need some very rigorous analysis at the select committee. I think that the other initiatives that this Government has raised are going to need some scrutiny. But like I say while I value the profession of teachers and the work that they do in preparing our young people for the future certainly this Government needs to be held to account. As part of that the teaching profession also needs to be held to account to achieve whatever standards are put in place through this vehicle. We need to scrutinise this further. Thank you."