Stanford EricaREGULATORY SYSTEMS (EDUCATION) AMENDMENT BILLSecond ReadingHon ERICA STANFORD (Minister of Education): I present a legislative statement on the Regulatory Systems (Education) Amendment BillASSISTANT SPEAKER (Maureen Pugh): That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website.Hon ERICA STANFORD: I move That the Regulatory Systems (Education) Amendment Bill be now read a second time. During the consultation period I had the privilege of being a member of the Education and Workforce Committee and hearing the concerns of stakeholders in the public regarding the matters of this bill. I want to start by first and foremost thanking all of those who took time to make submissions on the bill. I'd also like to thank all of the other members of the committee for their consideration of this bill which makes some very technical amendments to maintain the effectiveness of education regulatory systems including continuing the legacy of the 28th Māori Battalion as well as benefiting learners who receive support from the Pacific Education Foundation.The committee received nine submissions on the bill covering a range of views and suggestions. Some of the 28th Māori Battalion company associations made submissions and provided their views on these proposals. The majority of submissions were supportive of the changes that were proposed and suggestions from submitters have made useful improvements to the bill. The committee proposed amendments to the bill that mainly refine and clarify the original provisions which were unanimously agreed to.This bill makes changes to the Ngarimu VC and 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial Scholarship Fund Act 1945 to confirm the Ngarimu VC and 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial Scholarship Fund Board as the successor to the 28th Māori Battalion Association. This change will enable the board to authorise the use of words and emblems related to the 28th Māori Battalion and the 28th Māori Battalion Association under the Flags Emblems and Names Protection Act 1981.The bill also creates a new position on the Ngarimu scholarship fund board to be held by a person of Māori descent who has or is currently serving in the armed forces. This proposal is intended to preserve the legacy and mana of the 28th Māori Battalion into the future.The Education and Workforce Committee recommended two changes to clarify this proposal. First the committee proposed in addition to the bill to state that this new position is to be appointed by the Governor-General. This provides clarity on who will be responsible for appointments to the new role. The Governor-General is the appropriate person to make this appointment as they already appoint other individual positions on the Ngarimu VC board. The Governor-General would decide who to appoint into the role on advice from the Minister of Education and in accordance with the Public Service Commission and Cabinet guidelines for appointments to boards where the Crown has an interest. This will ensure that the appointment process is transparent and consistent with other individual appointments to the Ngarimu VC board.The committee also recommended a change to this proposal to clarify that the new position should be held by a person of Māori descent who is serving or has served in the armed forces rather than the New Zealand Defence Force more generally. The reference to armed forces in the bill relates to the definition of armed forces" in the Defence Act 1990 which constitutes the navy the army and the air force collectively. This change will make sure that the position is held by someone with a military background rather than civilian staff to preserve the military legacy and mana of the 28th Māori Battalion.The bill makes several amendments to the Pacific Education Foundation Act 1972. The Act governs the Pacific Education Foundation which promotes and encourages strong education outcomes for Pacific peoples in New Zealand. The board of the foundation administers different kinds of support for Pacific peoples living in New Zealand. The changes to this bill to the Pacific education Act include amending the Act's membership and purpose provisions to enable the foundation to more effectively promote and encourage the education of Aotearoa Pacific people.One of the key amendments to the Pacific Education Foundation Act included in this bill is to update the definition of "Pacific person" who can receive support from the foundation. The new definition of "Aotearoa Pacific person" refers to a person with indigenous Pacific cultural heritage from a broader list of Pacific places compared to the previous definition. The bill also enables the Governor-General on the recommendation of the Minister of Education through an Order in Council to update this list to ensure it reflects the diverse Pacific population of New Zealand.The committee recommended an amendment to the bill so that it sets out the factors the Minister of Education must take into account when making a recommendation to the Governor-General to make changes to this list of Pacific places. These factors include the location of the Pacific place the population of those with indigenous cultural heritage from the place living in New Zealand and any other consultation with that Pacific community. This change will ensure that any directions to make changes to the list of places is appropriate and transparent.The bill also updates the foundation's authorised expenditure for purposes not specifically identified in the Act from $500 to $10000 a year as this amount hasn't been updated since 1972. The committee has recommended a minor change to the bill which modernises the language of this authorised expenditure provision.The bill also makes technical amendments to two sets of regulations that impact the education sector. The first is an amendment to the Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016 so that the police vetting requirements for workers at limited attendance childcare centres such as malls or gym creches are consistent with the requirements in the Children's Act 2014 and the Education and Training Act 2020.The second amendment updates the Children's (Requirements for Safety Checks of Children's Workers) Regulations 2015 to include reference to the Kiwi Access Card as an acceptable form of identity reflecting the name change of the 18+ Card. The committee did not propose any changes to either of these amendments.The bill makes changes that uphold the mana and the legacy of the Ngarimu VC and 28th Māori Battalion supports the work of the Pacific Education Foundation and ensures that the education regulatory systems are fit for purpose.Just before I finish I'd just like to say that I as the chair of this board the Ngarimu board was very honoured to host the awards ceremony last week in Gisborne where we presented about 13 awards to quite brilliant young Māori achievers. It was an absolutely fantastic day and I know that it means so much to them and their families to be carrying that legacy with them. It's incredible mana for them and the day couldn't have gone better and I'd like to say a big shout-out to the board who put on an incredibly good awards ceremony.And with that Madam Speaker I commend the Regulatory Systems (Education) Amendment Bill to the House.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Maureen Pugh): The question is that the motion be agreed to."