edithatogo/nz-hansard-corpus huggingface dataset:
Faafoi KrisHon KRIS FAAFOI (Minister of Immigration): I might just take the opportunity to address a couple of the issues because I think I may have addressed most of the questions that were asked in my opening statement.The powers in this legislation have been framed as a power grab. Now if they could have any negative effect on people then I guess that concern in some way might be valid. But in order for us to use these powers within this bill it cannot have any negative effect on any class of visa holder. So in fact the powers that we are asking to extend here—and alleged to be using in a power grab—can only be used to positively benefit visa class holders. We have used it on a number of occasions.So for those of you who may be listening—or watching if you've stumbled on to Parliament TV this evening—Hon Simon Bridges: Change channels!Hon KRIS FAAFOI: Yeah please do especially if the Opposition is going to drag this out! Any connotation that this is some kind of power grab I would push back against. Again going to the issue that is in Supplementary Order Paper 30 one of the reasons why we believe this needs to be two years I will reiterate is the global issues that continue to rage outside of New Zealand and the reality of what bringing back a piece of legislation that we would only have in force for one year would be for this House—I don't think that we should be using the time of very busy officials or the time of this House to be back here in September revisiting some of these issues to extend it for another 12 months.The people of New Zealand towards the end of last year backed the Government to make the right decisions around our border settings to keep us safe and they trust us that we are making the right decisions in order that they can live with relative freedom at a time when things in the rest of the world are markedly different. Even in the first reading speeches from the Opposition we did hear from some of their members that they did think that when we used the discretion and the powers that are given to us in the Act that we are amending today we had used them well. So any suggestion that a power grab is being enacted by extending this legislation actually doesn't bear out from what has actually happened and people on that side of the House to my left have actually agreed with us. That again goes to the fact that the people of New Zealand have entrusted us again with a responsibility to keep that armour around the country and to have the settings of that right to keep us safe. So all of those things in totality mean that we want to ensure that we have these powers for whatever length of time we believe is necessary—and at this stage it is two years—to keep the country safe. If anyone in this hall has got a crystal ball about how long they think the COVID-19 pandemic situation is going to last for I would happily buy it off you. But I would hazard a guess that we will be in a similar position with our border settings in a year and therefore we will need to continue having the flexibility that is within this bill to make the decisions that we have been trusted and will continue to be trusted to make.
McDowall JamesDr JAMES McDOWALL (ACT): Thank you Mr Chair. I'm just going to speak very briefly and add my thoughts to this. The Minister has asked for a two-year extension of the extraordinary powers and as we've heard he is not accepting one year. I think it is fairly obvious that the circumstances that New Zealand will be in over the next two years will be vastly different to when the original Act came into force. So I also ask: why is the Minister asking for two years? What is the basis for that power grab? What is the motivation? What is really going on in the immigration space behind the scenes? And how does this all fit into a long-term hypothetical immigration reset—whatever that means?I have previously questioned the outcomes of the original legislation over the past year. They have been totally insufficient in addressing the critical needs of migrants employers and New Zealand at large. In particular the state of the skilled migrant category which we've spoken about is an utter disgrace. So I'd like to know how the Minister plans on using his powers in fixing it. If the Minister has the temerity to ask Parliament for two more years of extraordinary powers then I think he owes us this explanation. The debilitating situation for so many thousands of migrants cannot go on. I do wonder and worry what the Government has in store. If the Minister wants two more years how about giving the people of New Zealand an explanation as to his thinking for both this bill and long term? Is it good news or just more bad news? Thank you Mr Chair.
SpeechIMMIGRATION (COVID-19 RESPONSE) AMENDMENT BILLIn Committee
Rurawhe AdrianDEPUTY SPEAKER: I declare the House in Committee for consideration of the Immigration (COVID-19 Response) Amendment Bill.
Motions — Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region—Human Rights Abuses
Motions — Member's Notice of Motion No. 7—Leave Declined
Bishop ChrisMOTIONSNo Confidence in Speaker—Leave DeclinedCHRIS BISHOP (National): I seek leave for members' notice of motion No. 7 in my name to be set down for debate forthwith.SPEAKER: Is there any objection to that? There is.
Waititi Rawiri; Mallard TrevorORAL QUESTIONSPoints of Order—Transfer of QuestionsRAWIRI WAITITI (Co-Leader—Te Paati Māori): Point of order Mr Speaker. I seek clarification on the transfer of questions from the Prime Minister to her Ministers. I also seek leave of the House to transfer my question back to the Prime Minister with the original wording as lodged to ask for her views on this important take [issue].SPEAKER: I thank the member for raising it. I thank him for giving notice to me of the fact that he was going to raise it. There are I think two relevant Speakers' rulings. The first I'll refer him to is Speakers' ruling 161/1 which makes it clear that with very limited exceptions it is in the power of the Government to transfer questions to the Minister they think is appropriate. The second Speaker's ruling I will refer the member to is 160/1 and that is that Speakers have previously ruled that they won't put leave to transfer questions back because the decision has already been made by the Government.
Speaker's Rulings — Written Replies—Timeliness of Replies
Mallard TrevorSPEAKER'S RULINGSWritten Questions—Timeliness of RepliesSPEAKER: Members have raised with me the timeliness of replies to written questions. After discussions with the Business Committee yesterday I have agreed to rule on the matter. Increasingly Ministers are proactively releasing papers. This should greatly help public access to information. It has the potential to save time for members and to reduce the number of written questions lodged to seek routine information and I encourage it. There have been two main concerns raised with me. The first is that references by a Minister to information being online have not always been specific enough to assist in the location of the information. I would remind members of Speaker's ruling 194/5 which states that if a Minister chooses to reply by directing a member to information already available it must be done with some particularity. It is not acceptable to simply state that the information has already been released. Rather the Minister should provide a sufficiently detailed answer to enable the member to directly locate the information.The other concern is the timeliness of proactive information releases. If information is not released in a timely way it causes unreasonable delays to members receiving substantive replies to their written questions. Under Standing Orders [392(4)] members are entitled to receive a reply to a written question within six working days. It is not reasonable for them to have to wait much longer than that for a proactive release of information. Therefore I am ruling that if the information requested in a written question will not be made available for two weeks or more the Minister must provide a substantive reply to the written question rather than refer the member to information that will be released in the future. Where Ministers do refer a member to information available elsewhere they must provide specific details to assist in locating it.I will continue to review the matter with the Business Committee periodically to see whether things improve.
Mallard TrevorPETITIONS PAPERS SELECT COMMITTEE REPORTS AND INTRODUCTION OF BILLSSPEAKER: No papers or select committee reports have been presented no bills have been introduced.Petitions have been delivered to the Clerk for presentation.CLERK: Petition of Pete McDonald requesting that the House ask Land Information New Zealand and the New Zealand Walking Access Commission to redesign the track symbols used on New Zealand's Topo50 maps petition of Mary Coupe requesting that the House pass legislation to reduce the limits for collecting sea life currently set under the Fisheries Act 1996.SPEAKER: Those petitions stand referred to the Petitions Committee.
Motions — Members' Notice of Motion No. 1—Amendment
van Velden Brooke; Mallard TrevorMOTIONSMembers' Notice of Motion No. 1—AmendmentBROOKE VAN VELDEN (Deputy Leader—ACT): I seek leave of the House to delete the word possible" from members' notice of motion No. 1 in my name to read: That this House is gravely concerned about the severe human rights abuses taking place against Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and that it call on the Government to work with the United Nations international partners and to work with all relevant instruments of international law to bring these abuses to an end.SPEAKER: Is there any objection to that course of action? There appears to be none."
Rurawhe AdrianWEDNESDAY 5 MAY 2021The Speaker took the Chair at 2 p.m.KARAKIA/PRAYERSDEPUTY SPEAKER: E te Atua kaha rawa ka tuku whakamoemiti atu mātou mō ngā karakia kua waihotia mai ki runga i a mātou. Ka waiho i ō mātou pānga whaiaro katoa ki te taha. Ka mihi mātou ki te Kuīni me te inoi atu mō te ārahitanga i roto i ō mātou whakaaroarohanga kia mōhio ai kia whakaiti ai tā mātou whakahaere i ngā take o te Whare nei mō te oranga te maungārongo me te aroha o Aotearoa. Amene.[Almighty God we give thanks for the blessings which have been bestowed on us. Laying aside all personal interests we acknowledge the Queen and pray for guidance in our deliberations that we may conduct the affairs of this House with wisdom and humility for the welfare peace and compassion of New Zealand. Amen.]
Thursday 6 May 2021 - Volume 751
VoteA party vote was called for on the question That the Immigration (COVID-19 Response) Amendment Bill be now read a third time. Ayes 76New Zealand Labour 65; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 9; Te Paati Māori 2.Noes 43New Zealand National 33; ACT New Zealand 10.Motion agreed to.Bill read a third time.
11. Question No. 11—Internal AffairsKIERAN McANULTY (Labour—Wairarapa) to the Minister of Internal AffairsQuestion No. 11—Internal Affairs11. KIERAN McANULTY (Labour—Wairarapa) to the Minister of Internal Affairs: What progress has she seen on the building of fire stations?Hon JAN TINETTI (Minister of Internal Affairs): This week we not only celebrated International Firefighters' Day but also the substantial progress we've made on building fire stations. Firstly as the Minister responsible for Fire and Emergency New Zealand I'd like to take this opportunity to thank our firefighters and their friends and their whānau who support them for their generous service. I'm also pleased to inform the House that recently I've opened six new fire stations with the building of an additional 16 fire stations currently under way around the country.Kieran McAnulty: Why has the building of fire stations been progressed earlier than expected?Hon JAN TINETTI: This work was made possible through the Government's COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund. We allocated more than $50 million to the sector to rebuild or upgrade 26 fire stations mostly in our rural communities. The member will be pleased to know that the Greytown Fire Station where I'm told he started as a volunteer is on that list. Two stations I recently opened in Pōkeno and Kawakawa Bay were the result of this funding and were built to the highest safety standards to ensure they stand strong through any kind of emergency over the next 50 years and beyond.Kieran McAnulty: Why was an upgrade to fire stations needed?Hon JAN TINETTI: Fire stations are integral to the safety of our community. Over 14000 firefighting personnel do an outstanding job. Last year they responded to over 83000 incidents a 4 percent increase on the year before. Firefighting is about so much more than just fighting fires. Our firefighters are there when we need them the most by responding to a whole range of emergencies in our communities including motor vehicle accidents medical emergencies hazardous substances severe weather events and natural disasters.
8. Question No. 8—Arts Culture and HeritageANAHILA KANONGATA'A-SUISUIKI (Labour) to the Minister for Arts Culture and HeritageQuestion No. 8—Arts Culture and Heritage8. ANAHILA KANONGATA'A-SUISUIKI (Labour) to the Minister for Arts Culture and Heritage: What steps has she taken to support positive outcomes for New Zealand music?Hon CARMEL SEPULONI (Minister for Arts Culture and Heritage): Happy New Zealand Music Month. In addition to the annual funding we provide to support New Zealand music we've provided $16.6 million through the New Zealand Music Recovery Fund.Hon Simon Bridges: Give it some melody!SPEAKER: Order! Order!Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: Interrupting my flow.SPEAKER: Yes. Yeah I know who it was; I'm just getting him to be quiet.Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: Thank you. Happy New Zealand Music Month—take two. In addition to the annual funding we provide to support New Zealand music we've provided $16.6 million through the New Zealand Music Recovery Fund. I've been working and will continue to work with the Ministry for Culture and Heritage to ensure this funding reaches people and organisations and provides the short-term relief and longer-term support that the sector needs to survive adapt and thrive.Anahila Kanongata'a-Suisuiki: What positive outcomes have been achieved?Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: I'm pleased to advise that the New Zealand Music Recovery Fund has supported 85 music venues across 26 towns and cities to host concerts and events; 136 musicians and businesses to access funding through the Outward Sound Make Good Fund New Zealand Music Month Make Good Fund and the Aotearoa Touring Programme; and 309 grants totalling $2.4 million for artists to produce new music through the New Zealand music programme. I'm pleased that Government funding has reinvigorated the live music industry supported the creation of New Zealand music and has allowed musicians and music businesses to recoup some of the revenue lost due to COVID-19.Anahila Kanongata'a-Suisuiki: What updates has she seen on how much local music is being played?Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: New Zealand Music Month reminds us to celebrate our local musicians and industry and the great strides they are making. I'm pleased to advise that last year New Zealand music made up almost 21 percent of content on commercial radio which is a new annual record. Our New Zealand musicians are touring again and they are smashing it. Six60 sold out to 50000 people at Eden Park and were screened internationally with a reported audience of over 10 million people. It is important to note we are one of the only nations where 50000 people can come together and celebrate safely. Aotearoa truly is a slice of heaven.
7. Question No. 7—EducationHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister of EducationQuestion No. 7—Education7. Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister of Education: Does he stand by all his policies and actions in education?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister of Education): Yes.Hon Paul Goldsmith: How can he stand by those actions and policies when there are only around 60 percent of kids attending school regularly?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: I stand by them because this Government is absolutely committed to ensuring that kids get the educational opportunities that they deserve. We did inherit a downward trend in student attendance. COVID-19 last year 2020 did exacerbate that. The figure that the member particularly quoted was the term 4 figure last year. The biggest contributor to the increase in term 4 non-attendance last year was justified absence due to illness. Families were taking heed of the Government's request to keep their kids home if they were sick.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Is he suggesting that the low levels of school attendance is not an issue that his Government should be absolutely focused on?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: No absolutely not. In fact we think we can do significantly better and we are committed to doing that.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Why has he then prioritised waiving NCEA exam fees for wealthy families over properly resourcing workers to knock on doors and make sure that kids that are missing out on their education get to school?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: I think the member's question probably indicates why the last National Government started the downward trend in student attendance. Socioeconomics does play a significant role in student attendance. And in areas we have put extra funding into—for example removing fees for NCEA providing food in schools—we have seen attendance start to improve. Socioeconomics plays a role in student engagement.Hon Paul Goldsmith: So why then is he prioritising free fees at university for wealthy families while we simply don't have the people to knock on the doors to ensure that kids who are missing out on their education get to school?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: I think the member's clearly lost sight of the aspiration the National Party used to stand for. In fact many of those kids in school aspire to go to university.
5. Question No. 5—EducationSHANAN HALBERT (Labour—Northcote) to the Minister of EducationQuestion No. 5—Education5. SHANAN HALBERT (Labour—Northcote) to the Minister of Education: What reports has he seen about enrolments in tertiary education and training? Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister of Education): Some good news: I'm pleased to report that the number of apprentices continues to grow with people from across the community signing up for careers in the trades. The Government has backed trades with investment in free trades training and is supporting employers to continue to have apprentices through the Apprenticeship Boost scheme. That investment is paying off with double-digit growth in apprentice numbers during 2020 despite the impacts of COVID-19. Tertiary Education Commission data for enrolments in tertiary and vocational study as at December shows that the number of apprentices increased by 17.6 percent compared to December 2019. Shanan Halbert: Is this growth representative of the diversity of workforce? Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Yes. This is another piece of good news. We're seeing people taking the opportunity to become apprentices no matter what their age gender and ethnicity. Apprenticeships are traditionally seen as something you do out of school but with free trades training we're seeing a big jump nearly 20 percent in workers aged from 25 to 39—they're taking up the opportunity for a career change—and more than 1500 additional apprentices are over the age of 40. The number of Māori and Pacific apprentices grew by nearly 30 percent last year which of course will benefit the economic development of their communities for years to come. The percentage of women in apprenticeships has grown nearly twice as much as the number of males in apprenticeships has grown. That again is good news. Shanan Halbert: What reports has he seen about enrolments in provider-based tertiary education training? Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: We're also seeing very strong signs of continued growth in domestic tertiary education institutions. Indicative March data shows that the number of domestic students increased by 12 percent compared to about 1 percent for each of the previous three years and repeated decreases in full-year enrolment data in the years before that. The growth in 2021 is more pronounced amongst older people with building courses and teacher training standing out for particularly strong growth. It's quite rare to see growth in both the on-the-job training and the off-the-job training sectors at the same time. Typically we see either one or the other going up or down depending on the strength of the economy. This is one of the goals of the reforms of vocational education so it's an encouraging sign that the reforms are working.
4. Question No. 4—Broadcasting and MediaMELISSA LEE (National) to the Minister for Broadcasting and MediaQuestion No. 4—Broadcasting and Media4. MELISSA LEE (National) to the Minister for Broadcasting and Media: What measures if any is he taking to ensure the $55 million allocated to NZ On Air's Public Interest Journalism Fund will not lead to political bias?Hon KRIS FAAFOI (Minister for Broadcasting and Media): As has been the practice for decades any funding for broadcasters or media organisations goes through New Zealand On Air and the Public Interest Journalism Fund is no different. The Broadcasting Act states that in respect of New Zealand On Air no responsible Minister or any other Minister or anyone acting on their behalf may give a direction in respect of any programme or content for the gathering preparation or presentation of any current affairs programme or content. And this legislation delivers a well-established tried and tested system that makes sure media content funding decisions are free from political influence.Melissa Lee: Why does he believe the fund has included—and I quote—Political matters"—unquote—as stated in the Public Interest Journalism Fund general guidelines dated 30 April 2021 as a focus area for Māori journalism but specifically prohibited national political coverage for funding of non-Māori journalism?Hon KRIS FAAFOI: Because I believe those audiences might find those issues of interest.Melissa Lee: Does he agree with New Zealand On Air that—and I quote—"Māori and iwi journalism and reporting is innately political in nature."; if so what does that mean?Hon KRIS FAAFOI: Those statements are for New Zealand On Air to make. They are an independent Crown funding agency and they make decisions as to how they frame the perimeters of that funding.Melissa Lee: Does the Minister agree with New Zealand On Air that the funding of such reporting is—and I quote—"integral to the protection of te ao Māori under article 2 of Te Tiriti o Waitangi" as New Zealand On Air states?Hon KRIS FAAFOI: I would reiterate the comments that I made in the previous answer.Melissa Lee: Why has the Minister failed to allow for similar support for public interest journalism funding in other ethnic media communities that may consider their community "innately political in nature"?Hon KRIS FAAFOI: Because as the member will know there is a plethora of funding available to those ethnic media other than the Public Interest Journalism Fund. New Zealand On Air for decades has funded journalism content—the likes of Q+A The Nation Tagata Pasifika and shows like Asia Downunder in the past have received funding from New Zealand On Air."
3. Question No. 3—Research Science and InnovationHELEN WHITE (Labour) to the Minister of Research Science and InnovationQuestion No. 3—Research Science and InnovationHELEN WHITE (Labour): My question is to the Minister of Research Science and Innovation the Hon Megan Woods.SPEAKER: Order! The last bit is not necessary. We only have one and she's here. Just the Minister's name—go with the question now.3. HELEN WHITE (Labour) to the Minister of Research Science and Innovation: What recent announcements has she made about New Zealand's first Government-funded space mission?SPEAKER: The Hon Dr Megan Woods—see: that's my line!Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Minister of Research Science and Innovation): Thank you Mr Speaker. I recently announced that the Auckland University's Te Pūnaha Ātea - Auckland Space Institute will host mission control for New Zealand's first Government-funded space mission MethaneSAT. MethaneSAT is a state-of-the-art satellite designed to detect global methane emissions with unprecedented accuracy producing invaluable data to inform our climate policy work. Our $26 million investment in the mission will accelerate our capability in our rapidly growing space sector provide high-value jobs and establish valuable global research links at the frontier of research and innovation. [Interruption]SPEAKER: Hey can we have the cadets settle down a bit?Helen White: How will this mission establish global research links for New Zealand researchers and innovators?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: The mission will provide our researchers and innovators the opportunity to showcase their ability on the world stage working alongside the Environmental Defense Fund Harvard University and the Smithsonian observatory. As a result of the investment and involvement with the MethaneSAT mission New Zealand also stands to benefit through hosting future space missions and take a greater share of the US$350 billion global space industry.Helen White: How does the mission support research into climate change?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: MethaneSAT will be able to monitor and evaluate methane emissions across the globe and a New Zealand - based science team will use the satellite's data to better understand these emissions through the use of remote sensing technologies. The research will contribute to a greater understanding of climate change and the way in which we can manage its impacts.
1. Question No. 1—FinanceDr DUNCAN WEBB (Labour—Christchurch Central) on behalf of ARENA WILLIAMS (Labour—Manurewa) to the Minister of FinanceORAL QUESTIONSQUESTIONS TO MINISTERSQuestion No. 1—Finance1. Dr DUNCAN WEBB (Labour—Christchurch Central) on behalf of ARENA WILLIAMS (Labour—Manurewa) to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): Our economic recovery in New Zealand is being supported by a number of sectors including strong activity in the construction industry and I have record-breaking news to share with the House. Today Statistics New Zealand announced that building consents for new homes hit a record high of 41028 in the year to March 2021. This overtook the previous record high set in 1974. The House might also like to know that building consents for new homes in the year to March 2021 were up 34 percent or by more than 10000 compared with 2017. A range of measures introduced by this Government to increase the supply of new housing has helped create this situation including our record State house building programme investment in trade training and apprenticeship schemes and the general confidence created by the Government's infrastructure investment plans.Dr Duncan Webb: What reactions has he seen to this positive economic report?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Westpac's economists were particularly aware of this. They said Today's results support our expectations for very strong home building over the remainder of 2021 and extending into 2022." They also noted that the record-breaking house building consenting we are seeing along with reduced inward migration means that the housing shortages that have built up in recent years are rapidly being eroded. Westpac's economists also said "Non-residential building consents were starting to increase again as the economy recovers from the effects of COVID with storage and industrial construction segment showing very firm numbers."Dr Duncan Webb: What other reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Today the Crown financial statements for the nine months to March were published by the Treasury. They showed that the operating balance before gains and losses (OBEGAL) and net debt were in a better position than had been forecast at the half-year update reflecting the resilience of the economy and confidence in the Government's recovery plan. This resilience will continue to be tested. The devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in India is a painful reminder that we are still in a volatile and uncertain global economic environment. While the results in the Crown financial statements are strong we do need to remember that we are facing elevated levels of debt and OBEGAL deficits for some years to come as a result of the borrowing needed to support New Zealanders through COVID-19. Budget 2021 will reflect the economic conditions and revenue situation and take a balanced approach that continues to emphasise spending to areas and people where it is needed most alongside careful fiscal management."
Education and Training Amendment Bill — First Reading
McAnulty KieranKIERAN McANULTY (Labour—Wairarapa): Thank you very much Madam Speaker. I'm delighted to stand here and speak as the final speaker on this bill. I note that all parties in this Parliament are supporting it and I congratulate Parliament for that. It's something that the public don't often see. They see Parliament on the news and they see parties having a crack at each other but it's times like this that I think should be celebrated because it just goes to show that politicians aren't always having a go—although I will take the opportunity to have a minor go. The other side of the House have mentioned truancy rates quite a bit tonight. Well I'd like to remind them that this is potentially a result of the restructuring and essentially privatisation of truancy services that occurred under the last Government because—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): Order! Order! Could the member come to the bill.KIERAN McANULTY: Well now that we are past the five-minutes-to-closing mark I would like to say that I commend the Minister of Education for introducing this and fixing this up and I also commend the bill to the House.Motion agreed to.Bill read a first time.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): The question is That the Education and Training Amendment Bill be considered by the Education and Workforce Committee.Motion agreed to.Bill referred to the Education and Workforce Committee.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): The House stands adjourned until 2 p.m. Tuesday 11 May. Mā te wā.The House adjourned at 4.57 p.m.
Omer IbrahimIBRAHIM OMER (Labour): Thank you Madam Speaker. I'm very grateful to have an opportunity to contribute to this bill. I understand that this is one of a series of bills that the Minister is intending to introduce to this House. This bill does a lot of things. It amends a lot of provisions. I would have wanted to pick up quite a few of them. However due to the time constraint I'm just going to leave that for the next stages of this—Erica Stanford: You've got 10 minutes. There's no time constraint.IBRAHIM OMER: Thank you Erica. Next time! The impact of this bill is going to be present in primary secondary tertiary and vocational training. However I know that it's going to come through the select committee that I'm very fortunate to be part of. So I look forward to seeing the Education and Workforce Committee deliberate on this and I look forward to engaging with the public and our wider education sector. So on that note I commend this bill to the House. Thank you.
Lorck AnnaANNA LORCK (Labour—Tukituki): I rise to take a short call on the Education and Training Amendment Bill. As I do I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the 18 years of passion and commitment to a school and the hundreds of students of the principal of Te Mata primary school during his time. I am certainly in agreement with this quote reflecting when he went on to his new job. He said that on reflection He had seen 'moving through the dark days of national standards' and a restriction of the curriculum to be 'basically reading writing and mathematics' to now [after abolishing national standards] having the autonomy to 'bring back the richness of the curriculum' which [Mr] Bain says is an 'absolute winning moment.' " I wish Mr Bain all the very best from Hawke's Bay and the Tukituki electorate in his new career pathway.Now as I turn to the bill I'm speaking in support of the first reading. The purpose of the Education and Training Amendment Bill is to make a number of small and non-controversial amendments to the Education and Training Act. When I listen to speakers today it is pleasing to see that everybody across the House is speaking in support of this bill. It is the second time that I rise after yesterday speaking on another bill where we've had across-the-House support. This bill introduces structures—a structure right through the education journey—and puts our children on the road to a lifetime of success from early childhood primary and intermediate and secondary and to territory education skills and training. In commending this bill to the House I'd also like to thank the hard work that the teachers do for our children—and as parents I'd like to thank them too. I commend this bill to the House."
Roberts AngelaANGELA ROBERTS (Labour): Kia ora Madam Speaker. I stand to I guess accept the challenge that was put down to us by the Minister who tried to imply that some of us wouldn't be excited by this bill.Kieran McAnulty: She's excited.ANGELA ROBERTS: I'm excited. I'm easily excited. As an educator a mother I've been on a board of trustees and I know very very well the complexities that surround our education system. And I think it was a really ambitious and important thing to try and pull all of those Acts together in one—all of that that legislation that covers us as my colleague referred to earlier from early childhood through to schooling through to tertiary so that we can build towards a seamless and coherent lifelong learning system for our nation.I think that when we talk about the challenges about you know This was rushed and there's all these bits that were missed."—well first of all it was not rushed. The reason that there were bits and pieces that need clarifying and tidying up I think really shows why it was necessary to pull all of these pieces of legislation together in the first place.Schools are operating in very complex environments and when you look at what we are trying to do with the police vetting—we've got police vetting that applies to different people and workplaces and it applies in different Acts. So it is incredibly difficult for schools and boards of trustees to navigate those complexities when all they want to do is keep our tamariki safe.We have looked at the policy statement. The legislation is sorting out physical restraints it's sorting out thresholds for interventions and tidying things up. It is really great to hear the Greens and ACT are really keen to get this sorted get on with the real business which is about continuing to lift our world-class education system so it works well for everybody. I commend the bill to the House."
Chhour KarenKAREN CHHOUR (ACT): Thank you for the opportunity to speak on this bill today. This bill the Education and Training Amendment Bill seeks to make some amendments to the principal Act. I stand here not only as a parent of four children who have been through the New Zealand education system but I also know as a grown-up how hard life can be when the education system lets you down. So ACT will support this bill through its first reading so we can make sure we get this right for all our children's futures.These amendments for the most part are straightforward uncontroversial and aim to clear up some areas that have resulted in uncertainty. These amendments are so straightforward and uncontroversial that it begs the question: why were these missed from the principal Act to being with? For example take the provision that proposes to specify the five education agencies that must comply with the statement of expectations relating to the Treaty of Waitangi issues. These agencies were not named in the principal Act so the uncertainty that followed is understandable. ACT voted against the principal legislation with the worries about the possible consequences that could arise from the rushed way that such an extensive piece of legislation was brought about. One could argue that the need for these amendments is an expected consequence of rushing legislation.Also ACT disagreed with the principal Act's provisions that shifted educational responsibility around enrolment schemes away from locally elected school boards and centralised these powers with the Ministry of Education. We believe that local school boards understand the needs of their schools best especially when it comes to zoning. But ACT is also the party that advocates for better-quality laws and processes. These amendments make some minor changes that provide clarity and certainty. This we support.It is ACT's view that the sooner we make these changes the sooner we can direct our attention towards addressing the real issues such as New Zealand's education crisis. The fact that students' performance on objective international tests has been plummeting all century in addition to the fact that barely 60 percent of our children are attending school regularly is the real crisis and that is the issue that requires our urgent attention. So ACT will support this bill to the first reading.
Lubeck MarjaMARJA LUBECK (Labour): Tēnā koe e te Māngai o te Whare. Thank you for the opportunity on a Thursday afternoon to take a call on the Education and Training Amendment Bill. We've heard quite a bit of detailed outline of what this bill pertains to so I probably won't go into that particular detail. In fact I think I recall the Minister of Education starting his speech by saying this bill won't set the House on fire—but if it did I'm sure one of those many fire stations that we are building all through the country could probably deal with it.Kieran McAnulty: Whereabouts?MARJA LUBECK: Anyway—all over the place yeah.But when it comes to this very small but relatively urgent bill that will come to our select committee I think it's probably helpful to look at the context of the wider education sector and what it means for that. So as the Minister already outlined we had the Education and Training Act enacted in August last year which amended the 1964 and 1989 Education Acts and it made for some simplified less prescriptive and more modern language. What this bill does is basically it continues on that same trend with some more small amendments and that basically goes to ensuring that we are working further towards our work ensuring success for our future learners.I really look forward to this bill. It is a very busy Education and Workforce Committee but we're doing some really good mahi there. It's a collaborative team and with this bill impacting primary secondary tertiary and vocational learners and teachers I'm hopeful that we will hear from a wide range of people and organisations on how we can progress this bill and continue to improve the educational outcomes for all New Zealanders. So with that I'm delighted to commend this bill to the House.
Strange JamieJAMIE STRANGE (Labour—Hamilton East): Madam Speaker thank you for the opportunity to speak. Isn't it lovely that peace and harmony has broken out across the House on a Thursday afternoon with the National Party and the Labour Party obviously in support and we look forward to the contributions from the other parties to hear where they might sit on this bill. So as we've heard from the Minister of Education who gave an excellent outline of what is contained in this bill this bill makes a number of small and non-controversial amendments to the principal Act but some of them are relatively urgent which is obviously why it has come to the House. As a member of the Education and Workforce Committee I look forward to this bill coming to our very busy and very well-chaired committee. I'll just touch on a couple of points. I'll just keep my contribution fairly brief. I know as I said the Minister outlined the full extent of the bill but the bill introduces a new structure that's intended to follow the journey of students through education starting with early learning and moving to schooling and then tertiary and vocational training. The reason this is important is because when students move from one area of schooling into another those transition points are incredibly important. So whether it's early childhood into primary or whether it's primary into intermediate or some sort of middle school and then into high school and then tertiary those points there can make or break a person's education. If they have good positive transitions then things will go well but if those transitions don't go well then it can have quite a long-lasting negative impact on their education. So I'm particularly pleased to see the new structure that this bill introduces. Just one final point is that it moves some prescriptive detail directly into regulation—so rather than into legislation it moves it to regulation—and that gives flexibility for the officials and the policy makers to make changes in real time in terms of being able to respond to what's happening in our education system. We have a dynamic education system and it's important to be able to do that. I commend this bill to the House.
Leary IngridINGRID LEARY (Labour—Taieri): It is my privilege to wrap up this debate about this bill and I think when I've sat here and listened it's really been about certainty. The National Party on the other side think things are much more certain in the COVID world than we do. And may I remind the House that three leaders ago they were certain we could open the borders to Australia when there were 350 people per day being infected by COVID. Two leaders ago they were certain we could open to Australia when active cases were around 7000.So I don't apologise for the fact that we believe that the uncertainty caused by COVID warrants the extension of the powers that the Minister has for the next two years. The Opposition would have you believe that nobody wanted the extension but may I read from this press release dated 8 April this year from the Hospitality New Zealand organisation welcoming a move to extend the Government's ability by two years. The press release says It will allow the Minister to adjust settings as they arrive and that's exactly what we need to make the most of the opportunities." And it goes on to talk about giving everyone more certainty.In these uncertain times business confidence needs certainty. The reason we have a good economic recovery and saw those positive statistics come out today about debt being lower than forecast and tax intake being higher than forecast is exactly because we have been able to keep our borders safe. And the powers under this Act give the certainty to the Minister and to the sector so that he can be flexible in responding to their needs and they can go on confidently with their businesses.So this is about certainty in very uncertain times. These extra powers are needed for two years and we commend this bill to the House."
Goldsmith PaulHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National): Mr Speaker Muller it's very good to have you in the Chair and to have the opportunity to make some comments on this bill. This is a bill that this Government will pass—they have the numbers—and that we supported last year as an extraordinary measure to give the Minister of Immigration extraordinary powers to deal with circumstances brought about by this COVID-19. The point that concerns us however is that this lazy Minister has come up and just extended his extraordinary powers for two years because apparently it would be too much trouble for Parliament to consider whether or not it is appropriate to extend those powers one year from now. The only point we're making is that we think one year is more than sufficient an extension and then we can reconsider that. That doesn't mean we have to start legislation in two months' time; it means that we should be able to give sufficient thought to this in the months ahead as to whether it's necessary to extend these extraordinary powers.Immigration has an enormous impact on people's lives—many countless people in New Zealand and overseas whose lives are on hold because of decisions made through our immigration system. It is absolutely important that we have a rules-based system as soon as we can. We acknowledged the need for extraordinary measures under COVID19 but we do not think the Government should be lazy about extending those powers for very long periods of time. The Minister apparently wanted a three-year extension of those powers and we firmly hold the view that Parliament should scrutinise more regularly than that and that New Zealanders should have a say about exactly how they're organised. What happened was that they were brought in under an emergency last year for a certain amount of time. The Minister didn't do anything about the problem until it was very late in the piece and then rammed through legislation very quickly to extend it for two years. That's no way to run a Government. He should have taken the time to allow people to have a decent amount of input into the decision and then with humility extend it for a year and then let's see how we go beyond that. That's how any good Government should deal with what is an extraordinary situation. The only further point I'd like to make is an acknowledgment of the extreme challenges facing many families across New Zealand and beyond because of the border restrictions that we in the interest of all New Zealanders have imposed through this House for our public health reasons. We acknowledge the terrible strain many families are under. We do want to return to a situation approximating normality as soon as possible. So with those parting comments I will finish this speech.
Omer IbrahimIBRAHIM OMER (Labour): Sometimes extraordinary situations need an extraordinary response and that's exactly where we are now. This bill went through scrutiny—intense scrutiny—and a lot of people submitted on it and we have listened to all the submitters and we've listened to their stories. Some of them are quite sad stories. Me being a refugee who came to this country I sympathise with these people and I see their points. But at the same time a lot of them in fact asked the Minister to act to do something. Well unless he has these powers the Minister cannot do anything about this.Now we're hearing that the argument is that the Minister is going to misuse the power and the Minister is not going to do this and that but the reality is in the last year the Minister did not in any way misuse his powers. If the Minister is misusing his powers there is a process in place and Parliament can simply revoke the powers—as simple as that. So to argue otherwise is just to me cynical. Also the Minister's exercise of powers has to be clearly tied to COVID-19—nothing else nothing more.Last year when COVID-19 was raging—this bill was introduced in May—no one had thought that in 2021 12 months later this virus would be killing more people infecting more people. But the reality is it's still infecting more people. It's still killing more people. We never knew in 2020 the way it was going to be killing more people and infecting more people and the advice that we got was two years is a proper response—two years is enough. Maybe if we're talking about more than two years maybe it's not; but two years is perfectly enough. So if it's going to be one year and then in September the select committee has been—we would be going through this process. So it's not worth it.People talk about yes we've got the vaccine; we're doing well. Yes because of the response that we have taken the stance that we have taken we are in a stronger position. We are safe but a lot of countries are not. As we speak today in the last 24 hours: more than 700000 infections more than 12000 new deaths—this is a sober reminder that this virus is deadly and it's going to be around for a while. So with that I highly commend this bill to the House. Thank you.
Mallard TrevorPETITIONS PAPERS SELECT COMMITTEE REPORTS AND INTRODUCTION OF BILLSSPEAKER: No petitions or papers have been presented. No bills have been introduced. Select committee reports have been delivered for presentation.CLERK: Report of the Health Committee on the petition of Eva Chenreport of the Regulations Review Committee on the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Air Border and Isolation and Quarantine) Amendment Order 2021;COVID-19 Public Health Response (Air Border) Order (No 2) Amendment Order (No 2) 2021.SPEAKER: The reports of the Regulations Review Committee are set down for consideration.