English Bill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
English Bill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:618;Page:14384] 
7.  
Hon BILL ENGLISH (National—Clutha-Southland) 
 to the  
Associate Minister of Education (Tertiary Education) 
: How will budgeted spending cuts of $144 million be applied at individual tertiary institutions over the next 3 years? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Associate Minister of Education (Tertiary Education)) 
: 
 The system for allocating community education funding was designed following extensive consultation with a sector working-group. Funding will be allocated by the Tertiary Education Commission through profiles using the following five priorities for adult and community education: targeting previously unsuccessful learners foundation skills strengthening communities lifelong learning and social cohesion. If an institution’s programme fits with the priorities the Tertiary Education Commission can fund it up to what is called its notional allocation. An institution will be able to receive more than that allocation only through a small additional allocation for priority areas. This ensures that total community education provision remains within a capped amount. 
Hon Bill English 
: Can the Minister confirm that all of that process he has described covers up the fact that polytechs like the Waiariki Institute of Technology in Rotorua will have their funding cut by over $1 million even though they did not abuse the community education funding at all? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: It is worth advising the member that these— 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: Just answer the question. 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: Well I am answering the question if Mr Smith would like to shut up for a little while. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Please come to the answer. 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: If I can say to— 
Hon Bill English 
: Just say it’s a cut. 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: Is that member going to shut up as well? Mr English should watch his blood pressure. I will just advise the member that these are not historical funding levels; these are set on the 2004 funding levels and therefore there is no cut against this year’s funding. Just like the member opposite however we have other areas we want to spend the money on. We have the tools to do it. In the 1990s he could not have done it; he ran a market-based demand system that students drove. 
Dr Ashraf Choudhary 
: What alternative approaches to allocating community education funding has he been advised of? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: I am advised that an alternative approach to the one we came up with in consultation with the sector working-group would be to tightly target so-called “bad” institutions. These institutions would have all or almost all of their community education funding stripped away from them and the Minister would be given the power to sack council members whether or not they were ministerial appointees. “Bad” institutions would be identified not based on the scale of their educational provision or on any other measure but on the personal opinion of the approach’s sponsor Mr Bill English. 
Hon Bill English 
: Does the Minister agree with the chief executive of the Waiariki Institute of Technology who says: “Those that blew the budget are now to be rewarded for doing so. From Waiariki’s perspective it’s grossly unfair.”? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: No I do not. This formula has been worked out as I said on funding during 2004. Those organisations that have been acting responsibly therefore will move forward in much the same environment as they had before; others that have been behaving in a way that they should not will have to scale back to fit within that cap. 
Hon Bill English 
: Given that the Minister has tried hard to create the impression that there will be no cuts—that everyone is in fact moving forward with a new allocation—what is the House to make of the statement made in the Budget that he plans to save $144 million in the next 3 years? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: I sometimes struggle to understand what the member’s point is because like the Government he is now an adherent to the view that we need to spend our money wisely across the tertiary education system. Going forward we intend to make sure that community education occupies a smaller part of our Budget and we will therefore ensure that other areas of the system have money available such as Modern Apprenticeships.