Choudhary Ashraf: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Choudhary Ashraf: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:606;Page:3428] 
6.  
Dr ASHRAF CHOUDHARY (NZ Labour) 
 to the  
Minister of Education 
: What initiatives have been put in place to encourage greater physical activity of school children? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Minister of Education) 
: 
 Getting kids off the couch and into physical activity is an important focus for the Ministry of Education and Sport and Recreation New Zealand. Those agencies signed a protocol earlier this month and have identified a number of priorities including increasing understanding amongst teachers and students of the benefit of physical activity promoting opportunities to access those activities establishing environments that are enjoyable safe and supportive for young people engaging parents and communities and monitoring achievements and engagement in order to inform future development. It is fair to say that in the last 5 years we have not made much progress. 
Dr Ashraf Choudhary 
: Are there any particular projects to encourage increased physical activity? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: Yes. For example the school physical activity project comprises a mix of professional development for teachers physical activity coordinators and research. Sixteen schools are involved in the project in four clusters each with a coordinator. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: Noting that the just-announced protocol between his ministry and Sport and Recreation New Zealand has as one of its highest priorities promoting physical activity that is culturally appropriate and that embraces the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and noting that no Minister in this House is able to tell us what those principles are can he explain to the average physical education teacher how he or she might embrace such principles and promote such culturally appropriate physical activity? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: Not only could I do that but I could also invite Dallas Seymour to give teachers a good seminar on it. 
Barbara Stewart 
: Noting the item in today’s  
Dominion Post  
about the risk of cancer for children who use playgrounds made from arsenic-treated timber does the Minister consider that there is a problem in New Zealand’s schools; if so what he is doing to eliminate that danger? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: I clearly have not got to that point in the  
Dominion Post  
yet as I started the day in Auckland. If it is a serious report I will ask my ministry and especially the Ministry of Health for advice on that question. There have been some other relatively wild allegations in the past on the question of pollution in playgrounds which required kids to eat about a bucket of dirt a day to get poisoned. 
Mike Ward 
: Does the Minister not think that enabling children to walk and cycle safely to school are sensible options for reversing the predicted epidemics of obesity and type 2 diabetes; will he be briefing the Minister of Transport on the desirability of making safe cycleways and walkways around schools and of reducing the incidence of major highways around schools? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: The answer is yes. Of course the member is right and it has been explained to him before.