Coddington Deborah: Financial Review Debate — Procedure In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee 
Coddington Deborah: Financial Review Debate — Procedure In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee 
[Volume:616;Page:11882] 
DEBORAH CODDINGTON (ACT) 
: 
 This afternoon at question time the Minister of Education stood up and bragged about what he is doing for education and literacy standards. He equates throwing money at the problem with improving quality. Why did this Minister not tell us about this latest scandal of the bounty hunters programme? For people who are confused about what bounty hunters are the Minister has been paying $8207000 to “community-based organisations” to sign preschoolers up at early childhood centres. The children are ticked off and the organisations collect the money and go away—enrol children collect the money then go away. There is only one condition to be part of this programme: it has to be a Maori or Pacific Island child. How much do the organisations get? It worked out at $1600 per child and 5275 children have been signed up. But there have been no checks on whether those people are double-dipping or triple-dipping whether they are enrolling children at one centre and re-enrolling them at another centre. There have been no checks on how long children stay at those centres. I would like this Minister to stand up and answer these questions which he has not been able to answer. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: No one’s asked me. 
DEBORAH CODDINGTON 
: For 8 months I have been asking parliamentary questions and the Minister’s answers come back stating: “This information is not collected.” There are no exit interviews or checks done on what sort of added value there is. I ask the Minister who these community organisations are. Who are they? 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: This member used to have it. 
DEBORAH CODDINGTON 
: Well I have a list of them here and I cannot read them all out. There are 50 community organisations that have been paid 50 bounty hunters with names like Te Puawaitangi Ltd which was paid $400000; Whare Akonga Learning Centre $600000; Manaaki Management Services $202000—phantom children—Teuila Consultancy $200000; Kokomuka Consultancy $290000; Waikato Raupatu Trustee Co. $560000; Ngai Tahu $153000; and Kohanga Reo Trust $810000. How many more children were enrolled? By what percentage did participation go up? The Minister is raising his eyebrows. He knows the answer—1 percent. It went up 1 percent after $8 million was spent. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Not true. 
DEBORAH CODDINGTON 
: Well if it is not true the Minister has been misleading with the answers to his questions because it is the Minister’s answers that say participation went up 1 percent. That does not even take account of population growth. If the natural growth in numbers of children enrolling at early childhood centres is taken into account then the country is worse off after $8 million has been spent. Members can imagine what those families could have done with that $1600 per child. For instance imagine how many books parents could have bought for those children. Parents could probably have paid for their own private childcare instead of having this Minister tax them take money from them then give it to those bounty hunters. 
Another interesting name on this list of bounty hunters is Learning Media Ltd. It got $440000—nearly $500000. Learning Media is a Crown-owned publishing company. The chairman of this company who also made himself the chief executive officer was a corporate high-flyer called Don Sollitt. In 6 months he helped himself to $200000 of taxpayers’ money in fees and expenses. What has this Minister done? He has sent him an invoice for $9000 because it is too hard to get the money back. Not only did he do that but he overrode the board’s decision. It had made a resolution—it was minuted—as to how much Mr Sollitt was to be paid and how he was to be paid. Mr Sollitt went to the Minister and the Minister said: “That’s all right. I will see the board.” The Minister then organised for a different payment to be made. The board was so confused that it went to the Crown Company Monitoring Advisory Unit. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: What? Rubbish! Go and say that outside the House. 
DEBORAH CODDINGTON 
: It is in the transcript of the select committee. The board was so confused that it went to the Crown Company Monitoring Advisory Unit and the unit confirmed that what the Minister had said stood. So this Mr Sollitt was able to get— 
Government Member 
: The Minister doesn’t handle the money. 
DEBORAH CODDINGTON 
: Well who is running Learning Media—the board or the Minister? This is the same Minister who sacks boards of trustees without gazetting it. He is out of control and he should resign.