Stanford EricaERICA STANFORD (National—East Coast Bays): Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker. I'm pleased to be able to make a contribution to this debate at the second reading for the Education (Teaching Council of Aotearoa) Amendment Bill. I am not a member of the select committee that deliberated over this bill the Education and Workforce Committee. I did make a contribution at the first reading. I have carefully read the departmental report many of the submissions I have read the select committee report spoken to many of the members of that committee and read the National Party minority report.It is that minority report that I'd like to draw most of my debate from today because it precisely lays out the very good reasons for this bill to be opposed. But before I do that I would like to just pick up on a couple of points from previous members' speeches firstly from the member from the Labour Party Jamie Strange where he was so very concerned in his very brief two-minute contribution where basically the only thing that he said was about how the Education Council is so devoid of teachers. It's been mentioned many times by speakers preceding me that in fact six of the nine are currently or have been teachers.Denise Lee: Sixty-six percent.ERICA STANFORD: I know. I've got them in front of me. I've been looking. There are actually extremely capable well-respected individuals. We've got the principal of Sylvia Park School in South Auckland. From my electorate from the mighty East Coast Bays Ms Amos who's a principal at Albany Senior High School. We've got Mr Simon Heath a principal of Renwick School. We've got Nicola who is principal of Patea Area School. Many of the others have been principals or teachers in the past—a group of highly respected capable individuals who are doing a fantastic job.Secondly I would like to just respond to Ms Chlöe Swarbrick who got very emotional and was stamping her little green feet behind her desk talking about democracy and how it's being lost and how terrible that is and how it's so very important that teachers be able to represent their own people. But it's interesting to note the data for the last election—the last teachers' council election. How many of those eligible voters actually voted in that election? That would be an interesting thing to have a look at. Maybe we should have a look at that. How many do you think would've voted potentially?Simeon Brown: Sixty percent.ERICA STANFORD: Not 60.Nicola Willis: Ninety-five per cent.ERICA STANFORD: Not 95—try again.Denise Lee: Seventy.ERICA STANFORD: Seventy no—no. How about—Simeon Brown: Thirty.ERICA STANFORD: Not 30—try again.Simeon Brown: Up or down?ERICA STANFORD: Down.Simeon Brown: Twenty.ERICA STANFORD: No not 20. Down down!Simeon Brown: Fifteen.ERICA STANFORD: Not 15—not even 15.Simeon Brown: Ten? Down—down? Twelve?ERICA STANFORD: A little bit more than 10—up up! It was 13.7 percent. So for this great democracy that Chlöe Swarbrick is so stamping her feet over under 14 percent voted.Simeon Brown: An unlucky number.ERICA STANFORD: It is an unlucky number—13 is very unlucky. I've previously noted that this bill is a case of out with the old and in with the older and unfortunately the older in this case is a model that was found wanting.Now Mr Hipkins got up today and gave a contribution. He's the Minister of Education but I tell this House what: he doesn't like history. He doesn't like thinking about why these changes were made. He doesn't like the fact that we can stand up here today and tell him that there were reviews done there were advisory groups that gave evidence and they quite clearly stated that there was a lack of capability a lack of capacity for this old body to carry out its functions. It was not best placed to carry out its functions. It did not have the ability to self-regulate or self-review. It was not the best body to serve teachers. Not only that but there were serious difficulties with the Teachers Council around serious financial irregularities. So a review was carried out and we instigated the findings of that review. Now what we have is a body of capable competent people—some of which I mentioned before and many others—who are doing a fantastic job.It's worth noting that after discussions with members of the select committee none of them could point to a single submitter who could point to any of the work done by the council that could have been improved if there was a different governance model. This goes to the heart of the debate of this bill. We had a body that was lacking found itself in trouble. There was a comprehensive review changes were made. I'd just like to finish with something that my colleague Denise Lee left me with: if it ain't broke why fix it; and if it's already been fixed why break it? That is why we oppose this bill. Thank you.