Turei Metiria: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Turei Metiria: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 13 February 2013. Volume:687;Page:7780. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
3. 
METIRIA TUREI (Co-Leader—Green) 
 to the  
Minister of Education 
: Given the Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report shows a widening education gap between students from wealthier and poorer communities would she have done anything differently in hindsight to better support children in lower decile schools? 
Hon HEKIA PARATA (Minister of Education) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Speaker. No we have a world-class education system where many—indeed most—of our students are successful. This Government however is focused on all of our students being successful. 
Metiria Turei 
: Does the Minister agree with Treasury that charter schools are not a good way to deal with kids who are not achieving their potential in New Zealand schools but that better funding of lower-decile schools is? 
Hon HEKIA PARATA 
: No. Treasury often offers advice. It does not mean we accept or agree with it. 
Metiria Turei 
: Did the Ministry of Education advise in its briefing paper to her as incoming Minister that charter schools would address the tail of underachievement; or is it not the fact that officials did not even put charter schools forward as an option to her? 
Hon HEKIA PARATA 
: The Ministry of Education provides me with a range of advice including on partnership schools. 
Metiria Turei 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The question asked very specifically whether the Ministry advised her as to whether charter schools were an option for reducing underachievement or not. She did not answer that question at all. It is a very straight question which she should be able to answer. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The easiest way to resolve the matter is for the member to ask the question again. 
Metiria Turei 
: Thank you Mr Speaker. Did the Ministry of Education advise in its briefing papers to her as incoming Minister that charter schools would address the tail of underachievement; or is it not the fact that officials did not even put charter schools forward as an option? 
Hon HEKIA PARATA 
: No. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. This approach has been ruled on by Speakers a number of times in the past. If there is an answer of “No” there has to be an indication as to which leg of the double it applies. Dr The Rt Hon Lockwood Smith ruled that way quite recently. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I do not need any further assistance. I am actually having trouble understanding what part of the question the answer applied to. I think the Minister could take the opportunity of clarifying the answer for the sake of the House. 
Hon HEKIA PARATA 
: No to the first part of the question. 
Metiria Turei 
: Is the Minister then even aware that what the Ministry actually recommended to her for underachieving kids was a commitment to mainstreaming Ka Hikitia and the  
Pasifika Education Plan 2009-2012 
 but that subsequently underfunding has meant it has been reduced to just sending teachers a booklet on how to teach Maori kids? 
Hon HEKIA PARATA 
: Yes to the first part of the question. 
Metiria Turei 
: Does the Minister truly believe that of all the children to experiment on with untrained teachers it should be the most vulnerable learners whom even the OECD experts say need the highest-quality teaching to be successful? 
Hon HEKIA PARATA 
: In the world-class system that New Zealand has a diversity of options is available to parents across the country. This is true for all children of whatever socio-economic ethnic or religious background. This Government is focused—most recently through our Better Public Services targets—on how it ensures that all children succeed. So in early childhood education we have a target that 98 percent of all new entrants will have participated in quality early childhood education. What we have identified in the past year is that in order to achieve that target by 2016 we need 12000 more children participating or 3000 more each year of which 1750 are Maori and 900 are Pasifika. We are targeted on helping those kids who need the most help. That is what this Government is focused on. 
Metiria Turei 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The Minister although giving a very long answer to some question did not answer my one or even address it. Does she believe that— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! Order! The member asked the question “Does she truly believe … ” indicating “Does the Minister truly believe … ” and then went on to a range of interpretation about how you address underachievement particularly amongst Maori and Pasifika. I think the Minister has adequately answered that question. 
Metiria Turei 
: Does the Minister agree with Philip Harding president of the New Zealand Principals Federation who said today that vulnerable learners require the very best high-qualified teaching professionals in front of them? 
Hon HEKIA PARATA 
: I do indeed agree with Philip Harding and that is why of the $9.6 billion that this Government has committed to education this year the highest ever the single-biggest component of it is $3.6 billion for teachers and principals—they are high-quality people who can facilitate learning for every child. 
Metiria Turei 
: Does the Minister not then see a contradiction in her move to let untrained teachers loose on vulnerable kids with the Teachers Council’s strategic objective to increase the number of qualified teachers in schools and improve teacher training; is there not a contradiction in that policy Minister? 
Hon HEKIA PARATA 
: No. Despite the hyperbole in that question what we are focused on is a range of opportunities. In this system as we currently have it there are a number of parts of the system where we have people who deliver learning but do not hold a qualification as a teacher. We are looking for a mix of those across the entire system so that we can move that part that has not been successful. If we keep doing what we have always done we will keep getting what we have always got and this Government will not accept that. 
Metiria Turei 
: Is the Minister aware of the Programme for International Student Assessment rankings of student achievement which puts New Zealand among the top 10 in the OECD while the UK and America which are great proponents of charter schools fall miserably behind; if so why is she importing a failed model from those countries’ failed systems? 
Hon HEKIA PARATA 
: Indeed I am aware of that and in fact the Programme for International Student Assessment to which the member refers places New Zealand seventh in the world and five of the countries that are ahead of us now were behind us 5 years ago. By aggregating that figure what we find is that New Zealand European Pakeha Palagi students are second in the world. Maori however are 34th and Pasifika are 44th. That is the true challenge we have in this education system and that is what we are addressing as a Government. 
Metiria Turei 
: Is the Minister aware of the reports showing that US charter schools have been involved in tax fraud corruption in lobbying misuse of funds racketeering and even charging parents a fee if their children misbehave; if so why is she exposing our kids to this risk? 
Hon HEKIA PARATA 
: It has long been the tradition of the New Zealand education system to look overseas to see what is happening take what is best and then apply it appropriately. It is not the type of school it is the performance of the school and what the Education Amendment Bill proposes is a number of features that are designed for this system.