9. Question No. 9—EducationDr SHANE RETI (National—Whangarei) to the Minister of EducationQuestion No. 9—EducationDr SHANE RETI (National—Whangarei): Does the Minister stand by all his statements and actions around tertiary education and vocational education reforms?SPEAKER: I am going to ask the member to ask the question again as it is on the sheet.9. Dr SHANE RETI (National—Whangarei) to the Minister of Education: Does he stand by all of his statements and actions around tertiary education and vocational education reforms?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister of Education): Yes and I particularly stand by my statement that those who've created the mess in vocational education continue to be in denial about it and don't seem to have any plans of their own about how to fix it.Simeon Brown: Supplementary.SPEAKER: Simeon Brown sorry. It's almost like the first time. Thank you.Simeon Brown: Happy New Year Mr Speaker. What are the implications of the announced reforms for wānanga and private training establishments?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: In the short term there aren't any. In the longer term there are great opportunities for both wānanga and private training establishments. We've committed to meeting with—very quickly—the wānanga in particular to talk about the opportunities for them. I know that in the past they have expressed a desire to be more actively engaged in on-job training and this does create the opportunity for them to do so as it creates an opportunity for private training establishments.Dr Shane Reti: Will jobs be lost in the announced vocational education reforms; and if so from what areas?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Jobs are already being lost in vocational education and training around the country and doing nothing will result in even more jobs being lost. It is simply irresponsible to speculate at this point on ultimately how many jobs might be lost and how many people might need to be redeployed or retrained for different roles. That work will be done now that the proposals are public. It would not be possible to do the analysis around that work without making the proposals public because we wanted to ensure that people knew what we're planning rather than think that we're going around behind their backs planning their futures without them.Dr Shane Reti: How is the local decision-making and self-direction of well-performing Otago Polytechnic better off under these reforms?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: It's very clear that we need the system to operate as a whole. The whole system is not delivering for businesses and for employers the skills that they need. We have seen a 20000-plus reduction in the number of people studying at polytechnics across the country. We need to do a much better job of providing a system that meets the needs of the whole country. In so far as those regions where they've got strongly performing institutions those institutions will continue to perform strongly as part of a national network.Hon Ruth Dyson: What reactions has the Minister seen to the release of the proposals on the reform of trades training and other vocational education?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: There's been a lot of reaction so far but I'll just pick out three briefly. The Tertiary Education Union have welcomed the bold changes particularly saying that they will provide more security and certainty for staff. Business New Zealand have welcomed the proposals. The Employers and Manufacturers Association have welcomed the proposals saying We're pleased to see that the imbalance that's developed between the focus on tertiary and vocational education is being addressed." Many many other businesses have also been saying that this is what they've been waiting for for a very long time."