Delahunty Catherine: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Delahunty Catherine: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:655;Page:5020] 
12. CATHERINE DELAHUNTY (Green) 
 to the  
Minister of Education 
: Why has she cut funding for therapists working with children with impairments in schools? 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY (Minister of Education) 
: 
 Funding for additional therapy was never built into the baseline by the previous Government; it has only ever been funded on a year-by-year basis. That particular support was provided to only 23 schools around the country and other schools with students with the same or greater need have never received that funding for additional therapy. Students who have high or very high needs will continue to receive support through the Ongoing and Reviewable Resourcing Scheme. 
Catherine Delahunty 
: What is the logic behind increasing some special education funding but cutting programmes that work for the most vulnerable people like Christian Kumitau a 13-year-old student from Mangere who is confined to a wheelchair and faces losing funding for his physiotherapy? 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY 
: I am advised that a student in that case with high needs in the Ongoing and Reviewable Resourcing Scheme would at a minimum continue to receive $9910 per year to provide therapy and teacher aide support and an additional 0.1 of an additional teacher at the average cost of $6500. There could also be support for assistive technology as well as funding for transport assistance of about $3000 per year plus whatever else the school might contribute from its operational grant or staffing entitlement. 
Jo Goodhew 
: What reports has the Minister received on funding for special education? 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY 
: I received a report that quotes the previous Minister of Education Chris Carter as saying: “Not enough of the money earmarked for special education is actually getting to the school level and more importantly to the individual pupil with special needs.” That is an appalling admission from the previous Minister of Education after Labour had had 9 years in power. We are committed to special education and in our very first Budget we increased the funding for high and very high needs students by $51 million over 4 years. That is the biggest increase that the Ongoing and Reviewable Resourcing Scheme has received for a number of years. 
Hon Phil Goff 
: What does it say about the Minister’s priorities that she has cut $2.5 million from the most vulnerable and disadvantaged kids in disabled units while finding $35 million to support the most advantaged kids in the country in private schools? 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY 
: I say to that member that again he needs to get his facts correct because his assertion is not true. 
Catherine Delahunty 
: Can the Minister explain what is fair about spending $35 million subsidising private schools while vulnerable children in public schools such as Wiki Tamihana of the Wairarapa lose funding and while her school’s special needs helper loses her job? 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY 
: Again I say to that member that children who have high health needs will continue to be funded under the Ongoing and Reviewable Resourcing Scheme. In fact this Government is increasing the scheme’s funding by $51 million over the next 4 years. 
Hon Phil Goff 
: Does the Minister read her correspondence; for example the letter from the principal of the Carlson School for Cerebral Palsy indicating that half of that school’s therapists will be cut and that there is no compensatory funding and the letter from the principal of Mt Roskill Intermediate School saying that the rights of severely disabled kids will be compromised and some may well become sufficiently ill that they will not be able to attend school at all if the therapy is cut? 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY 
: I say to that member that in 9 years of a Labour Government it did not put this particular funding into its baseline; it was only ever provided on a year-to-year basis. It only ever went to a small number of schools. Other schools throughout the country with children with similar levels of disability and need were never funded by that Government. This Government has put an extra $51 million into the Ongoing and Reviewable Resourcing Scheme which funds high health needs and very high health needs children. 
Hon Phil Goff 
: I seek leave to table two letters. They are from two highly disabled students at Mt Roskill Intermediate School seeking to explain to the Minister how they will be hurt by the cut in their therapy services. 
Documents by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
Catherine Delahunty 
: I seek leave to table a list of independent schools that will receive $35 million in public money including King’s College Wanganui Collegiate School and Christ’s College. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: What is the source of that document? 
Catherine Delahunty 
: It is from the website of Independent Schools New Zealand. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.