Delahunty Catherine: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeDelahunty Catherine: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 04 November 2015. Volume:709;Page:7692. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]6.CATHERINE DELAHUNTY (Green) to the Minister of Education: Does she agree with Massey University education professor John O’Neill that students’ home background including factors like transience dysfunction and a lack of resources were responsible for up to 80 percent of a child’s school success?Hon HEKIA PARATA (Minister of Education): I do not agree with Professor O’Neill. What I do agree with is the OECD study in 2012 involving over half a million 15-year-olds from 65 countries of which one was New Zealand. In fact 5000 students from 177 schools in our country participated. That OECD study found that 18 percent—18 percent—of the difference in student achievement can be accounted for by socio-economic factors. That means that 82 percent of student achievement is not statistically explained by socio-economic factors. The other factors that collectively had a much greater impact on student achievement included the quality of teaching performance expectations school leadership and positive relationships between parents and teachers that focus on learning. That is why as a Government we have focused on those factors.Catherine Delahunty: Does the Minister agree with the OECD experts that what a child brings to school is more than just their parents’ income but also access to books and a warm healthy home in which their family is secure?Hon HEKIA PARATA: By definition without the assistance of the OECD kids bring to school their background.Catherine Delahunty: If her review of the Education Act is focusing on rewarding those schools already doing well what does she say to low-decile schools whose students routinely turn up hungry and sick and not in the best state for learning?Hon HEKIA PARATA: The member is just wrong. There are schools that are in different deciles that do very well and there are schools in those same deciles that are not doing well. What I am proposing in the Act is that for those schools that are not doing well whatever decile they are in we have tools to intervene early so we can help them to be turned around and to be successful for every child.Catherine Delahunty: Does she really think that a child who is hungry all day at school and who has no books at home has the same chance of doing well as a child with plentiful books at home and a lunch box full of food?Hon HEKIA PARATA: That is why this Government introduced for the first time in 43 years an increase in benefits for those families living in hardship worth $790 million. That is why we have invested in breakfasts in schools for every school that wishes to take advantage of it. That is why we are targeting resources to those who need it most. This Government has a very strong social investment approach and we are using it to target those most at risk.Catherine Delahunty: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I appreciate the Minister’s answer but my question was—Mr SPEAKER: Can I have the point of order please.Catherine Delahunty: —has the same the chance of—she did not answer that question.Mr SPEAKER: Order! Can I just invite the member to study the Standing Orders and the Speakers’ rulings. If she has the time to do so would she look at Speakers’ ruling 195/7 which states that when the member seeks an opinion as she did in that question which was “Does she really think etc. …” then it invites a very wide type of answer which definitely addressed the question. It may not be an answer that the member is happy with but it addressed the question as the question was asked. If the member wants to sharpen up her questions and get sharp straight questions then I can assist but when the question that was just asked was delivered in that way then the answer given certainly satisfies the Speakers’ rulings.Chris Hipkins: How can she claim that a student’s socio-economic background does not impact on the educational chances when the vast bulk of support that students with special needs received for the National Certificate of Educational Achievement exams is going to students with the wealthiest parents and after 4 years as Minister of Education she still has not done anything to fix the problem?Hon HEKIA PARATA: The member clearly did not understand the answer that I gave. I did not say that socio-economic status does not have an impact; I disagreed with the 80 percent that that member alleged and referenced an OECD report that said it was 18 percent. So yes it certainly does have an impact. It is one of the variables that is targeted but it is not the only one. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! If the two members wish to carry on the conversation they are welcome but would they do it in the lobby.