Katene Rahui: Education Amendment Bill (No 4) — Third Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Katene Rahui: Education Amendment Bill (No 4) — Third Reading 
[Sitting date: 16 August 2011. Volume:675;Page:20926. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
RAHUI KATENE (Maori Party—Te Tai Tonga) 
: 
 There are three main aims in the Education Amendment Bill (No 4). It sets out first to amend the Education Act 1989 in order to strengthen the regulation of the tertiary education system by improving and modernising the New Zealand Qualifications Authority’s legal arrangements; second to facilitate the expansion of international education and safeguard the quality and reputation of the New Zealand education system; and third to increase transparency and accountability in the tertiary education system.  
They are all good concepts: improvements modernisation quality transparency and accountability. There is nothing wrong with that but there are some other concepts that we might add to the mix: cultural competency inclusion diversity consistency and equity. From the consultation we have had with Maori education providers we have heard that the international student changes will have minimal effect on Maori students but could affect the future direction of organisations such as Te Wananga o Aotearoa in this area. We are also informed by Te Mana Akonga the national Maori students association that it opposes this bill and it is happy for its comments to be made public. I guess this brings us to the point that the Maori Party places a great priority on ensuring that every aspect of legislation is placed under scrutiny as to its consistency with Maori world views and its impact on tangata whenua. We know that unless we provide that specific lens when looking at legislation that voice will be absent from the debate. No other party here in Parliament is present to speak on the issues from a Maori perspective in the debate on this bill or in fact on any of the bills that are being put through under urgency.  
Te Mana Akonga told us that Maori need to be represented at council level to ensure that Maori views are heard where decisions are made. This has not occurred in this bill. Te Mana Akonga also told us that Maori students need to be included in any group that determines key performance indicators for tertiary institutions. Again this bill does not provide for that. Of course a key concern for Te Mana Akonga as it is for the Maori Party is the consequences if the Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill is passed into law because if that bill succeeds as it appears it will it will provoke increased demand for strong Maori student representation and advocacy if associations are compromised in their ability to represent and serve students. Maori student representation must be given a seat at decision-making boards throughout the institutions to ensure consistent feedback and representation throughout. Te Mana Akonga supports the need for the student body and their representatives to engage with tertiary institutions on matters regarding student services levies.  
In other consultation we have had with Maori students we heard that they have the same fear that if students associations become voluntary the assumption is that many of the services that were previously provided by students associations would be passed on to the institutions. If this was to occur this bill gives the Minister for Tertiary Education the final say on services so really those services could disappear altogether.  
The Education and Science Committee specifically addressed compulsory student fees and it provided a clarification on the powers the Minister would have to determine student services fees. It also clarified that the Minister would have the power to require institutions to establish decision-making arrangements jointly or in consultation with the students enrolled at the institution. Essentially this spells out that if the Minister so chooses students must be involved in a determination of student services. I guess our concern remains that the incentive must start with the Minister. The “what ifs” continue to plague us. Representatives in wananga whom we talked to shared this concern. They were nervous that their future leadership could be constrained in their ability to provide some resources for students because the Minister might not allow it.  
They were particularly concerned about the student services fees section. In their view we need to watch out because with a conservative Government Maori student services could disappear. There needs to be some recognition for services to Maori and this bill does not enable that. The prevailing concern was that it depends largely on how the Minister for Tertiary Education uses his or her powers. If the Minister decides to cut all underperforming services in a focus on education quality one has to wonder what compromises will be made and how these cuts would affect students. The Minister would have the power to effectively dictate the services a tertiary institution could offer which could potentially jeopardise student services.  
The other key concern raised during our consultation was quality assurance and qualifications particularly in relation to the implications for wananga. As a result of this bill the New Zealand Qualifications Authority will now be solely in charge of quality assurance which means it is taking that function from universities. The wananga are already a key part of qualifications assurance and qualifications but their desire is that they have delegated powers for quality assurance. The changes threaten rangatiratanga by taking away the autonomy of institutions and centralising it in Government. From the point of view of wananga they are disappointed that wananga will never it seems be able to do their own quality assurance in the future. So we continue to raise the question from wananga as to whether the New Zealand Qualifications Authority has the capability to carry out quality assessment for a kaupapa Maori approach as well as it needs to. Universities have always been allowed to self-assess and the wananga are hoping that they would also have that opportunity one day.  
There are other good points in the bill. The Maori Party supports the Government’s intent to reduce the exploitation of students by some institutions. The changes around the administration of student allowances seem reasonable in terms of enabling data to be accessible for better administration. But our other concerns particularly in the context created by the Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill mean we are honour-bound on behalf of Maori students Maori providers and wananga to oppose this bill at its third reading.