Mackey Moana: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Mackey Moana: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:632;Page:3900] 
6.  
MOANA MACKEY (Labour) 
 to the  
Minister of Education 
: What is the Government doing to increase the number of qualified teachers in early childhood education? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Minister of Education) 
: 
 This morning the Prime Minister and I went to Childspace an early childhood centre to announce a $30 million boost to early childhood funding over the next 4 years coming in from 1 July. Funding rates for all-day services will increase by up to 13 percent session-based service rates will increase by up to 11 percent and playcentres will get a 9 percent boost to their funding. This increase in funding will help services meet additional costs and allow them to employ more qualified teachers. This is on top of the nearly $0.5 billion worth of funding that this Government is putting into this crucial area of education. 
Moana Mackey 
: What else is the Government doing to improve the quality of early childhood education and teaching? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: As Mr Goff said it is probably just enough being a huge amount of money we are investing—but wait there is more: 700 early childhood education TeachNZ scholarships to support low-income students to enter teacher education programmes incentive grants paid to early childhood services to support staff who are studying study grants and relocation grants and free recognition of prior learning to assist with the gaining of qualifications through specific training providers. Through these initiatives the Government is well on target to meet its goal of having 100 percent qualified teachers in early childhood education by 2012—and all of this is in contrast to the fact that on the National Party website there is no policy at all. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: When he says “wait there’s more” is he referring to the 2006 Education Amendment Act which will have the effect of adding to the administration of playcentres through imposing greater compliance costs red tape and more bureaucratic requirements? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: No I was referring to the 700 early childhood TeachNZ scholarships incentive grants study grants relocation grants free recognition of prior learning and the fact that the National Party has no policy. 
Te Ururoa Flavell 
: Tena tatou katoa. What has he done to address the under-representation of Maori teachers in the early childhood education workforce which comprises only 8.3 percent of teachers who are Maori compared with 19 percent of the early childhood population who are Maori? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: As part of the early childhood TeachNZ scholarships the incentive grants study grants relocation grants and free recognition of prior learning we aim to increase that number substantially. 
Hon Brian Donnelly 
: Should an understanding of the philosophical and economic theories of Karl Marx be an essential part of our early childhood teachers’ qualifications as it was in the 1990s under a National Government or should such qualifications be focused more on how to optimise the intellectual social and emotional development of preschoolers? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: I go along with what the member says in the latter part of his question should underlie early childhood education but I do have to say congratulations to the National Party on its open-minded approach to Karl Marx and its support for his recognition through the system.