Xu-Nan LawrenceDr LAWRENCE XU-NAN (Green): I want to first of all echo what my predecessor also said in terms of the different elements of this particular bill the Regulatory Systems (Education) Amendment Bill and the fact that it's an omnibus bill that looks at various components. Also I was not around when this bill was going through first reading nor select committee but upon again reading the notes to and the Hansard of the first reading I am glad to see that Minister Stanford is now in support of this bill. Particularly I am delighted to hear that she said the wonderful and amazing and talented young Māori" that she has met as part of the award ceremony. I'm hoping that this will change her mind from the stance that she took in the first reading that this is not going to help the achievement and the root cause of some of Māori and Pasifika performance as we have seen in the first reading.So in terms of this particular bill a couple of things I would like to bring up as well particularly around the Ngarimu scholarships—and just to again highlight the fact that the Ngarimu scholarships are designed to inspire reward and support Māori achievements and their success in education. Ceremonies include doctoral masters undergraduate as well as vocational education and training which is absolutely fantastic to see that it cuts across all levels of tertiary education and also in the scholarships aimed to support the opportunities for Māori students to reach their full potential by reducing some of the financial barriers to study and/or training—again fantastic to see.In terms of the Pacific Education Foundation Act 1972 when we're looking at that particular thing—and again please indulge me as I kind of go into some of these in a little bit more depth—the general purpose of the foundation should be to promote and encourage the better education of Pacific people and to provide financial assistance for that purpose. And for that we the Green Party agree that the omnibus bill and also the results and the responses from the select committee report have achieved that.A couple of additional things that I would like to point out that are particularly noteworthy in this particular case as we are looking at things around Māori and Pasifika student performance and also achievement are: number one to look at the fact that the authority expenditure in this case for the Pacific Education Foundation Act has increased from $500 to $10000 in reflection of the inflation but also most importantly in reflection to the cost of our education. I think I would like to take this opportunity to remind people again that in these cases they shouldn't have to take foundations and funding that education should be a public good and it should be free for all students.The authority for unspecified expenditure in this case particularly was used for making grants for uniforms and other equipment to Pacific learners and their families. Again I would like to point people to the recent investigation by the University of Otago around the cost of new uniforms which can range on average from $80 to over $1200 per single student. I am an educator after all and I know the kind of financial burden it places on the students and their whānau.There are also several steps that I think the New Zealand Government needs to take to actually alleviate some of this when it comes to school uniforms including making subsidies for uniform costs more accessible and less bureaucratic and the Government should legislate this particular State funding for school uniforms for high-needs students.The other angle to look at in this particular bill which I think we hear in this House repeatedly is that the independence of Māori and Pasifika funding sources in this case is absolutely crucial—on their funding sources that are determined by Māori and/or Pasifika for Māori and Pasifika. In this particular case I would like to highlight the Ministry of Education submission which is that this particular move is informed by wider engagement and discussions with Pacific communities through the Ministry of Education and most importantly the Ministry for Pacific Peoples from 2018 to 2023.So with all of that in mind again the Green Party is in support of this particular bill. And most importantly we are in support of the fact that we are looking at better opportunities for our Māori and Pasifika students as well as their families in order to get the best educational outcome. Thank you."