Shearer David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Shearer David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:675;Page:20728] 
9. 
DAVID SHEARER (Labour—Mt Albert) 
 to the  
Minister for Tertiary Education 
: How many schools received government funding for Adult and Community Education classes in 2009 and how many schools are receiving government funding for Adult and Community Education programmes in 2011? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister for Tertiary Education) 
: 
 Forty-nine schools currently receive taxpayer-funded ACE—adult and community education. They are made up of 23 schools funded directly and a further 26 that partner with those directly funded schools. Of course many other schools continue to offer hobby courses on a user-pays basis. Before the Government’s reprioritising of taxpayer-funded adult and community education to target foundation schools including literacy numeracy English language te reo Maori and sign language there were 212 funded schools. 
David Shearer 
: Does he think people in Northland with some of the country’s highest unemployment are being afforded an adequate opportunity to upskill given that there is now just one school providing adult and community education where there used to be 12? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: I should point out to the member that there is a range of ways in which people can access foundation education in New Zealand and yes schools’ adult and community education is one. We also have adult and community education in 27 tertiary education institutions 24 community groups seven OTEPS—other tertiary education providers—and two REAPs or Rural Education Activities Programmes. We also have foundation education where we have increased embedded literacy and numeracy from 15000 places to 70000 places; we have Youth Guarantee where there are 2500 places which will go to 7500 next year; and we also have trades academies and service academies—to name just a few opportunities. 
David Shearer 
: Will he consider restoring the $13 million pulled out of adult and community education funding to enable the 165000 New Zealanders who according to Adult and Community Education Aotearoa were forced to leave school and community classes to return to classes? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: No the Government does not have plans to restore that funding because as we know there are many challenges for Government finances at this time. Of course the Labour Opposition can add it to their long list of restarting funding things they are going to do by borrowing more money. But I point out that a number of schools are offering adult and community education without any funding whatsoever. For example Western Springs College is offering amongst other things the fabled Moroccan cooking class and Spanish tapas; Rangiora High School is teaching patchwork and botanical drawing and all these— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I think we have heard sufficient of that answer. 
David Shearer 
: Does the Minister think that Mandarin courses provided by Mana College or sign language courses provided by Tikipunga High School Rutherford College Kelston Boys High School Tauranga Boys College and Tauranga Girls College before funding cuts were introduced are hobby classes and poor value for money? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: The Government has prioritised its funding as the member knows to languages literacy numeracy and ESOL—English for speakers of other languages—and then those funds are allocated by the Tertiary Education Commission based on funding applications. I do not believe taxpayers should be funding woodwork courses and beginners guitar courses and that is what we have stopped funding. 
David Shearer 
: Point of order Mr Speaker. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I invite David Shearer to repeat his question. I have been concerned about a couple of the answers. The Minister may not have the particular information that was being sought but the questions were pretty straight questions relating to some sign language programmes in certain schools and nothing to do with woodwork. 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: Speaking to the point of order Mr Speaker. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I will hear the Minister briefly. 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: The point I was trying to make was to outline for the member the Government’s funding approach which is to fund certain types of courses— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I have heard sufficient. That is all very well but actually this is question time where certain questions are asked and answers to them are expected. While there may be points the Minister wishes to make if they do not relate to the question asked then they are not relevant to that question. I would have no problem with the Minister going on to include more information if the question had been answered but I am not sure the question was. I accept I could be wrong here and to avoid any further problem from my being wrong I will invite the member to repeat the question. If this was an isolated question I would not be doing this but there was an earlier supplementary question about specific programmes at schools in Northland; it may well be that the Minister did not have information on them but the answer did not relate a great deal to schools in Northland. That is why I am inviting the member to repeat his question at this stage. 
David Shearer 
: Does the Minister think that Mandarin courses provided by Mana College or sign language courses provided by Tikipunga High School Rutherford College Kelston Boys High School Tauranga Boys College and Tauranga Girls College before funding cuts were introduced are hobby classes and poor value for money? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: The point as I was saying to the member before is that I do not have an opinion obviously on those individual courses because I am not privy to them in particular but the Government’s role is to set policy in relation to what it is prepared to fund and it is prepared to fund language courses English for speakers of other languages courses and also literacy and numeracy courses. It is then for the Tertiary Education Commission to take a decision as to which courses it funds and those schools apply for them. I think that is an entirely correct approach. I went on to say that the Government does not believe that it should fund hobby courses and I listed some examples of what it does not believe it should fund. 
David Shearer 
: What does the Minister believe is better value for money: $116 to fund someone’s enrolment in an adult and community education course at a school or community organisation or $116 to buy 3 millimetres of tarmac on his “Holiday Highway”? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: That is hardly worth a response to the member except I would point out again the following: the Government spends massive amounts as it should do on improving literacy and numeracy in this country including foundation courses trade academies service academies Youth Guarantee and 16600 more core places in universities and polytechnics and I back this Government’s record in improving adult literacy and numeracy in this country well ahead of the previous Government’s.