Street Maryan: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Street Maryan: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:657;Page:6329] 
7.  
Hon MARYAN STREET (Labour) 
 to the  
Minister for Tertiary Education 
: What events if any did she attend to celebrate Adult Learners’ Week last week? 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY (Minister for Tertiary Education) 
: 
 I received three invitations to attend events but unfortunately because of other commitments I was unable to attend them. Messages of support were sent to those groups that requested them. 
Hon Maryan Street 
: Is the Minister aware that there will be no night classes offered through high schools or the community group courses that they support in the whole of the Hutt Valley in 2010 as a result of the cuts to adult and community education; if she is does she think that situation needs correcting? 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY 
: I say to that member that no decisions have yet been made about the provision of adult and community education next year; in fact expressions of interest have only just been received. However this Government has indicated that it is committed to adult and community education and that is why we are investing $124 million in it over the next 4 years. 
Colin King 
: What funding does the Government provide for adult learners? 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY 
: There is significant funding for adult learners. As I said first of all the Government is providing $124 million over the next 4 years for adult and community education. Second in Budget 2009 the Government put an additional $11 million of funding into the Workplace Literacy Fund. That means that in the 2009-10 financial year this Government will fund 4500 Workplace Literacy Fund places 5600 intensive literacy and numeracy places 2000 employee-targeted one-on-one places 6800 literacy and numeracy places embedded in mainstream Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics of New Zealand provisions and 7000 literacy places in industry training. I think that is a fantastic commitment to adult education. 
Hon Maryan Street 
: Is the Minister intending to revisit the decision to cut adult and community education to high schools or will she just “feel guilty” about it as her colleague Nick Smith said when he was confronted by protesters on Saturday? 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY 
: No. This Government has decided that it needs to focus money in the tertiary education budget on education outcomes for young New Zealanders who are likely to be disproportionately affected by the economic downturn. 
Hon Maryan Street 
: Does the Minister intend to meet with any of the 700 protesters in Auckland on Saturday to discuss alternative solutions to the adult and community education funding cuts? 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY 
: No. I am continuing to talk to principals and representatives in the sector around the country as I have done over the last few months. The purpose of many of those meetings has been to ask me to change my mind but there is no change of mind; these changes and the refocusing of adult and community education will continue. 
Hon Maryan Street 
: I seek leave to table three documents. The first is speech notes for a speech to the Upper Hutt meeting I attended last week on 10 September as part of Adult Learners’ Week. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Speech notes from whom? 
Hon Maryan Street 
: Me. They were my speech notes. [ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: It is a point of order—we may not have heard such leave sought before. Leave is sought to table a document containing speech notes of a speech that the member gave to a meeting somewhere. Is there any objection to that? There is objection. 
Hon Maryan Street 
: I seek leave to table a speech I made to an Auckland meeting of adult learners on 12 September. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is objection. 
Hon Maryan Street 
: I seek leave to table a letter of support I sent on 10 September to the Taranaki meeting celebrating Adult Learners’ Week. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is objection. 
Darien Fenton 
: I seek leave to table the minutes of the “Stop Night Class Cuts” meeting attended by more than 150 people at Glenfield College in the North Shore on Monday 20 July at which I was the guest speaker. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table the minutes from a meeting at Glenfield College. Is there any objection? There is objection. 
Paul Quinn 
: I seek leave to table speech notes for a speech given at a community meeting in Upper Hutt last Thursday evening. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Who by? 
Paul Quinn 
: By me. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I sincerely hope that members do not develop a sudden desire to table all their speech notes or the House which has already taken too long on question time today will be endlessly delayed. Leave is sought by the honourable member to table his speech notes. Is there any objection? There is objection. 
Hon Members 
: Oh! 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I heard clear objection from Dr Ashraf Choudhary. 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: Point of order—[ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Let us have some order in the House colleagues. 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. My request of you is one of consistency. Earlier today Nick Smith sought leave—quite professionally—to table the speech notes of my Opposition colleague Charles Chauvel. You treated the request with respect you did not roll your eyes and you did not make any facial gestures. The issue was put and it was dealt with. When my colleague Maryan Street and other colleagues asked for the similar privilege of tabling speech notes—yes their own—you exhibited rather animated expressions that I think were a bit off. I ask you for consistency. It is members’ right under Standing Orders and there has been no ruling against this. Any member can seek leave to table anything. If you do not like it then that is a matter for you but the Standing Orders are clear. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Let me make it very clear to the honourable member that the Speaker does rule on matters. If members do not like it then the ultimate solution is in members’ hands. While I am Speaker I will rule on matters. I make it very clear to the House that I do not think it would be a very smart idea for members to start seeking leave to table their speeches. The reason why the particular exchange between the Hon Dr Nick Smith and Charles Chauvel was relevant is that leave had been sought and granted for a member to make a personal explanation. There was some concern about the content of the first half of that personal explanation so leave was sought to table documents to sort out an issue where there appeared to be disagreement between members. I saw that as being a rather different situation from one where members seek leave to table their speech notes. Members give speeches endlessly up and down this country and I think tabling them would be a practice that would be unhelpful. Certainly I accept that from time to time there may be good reason for it but it is not a path I think this House should go down. If the member does not like my approach to the matter then I apologise to him but I do not intend to allow this House to waste endless time with leave being sought for members to table the notes of their speeches. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Because I have a particular interest in the speech that Mr Quinn has offered to table there has been consultation and if he asks again there will not be objection. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I have already ruled on that matter and that is the end of it. [ 
Interruption 
] The House must come to order. A fair bit of steam has been let off today. We have these days where there is a fair bit of excitement back and forth and that is fine but we need to come to order and get on with question time. 
Hon Lianne Dalziel 
: I seek leave to table the speech I gave at the adult learners’ awards at Aranui High School in Christchurch on 10 September 2009. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is objection. 
Hon David Cunliffe 
: I seek leave to table a message given for me to the adult learners’ awards attended by several hundred people in Waitakere on Friday 11 September. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is objection. 
Lynne Pillay 
: I seek leave to table a letter of congratulations to adult learners in Waitakere urging them to continue their opposition to the National Government’s adult and community education cuts. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The House does not know where the letter came from. 
Lynne Pillay 
: It came from me. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is objection. 
Charles Chauvel 
: I seek leave to table a message from me to the Wellington Adult Learners’ Week event held in Newlands on Saturday and the response. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table those documents. Is there any objection? There is objection. 
Sue Moroney 
: I seek leave to table a document dated 7 September entitled “Speaking notes” from my speech to the Adult Learners’ Week celebration in Hamilton. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table those speech notes. Is there any objection? There is objection.