Calder Cam: Estimates Debate — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeCalder Cam: Estimates Debate — In Committee[Sitting date: 30 July 2013. Volume:692;Page:12077. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Dr CAM CALDER (Chairperson of the Education and Science Committee):It is a rare pleasure to rise and address the Committee.Tracey Martin: How lovely to see you!Dr CAM CALDER: Thank you thank you. Vote Tertiary Education increased to $2.881 billion in 2013—$2.881 billion in 2013—from an estimated actual spend in 2012 of $2.745 billion. Budget 2013 commits over $130 million in new funding for investment in tertiary education. We are continuing to make investing in engineering and science a priority as these skills are crucial for growth in our economy and have been the subject of under-investment in the past.Industry demand for skilled engineers and scientists remains high and the Budget has addressed these issues by increasing funding for tuition subsidy rates in engineering and science programmes across the tertiary education system. New initiatives in this area over the next 4 years include an additional $9.3 million for engineering a 2 percent funding increase per equivalent full-time student; an additional $17.9 million to science a further 2 percent increase; $28.7 million for private training establishments to close the remainder of the gap in student achievement and component funding with tertiary education institutions. There is an additional $32.4 million to assist in meeting the Better Public Services target of increasing the proportion of 25 to 34-year-olds with National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) level 4 or higher to 55 percent by 2017.This Government sets itself targets and we are prepared to be held accountable for the targets that we set ourselves. In this case we believe it is in the interest of our country to see an increase to 55 percent in the proportion of 25 to 34-year-olds with a qualification of NCEA level 4 or higher. We are also aiming at a $6.3 million increase to equity funding pool to maintain the current rates per student confirmation of youth funding rates to support New Zealand apprenticeships and other changes to improve the industry training system. The Government will use a new benchmarking tool in the coming year to determine the relativities between tuition funding of different disciplines that may need to be further changed in the future. We recognise that some higher-cost subjects may still be relatively underfunded compared with low-cost areas like management commerce and the arts.The tertiary education sector is a key driver of New Zealand’s innovation productivity and growth and we are continuing to make significant investments in tertiary education while working to improve the overall performance of the sector. One of the Government’s tertiary education priorities is lifting achievement for Māori and Pasifika students. It was really gratifying for me with my office in Manurewa—the vibrant and diverse community of Manurewa—to hear just 2 weeks ago that the Tertiary Education Commission had announced its support for Auckland University of Technology’s expansion of its Manukau campus with a total investment of around $90 million.This expansion will see the number of full-time equivalent students at the Auckland University of Technology in Manukau increase from 940 to 4100 by 2020 which is a significant increase. This is really important because South Auckland is home to one of New Zealand’s fastest-growing and most youthful populations. Forty percent of its residents are under 25 and the quadrupling of full-time places at Manukau is a very significant milestone in the work this Government has undertaken to make tertiary education more accessible to the aspirational folk who live in those vibrant and diverse communities of Manurewa and Manukau.There is a huge demand for tertiary education in the region—a region dear to my heart as I say as I have my office based there. In 2011 there were 13000 students fromManukau enrolled in universities across New Zealand. That number is expected to reach 18000 by 2021. That is why it is important as the Minister for Tertiary Education Skills and Employment the Hon Steven Joyce observed this afternoon in the Chamber that we make the investment in expansion in the region now. The current Auckland University of Technology campus in Manukau has been successful in improving participation for our priority students and we believe it will continue to do so. Nearly two-thirds of the current students are from decile 1 to 3 schools.Vote agreed to.