Henare Tau: Education Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
Henare Tau: Education Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:631;Page:2894] 
Hon TAU HENARE (National) 
: 
 Crikey dick! Boy it never ceases to amaze me what sort of twaddle is spoken in this House. United Future is the party that sucked up to the Government like nobody’s business. United Future members promised to support the amendment that was put forward by the Maori Party on behalf of the Early Childhood Council and what happened? They bailed out because they were under pressure. That is what happened. So it is rich for those members to get up in the House and pontificate about what a lovely job they are doing in the early childhood education sector. Well they have not done anything yet but they could have—they could have been revolutionary. They could have helped the sector but oh no they fell in behind Helen Clark and her mob. 
Does it surprise “Uncle Pita”—and I will call him “Uncle Pita”; I have such reverence for that member—that United Future did not support his amendments? In a way it must. But it does not surprise me that none of the Maori members of the Labour Government or New Zealand First for that matter supported what were essentially reasoned amendments. To top it all off they were led down the garden path by the Hon Steve Maharey who said he would support the amendment from the Maori Party. Then at the last minute he got the willies got the heebie-jeebies bolted for the doors and said: “No we can’t support it.” 
Hon Bill English 
: He never meant it. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: Exactly! I was going to say: “I wonder why?” but the Hon Bill English has said that he never ever meant to support it in the first place. 
But back to the bill. The early childhood sector is full of wonderful wonderful innovative people. Whether they be in kohanga reo kindergartens early childhood centres playcentres Montessori centres you name it the industry as I call it is full of industrious and innovative people. This bill does nothing for them. This bill constrains them. It says to them: “On the Monday morning after the passing of this legislation please get your clipboard and spend the next 3 or 4 hours going around your centre every day filling out regulations.” They will be micro-managed by that lot over there on that side of the Chamber. What does that remind members of? It reminds us of the old socialist concrete State where the Minister of Education ran everything. The teachers were in the back pocket of the Labour Party of the socialist Government of the Marxist Government. 
Hon Bill English 
: That’s not the old days that’s now! 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: Actually that is what happens today. Here is a question. How can an organisation as big and as strong as the Early Childhood Council and how can an organisation such as the Te Kohanga Reo National Trust that wanted a couple of amendments to protect their industry be told “No” by that side? Why? Because a couple of red early childhood teachers say: “No no you can’t have it.” 
What is going on? Who does the Government listen to? Certainly not to the workers and certainly not to the people in the industry. Ask all the people in kohanga reo and they will say that they were all in favour of the amendment put up by the Maori Party. Ask the majority of people in the early childhood industry. They were supportive of an amendment to section 317 put up by the Maori Party and supported by the Green Party and the National Party. We had an opportunity and the Labour Party took it away from some really innovative people. Now they are going to be forced to be micro-managed like little babies who do not know any better. 
Here is the trick. Over the next 6 years every early childhood centre will be relicensed—a big job for what? For absolutely no reason whatsoever other than to make the Ministry of Education more important to itself. That is the only reason. 
I want to say before you ring the bell on me Mr Speaker that the industry now is overregulated it is bureaucratised and it is sanitised. None of our young people will be offered the chances the innovation or the revolutionary thinking of early childhood workers. They have gone. Those days have gone. It is important that we make sure our kids get the best start in life instead of getting a handbook of regulations. I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I seek the leave of the House to finish my 10-minute speech before the House adjourns. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: Leave has been sought for that course to be followed. Is there any objection? There is objection. 
Debate interrupted.