SpeechDENISE LEE (National—Maungakiekie): Thank you Madam Speaker. This is a confusing concoction of policies put together by this coalition Government led out by the Labour Party who did promise this. They have failed to deliver and there are no two ways about that. It's crystal clear. Whether it was policy or practice or party promise we went back and back and back as select committee members trying to get a hold of where the clarity was on this particular policy. We had Ministry of Education officials come back to us probably about three times trying to clarify where the clarity was on policy and we couldn't find it. Neither could all the schools that submitted which is why so many schools submitted on out-of-scope matters. The Government has led out on this policy and they've kept out—they have kept out in my electorate one school. I've got one State school in my electorate that is above decile 8—one school. That one school I happen to have been the chair of the board of that school back in my day. I remember with crystal clarity one particular gorgeous lady that I knew and I got to know her because I also ran as well as being the board chair a coffee group with mums. Her name was—and I'm going to change her name actually because I don't think it's fair to her—Milai. Milai used to come to me because I personified the school to her as the board chair and she used to apologise to me every February when school started up because she couldn't pay the school donation. I used to remind her that it was not lawful. She had the capacity to not pay. It was a donation; it was not a fee. I remember her talking to me crystal clear. She was in a Housing New Zealand home. Yes the school at the time was decile 7; it's now just gone above that and she couldn't pay the donation. She couldn't pay for kids' shoes.There was a raft of things she struggled with and as a committee of mums we'd get in behind her and we'd help her out. That is the type of person that this bill excludes and the Government—and yes all the coalition partners thanks to the last speaker Mark Patterson—they should be fronting up to the Milais of this world because you're leaving her out. You're leaving her out and the many other people who are in decile 8 9 and 10 that don't fit your stereotype the Government's stereotype of everyone being really wealthy if you're in deciles 8 9 and 10. That's not the reality and they should be very very mindful of their broken promise. It was supposed to go to all schools; it has not done that. Now I'm going to finish speaking with a quote from a fantastic principal who came to submit to us from a ropey school and he said It will not save the greater problem of inequity because it's not a positive step for all children and whānau." Simple as that—you couldn't get any more straightforward than that. "This will not solve the problem for all children and whānau. This plan is aligned with a blunt tool from the past"—and he's referring to the decile system—"that only seems to perpetuate inequity and competition." And that's why we on this side of the House were looking to scrap the decile system and do something different. I'm not sure what the other side of the House are doing. I've never even seen it. "To me"—he said—"this announcement is tinkering. The Budget announcement seems to perpetuate a lack of collectivity providing a band-aid using a simplistic tone from the past with the hope of addressing the issue of inequity in our system."Well it doesn't. The Milais of this world deserve the Government to front up and tell her why she has to once again approach the school board chair and wonder why she should personally feel sorry for not being able to pay her school donation."