Coddington Deborah: General Debates 
Coddington Deborah: General Debates 
[Volume:618;Page:14396] 
DEBORAH CODDINGTON (ACT) 
: 
 The Minister of Education is on record as calling the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) a triumph. Well I call on Mr Mallard to tell that to the pupils of Glenfield College in Auckland particularly the students in a year 11 history class last year who walked into their history exam expecting to answer questions related to the topic they had studied for most of the year—a topic that was compulsory. The topic was set by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority for the level 1 history exam. That topic was: “Tangata and Whenua: the effect of population movement on Maori society”. A considerable portion of the academic year had been devoted by these students and their teacher to studying and revising for this topic. It was a major part of the level 1 history exam. But what did they find when they walked in? They found that not one question had been set on the topic that they had studied for that standard. Those students were effectively denied four credits attached to that standard. Their teacher wrote to me and said they came out of the exam confused and terribly upset as was their teacher John Watson confused and upset. 
 He went to the website to find out what had happened. The New Zealand Qualifications Authority website specifically stated that the level 1 history paper in the NZCEA would have the topic “Tangata and Whenua” available for examination in 2003. Does Mr Mallard call that a triumph? The teacher wrote to Trevor Mallard in February this year telling him what had happened and asking why that topic was still stated on the website as being available. His students had spent 9 months studying it. The Minister took nearly 3 months to reply to that letter and stated absolute gobbledygook. In fact he refused to address the complaint. 
Six months later the Minister wrote again to John Watson stating that he felt in his mind that there was no need to do anything about it because he had checked it out and overall those students had done well in the NCEA. That would have been a bit like saying in the old days that if students walked into the history exam and there was no question set on the subject they had studied all year it did not matter that they failed it because they had passed their School Certificate anyway. 
Worse than that the Minister’s excuse for there being no questions on that topic in the exam was that the examiner had not been able to come up with satisfactory questions to ask in the exam. But he had been able to come up with an assessment of the completed exam. The Minister also thought that it was OK because he said that a circular was delivered to schools a couple of weeks before the students sat the exam. Can that be called an NCEA triumph? Most New Zealanders would call it grossly unfair. Those students had paid fees to sit their exams. The fees they pay to sit the NZCEA are not inconsiderable. Tangata whenua was a compulsory topic. 
In other words the Minister ordered those students and all students in New Zealand to sit a New Zealand topic in history. The teacher had taught the topic. He told me that those students were above the national average in intelligence and ability. They had studied and revised the topic and when they went into the exam unbeknown to them there was nothing in the exam on that topic. I call that a disgrace. The Minister of Education quite happily spent $15 million on a closing-the-gaps campaign called Te Mana which basically involves printing a whole lot of glossy brochures to encourage Maori to be educated. At the same time he thinks nothing of dumping the tangata whenua topic from New Zealand history. The Minister is showing that he is quite happy to dump on New Zealand schools teachers and students. That is totally unfair. He should give that teacher and those students a better explanation than a cursory letter full of unintelligible language and then turn around and say that because they did OK overall it would not matter. To excuse himself by saying that no reliable questions could be formed on the subject is just not good enough. 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA (Minister of Maori Affairs) 
:  
Madam Speaker tena koe. Ko teneiano Te Wiki o te Reo Maori. E tikaakeano I runga I te tunei ki te mihi akeano I a tatou mai I te motu kei te whawhaitonuakeanomototatou reo. E mohioakeanotatou ko teneiano te reo o te tangata whenua o Aotearoa. I nui akeanonga tamariki e whai kaha I roto o nga kura ngakohangaperatonu. 
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.] 
[ 
This is Maori Language Week once again. It is therefore fitting that in rising to speak I should extend a greeting in the language to all of us throughout the country and assure everyone that the battle for our language continues. We know that this is the language of the indigenous people of New Zealand. The number of children with the language in the schools is strong. It is the same in kohanga 
.] 
This week has become a national annual event and it is of major significance. Two hundred and ten languages are spoken in New Zealand with te reo Maori ranking second with 160500 speakers. Te Wiki o te Reo Maori—Maori Language Week—is a time when we embrace our Maori language and when we elevate it as an icon of Aotearoa and as an official language of New Zealand. “Give it a go. Korero Maori.” is the theme of the week and the plea that is going out is that we want everybody to get into it. The message behind Te Wiki o te Reo Maori to all New Zealanders is to have a go at speaking the language. I am 101 percent behind that take. This Government has been committed to that in recognising the tangata whenua language and the status that it does hold and has by right in this country. 
We believe in the idea of creating a supportive environment for giving it a go to lighten up and be free and easy about some of the tabus like the mixing of English and Maori as they do very effectively on Maori Television’s  
Korero 
 Mai 
 and about other people’s levels of vocabulary and fluency. The official language status of te reo Maori can only be enhanced when enjoyed by using and sharing it. 
Forty-two percent of Maori adults have some speaking ability in Maori although only about 9 percent are highly fluent. It is definite that not only are more speakers essential to revitalisation but also greater numbers of speakers with high proficiency levels to create solid maintenance are required. This Government’s vision as established in the Maori language strategy is that by 2028 the majority of Maori will be able to speak Maori so there is a clear target. 
This Government is in a unique position to show leadership in bilingualism. That is something that the Opposition given the opportunity to govern which is very unlikely will not do. That is why many services can be accessed in Maori. Let it not be that we just do the haka in Maori when the All Blacks turn out and we all get excited. Let it be an everyday part of this language and no different from other countries. 
Interestingly the majority of New Zealanders—56 percent—support some level of Maori language tuition of all school students so that is good. However there is a balance and we will not get a positive attitude towards language used by forcing it on people. In other words knowing the language of our ancestors is part of our belonging. 
More positive stuff for te reo Maori is that over 350000 New Zealanders watched Maori Television in its first 3 months on air and that does not include those watching digital. At the moment it is estimated that 60 to 65 percent of Pakeha watch Maori Television especially the  
Korero 
 Mai 
 programme. Estimates based on survey suggest as many as 700000 may have watched Maori Television in the first 12 weeks. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: For how long? 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: Maori Television attracted strong interest from non-Maori audiences with 65 percent having watched Maori Television over the first 12 weeks and a lot longer than before when that member was in Government because they did not care about the tangata whenua. This Government will stand on the platform of its achievements in relation to moving Maori forward. 
Quite clearly in the health area Maori boys are expected to live to 69 years. That is a lot more years than they were in 1995 and 1997. Maori women are expected to live to 71.3 years. It was previously reported that they could be expected to live only to 68 years. In education as that member pointed out tertiary education enrolments have doubled from 32825 in 1999 to 62574. Right now there are 21737 Maori in industry training and they are doing a whole lot more things.