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9. Question No. 9—TransportVANUSHI WALTERS (Labour—Upper Harbour) to the Minister of TransportQuestion No. 9—Transport9. VANUSHI WALTERS (Labour—Upper Harbour) to the Minister of Transport: What recent announcements has the Government made about supporting the public transport sector?Hon MICHAEL WOOD (Minister of Transport): Through the emissions reduction plan (ERP) public transport is identified as playing a key role in supporting the transition to net zero. As we look to the future it is more important than ever to have effective reliable and accessible public transport services in place. That's why we're investing $40 million over four years to help local government accelerate the decarbonisation of around about 2500 public transport buses helping providers to meet the upfront costs of zero-emission buses and associated infrastructure. We're also investing $47 million to ensure the reliability of public transport services around the country by covering a portion of revenue shortfall due to reduced patronage from COVID-19. These initiatives build on the Government's record investment into transport services and infrastructure over the past four years and will allow more people to move around our towns and regions in a way that's cost-effective and reduces emissions.Vanushi Walters: What announcements has he made about workforce support in the public transport sector?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: To rapidly scale up bus networks and services across Aotearoa and meet the requirements of the ERP the public transport sector will need to recruit and retain bus drivers to address existing bus- driver shortages caused in part by the race to the bottom approach to wages under the current public transport operating model that we inherited. That's why we're investing $60 million to help providers lift bus driver wages invest in better rest facilities for drivers and make timetable changes to allow for more manageable shifts across peak and off-peak times. By making bus driving a more viable and attractive career choice we're enabling the public transport sector to scale up to meet our emissions reductions goals while also delivering more reliable public transport services for Kiwis and doing the right thing by our bus drivers who have done such a great job for our country over the past two years.Vanushi Walters: What other work has the Government undertaken to support the public transport sector?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: We've made record investments into public transport right around New Zealand from major projects like Auckland light rail and Let's Get Wellington Moving and the Eastern Busway to locally focused initiatives like supporting on-demand bus services in Timaru. We've also halved public transport fares for three months and upgraded public transport infrastructure around the country and we're supporting other active modes of transport like walking and cycling. On this side of the House we know that in 2022 Kiwis want real transport choices around the country. We're making up for years of inaction with our investment in public transport right around New Zealand.
1. Question No. 1—FinanceBARBARA EDMONDS (Labour—Mana) to the Minister of FinanceORAL QUESTIONSQUESTIONS TO MINISTERSQuestion No. 1—Finance1. BARBARA EDMONDS (Labour—Mana) to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): The International Monetary Fund on Saturday released its annual review for New Zealand where they reiterated that New Zealand had found itself in a strong position as a result of the successful management of the pandemic with strong health and economic policies supporting a quick recovery from lockdowns in 2021. They again highlighted that the economy had rebounded strongly in 2021 and that the expected border reopening will provide an additional economic boost to the tourism and education sectors. The IMF also noted that our public debt levels are expected to remain low compared with many of the countries we compare ourselves with that our debt sustainability remains robust and that there is substantial headroom to respond to further challenges.Barbara Edmonds: What did the report say about fiscal policy supporting the economy?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The IMF noted that New Zealand had started withdrawing across-the-board fiscal support due to the strong position we find ourselves in and that the pace of that withdrawal was appropriate. It says that given the highly uncertain global environment fiscal policy should remain nimble as economic conditions and the pandemic evolves and provide for additional targeted support where needed. Fiscal policy should also focus on promoting long-term growth while addressing emerging structural issues. We are taking a balanced approach and making sure that our spending continues to be carefully prioritised and targeted at the areas and people that require it the most including supporting low and middle income New Zealanders dealing with cost of living pressures through increases to Working for Families superannuation benefit levels student allowances and the minimum wage as well as the resumption of the winter energy payment. Of course we've also reduced fuel excise duty and road-user charges and halved public transport fares. Barbara Edmonds: What other reports has he seen on the economy?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The resilience of the jobs market is continuing to support the economy. The SEEK NZ Employment Report rose 2.6 percent last month compared to March to a record high and is up 50 percent for the year. The BNZ said that this mirrored recent surveys showing that firms do intend to hire more people. BNZ said the easing of restrictions was reflected in hospitality and tourism with a 30 percent jump in job ads. Some of the—[ringing sound in Chamber] Some regions such as Otago which have a reliance on tourism have exhibited the biggest gains. The strong jobs market shows that the Government's actions in response to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic have proven to be the best economic approach and the opening of the borders to foreign workers and tourists will accelerate this growth.SPEAKER: That was a rather unsubtle comment on the length of the answer.
Russell Deborah; McKelvie IanDr DEBORAH RUSSELL (Labour—New Lynn): Thank you Mr Speaker. I will make this a brief call given the time of night just to summarise on the last matters of this bill. I'd like to thank my colleagues from across the House for their support of this bill. I appreciate that my colleagues in the ACT Party and the National Party have promised support as far as the select committee stage but I think that discussion at the select committee will be very very useful indeed.A couple of the speakers raised issues around what it might mean for businesses. Of course the cheap answer is that it has no consequence for businesses where there is no sexual harassment. That is the cheap answer. The better answer is actually to consider the balance of rights and responsibilities of both businesses and employees and to work out how we can make that a little bit better. The contention of this bill is that three months is not long enough for employees. I have suggested 12 months would be a better balance between businesses and employees; I will leave the select committee to examine that.I'd like to thank my colleagues who pointed out where this bill fits in the whole pattern of bills around sexual harassment and sexual violence. That was really helpful to put it in context. I'd especially like to thank my colleague Arena Williams for her story which brought life to the whole matter which made us really understand why it is important. A final thought: I often say patriarchy harms men too—patriarchy harms men too. And of course men too can be sexually harassed but this is a gendered issue. It is typically women but men do get sexually harassed too. Nevertheless if we sort this out it helps all of us to get along better to run our businesses better to be better employees to fit together better in this world. And indeed fixing this problem which might look as though it concerns mostly women is something that actually helps us to dismantle the patriarchy and it helps us all. I commend this bill to the House.Motion agreed to.Bill read a first time.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ian McKelvie): The question is That the Employment Relations (Extended Time for Personal Grievance for Sexual Harassment) Amendment Bill be considered by the Education and Workforce Committee.Motion agreed to.Bill referred to the Education and Workforce Committee. ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ian McKelvie): Members the time has come for me to leave the Chair. The House is adjourned until 2 p.m. tomorrow.The House adjourned at 10.02 p.m.
Employment Relations (Extended Time for Personal Grievance for Sexual Harassment) Amendment Bill — First Reading
Hipango HareteHARETE HIPANGO (National): Thank you Mr Speaker. I can't say that it's a pleasure to take a call on this bill tonight. What I do say is that it's sobering to take a call and that it's a trigger for many who have been through the experience of trauma associated with sexual harassment. I commend Deborah Russell in bringing this bill to the House for something that is profound and has a profound impact on people's lives.So I often speak about members in the House speaking from a level of experience and for those of us who experienced trauma and the effect that that has on our lives it does take time to deal with it. So the purpose of this bill is to extend the time for an employee to raise a personal grievance alleging sexual harassment from 90 days to one year. The impact of trauma on a person is something that does take time and many who will be listening will find that this will be a trigger from past experiences and that it's important to have the time to be able to process. So this bill is supported by the National Party and it would seem that it has cross-party throughout-the-House support. For it to go to the select committee which I understand will be the Education and Workforce Committee.I listened to Dr Russell as the first speaker talking about this bill and the personal trauma and experience that Zoë Lawton has pursued with Dr Russell and also with this bill coming to the House. It prompted me also to look to the legal definition of sexual harassment and it prompted me to go to the WorkSafe website which outlines a guide there for persons who have been subjected to sexual harassment. There's a guide there on the WorkSafe website and a definition of sexual harassment has been addressed under section 108 of the Employment Relations Act 2000 and Dr Russell read and detailed that. On the WorkSafe website sexual harassment is also defined by the Human Rights Act 1993 as any unwelcome or offensive sexual behaviour that is repeated or serious enough to have a harmful effect or which contains an implied or overt promise of preferential treatment or of detrimental treatment. So the definition of sexual harassment is both in the Human Rights Act and specifically section 108 of the Employment Relations Act.This bill is important because as I've referenced and listened to Dr Russell sharing Zoë Lawton's experience and other persons' experience of trauma particular to sexual harassment it takes time it take courage and it takes support to be able to confront and to be able to expose what's going on. Trauma's debilitating it's crippling it's sickening and it's disempowering. This bill is invoking a process to empower to encourage to promote and to confront those perpetrators of sexual harassment.The Education and Workforce Committee will go through the detail of this bill to ensure that there is consistency with amendments to the Employment Relations Act in addressing grievances for sexual harassment in ensuring the appropriate extension of time from 90 days to 12 months is invoked. On that note the National Party commends this bill to select committee for further deliberation.
Baillie ChrisCHRIS BAILLIE (ACT): Thank you Mr Speaker. I rise on behalf of ACT to take a call on the Employment Relations (Extended Time for Personal Grievance for Sexual Harassment) Amendment Bill. Certainly a lot less contentious than the last couple of bills we've heard tonight which must be a good thing.This bill is an uncomplicated bill that extends the period a personal grievance related to sexual harassment can be brought from three months to 12 months. It reflects the view that due to the nature of sexual harassment victims often take longer to come forward. ACT will support this bill to select committee. The current 90-day deadline puts a relatively short time frame to advance a grievance despite the grievance being serious in nature. There's a reasonable case to suggest that the grievance would still be present after the extended period of time. New Zealand has a pretty poor record around sexual harassment and violence and ACT is empathetic to the serious issues of sexual harassment in the workplace.There are a couple of things that will be heard during the select committee process that may require more information. The impact on business is difficult to quantify but I can't imagine it having a huge effect on anything. The current personal grievance process is very employee-biased and any misuse of this bill needs to be treated very seriously. I was talking to a business owner last week actually who had one of his labourers take his ute home without permission and he got a drunk driving charge. The employer couldn't trust him. The next week on Monday actually and he's up for a personal grievance because he reduced his hours. Or the waitress who was asked by her female manager to smile more when serving customers a couple of months ago; that led to a personal grievance for bullying. So we need to be really careful to make sure the personal grievance process is used how it is meant to be used.I think we will hear in the select committee that this issue and it's been alluded to earlier by a couple of speakers isn't gender specific and I think many examples won't fit the expected profile that we all are going to assume.We look forward to ironing out some of these issues in the select committee process and progressing this bill. We support this bill. Thanks.
Mallard TrevorPETITIONS PAPERS SELECT COMMITTEE REPORTS AND INTRODUCTION OF BILLSSPEAKER: No select committee reports have been presented. A petition has been delivered to the Clerk for presentation.CLERK: Petition of the Tourette's Association of New Zealand requesting that the House request the Ministry of Health recognise Tourette's syndrome as a disability for the purpose of ministry-funded support services.SPEAKER: That petition stands referred to the Petitions Committee. A paper has been delivered for presentation.CLERK: Student Loan Scheme annual report 2020-21.SPEAKER: That paper is published under the authority of the House. The Clerk has been informed of the introduction of a bill.CLERK: Forests (Legal Harvests Assurance) Amendment Bill introduction.SPEAKER: That bill is set down for first reading.
Salesa JennyWEDNESDAY 18 MAY 2022The Speaker took the Chair at 2 p.m.KARAKIA/PRAYERSHon JENNY SALESA (Assistant Speaker): Le Atua Silisili ese e matou te sulaina lau Afio mo fa'amanuiaga ma tofi ua e fa'au'uina ai i matou. E lafoa'i ni o matou lagona ma manatua ta'ito'atasi i le amana'iaina o le Masiofo o Peretania. Matou te tatalo ina ia tonu ma fa'amaoni fuafuaga ma fa'ai'uga uma i totonu o lenei Maota Fono. Ia talosia ta'ita'i o lenei Mālō ina ia maua le tōfā mamao le fa'apalepale ma le agamalū auā le manuia ma le filemū o Niu Sila. O le matou tatalo lea e ala atu i le suafa pele o Iesu Keriso. Amene.
Tuesday 17 May 2022 - Volume 759
VoteA party vote was called for on the question That the Education and Training Amendment Bill (No 2) be now read a second time.Ayes 77New Zealand Labour 65; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 10; Te Paati Māori 2.Noes 42New Zealand National 32; ACT New Zealand First 10.Motion agreed to.Bill read a second time.
Education and Training Amendment Bill (No 2) — Second Reading
Electricity Industry Amendment Bill — Second Reading
VoteA party vote was called for on the question That the Electricity Industry Amendment Bill be now read a second time.Ayes 87New Zealand Labour 65; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 10; ACT New Zealand 10; Te Paati Māori 2.Noes 32New Zealand National 32.Motion agreed to.Bill read a second time.
VoteA party vote was called for on the question That the Maritime Powers Bill be now read a third time.Ayes 109New Zealand Labour 65; New Zealand National 32; ACT New Zealand 10; Te Paati Māori 2.Noes 10Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 10.Motion agreed to.Bill read a third time.
Maritime Powers Bill — Third Reading
VoteA party vote was called for on the question That this House approve the following orders made under the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020: COVID-19 Public Health Response (Air Border) Amendment Order (No 3) 2022 COVID-19 Public Health Response (Vaccinations) Amendment Order (No 3) 2022 COVID-19 Public Health Response (Protection Framework) Amendment Order (No 5) 2022 COVID-19 Public Health Response (Protection Framework and Vaccinations) Amendment Order 2022 COVID-19 Public Health Response (Air Border) Amendment Order (No 4) 2022 COVID-19 Public Health Response (Self-Isolation Requirements and Permitted Work) Amendment Order (No 3) 2022 and the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Protection Framework) Amendment Order (No 6) 2022.Ayes 97New Zealand Labour 65; New Zealand National 32.Noes 22Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 10; ACT New Zealand 10; Te Paati Māori 2.Motion agreed to.Orders approved.
12. Question No. 12—TransportNAISI CHEN (Labour) to the Minister of TransportQuestion No. 12—Transport12. NAISI CHEN (Labour) to the Minister of Transport: How is the Government supporting Kiwi families to transition to low-emission transport alternatives?Hon MICHAEL WOOD (Minister of Transport): Yesterday the Government announced that we are investing into the transport sector from the Climate Emergency Response Fund to support Kiwi families to transition to low-emission transport alternatives like public transport and cycling and also to accelerate the equitable uptake of cleaner vehicles. While the Clean Car Discount scheme has supported the rapid uptake of over 15000 electric and hybrid vehicles since it was launched last year we know that for many families the cost of switching to a cleaner vehicle can still be expensive. That's why we're implementing the Clean Car Upgrade. Starting with an initial trial of up to 2500 vehicles the programme will provide targeted assistance to low- and middle-income households to help them shift to lower-emission alternatives in exchange for scrapping their old vehicles. It will reduce emissions and reduce costs for our low-income households.Naisi Chen: What other initiatives are included in the Clean Car Upgrade that will support families to transition to low-emissions transport alternatives?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: The Clean Car Upgrade builds off the successful Clean Car Discount scheme which is now seeing 20 to 25 percent of new vehicles coming into New Zealand being low- or zero-emission vehicles and includes the two top-selling vehicles under the discount being priced under $18000. As well as a scrappage scheme which I've already mentioned for low- and middle-income households we're also funding a trial of a social leasing scheme to support low-income families to lease a safe low-emission vehicle from a community organisation. The trial will build on the work of groups like the Ākina Foundation in Manukau and is expected to operate from early 2023 in three communities to test its effectiveness across New Zealand. This is about our commitment to reducing emissions but also about having an inclusive transition that includes all New Zealanders.Naisi Chen: What is the projected impact on emissions of the Clean Car Upgrade?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: Transport is one of New Zealand's largest sources of emissions accounting for 17 percent of greenhouse gas emissions but it's also an area where we can make a difference quickly. The transport initiatives we're investing in through the Climate Emergency Response Fund are expected to reduce carbon emissions equivalent to taking 181000 cars off the road between now and 2035. The Emissions Reduction Plan has set the targets and it shows that the path towards a more sustainable transport sector is achievable. On this side of the House we've set up the plan and we have the policies in place to deliver on it.
7. Question No. 7—EducationMARJA LUBECK (Labour) to the Minister of EducationQuestion No. 7—Education7. MARJA LUBECK (Labour) to the Minister of Education: What is the Government doing to support New Zealand's international education sector to reconnect to the world?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister of Education): New Zealand is fully reopening to international students and the Government is committed to helping to reinvigorate and strengthen the sector. We are currently in the process of refreshing the International Education Strategy to recognise that we are in a very different position to the one we were in in 2018 and as our borders reopen that sector is going to need more support to come back even stronger than before. So we want to work with international education providers to build that new future focused on the delivery of more high-value and innovative international education offerings for our domestic and international students onshore offshore in person and online.Marja Lubeck: What policy decisions has the Government made recently that impact upon international education?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: There are 5000 places for students to come to New Zealand right now and from 31 July all international students who meet the entry criteria can enrol to study here. It's time to show the world that New Zealand is open for education and we welcome students back. The criteria for international student visas has been adjusted to help to ensure that these students are getting value for their money and that those who are staying on in New Zealand are helping us to fill skill gaps and are contributing to the New Zealand economy. The Government's also confirmed that international fee-paying students under year 9 will be able to continue to enrol at New Zealand schools.Marja Lubeck: Why did the Government consider it was important to take these actions at this time?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: There's no question that our international education sector has done it tough for the last few years. Bringing forward our reopening to international students shows this Government's strong commitment to them and to the rebuild of a high-quality world-class New Zealand international education sector. Prior to the pandemic international education was worth several billion dollars to our country. The early reopening will be seen as great news for our universities our polytechnics and wānanga for our schools our English language schools and for our private training providers.
3. Question No. 3—FinanceBROOKE VAN VELDEN (Deputy Leader—ACT) to the Minister of FinanceQuestion No. 3—Finance3. BROOKE VAN VELDEN (Deputy Leader—ACT) to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by all his Government's statements and policies in relation to the Budget?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): Yes in the context in which they were given.Brooke van Velden: What will be different about this Budget compared to the Budgets delivered over the past four years over which time countries including Slovenia the Czech Republic and Lithuania overtook New Zealand in productivity per hour worked?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: What this Budget will do is carry on the work that the Government has done to strike a careful balance by investing in services investing in the long-term drivers of productivity such as skills and making sure that we get better transport networks. But what we'll also do is make sure that we have one of the lowest debt levels in the OECD that we'll make sure that we continue one of the lowest unemployment levels in the OECD and make sure that New Zealanders have a Government that looks after the future as well as the here and now.Brooke van Velden: What will be different in this Budget compared with the last four Budgets delivered where Israel and Estonia attracted more than twice as much foreign investment per capita?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: This Budget will continue the Government's approach of making sure that we invest in New Zealanders and support them through a range of strong public services. This includes making sure that we lift the minimum wage making sure that we provide for the winter energy payment; this is making sure that we support all New Zealanders especially those from vulnerable communities—all things that would be undermined by the ACT Party's policies which the National Party are yet to rule out.Brooke van Velden: How will this Budget be different from the last four during which time the median Australian wage increased $6600 faster than the median New Zealand wage?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: One thing that will be different as this Budget goes through is that the Fair Pay Agreements legislation that the Government has introduced mirroring what happens in Australia will be passing through and that will lead to a lift in wages—something everyone in this House I'm sure would support.Brooke van Velden: How will this Budget tackle the cost of living crisis—if the Government believes there is a cost of living crisis—for those who pay tax but do not receive a benefit or tax credit from the Government?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The member will have to wait until Thursday to see exactly what the Government is doing in this Budget but what I can say is for example when it comes to a sector like the supermarket sector where New Zealanders are paying too much—where New Zealanders of all incomes are paying too much—that's why we set up the Commerce Commission inquiry and it's why we'll be responding swiftly to its recommendations.
2. Question No.2—FinanceDr DUNCAN WEBB (Labour—Christchurch Central) to the Minister of FinanceQuestion No.2—Finance2. Dr DUNCAN WEBB (Labour—Christchurch Central) to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): Mr Speaker kia ora anō. Westpac's latest economic review has noted that the health-led response to the pandemic has resulted in a resilient economy with economic output tracking close to where Westpac's economists thought it would have been had the pandemic not occurred. They said That's a striking result given the loss of international tourist dollars and the sharp downturn in population growth." They also say in recent years that households' disposable incomes have risen by around 5 percent a year outpacing increases in the cost of living. There has also been a rise in household saving rates; combined that is providing households with a buffer from the factors that are crimping their discretionary spending. While 2022 will undoubtedly be a tough one around the world due to the hard work of businesses and the actions of the Government New Zealand finds itself in a strong economic and financial position to deal with the ongoing challenges that are thrown at us. Dr Duncan Webb: What reports has he seen on the resilience of the economy? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Activity in the manufacturing and services sectors is continuing to expand. The seasonally adjusted BNZ-Business NZ Performance of Manufacturing Index for April was 51.2 down 2.5 points from the previous month. New orders however remain positive while production contracted mildly due to staff absenteeism from the Omicron outbreak. Activity levels in the services sector remained steady in April with the seasonally adjusted BNZ-Business NZ Performance of Service Index at 51.4 down 0.1 points from March. Again new orders and sales remain positive as the easing of restrictions boosted sectors such as the cultural recreational accommodation cafe and restaurant sectors. Dr Duncan Webb: What other reports has he seen on the economy? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Statistics New Zealand reported last week that food prices had edged up 0.1 percent in April compared with March and are down 2.7 percent from January. On an annual basis food price growth moderated from 7.6 percent in the March year to 6.4 percent in the previous year. That is a similar drop from 7.9 percent in the year to July 2011 to 6.6 percent in the August 2011 year. While food prices remain elevated it is important that the Government gets alongside New Zealanders and supports them through this as we have done through our 1 April changes that have lifted main benefits student allowances superannuation and also the introduction of the winter energy payment from 1 May."
Halbert ShananSHANAN HALBERT (Labour—Northcote): Thank you Madam Speaker. I'm lucky to speak after Mr David Bennett and it's good to see my North Shore colleagues across the way on this particular topic. I am incredibly ambitious for the North Shore—I think I used optimistic" as the word—but particularly our education system on the North Shore. As North Shore MPs we have to ask ourselves: do we have the best education system that meets the needs of all of our children—that is the question—and have we put the right changes in place to meet those learners' needs? Sure we've got some gaps. We've got some work to do. I look over to tertiary education—man I am proud of the reforms that we are doing under this Government. I am proud of the savings and the opportunities for young people there and the achievements that we are working on.But I come back to this particular bill the Education and Training Amendment Bill (No 2) and this is another step in continuing this good work. It's technical and there are some very simple changes that are required. But I want to speak very closely to clause 35—which probably nobody over the other side has read. It is the point that expands the functions of the Chief Review Officer of the Education Review Office to include reviewing professional learning and development access by schools kura and early learning centres. Under this Government we've heavily invested in the development of our teachers the development of our learning support workers in schools and the development of people that teach our tamariki. But what we also want to know—and I think of programmes like Te Ahu o te Reo Māori the investment into building te reo Māori capability amongst kaiako and teachers and amongst staff—that this particular investment has been well spent. As we increase the volumes we now want to carve it up and ask: are we achieving the goals that we want to? This particular bill enables us to do that. We have expectations. We have best practice that we are looking for so that in turn our tamariki our children and our young people are receiving the best quality learning experience from early childhood education and kōhanga reo right up to tertiary and vocational learning. So thank you very much. I commend this bill to the House."
Belich CamillaCAMILLA BELICH (Labour): Thank you Madam Speaker. I've said it before in relation to this bill but I'll say it again: it is good lawmaking to make sure that any issues that have arisen through a substantive process are addressed through subsequent legislation. This is what this bill does: it improves the education sector in New Zealand.It goes through almost every element of our education sector as the Minister of Education has stated and makes tiny improvements. As we've also heard—and other speakers have gone on in detail about this—Supplementary Order Paper 118 does make substantive policy changes in relation to early childhood education. The speakers on the other side accused the speakers on our side or the Government in fact that this particular type of bill was a trend and I agree with them. It is a trend—a trend towards improving education for all of our learners and all of our students through continuous legislative change. These changes will lead to a more unified diverse sustainable higher-quality and consistent network of early childhood education and learning services in New Zealand.Now just to turn to a slightly more sombre note I lost my grandmother on the weekend. My grandmother—her name was Valerie Belich. She passed away on 14 May. As a young parent she was a supervisor at early childhood education services and so I just wanted to honour her memory really by talking about what she believed in in relation to early childhood education. She believed passionately that all parents should be educated in early childhood development and she also believed passionately in the value of early childhood education.So although this is not a major legislative change in this area this will improve early childhood education in New Zealand and it will improve the experiences of children who are in that education. So I think even though it is not a substantive bill she would support this bill and the direction it's going in into making those improvements for the children in New Zealand.This bill also goes through and makes a number of important changes to health safety and wellbeing. Now these are important changes. They are not things that should be maligned or should have it said that they are a Government overreach. They ensure that things like police vets happen for people who are working with our most vulnerable—children. These are important things and so I have no hesitation in commending this bill to the House.
Webb DuncanDr DUNCAN WEBB (Labour—Christchurch Central): Thank you Madam Speaker. I'm pleased to rise and take this call.Consummate—consummate—conservatives. But the fundamental conservative—with a little c"—Nicola Grigg would say "Not now. Let's not do anything right now. Let's not improve our police vetting. Let's not improve the quality of our education." But I can't blame her—she hasn't been in education for years and years. Penny Simmonds however should know a lot better. We all know she can read but to spend 10 minutes reading her speech and continually harp on about Southern Institute of Technology which isn't even affected by this—it would be great to have some engagement from the Opposition with ideas. It would be good to have a proposition from the Opposition rather than a do-nothing Opposition who says "Not now. Too early. Let's sit on our hands."This is a bill that's going to improve education and I'm very glad to be part of a Parliament and a party that is committed to improving the lives of all New Zealanders including this. I commend it to the House."
Omer Ibrahim; Salesa JennyIBRAHIM OMER (Labour): Thank you Madam Speaker. It's a pleasure to speak on the Education and Training Amendment Bill (No 2). For far too long the education sector was underfunded. Some areas were almost left dry and the sector was left to demoralise. There was a worrying teacher shortage and schools were in despair. It was the previous speaker's Penny Simmonds' party that left the sector dry and in tatters in case she forgets because what I heard her saying about the Minister of Education not having any experience is just funny and ironic.This bill is the next step in the Government's improvement in the education sector. It fits within the larger overhaul of the education legislation bringing all early learning schooling and tertiary education into a single statute. The changes set out in this bill create a more sustainable and higher-quality and a more diverse network of early learning services.This bill will do quite a few things. One of the things that it will be doing is that the police vetting-process will be more aligned with the Children's Act 2014. Non-teaching staff also must have a police vet before starting. It includes registered teachers who do not have a practising certificate. This bill will also make a number of minor and technical amendments.The Education and Workforce Committee dealt with some concerns raised along the way. For example the commencement of this provision was quite a concern for some people and that is pushed back now to 1 August 2022. So this is a balanced bill that puts a lot of things into consideration and I'd like to thank the Minister for his hard work to bring this bill into the House. I also want to commend the members of the select committee for their positive engagement. It was quite a diligent and positive vibe when we discussed this bill. So with no further delay I'd like to commend this bill to the House.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa): The next call is a split call. I call on Nicola Grigg—five minutes.
Roberts AngelaANGELA ROBERTS (Labour): I was really looking forward to hearing somebody who was supposedly a champion for vocational excellence in New Zealand and it was really disappointing to hear the speaker before me talk about things that aren't happening. It would be really great if you'd kept up—it's not a review of vocational education; it was a reform. Things have changed and they've changed for the better.This bill brings coherence to vocational training. We're getting rid of things—our training programmes and training packages—and we're getting really coherent micro-credentialling qualifications and national curricula and they are determined by industry because we do have these things called workforce development councils and they are driven by industry. Nicola Grigg: And unions.ANGELA ROBERTS: The industry decides—do the maths. It isn't dominated by unions; it is dominated by the sectors. It's industry-led. It's going to bring long-term solutions to the workforce development issues that we hear in health in construction and primary industries. I was with farmers last week who were really pleased about the fact that they were going to have young farmers turn up on-farm and they were going to have qualifications that were developed by them—by the farmers—and they were going to be credible and they were going to be world leading. They were looking forward to that because the other system was not delivering for them.So for those of you who can keep up you will understand that this bill is supporting a very good very progressive way of building a wonderful vocational framework that will meet industry needs because it is led by industry. So keep up because the world is moving on and I really do commend this bill to the House.
Lubeck MarjaMARJA LUBECK (Labour): Thank you Madam Speaker. It's a real pleasure as the chair of the Education and Workforce Committee which dealt with the bill to take a short call. The Minister of Education ran us through the extensive work that was done during the last parliamentary term when of course we had a complete rewrite of the education legislation and a revamp—a well-overdue revamp—of the whole education legislative framework. We had a new Education and Training Act created at the time which came in force on 1 August 2020 and it was actually the most significant education legislation that we had seen for several decades at that time.So the Minister has already spoken about the next steps being continuous improvement in that process that we have started. The Minister gave us quite a good recap of those improvements that this bill contains so I won't go too deep into the detail except to say that we had 36 written submissions in total come to this committee and we had 14 oral submissions that we heard and 14 of the 15 submissions that dealt solely with this particular bill supported the bill.Also we heard the previous speaker Erica Stanford talk about the timing of the network management changes. It is probably fair to say that as a result of the feedback and the Minister's taking that feedback into account we had the timing pushed back significantly from 1 August 2022 to what is now the date of 1 February 2023. That is a balanced approach because I guess we also have to acknowledge that the provisions in the Act have been in there now for a couple of years and the sector has been aware of them. I also want to add to this that a good early childhood education centre doesn't mean it has to necessarily just be a new build so that is something to keep in mind as well.So this bill is then one of a number of bills that the Government will be bringing to the House this parliamentary term. Together they will progress our education work programme and contribute to what I've already mentioned is a continuous improvement of the education sector. I do commend the Minister of Education the Hon Chris Hipkins for introducing this bill and I commend it to the House. Thank you Madam Speaker.
Henderson EmilyDr EMILY HENDERSON (Labour—Whangārei) (remote): Kia ora Mr Speaker. While not a member of the Governance and Administration Committee as an ex-academic researcher and full nerd I feel inspired by this bill to start this closing submission with the opening words of literature's greatest love story: It is a truth universally acknowledged that any policy maker in possession of a great social issue will be in want of data and statistics." Conversely to proceed without sufficient data and statistics is to risk ineffective or even counter-productive policy and legislation. Evidence is important. So after 47 years we gather to update the 1975 Statistics Act an Act pre-dating not only the internet and online data collection tools such as the beautifully named SurveyMonkey but also proper recognition of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This new bill recognises Māori interests in data and statistics requiring meaningful engagement as to how and for what data is collected and enabling Māori to better access and use their data. We're enabling better systems leadership strengthening the Statistician's oversight and powers to set standards require agencies to provide information and to set and revise the format in which the data comes so it comes in its most practicable form. And alongside that we're modernising census data collection too. My academic's heart soars to know that this bill also modernises the framework for research incorporating best practice frameworks ensuring that researchers are properly expert and that the public knows who those researchers are and what and how they're doing with the data. In so doing the bill provides vital protections for the privacy and confidentiality of individuals and organisations. Good information is essential to good governance. I commend this bill to the House. Motion agreed to.Bill read a second time."
Data and Statistics Bill — Second Reading
Halbert ShananSHANAN HALBERT (Labour—Northcote): Thank you Mr Speaker. It's my honour this evening to speak on the Data and Statistics Bill. And can I acknowledge the Minister the Hon Dr David Clark for the work that he has done in this particular piece of legislation and also the Governance and Administration Committee for hearing submissions and working through this particular legislation to bring it before us this evening.I think quite fondly of our growth as a country and the use of data in informing the decisions that we make strategically for our total population across Aotearoa; for our communities no matter where you come from. And I think to areas that I've been involved in where data has been vital in making good decisions and to achieve better outcomes. I think to health and I think to the COVID response and the work that we had to all do to get out on the streets to get people vaccinated right down to the views that we could get in my own city in Tāmaki-makau-rau around where people were living what numbers were living in particular areas so that our DHBs our health workforce could get out there use their resources their volunteers to engage with those people to promote good health.Similarly in tertiary education I've had the benefit of understanding better student profiles to understand their learning needs and to work with academic staff to bring in curriculum and learning methodologies to engage learners and their families to achieve graduation and educational achievement.And lastly as you know Mr Speaker I hail from the mighty Mōkai Pātea. And we're going through a settlement process of our own where we've had to build a profile of our own whānau of where they live across Aotearoa and across the world. As a very small iwi we've been able to engage and identify with those particular people.This bill replaces the Statistics Act of 1975 with a modern fit for purpose data and statistics legislation. It's important that this piece of legislation moves forward. So without further ado to enable and continue the good work can I commend this bill to the House.
Strange JamieJAMIE STRANGE (Labour—Hamilton East): Thank you Mr Speaker. I appreciate the opportunity to take the opportunity to take a call. On the Star Wars theme may the Force be with the Minister as he works hard to shepherd this bill through the House. Actually I myself explored the final frontiers of Tauranga collecting census data in the early 2000s. It's a memory that stuck with me going house to house—first of all giving out census documents and then later on going and retrieving them and at various times working very closely with families to ensure that they completed their forms. There is a lot of work that takes place on the ground in terms of collecting census documents and other forms of data which as the previous member said are incredibly important for our country.Mr Speaker I'd like to acknowledge the Governance and Administration Committee a committee that I've recently joined and was warmly welcomed by yourself as the chair and the other members. I'd like to thank all of those who made a submission to this piece of legislation.I'm going to keep my contribution fairly short. We have canvassed this bill quite well. I'll just touch on a couple of quick things. The first one is that this bill replaces the Statistics Act of 1975 with modern fit for purpose data and statistics legislation. The reality is that much of the legislation that passes through this House is updating legislation which over the course of time is no longer quite fit for purpose as our society evolves. So look it's important for this to come through and I sense we have broad support across the House which is good. The second aspect is just that it considers and provides for Māori interests in this data and statistics and I think that's a very positive thing moving forward.Excellent piece of legislation. I commend it to the House. Thank you.