Pillay Lynne: Education (Trustee Ineligibility) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Pillay Lynne: Education (Trustee Ineligibility) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:623;Page:18515] 
LYNNE PILLAY (Labour—Waitakere) 
: 
 On behalf of the Labour Government I would like to stand and support this bill but to a point because like the member it has a number of flaws. The comparison stops there but the bill is flawed because it misses out other important sex offences which include sex violation and related offences from the Summary Offences Act and Films Videos and Publications Classification Act. I think it is probably indicative of the member that the work on the bill is far from thorough. Its purpose is to ensure that those convicted of sex offences against young people cannot become school trustees. In recognising this we have to recognise that the instances of this occurring are rare. According to the National Science Teachers Association there have been over 70000 trustees—hard-working committed trustees in our schools—of whom only three are known to have been convicted for sex offences. This is because the nature of school elections makes it highly likely that sex offenders or other people who are not perhaps suitable to be part of a board of trustees are identified by the community and the issue is then resolved through community pressure and that is a good thing. 
Given the number of cases that occur I would have to say that this bill is a little bit like a sledgehammer being used to crack a nut. There is an irony that a member who is so opposed to any form of regulation or protection in most other areas is so committed to this. In most cases boards of trustees do not have direct contact with schoolchildren. They usually meet as we all know outside of school hours. I would like to acknowledge the hard work that boards of trustees put in outside of school hours. They go far beyond the call of duty. We in the Government really recognise the hard work and the commitment that our hard-working boards of trustees do. 
There are also many protections. If they were having contact such as being teacher-aides the Education Act has been amended under this Government to require police vetting of all staff. So it is with some misgivings that we give support to this bill but we support it to go to the select committee. In doing so we know that it will go to the Education and Science Committee. Whilst I am speaking I would like to acknowledge all the hard work that that select committee does. I would like to acknowledge Mr Donnelly who is in this House who is an excellent chairperson of that committee. I would like to pay tribute to his fairness his sincerity and his overall commitment to making sure that that committee works effectively. 
To a lesser extent but of no lesser importance I would certainly like to acknowledge the hard work of the deputy chair of that committee. Her commitment and diligence in ensuring that that committee works hard is second to none. So I have misgivings about the bill but utter confidence in the hard-working people on that select committee in particular the Labour members. And I have to acknowledge Bernie Ogilvy. He has much to contribute—much common sense. When this bill goes to the select committee I think we will be able to cobble through much of the nonsense and be able to get some common sense out of it. 
It is not only the Education and Science Committee; many select committees in this Parliament work really hard. What a great system we have! We can hold our heads high on the world stage because of the work our select committees do. There are many times when we have misgivings on this side of the House about the calibre of a bill but we have confidence that in sending it to a good hard-working well-chaired—and deputy-chaired—select committee some common sense will come out of it. So the Government supports with some misgivings this bill going to select committee.