Robertson Grant: Education (Polytechnics) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Robertson Grant: Education (Polytechnics) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:659;Page:8517] 
GRANT ROBERTSON (Labour—Wellington Central) 
: 
 It is absolutely clear that Part 1 of the Education (Polytechnics) Amendment Bill is part of the agenda of this Government to take further control of polytechnics in this country. We on this side of the Chamber were criticised from time to time when we were in Government of having some kind of nanny State agenda. Well it is quite clear from the behaviour of this Government towards polytechnics that it does not value academic freedom within polytechnics does not value community representation within polytechnics and in fact is trying here to take further and closer control of polytechnics. No doubt it wants to move down the path of further funding cuts and potentially get rid of some of the polytechnics in this country. 
In Part 1 we see a dramatic reduction in community representation and in the role of communities in governing their polytechnics. That is a great shame because one of the things that happened under the tertiary reforms in the previous Government is that communities began to have a greater ownership of polytechnics. Communities were part of setting the agenda in terms of how polytechnics would be run because those polytechnics are critical to providing the labour force for regions. On this side of the Chamber we recognised that critical role and we began to work more closely with employers and with representatives of workers to make sure that community need was being dealt with by polytechnics. In one fell swoop that is being taken away by Part 1 of the bill because there is no guaranteed representation for employers. Employers are the people in a community who look to a polytechnic to provide the skilled staff they need. That is the case in any region in New Zealand. Let us take the example of the Wairarapa which Mr Mallard mentioned earlier. Employers in that region look to the Universal College of Learning to help provide them with their labour force and they are being cut out of representation at the governance level by this bill and by this Minister. Workers’ representatives who know about the training needs within communities and know about what is required in terms of developing a skilled workforce are being taken out of representation at the governance level by this Minister the Hon Anne Tolley and by this bill. 
The Minister previously told students—another group whose representation in terms of governance has been taken out—that she valued their role. She told the New Zealand University Students Association in July that she highly valued the position of student representatives on governance boards of tertiary education institutions and that it was particularly important as part of effective and robust quality assurance mechanisms. So what did the Minister do? Not only has she taken out student representation but she did so after the select committee process. She came over the top of the select committee and went back on what she told students in July. She decided not to stand up for what she told students in July. 
The Minister in the chair can go on signing her Christmas cards and not listening to a single word this side of the Chamber is saying. She has not taken a call to defend this legislation; she is signing her Christmas cards. That is how much this Minister thinks of polytechnics of students of employers of workers and of Maori; she will sit there and sign her Christmas cards instead of getting up taking a call and actually defending the fact that she has stripped away community representation from polytechnics. She has gone back on her word to students which she gave in July that she valued their representation. It is an ongoing pattern for this Government; it does not want to listen. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Chairperson. I apologise to my colleague but he has just pointed out something that I think is very important. Members have an enormous amount of flexibility and they do multitask when they are in the Chamber. It is my view—and I think there have been previous rulings in the Chamber that support it—that Ministers in the chair are in a special category. They are there to follow the debate and there are more restrictions on what they can do than there are on other members. I think there have been previous rulings to do with for example the use of laptops. I think it is beneath the dignity of the Chamber for the Minister in the chair who is meant to be taking notes on the bill to be writing on Christmas cards. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy) 
: I am just exercising my mind as to those things that have been eliminated such as knitting and one or two other things. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Not in the chair. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy) 
: Yes; those things have been ruled out of order. But in terms of correspondence and the nature of correspondence I do not think there have been any rulings on those things. Ministers make a call as to how they want to present themselves. In this case I cannot judge whether the Minister is listening which is what the member is asking. I think that the task she is engaged in is not overly complicated and I will permit her to continue. 
GRANT ROBERTSON 
: I would never want to contest your ruling Mr Chair but I think multitasking by writing Christmas cards and thinking about the bill might be beyond this particular Minister actually. 
In the time remaining to me I make the point that communities and polytechnics have to work together. If we are to get good outcomes in our workforce and if we are to get the kinds of skilled people we want we need communities to be part of governance and this Minister is stripping that out. Polytechnics could have been playing a significant role in our recovery from the recession if this Minister had been more motivated to invest in polytechnics and support them to play their role instead of trying to strip out their governance measures as she is doing today. Instead of wanting to take away student representation and take away Maori representation she could have supported polytechnics to be an important part of the future of New Zealand. Instead we are left with the distinct impression that polytechnics are not important that they are on the chopping block and that they are about to have their important role of supporting regional economies taken out. The Minister in the chair should take a call leave her Christmas cards behind for just a moment and tell us why.