Smith Nick: National Certificate in Educational Achievement Moratorium Bill — First Reading 
Smith Nick: National Certificate in Educational Achievement Moratorium Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:606;Page:4051] 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH (NZ National—Nelson) 
: 
 We know how far away the Government is from reality when we hear a speech on a key issue such as this from that member. I nearly choked when Helen Duncan told us that the National Certificate of National Achievement (NCEA) had been successfully implemented. Where was she when we heard submission after submission at the Education and Science Committee? The Secondary Principals Association of New Zealand said it was one of the worst examples of poor change-management that it had ever experienced in its existence. The School Trustees Association said it was a hopeless implementation; so too did those good union mates of the Labour Government—the Post Primary Teachers Association. All of them said it was a failure and I just ask that member to connect with reality and admit that the NCEA has been one bureaucratic botch-up after another. 
I also have to say to the member who just spoke how can members opposite go around this country and give speeches about the importance of free education—one of Labour’s heartfelt founding principles—and then put up the fees for sixth form students this year from $25 to $150? That is a sixfold increase. When did Labour say that to the electorate last year? When we were in Government we increased the fees by 6 percent and we were told by Labour that this was a threat to the principle of free education—despite the fact that it was less than the rate of inflation. Now Labour has increased the fees by 600 percent and it expects parents to be silent. National says: “Not good enough.” 
In respect of the NCEA it is time Labour fronted up and told the public honestly what changes it has made since it became the Government. Because the NCEA we have in schools today is not the NCEA that was ticked off by National in Government in 1998. There are two key changes that this Government does not want to talk about. The first of those is the Cabinet paper signed off by National which said: “Let’s give students a mark out of 100; let’s tell students how good they are or how not-good they are; let’s not put students into these crude bands where we don’t care whether they got 66 percent or 99 percent.” Because 66 percent is not the same as 99 percent. 
The second politically correct manoeuvre from this Government is that the record of learning to be held by the Qualifications Authority is no longer to record failure. Is that not just another dose of Labour political correctness? We are not allowed to mention this word “failure” when it comes to education. We have this politically correct dishonesty and members on this side of the House say: “Not good enough.” But members on this side of the House are committed to a qualifications reform. We are we were in Government and we still are. We say that we want a standards-based system and we say we want a system that is committed to external examination. 
That brings me to this bill and I have to say to the ACT party that this puts a freeze on Sixth Form Certificate. This House has to front up and say that Sixth Form Certificate is the worst of our school qualifications. There is no external exam. We in the National Party believe in external exams. So why would we want to keep the Sixth Form Certificate? It has no external examination. In Government we were proud to move on from that and we still say that Sixth Form Certificate is not an appropriate qualification and we can do better. National says we are committed to a standards-based assessment and we are committed to external examinations. 
We also want to be constructive and I have to ask this question: this bill would freeze Sixth Form Certificate into this school year 2003. We are 6 weeks into the school year I have to say to the ACT party. How fair is it to our 50000 sixth form students who are in the middle of starting— 
Jill Pettis 
: 80000. 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH 
: That is not correct. I say to the member opposite: “Get your numbers right!”. There are 50000 students in sixth form not 80000. We know that the Labour Party is no good at maths and she proves so again. I say to the House how fair is it to those 50000 students who are 6 weeks into an NCEA programme to change the rules suddenly? I say it is not fair. That is why National says we welcome the debate on the bill but we cannot support it in the form that it is before this Parliament.