Barclay ToddTODD BARCLAY (National—Clutha-Southland): It is an honour to be able to speak on this particular debate. Before I start my contribution I want to acknowledge the Hon Hekia Parata for her sterling 6 years as Minister of Education. Having had the privilege of working for her for 2½ years as well I know that she is incredibly passionate about education and she has a lot to be proud of in the contribution that she has made as Minister of Education over the last 6 years. I also wanted to congratulate the Hon Nikki Kaye on being appointed as Minister of Education. I know she is equally as passionate about the prosperity of our young New Zealanders as the Hon Hekia Parata was and I know she has worked incredibly closely with her from chairing the select committee in our second term right through to being an Associate Minister of Education and now as the Minister. So we all wish her the best in her role.I just wanted to correct a couple of points that have been raised by previous speakers in relation to the annual reviews. That is that under Vote Education there has been an increase of 35 percent since 2008 to the tune of $11 billion. It is about a fifth of the total Budget that is invested in Vote Education because it underscores the importance of that level of investment in the future of our young people. But it is not just throwing good money after bad each year; it is actually looking at seeing results. Each sector that receives money from the Government has to be accountable for the investment that is received. It is no different in the education sector than it is in the transport sector or the health sector or any other sector.If you look at how the education sector is accountable to the taxpayer who invests in success it is through achievement rates. If you look at our NCEA results national standards and the other reporting mechanisms we have got a very good story to tell. We have had a significant increase in NCEA level 1 level 2 and level 3—right across the board—and in particular an increase in NCEA level 2 results for Māori and Pasifika. That is a credit to all of the people who work in the sector: the over 100000 passionate educationalists who support the achievement of our young people. That is important because we need to be able to see that there is a clear line of sight from the investment that is put into Vote Education to the achievement results that come out the other end.I have got 69 schools in my electorate. I have been to 62 of them—many of those I have been to more than once. It is really great hearing about the contributions that they are making and the feedback from the level of investment that the Government is putting in across a range of programmes and how that is filtering through the system. If you look at the results that we are starting to see they are not only because of things like national standards and the improvements to NCEA levels 1 2 and 3 but also because the Government has made changes to the deployment of professional learning and development for staff and other investments into the sector.One of the points touched on by the Minister that was of interest to our select committee was the establishment of the Education Council as a result of the ministerial inquiry into sex offenders in schools and the changes that were made to the former Teachers Council in the establishment of the new Education Council of Aotearoa New Zealand (EDUCANZ). Dr Graham Stoop as the new chief executive of that organisation is best placed to lead that change through his collaboration with the chair Barbara Ala'alatoa and a number of other sector representatives who sit on that guiding body.If you look at the education sector in New Zealand it is incredibly complicated and complex but it is actually riddled with choices as well. The member who previously spoke Tracey Martin underscored all of the flaws with charter schools but we are fortunate in New Zealand to have a system that is full of diversity. We have got State schools we have got State-integrated schools we have got private schools we have got Māori-medium schools and we have got partnership schools. Quite frankly if you do not want to send your kid to a partnership school then do not—you do not have to. There is plenty of choice out there. Those parents who do decide to send their children to partnership schools—it is largely because they have not had success in other aspects of the sector. So diversity is one of the remarkable things about the sector that we have in New Zealand and it is something that is held in high regard by all of the comparative countries that we compare ourselves with across the OECD.One of the final points that the Minister of Education the Hon Hekia Parata did before she finished in her role was to go overseas and speak about some of those achievements that we have. So it is great to be able to make a contribution.