Lee DeniseDENISE LEE (National—Maungakiekie): Tēnā koe e Te Mana Whakawā. It is extraordinary what we have heard in relation to partnership or charter or kura hourua schools this afternoon. This is the final reading and when we're finished speeches here this afternoon that's it: the model has gone. What we've heard from the Minister of Education himself—I need to go back to Hansard and read but I am 99 percent sure he said that charter schools kura hourua are a dodgy model of education. He certainly used the word dodgy" and if anyone's listening here this afternoon who is involved in any partnership schools kura hourua your Minister of Education used the word "dodgy".And then we had Willie Jackson. He's not Tā Willie Jackson like Tā Toby Curtis is; he is Willie Jackson. He said—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Adrian Rurawhe): He's the Hon Willie Jackson.DENISE LEE: All right. Well he's not Tā Willie Jackson; he's the Hon Willie Jackson and he wasn't behaving honourably because he in one fell swoop—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Adrian Rurawhe): Order! The member will withdraw and apologise for that comment.DENISE LEE: I withdraw and apologise. But here's what he said: "The model kura hourua clearly wasn't working for us."—and by that he meant Māori. Then he also said to eminent Māori iwi leaders that they clearly don't know what they are talking about and they have been led astray. That is offensive and they should and will take action.So here's how it has played out: those on the other side of the House campaigned to scrap charter schools they came into power they terminated contracts and they've held sham negotiations to force schools into a State model without acknowledging what would be lost. Meanwhile they then introduced the bill that we're going to sign off here—well they are going to sign off; we're not—and we sit in hearings me and other members of the Education and Workforce Committee and we hear members of schools parents and students imploring us to keep these schools open or at least give it some transition time. Then the Minister puts out a press release not just saying but celebrating that they're gone. It was predetermined celebrating the closure of these schools—no negotiations or hearings. Hardly anyone from the other side visited these schools and talked to students. The schools were held over a barrel. Try and deny it. They can't.I have a question for the Minister and it really comes off the back of the extraordinary words from the Hon Willie Jackson and that's in regards to kaupapa Māori and kaupapa Pasifika. These are principles—and no one here would deny it—that are bigger and bolder and more intrinsic than politics more intrinsic than education principles and policies. It is not about what we do; kaupapa Māori and kaupapa Pasifika is who we are. We all know it.Now the other side of the House may think that we're playing a political game so I'll take the words away from me and I'll give the words back to those who had a voice in the hearings. I think they deserve a voice back here again today. Kaupapa Māori and kaupapa Pasifika learning about mana I am but a shadow but we heard from the likes of Tā Toby Curtis Pem Bird Dame Iritana John Morris Sir La'auli Savae Michael Jones and Dame Tariana Turia. Just two of them alone Tā Toby Curtis and Dame Iritana have 130 years between them—just the two of them—in Māori education. They speak with the backing of the Iwi Chairs Forum. And here's the difference: the other side of the House thinks that things just carry on. Well they don't. Here are the differences: flexibility in allocation of resources—give us the assurance for that; autonomy of management—give us the assurance for that; freedom to innovate—can you lock that down for us; genuine accountability for quality achievement results for Māori learners—they want to meet the needs of their rangatahi—can you ensure that for us here this afternoon?Do you understand the leaders and the weight of the responsibility that they feel and why they turned up to our select committee to pour their hearts out? For Tā Toby Curtis it was personal and I sat there and saw him heard him and listened to him. These are the sorts of words that he said: "I was short-changed"—this is what Tā Toby Curtis said—"in education. The English language does not cater for my emotional cultural and spiritual intelligence but this is the first time that we have had a Pākehā process succeeding with Māori children." That does not stack up with what Willie Jackson said just moments ago. Ask yourself: why do these leaders these iwi leaders need to use the following terminology? This is what they said: "We deplore the lack of consultation." You the Government are irreparably harming Māoridom. This is good old-fashioned bullying and the Minister doesn't want to talk to anyone.And on the Pasifika front Sir La'auli Savae Michael Jones said "If you're determined to dismantle the model know what you are doing. The solutions to our community are within our community." He said "Our pioneers have dreamt of this." And I really like this: he said "My mum dreamt of this." She is a school teacher. He went on to say "We had four months to set up a school with those who are most disengaged from their normal schooling community and it's been the most amazing waka. We are the first Pacific Islands secondary school in New Zealand and we are unique in the world. Too many of our rangatahi are in the truant space and we wanted to do something about it. It's a gift to us. We want to fiercely protect it and we are now having to fight for it." That's Sir Michael Jones' words.So where are we now? Eleven kura hourua closed by this Christmas a Treaty settlement claim and now a request for urgency for that claim. This Government has backed them all into a corner. It's the ultimate case of smashing a square peg into a round hole and the schools just simply haven't fit the union-driven Labour-laden ideology. They now obviously value brazen political point-scoring and payback over kāwanatanga governance.Kei te whakanuia te kaupapa o ngā kura hourua. Kei te mihi ki ngā kaimahi mō ngā tamariki tauira Māori ngā tamariki tauira Pasifika ngā tamariki katoa o ngā kura hourua; ēnei kura ngā kākano o te ao hou o te ao mātauranga. Ka whawhai tonu ake.[I celebrate the very purpose of partnership schools. I salute those who work on behalf of young Māori students of young Pacific students of young people everywhere in partnership schools; these schools are the seeds of the modern world of the education world. We shall fight on.]I celebrate the cause the purpose and philosophy of partnership schools. I acknowledge the workers for our Māori student children for our Pasifika student children for all the children of the charter schools. These schools are the seeds of the new world the world of learning and knowledge and the fight endures."