Hipkins Chris: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeHipkins Chris: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 10 March 2016. Volume:711;Page:9599. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]5.CHRIS HIPKINS (Labour—Rimutaka) to the Minister of Education: How much of the $5.2 million spent by the Government on the 40-student Whangaruru charter school if any is expected to be recovered following her decision to close the school in January?Hon HEKIA PARATA (Minister of Education): Tēnā koe Mr Speaker. As I have stated on numerous occasions in this House and to the media the recovery of funds from Ngā Parirau Mātauranga Charitable Trust is subject to commercial negotiations. These negotiations are ongoing.Chris Hipkins: Which clause in the contract with the Whangaruru charter school allows for the Government to recover the funding granted now that the school has been closed?Hon HEKIA PARATA: I do not have the contract in front of me so I cannot give the specific clause but I can assure the member and the House that those negotiations are in progess.Chris Hipkins: Why did the school receive an additional $400000 this year weeks after she signalled the school would not re-open and what educational value has been achieved with that $400000?Hon HEKIA PARATA: Under the provisions of the contract quarterly payments are due on specific dates. By the time the Deloitte report that had been commissioned had been received and analysed it was past the date when that particular provision was enacted. Therefore it was due at law. In terms of what educational value those students have now been transitioned from Whangaruru when the school closed on 7 March. So in the period January to 7 March the school was still working with the placement of those young people.Chris Hipkins: Is she seriously telling the taxpayers of New Zealand that they had to pay $400000 to a school that had been closed and no longer had any students because the Government in its wisdom entered into a contract that required it to pay that?Hon HEKIA PARATA: I am seriously assuring the taxpayers of New Zealand that this Government operates within the law and that the school closed on 7 March 3 days ago.Chris Hipkins: Why did she approve the opening of the Whangaruru charter school given that the Education Review Office’s readiness review raised serious concerns and the Ministry of Education provided her with advice that highlighted reservations with 58 percent of their application with 32 percent of those being categorised as “serious” or “unacceptable”?Hon HEKIA PARATA: A readiness review was commissioned from the Education Review Office. We have been over this a number of times in the House but to repeat a readiness review was provided by the Education Review Office. The office identified that there were issues that needed to be dealt with. By the time the school was opened the ministry’s concerns had been dealt with and the authorisation board had been asked again whether it still felt that this was a worthwhile prospect. The board repeated that it was and on the basis of both sets of advice the school was opened.Chris Hipkins: Why did she allow the school to stay open in 2015 given that the major issues raised in 2014 included bullying drug use poor student engagement 60 percent of the school leavers that year did not get National Certificate of Educational Achievement level 1 and the school had 2503 unjustified absences against a target of 243?Hon HEKIA PARATA: From the get-go this particular kura was opened on the understanding that the students were some of the most vulnerable some of the most at risk and those least likely to be attending other schools. So from the outset we knew that there was high risk. Nevertheless we were committed to ensuring the possibility that these young people might be successful and that is why we persevered with it. It is well documented and it is fully on the record the steps that we took and at what stages we took those. In the middle of the year last year a school year on the basis of a new board being appointed it was my view that we should see whether or not they were capable of addressing the issues that had been outlined. As it turns out they were able to address two of the three issues: financial viability and governance. But I was not satisfied that they would be able to recover on the educational front and that is why the final decision was made to close the school.Chris Hipkins: Does the Minister accept that she made the wrong decision to approve the Whangaruru charter school given that she was given advice not to approve its opening major problems emerged during its operation and it took her 2 years to close it down?Hon HEKIA PARATA: No. I do not because when the school opened with 70 kids and a very compelling educational vision and in the context that they were significantly at risk and given this Government’s commitment to try every possibility to deliver some potential of educational success then yes we did make that effort. It turned out not to be successful in this one particular regard. The other eight are still functioning.Dr David Clark: What a waste of taxpayer money—unnecessary waste of taxpayer money.Hon HEKIA PARATA: Oh grow up David. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! I did not hear the start—[Interruption] Order! The Hon Hekia Parata when I rise to my feet I expect you to stop the interjecting. I did not hear what started it but the continuation of the interjection will only lead to disorder.