Martin Tracey: Education Amendment Bill (No 2) — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMartin Tracey: Education Amendment Bill (No 2) — In Committee[Sitting date: 02 December 2014. Volume:702;Page:1052. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]TRACEY MARTIN (Deputy Leader—NZ First):Kia ora Mr Chair. Again I will take just a short call on what is a very important bill. It is a bill that is another step on a process on a pathway on a pipeline as the Minister of Education might like to say. It is a bill that shows again the direction that this Government wishes to take for education. Also through taking the powers—and I believe that what we will hear the Government suggest is that using clauses like the “Henry VIII” clause and using things like an Order in Council creates this—it will suggest that it creates a more efficient Government and a more efficient system by which we can pass legislation. The Government is absolutely right. It certainly is more efficient. Democracy is one of the most expensive and the most time-consuming ways to govern a nation but that is actually the way this nation wants to be governed.This is not the first time. I think that if the country would like to go back and have a look over the 6 years that this Government has been here and how many times it has put Orders in Council into legislation people would be somewhat stunned. That is a withdrawing from this Parliament around decision making. That is a concern. It should be a concern. This is actually a sad day for teachers. It is a sad day for education as such in New Zealand because it is another step on a pathway that this Government has taken.I mean the fact is that the change of name that is inside this bill does more than just—and some people minimise that fact—take away the word “teacher” from the title. It is not just taking away the word “teacher” from the title; it is this creation of another body of individuals called educators inside this area of our society who are starting to have quite a reasonable amount of sway. If we actually go back to the first reading of this bill around this concept of educators—actually if we go back to the first Education Amendment Bill New Zealand First pointed out then that there was no registry body for educators. There was no term inside legislation for educators.The Government actually appears to have heard that statement and has found that it is moving down a pathway. Mr O’Connor mentioned when we had the submissions around the Education Amendment Bill that it was his belief that anybody can teach. He said that anybody can teach; it is a natural thing so it does not really need anybody to be qualified. What this bill does is start to close the hole for the Government that was pointed out in the first Education Amendment Bill. Although not specifically in this bill it starts that pathway of changing the process or the functions of this council so that when the Government needs to—and I believe it will be in the next 6 months—actually make this body the registry body for educators not teachers then we are going to see a continual shift away from this profession.Inside this bill it talks about the functions that are being created by the Education Council of Aotearoa New Zealand to enhance and uplift the profession and yet at the same time it destroys it. So it is a very sad day. It is another step on a path we should not be taking. It will be very efficient. There is no doubt about it. This Government is very efficient at pushing through legislation that takes away the rights of New Zealanders whether it be in the workplace—the local supermarket or any other workplace. So New Zealand First will oppose it as long as it can oppose it but we hope that in 2017 there is change here so that we can undo some of this stuff.