Brownlee Gerry: Education (Trustee Ineligibility) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Brownlee Gerry: Education (Trustee Ineligibility) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:633;Page:5239] 
GERRY BROWNLEE (Deputy Leader—National) 
: 
 I move  
That the Education (Trustee Ineligibility) Amendment Bill be now read a second time. 
 This bill stands in my name and it has been the recommendation of the Education and Science Committee that it be discharged. I want to take some time to go through the history of this and to give my views why that is in my view an inadequate recommendation from that committee. 
The first point is that a bill like this does not come before the Parliament unless there is a reason for it. Back in the time slightly before the bill was introduced some 4 years ago there was a situation where a person who had quite a considerable record of paedophilia-type crimes against children was elected to a North Island primary school’s board of trustees. The board of trustees in that particular community was unable to remove that person from the board because he had been duly elected and according to law was entitled to be there. I think it rather strange that people who have that kind of predilection are able to get themselves elected into a position where the very people they prey on become part of their charge as far as public office is concerned. So this bill was introduced. 
A bill was brought in by the current Government shortly after and there were some changes to section 103 of the Education Act 1989 that made it more difficult for people in that circumstance to make their way into this sort of elected office. In particular new section 103(1)(de) was inserted into the Act which made it impossible or unacceptable for someone who is convicted of a sex crime against a child to be either appointed elected or co-opted as a trustee for a school if that person has been convicted of a crime with a possible sentence exceeding 2 years—unless of course that person had served the sentence. The problem with that in this case is that generally if someone does have that kind of predilection a prison term is not the cure. 
So I am disappointed the select committee has gone through the exercise of considering the bill and has decided that section 103(1)(de) does not need to be strengthened because I think quite clearly it does. I know that the people on the select committee did their very best. They did look at it from all angles but I cannot help feeling that they might have been rolled by the very PC bureaucracy that operates in the Ministry of Education. The officials took the view that of course people who are paedophiles have rights and if one of those rights is that they should be able to stand as trustees for school boards then the law should allow it. I do not think anybody in the wider community would agree with that position. 
I hope those who served on that select committee rather than just standing up and saying that the bill should be discharged actually take the time to show how they have ensured that children in our schools are protected from people who choose to use those schools to groom their next victims. I am pleased that the member over there Moana Mackey is nodding her head. It will be interesting to hear what she has to say because there is nothing in legislation that would give people comfort. Essentially if someone is convicted of that sort of crime goes off to prison serves the sentence comes out puts his or her name forward and gets elected that person can serve as a trustee on that particular school board. Is that the case? 
Moana Mackey 
: Yes if they’ve finished their sentence. 
GERRY BROWNLEE 
: The member says yes! So how on earth can this bill be discharged given that there is no protection for those children? 
Moana Mackey 
: They can also run a sports team be a parent helper— 
GERRY BROWNLEE 
: Oh OK. So now the member will tell me that the principal of a school knowing that someone had a record like that would be dopey enough to say “Come along and run our dance team come along and run our rugby team come along and organise our production come along on the school camp.”—for goodness’ sake! Principals are not as silly as that I tell Miss Mackey. Until there is something in the legislation that requires these people to disclose their backgrounds children will be exposed. Labour of course will be happy because it wants paedophiles’ rights to be protected. That is what Labour members have said by discharging a bill like this. I ask the member what the harm would be in passing the bill. 
Moana Mackey 
: Why didn’t you come to the select committee and tell us how strongly you felt about it? 
GERRY BROWNLEE 
: The member has just asked the question across the House—somewhat inappropriately I might add—as to why I did not turn up to the select committee. Well I did. I went to the first committee meeting held on this bill in this new Parliament. I heard the various Labour members giving their views on where it should all go. I had numerous discussions with the hapless chair of the select committee the New Zealand First poodle Brian Donnelly and it became abundantly clear to me that they had a political agenda that was all about the rights of people who had offended against children being able to have further access to children for more offending against them. There was absolutely no point in wasting time with people who had that mindset. 
Hon Steve Maharey 
: You’ve lost the plot. 
GERRY BROWNLEE 
: Well I hope the member stands up and is still prepared to give an assurance that no one with this sort of predilection will end up being elected appointed or co-opted to one of these boards. I tell the member not to run this nonsense that those people can be involved in the sports team or cultural groups or anything else because I do not believe that there is a principal in this country stupid enough to put someone of that sort of persuasion into those positions. 
It is very disappointing that members put forward bills because they see them being of use to the community but then for sake of political expediency minor parties like New Zealand First completely roll over on their principles and allow a bill like this to be discharged. 
Moana Mackey 
: Your members voted against it. 
GERRY BROWNLEE 
: The member over there says New Zealand First voted against it. Let me tell Ms Mackey that New Zealand First is propping up the current Government. New Zealand First is directly responsible for propping up a Government that shows no respect for the law of this country and little regard for the needs of children in this country. I look forward to the speech of the Minister of Education knowing well his liberal views.