Moroney Sue: Budget Debate 
Moroney Sue: Budget Debate 
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SUE MORONEY (Labour) 
: 
 That was an interesting contribution from the member Jami-Lee Ross who spoke about the recent by-election in Botany which he was involved in. It was interesting that he even talked about that by-election when he was referring to early childhood education because that member froze when he was at an early childhood education meeting during the by-election. 
One of the people from the Botany electorate got up and asked him to explain why if the funding has not been cut to early childhood education that person’s centre had had its funding cut. The member could not answer the question. Worse than that the woman said to him that as a result the centre had had to put up fees and two young boys who desperately needed early childhood education—Pacific Island children—had been withdrawn by their parents because they could no longer afford the fees for that centre. This woman from that member’s electorate—it was not his electorate at the time but it is now—asked him to explain to her how that could happen if his Government had not cut funding. He had no answer. He could not answer the question. 
Today he gets up in this House and tries to pretend that the funding cut which he said had not happened in the first place has now somehow magically been reversed. Well I will be very interested to go through blow-by-blow to make sure that the New Zealand public understands the smoke and mirrors that is going on with this Government and its so-called investment in education. It will not stand up to any level of scrutiny. The Minister of Education knows that and so do all of her colleagues who have suddenly gone very quiet. Perhaps they have gone quiet because they want to know what the real story is in education. They do not believe it themselves. They know that it is not true. It cannot possibly be true that a whole lot of money has suddenly been found for education. The truth is that it has not been. I think I will probably have to get on to that after the dinner break. 
Sitting suspended from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. 
SUE MORONEY 
: As I was saying before the dinner break this Budget absolutely shows that the Government has no plan. If there was ever a time in our history when we needed a Budget with a plan it is now. This is the third Budget of this particular Government in a time of worldwide global economic recession. Third Budget in we still have no plan for economic growth. 
We do not have a plan for economic growth but we have a prediction for economic growth. How is that? We have a prediction based on shonky figures. Next year we will suddenly have 4 percent economic growth but guess what! Last year’s Budget predicted that as well but it never happened. It was predicted the year before that but it never happened. With this Government it will always be around the corner; it will always be next year. I ask how it can be when there is no plan for growth in the Budget that has been delivered. 
On the issue of education I have noticed in this debate that every single one of the members opposite has been fooled into getting up and gloating about the increased funding for education. Their Ministers failed to tell them that the increased funding for education does not even keep up with inflation let alone keep up with roll growth. When that happens in a Budget it means that schools will be under increasing funding pressure. When schools are under increasing funding pressure the quality of the education goes down but also schools look to families to make up the funding gap. They look to families to do that by increasing the donations they ask for. Once again this Government—like it has a habit of doing—is passing costs from the Government on to families. Families can ill afford those costs being transferred on to them now. They face increased costs of living all of the time because of that Government’s decision to increase GST. 
Families also face increased costs for early childhood education. Let us talk about early childhood education because that issue— 
Louise Upston 
: Looking forward to it. 
SUE MORONEY 
: Louise Upston has been one of the most fooled on this issue. National members have been tricked by their own colleagues into thinking that this is good news. I am afraid it is not and I will explain very carefully— 
Louise Upston 
: In detail would be good. 
SUE MORONEY 
: —in detail why it is not. Since National has been in Government we have had massive funding cuts to early childhood education. They started in 2009 when that Government cut—I tell members to check the Budget figures—$295 million from early childhood education. It cut funding from an area where increases and improvements for staff-child ratios were planned. That Government cut those improvements—$295 million. That was its opening shot with early childhood education. 
But wait—there is more. It got worse the following year. In 2010 in that Government’s second Budget it cut early childhood education by an additional $300 million. If we add those two figures together we find that this National Government’s first two Budgets cut $585 million out of early childhood education. In 2011 the Government came along and said it was OK because it was going to put $550 million back in. But $550 million does not add up to the $585 million it has already taken out. It is worse than that because it will take the Government 4 years to bring in the $550 million. Given what the Government destroyed in 2 years it will take it 4 years to not even get back to what was in place before 2008. That is exactly the situation that the Government is facing. 
I invite any of those members opposite to visit an early childhood education centre one of the 2400 centres right throughout the country that on 1 February this year got a massive funding cut. The ones that employ 100 percent qualified staff had their funding cut on 1 February by $1.30 per child per hour. On 1 July this year when this supposedly huge amount of funding comes into early childhood education how much will their funding go up by? Remember that it was cut by $1.30 per child per hour on 1 February. It will go up by 9c an hour. I do not know what the numeracy levels are like in the Government but surely those members can work out that losing $1.30 an hour and then gaining 9c an hour does not make up for the funding shortfall. It by no means makes up for it. 
The centres that have had to put up fees to compensate for that Government’s funding cuts in early childhood education will not be reducing their fees as a result of the Budget. Those fees will continue to increase at all of those early childhood education facilities. Again we see funding cuts from that Government and we see smoke and mirrors. It has a bad impact on families because they will continue to face those fee increases for early childhood education. That is early childhood education. The Government took out $585 million and now it thinks it will trick us by putting in $550 million over 4 years. 
In my remaining few minutes I will talk about the compulsory education sector because that is just as sad. The Government has increased funding to primary and secondary schools by 2.92 percent. Government members think that is great and they want to trumpet it. But guess what! Inflation is running at 4.5 percent so those schools are facing a funding cut before they even start. It gets worse. Not only does that funding increase not even make up for the inflation cost but also it certainly does nothing for the roll growth that both primary and secondary schools are facing. They will have to educate more children with less money because it will not stretch as far. That is the real story of what is happening with education under this Government. 
Professional development right across the education sector has been cut again by this Government. Anyone who understands and believes how important education is to our future will know that that is a dumb decision—a dumb decision—because we need the best most up-to-date teachers in front of our children. Our children deserve to have excellent teachers in front of them weaving their magic with them every day that they are at school because that will make a difference. 
Instead that Government is spending $37 million on its failed national standards. Most of the schools do not want those national standards. It is not only the schools; the boards of trustees do not want those national standards either because they are failing. This Government is throwing more and more money—in fact about $37 million in this Budget—at trying to fix up a failed system. It is not working. There is no plan for the future and it is certainly not good news for education.