Xu-Nan LawrenceDr LAWRENCE XU-NAN (Green): Thank you Madam Speaker. So this is an omnibus bill that amends specific technical elements of a number of bills like the previous two speakers have mentioned in terms of their contribution to this bill. So I want to kind of pick it apart around this just a little bit in terms of the context. The two areas that this bill predominantly amends are the Ngarimu VC and 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial Scholarship Fund Act 1945 and also the Pacific Education Foundation Act 1972.In the case of the Ngārimu Act as the previous speaker has mentioned the two areas—one of them is a technical amendment around the successor of the 28th Māori Battalion. So again this is something that the Hon Jan Tinetti mentioned just before in terms of the naming of this particular bill and the way that it uses the name of Moana-Nui-a-Kiwa Ngārimu who is the first person of Māori descent to be awarded the Victoria Cross. The other part of this bill is around creating that new national Māori representation position who is also currently serving in the armed forces.In terms of the second part of this bill—with the Pacific Education Foundation 1972—there are several areas of this particularly around the updated definition of Pacific person" the broadening of the list of Pacific places a person can have indigenous Pacific cultural heritage from and also a minor update to the purpose and also some level of specificity around the make-up of the Pacific Education Foundation Board.Now during the committee stage it means one of those bills that we actually had reasonable agreement on and no further our comments or changes to the bill because it is reasonably straightforward. However I want to talk about the broader context of this particular bill and also why the Green Party is in support of this bill as a move towards lifting Māori and also Pacific education and Māori and Pacific students and ākonga.So in terms of Ngārimu Act 1945 it is an Act that is there to "establish a fund … and to make provision for the control and administration of the Fund." However the purpose of this is to "assist Māori education and certain moneys have been subscribed to the fund:". We see this similar purpose with the Pacific Education Foundation Act where "The general purpose of the Foundation shall be to promote and encourage the better education of Pacific people and to provide financial assistance for that purpose."So in terms of both of the bills that are being amended by the Regulatory Systems (Education) Amendment Bill is around the scholarship that is available for students at a tertiary level. For both of them they offer both undergraduate scholarships as well as postgraduate scholarships. But I want to look at the broader context here. It is incredibly important that these bills offer a possibility for ākonga Māori and for Pasifika students to be able to go on to these further educations without the financial burden—as indicated in the purpose of both those both Acts that are being amended by this.In terms of the Ngarimu Act what we see is that the scholarship applicants for example will be assessed based on the ability to "describe ngā ahuatanga [characteristics] that they possess similar to … the 28th Māori Battalion soldiers." It's something that can be submitted in both English as well te reo.But one of the things that we are seeing here—and what we should be considering—as we are looking at supporting further bills of a similar nature is around the bigger picture of Māori and Pasifika education. As we see in some of the other things that are going on around Aotearoa at this stage in terms of education what we're seeing in terms of some of the cuts to the Ministry of Education's office and particularly to the regional offices that support Māori and Pasifika students in order to reach those educational outcomes what we are seeing in terms of a call for culturally appropriate education during secondar school level that allows those Māori and Pasifika students to thrive you know some of the things that we're seeing in terms of cuts to the creatives in schools which would have meant that some of these students would then be eligible to apply for some of this funding and have the level of self confidence to actually apply for some of this funding. Madam Speaker this is incredibly important in terms of the goals and aims that this bill is trying to achieve.In 2022 we're seeing that only 32.9 percent of all Māori school leavers have attained NCEA Level 3 which is a decrease of 44 percent from 2021. This is in comparison to the national average of just over 50 percent. Even during pre-pandemic areas we're seeing a decrease of 4.2 percent in terms of those students who are leaving who are obtaining NCEA Level 3 who then would be eligible to apply for this funding. We're seeing only 42.7 percent of Māori school leavers go on in 2022 to enrol in tertiary education. So only 42.7 percent of Māori school leavers Madam Speaker will be eligible for the scholarship that we are talking about at this stage. It is down 7.4 percent from those who left in 2020.And when we're looking at the Pasifika school leavers we're seeing similar stats. We're only seeing 43.3 percent of all Pasifika school leavers who have attained NCEA Level 3 compared to the national average of just over 50 percent; a decrease of 8.1 percent. We're seeing this is also a decrease of 4.7 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels. We're also seeing that only 44.5 percent of those school leavers go on to enrol in tertiary in 2022 again highlighting that only 44.5 percent of Pasifika school leavers are eligible for the Pacific Education Foundation Scholarships that is a part of this bill. So I think when we're looking at the broader context it's really really important that this bill addresses the need for those technical changes for us to look ahead in terms of what we want for ākonga Māori what we want for Pasifika students and also in terms of the scholarship that they can be able to obtain in order for them to be confident in their ability at a tertiary level while at the same time alleviating some of those financial burdens.But at this stage Madam Speaker what are we doing as a Government as Parliament to inspire these ākonga Māori to inspire these Pasifika students when it comes to being able to reach their aspiration be able to reach their full potential so that they thrive in our educational system? The purpose of these bills talks about things that allows for tino rangatiratanga allows for our obligation under Te Tiriti. So you know when we're talking about whether it's gang patches when we're talking about Māori wards you know I would like to see those students as part of this bill—when it talks about recognising the emblem that is associated with the 28th Māori Battalion I would like to see those students who are able to wear those emblems to be able to wear them proudly down the street without having to be concerned about the fact they might be mistaken for gang patches. So you know these are things that are incredibly important when we're looking at the broader context of education because education is intergenerational and this bill looks to perfect some of those things that we are able to offer. So Madam Speaker the Green Party is in support of this bill because we believe that we want to lift all ākonga Māori all Pasifika students so that they're able to thrive in the best way they can and this is why we're supporting it. Thank you Madam Speaker."