9. Education—Partnership SchoolsHon NIKKI KAYE (National—Auckland Central) to the Minister of EducationEducation—Partnership Schools9. Hon NIKKI KAYE (National—Auckland Central) to the Minister of Education: Does he stand by the decisions he has made on the future of partnership schools and will he guarantee that the schools have had a fair and robust process with good communication?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister of Education): Yes and yes.Hon Nikki Kaye: How can he say that it is a fair process when the schools themselves are quoted as saying The Government and Minister Hipkins have put their foot on our throats … [and] muzzled us"?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: I don't accept that criticism. The Government has implemented the policy that all three parties in the Government campaigned on. We were very transparent about that not only before the election but in fact when the charter school model was introduced by the previous Government.Hon Nikki Kaye: In light of the decision to cut the roll of Te Rangihakahaka approving effectively 25 percent of the school roll they asked for what does he say to the school leadership who have said "[I] believe we've been sold out by officials and politicians."?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: I made the decision about the current maximum roll for that school based on the current capacity of their facilities. I was not willing to approve an increase in the roll above that; they have capacity on the advice I have received for 75 students. With some improvement those facilities might be increased to 85. But any increase above that in their maximum roll would mean that they were well outside the guidelines for school operating environments—classroom space—that the Ministry of Education sets for all schools. It is one of the criticisms that this side of the House had of the charter school model: that they were operating in facilities that were substandard and would not be accepted in public schools.Hon Nikki Kaye: Will he promise to investigate claims by Alwyn Poole of a flawed process due to missing and inaccurate information around their application and on what date will these schools and children know their future?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: In answer to the first part of the question no because I have received all of the information that the Villa Education Trust supplied to the Ministry of Education in association with their application and I worked my way through that in making the decision that I did about their application which was to request more information. I've made an undertaking that that school will have a final decision by September once that information is supplied of course. If that information is available to me earlier than that I may be in a position to make a decision earlier than that. I would note that by giving them a decision by September that still gives them four months to work their way through the transition process and I note that when the school was established in the first place they had less than four months to establish themselves.Hon Nikki Kaye: In light of the flawed process which has seen the Villa Education Trust school still in a state of limbo bullying claims against him and the ministry and iwi leaders lodging Waitangi Tribunal claims against the Government when will he stop being so vindictive and shafting the school leaders—SPEAKER: Order! That question is ruled out. Does the member have a further supplementary?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Can I answer the first part of the question?SPEAKER: No.Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker.SPEAKER: The member can take another point of order but I have ruled the question out.Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: It is a fresh point of order Mr Speaker. If a member makes an assertion in a question and you deem to rule the question out either the member should have to withdraw and apologise for it or the Minister should be allowed to reply to it otherwise it remains on the record of the House and the other side the other party who is ultimately the subject of the criticism doesn't have an opportunity to respond to it.SPEAKER: There were probably about three reasons for me ruling that question out including the very initial phrase in it. The question was totally out of order and has been ruled out as a result. We're not going to go back to being able to answer half a triply-flawed question."