Parata Hekia: Education Amendment Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeParata Hekia: Education Amendment Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee[Sitting date: 29 May 2013. Volume:690;Page:10549. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon HEKIA PARATA (Minister of Education): I would like to take a call on the theme of transparency and accountability which underlies the concerns that members of the Opposition have been expressing tonight in respect of Part 2 of the Education Amendment Bill.I will address first the application of the Official Information Act and reassure the Hon Trevor Mallard that in fact contracts will be negotiated between the Government and partnership kura. All of the information that is reported under that contract and held by the Ministry of Education will be subject to the Official Information Act because we are most concerned to ensure accountability.In fact one of the key characteristics of these schools is that they are going to be even more transparent because we are going to have a clear performance framework we are going to set educational milestones and requirements and we are going to have targets that must be met. One of the key features of these partnership kura is that they will be able to be closed and they will be closed—and how will we know when that is the case? Because we will have extremely transparent contracts that set out the educational results that will be required.Chris Hipkins: What nonsense.Hon HEKIA PARATA: This is not nonsense because actually unlike the Opposition we fundamentally understand that the point of going to school is to get an education—get an education have learning caused by teachers be able to determine whether that has occurred or not raise achievement secure qualifications and step out into a stronger life than might otherwise be the case. So transparency and accountability are very important to us—Chris Hipkins: Rubbish.Hon HEKIA PARATA: —and are integral to this particular model. Well I am sorry that the member is offended by fact but that is the fact. We will be ensuring that this transparency does in fact operate and that the Official Information Act will apply to information that is pertinent to the contract.I turn now to the application of the Ombudsmen Act which is exercising my colleagues as much and rightly so. We do want parents to be assured about the studentswhom they choose to enrol in these schools—there will be no compulsion on any parent or any student—so the Ombudsmen Act will apply to the school in respect of discipline. The reason why I am confident that parents will be able to know what is going on is that these schools will also be required to put in place an independent process. That process will ensure that these schools recognise the importance of independent review of decision making for students and it ensures the creation of a procedure that is fit for purpose and targeted towards meeting the needs of learners reflecting the particular characteristics of the schools and addressing issues that do not involve the exercise of disciplinary powers such as issues of student safety and educational performance. You will recall that—Chris Hipkins: Which clause? Which clause?Hon HEKIA PARATA: These apply to Part 2 clause 43; Part 1 new section 158D(3)(fa) in clause 31; Part 1 new section 158DA in clause 31—Hon Trevor Mallard: Wrong part. She’s reading out the wrong part.Hon HEKIA PARATA: I am reading it out to be absolutely technically clear so that members themselves will be able to go there and verify that this Government is absolutely committed to this model which has the features of transparency of accountability—Jacinda Ardern: It’s excluded.Hon HEKIA PARATA: —and of parents being able to get reports.Jacinda Ardern: Absolutely excluded.Hon HEKIA PARATA: Well I wonder at the member’s frustration when we have made it very very clear that contracts with the Government will provide for reporting and will apply to the Ministry of Education and therefore any parent will be able to apply for that. Therefore we are assuring parents that they have that transparency and that accountability—Jacinda Ardern: How are they going to if it’s a secret contract?Hon HEKIA PARATA: Well it is going to be publicly available just as charters are publicly available and just as the member may visit early childhood education facilities 5300 of them to which the Official Information Act and the Ombudsmen Act do not apply. Thank you very much.