Macindoe TimHon TIM MACINDOE (National—Hamilton West): Kia ora Mr Chair and thank you very much. I am outraged that the senior Government whip would be taking a closure motion at this point in a debate on such a significant topic.CHAIRPERSON (Adrian Rurawhe): Order! Members have the right to do that. It is the sole decision of the Chair—Hon TIM MACINDOE: Mr—CHAIRPERSON (Adrian Rurawhe): No the member will turn his attention to the bill to Part 1.Hon TIM MACINDOE: Mr Chair I just want to assure you that in no way was I questioning your decision; I was simply pointing out that I'm outraged that the senior whip was trying to do that because this is a very important measure. This is going to affect the lives of some of our vulnerable young people. This is going to have a major impact on the education system in this country and the very least that the Government should do is engage in this debate. I do acknowledge that the Minister has taken a couple of calls and I appreciate that. He didn't answer all of the questions that were put to him but he certainly did respond to some of the matters that have been raised. I also thank the Green member Chlöe Swarbrick who has taken a call.What else have we heard from members opposite other than that one closure motion? Absolutely nothing. There are teachers over on that side of the Chamber. The Associate Minister of Education Tracey Martin has been here for much of the night. She's been chirping away. We've heard lots of interjections; most of them have been difficult to decipher but we certainly know it's been her making the noise. So I want to ask the Associate Minister: since she is so keen to interject why won't she take a call? It's not as if she has no interest in this matter; she is an Associate Minister of Education. Surely she should be able to defend this legislation.CHAIRPERSON (Adrian Rurawhe): And the debate is not about her participating in the debate; it's about Part 1 of the Education Amendment Bill and the member should turn his attention to it.Hon TIM MACINDOE: Mr Chair I do want to ask the Associate Minister of Education what she would say to the parents to the whānau to the tamariki who are currently enrolled in partnership schools. That is very much part of this section of the debate. When they can point to such significant evidence of their success why does the Associate Minister claim that she knows best in telling them that the model that they have developed and proven to be successful is not in the best interests of those children? All of the evidence suggests to the contrary.That Associate Minister's party recently voted to entrench the Māori seats. Now how does the Associate Minister of Education reconcile that clear contradiction of New Zealand First's long-held clearly articulated policy to the contrary—Hon Tracey Martin: Why are you talking about me?Hon TIM MACINDOE: —and how will she now tell her supporters—is the Associate Minister denying that her party recently voted to entrench the Māori seats? That's exactly what that party did with Rino Tirikatene's bill.CHAIRPERSON (Adrian Rurawhe): And the member again needs to come to this bill not the other bill.Hon TIM MACINDOE: I'm trying to point out the total inconsistency in the Associate Minister's position on issues that are relevant to this bill. She is now ignoring the clear evidence of widespread support for partnership schools especially in the regional communities of New Zealand that her party has spent at least the last year telling us that they are championing.Hon Tracey Martin: That's rubbish.Hon TIM MACINDOE: Well talk is cheap; the action speaks volumes to the contrary. When did the Associate Minister of Education decide to take her instruction from the unions on education matters because that certainly wasn't the approach that her party signalled in their education election policies last year? I listened to New Zealand First candidates in my area giving very different ideas. Suddenly however she is happy to let the lead Minister of Education completely dominate all the decision-making. She has capitulated on matters that should be important to her party. She should be prepared to differentiate herself from the Labour Party on this matter because these are things that matter in the lives of young people.Partnership schools have made an enormous contribution in their short time of existence—for the better—for tamariki the length and breadth of this country. I'm incredibly proud of that; I'm incredibly supportive of that. I'm supportive of it first and foremost because those were young people who had fallen through the cracks who were already on the path to very grim futures and those partnership schools have picked them up turned them around given them a sense—[Time expired]