Upston Louise: Education Amendment Bill (No 4) — Second Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Upston Louise: Education Amendment Bill (No 4) — Second Reading 
[Sitting date: 11 August 2011. Volume:674;Page:20585. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
LOUISE UPSTON (National—Taupo) 
: 
 I am pleased to be able to speak in this second reading of the Education Amendment Bill (No 4). It is fairly obvious that the speaker before me Steve Chadwick has no knowledge of this bill because it has actually been to the Education and Science Committee and come out. So it was a bit of a bother to realise the ignorance of some of the members on the other side who do not even understand where this legislation is in the process. We have had a full select committee process. We have had a great level of scrutiny on the legislation. 
I will focus on one of the parts of the legislation that has not been touched on a lot today and that is the unleashing of the export potential of our international education. That is one of the key differences between the Opposition and this side of the House: this side of the House is focused on where we can gain more export dollars. This bill is about taking the handbrake off a section of our education that is doing extraordinarily well overseas and getting rid of some of the braking that is currently stopping its ability to grow and therefore bring in much-needed export money to this country. That is why this bill is so fantastic. 
On the one hand the legislation is providing opportunities for us as a country to earn more but on the flip side it is also saying that we have to make sure that the spending that goes into tertiary education is as effective as possible. So the bill is tightening up provisions to make sure that the tertiary institutions that get significant funding from the Government are using that money wisely. In particular with the student services fees the bill is giving students more opportunity to provide some views about how those fees should be spent and the level at which they should be set. Common feedback that has come back particularly from Canterbury University says that those fees have been increased without the ability for students to have an input in terms of how that money is being spent. 
To again correct the member who spoke previously I tell the House that in terms of what is happening with export education three organisations currently do the work in relation to international education. We are simplifying that by making sure that one agency is responsible for that work rather than having three agencies tripping over themselves and still getting it wrong. That is what the international education industry wants. That is what will allow New Zealand to grow our international education and to grow our export income. 
I am very pleased to support this bill. It is one that has two focuses: first of bringing money into the country and second of making sure that the money being spent in tertiary education is spent as effectively as possible. As well the bill is lifting the number of places to be available in tertiary institutions—11600 more core places—without more money being spent. So there will be better more effective use of money in tertiary education while students will also be given the opportunity to have input and be consulted by their institutions about how their student services fees are set. Thank you.