English Bill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
English Bill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
[Volume:620;Page:15799] 
11.  
Hon BILL ENGLISH (National—Clutha-Southland) 
 to the  
Associate Minister of Education (Tertiary Education) 
: What actions has he taken to ensure polytechnics are not making inappropriate use of classification 5.1 community education funding? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Associate Minister of Education (Tertiary Education)) 
: 
 The policy changes announced earlier this year included a cap and the introduction of a framework for assessing the alignment and priorities set alongside classification 5.1 for 2005-06. Funding guide changes will prevent the use of any inducement and place tighter restrictions on the use of subcontracting not only for 5.1 but for all publicly funded courses. The Tertiary Education Commission has been working with individual institutions where there have been particular issues and an independent review by Joanna Beresford has been undertaken covering five institutions. The review has clarified with institutions the funding guide and policy requirements identified policy implementation issues and reviewed plans to manage 5.1 enrolments into the future. 
Hon Bill English 
: Why should the House believe anything the Minister says about capped aligned strategised quality-assured funding priorities and caps when last week Aoraki Polytechnic managed to enrol dozens of people in a 5.1 community education course where they sat and watched a cooking demonstration at the South Canterbury Fair? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: I of course investigate every issue that is raised. The following is the advice I have been given about that particular course. The short course was not a stall or show event; it was held indoors at the Ashburton Senior Centre with appropriate equipment qualified tutors and student information sheets. All 160 enrolments took place before the demonstration. There were no enrolments on the day. The short course was approved by the academic board and has identified learning outcomes. It has been run on several occasions previously under similar arrangements. I believe what I have got to say because unlike the member who brings cardboard boxes into the House what I say usually has something in it. 
Dr Ashraf Choudhary 
: What measures has the Government undertaken to reinforce polytechnic activity in areas that contribute strongly to its core role? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: I recently announced the Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics Business Links Fund. The institutes and polytechnics can now apply for funding from that fund which received $21.5 million spread over 4 years in Budget 2004. Each of the institutes and polytechnics will be able to apply for a maximum of $300000 per academic year. The Tertiary Education Commission will approve the first business engagement plans from the institutes and polytechnics early next year. This is not a one-off grant but one that will see them develop their core roles. I understand that the member opposite wants to abolish that fund. The polytechnics will look forward to talking to him about that. 
Hon Bill English 
: Given the Minister’s vast number of bureaucratic tools that he has talked about in the House what does he say to the constituent in Timaru who said: “However I was less than impressed to go to a lunchtime speech by Mike Tamaki to be told I could stay if I filled in the form date of birth ethnicity and signature or Aoraki won’t get paid.”; and does he regard it as an appropriate use of equivalent full-time student funding to fund business lunches in Timaru? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: I say to the member that it is lucky we are here because for 9 years that member did nothing about any spending. He ran a market model. We have changed— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: No. The Minister will now answer the question. 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: I would tell Mr Tamaki that thank goodness Labour is here and is able to change this situation and do something about it because the National Government did nothing about any of these issues for the 9 years it was in power. 
Hon Bill English 
: When will the Minister do something about the Tertiary Education Commission a body that consumes $45 million of taxpayers’ money each year and is paying out for sit-down cooking demonstrations twilight golf long business lunches and radio courses in Maori singalong? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: The Tertiary Education Commission which oversees the spending of $2.4 billion and has delivered such things as the Performance-based Research Fund agreed to by people right throughout this House and which is currently about 2 years old is doing something about the very courses that that member’s Government did nothing about when it was in power. 
Hon Bill English 
: Can the Minister confirm that the effect of his now having put caps on community education funding is to guarantee to the polytechs around $120 million and that they will have to find all sorts of creative ways to spend that money which could easily be spent much better elsewhere? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: No because as the sector knows over the next 3 years this area of funding will be progressively changed.