Coddington Deborah: Education (Disestablishment of Early Childhood Development Board) Amendment Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee Third Reading 
Coddington Deborah: Education (Disestablishment of Early Childhood Development Board) Amendment Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:616;Page:12135] 
DEBORAH CODDINGTON (ACT) 
: 
 I would like the Minister of Education to take a call to tell us why it has taken 1 year for this bill to get to this stage and why he disestablished the Early Childhood Development Board and put it into the Ministry of Education a year ago. The chief Government whip sits over there and in her dulcet tones calls out that everybody supports the legislation and that is why there was only one submission. But what is the point in wasting one’s own time—and taxpayers’ time—by putting in a submission on legislation when what it provides for has already happened anyway? These people out there are not stupid. The Minister knows that the Early Childhood Council opposes this legislation. He did not consult it— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Who? 
DEBORAH CODDINGTON 
: The Minister asks “Who?”. That demonstrates exactly—he has done it himself—his contempt for early childhood education. The Early Childhood Council is the biggest representative of private providers of early childhood education. But this Minister is ideologically opposed to private ownership of any form of education at all. 
He is not content with just using legislation to get the board off the playing field; he rams it through first—he does it in practice. It is a case of “Let’s suck it and see if it works then pass the legislation.” This Committee is owed an explanation from the Minister today. He should stand and tell us why this legislation has taken so long to get through. 
But we oppose this legislation on more than those grounds. I turn to clause 3(b) which says that the new organisation will still be able to behave as a funding mechanism for certain early childhood centres to enable grants to be paid by the ministry. In other words the same grants will come out of the ministry as came out of the Early Childhood Development Board. But there is nothing in the bill about the monitoring of those grants—whether we will still see the rort which I brought up in the second reading of the payment of those grants. The ministry is desperately trying to backtrack on it and is putting in place some issues to try to rectify it. I raised this issue last year. The Minister in reply said he was very proud of what was going on with the grants from the Early Childhood Development Board. But there is nothing being done for instance on the potential conflict of interest. Kohanga reo have received over $1 million in grants under the early participation scheme. The Minister has done nothing in terms of conflict of interest. What is there to stop a provider from acting as a bounty hunter and rounding up kids collecting grants for those children then saying: “Look here there’s no competition. You will have to come to my centre.”? The provider collects all along the way. The ministry is very uncomfortable about that situation. The Minister should stand now and tell us why he will not put into place something to monitor that potential conflict of interest. 
So those are just two of the reasons why ACT opposes this bill. It is a very small bill but that does not mean to say it is not important legislation in terms of the sector. We are owed an explanation as to why this bill is coming in under urgency a year after it was first enacted in practice. Why have legislation if what it provides for is just going to be done anyway? Furthermore what is this Minister doing to ensure that taxpayers’ money for this participation scheme which is race-based no matter what he tries to say about it— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Where’s the participation scheme in the bill? Which clause? 
DEBORAH CODDINGTON 
: I am talking about clause 3(b) which provides for the ministry to pay these grants. The Minister knows what I am talking about. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: But the ministry pays the grants. It doesn’t need this to do it. What a foolish member. 
DEBORAH CODDINGTON 
: The Minister can take a call if he wants. He sits there interjecting as he loves to do but there is nothing to stop him from taking a call when I have finished speaking and telling us what he means by accountability and by the monitoring of these organisations. This Minister is unable to do that.