Roberts AngelaANGELA ROBERTS (Labour): Thank you Mr Speaker. I'd like to continue on the theme of education today and talk about this Budget and how it is providing everyday support to households who have students—it's expensive to have a student in your household—and how we're supporting those households for today but also investing in our future because putting money into the education system is an investment; it's not a cost. So in addition to cheaper public transport 20 hours of early childhood education school lunches period products removal of NCEA fees—all of those costs that add up when you're supporting a young person in your household as they go through education.But it's not just about today; it is about investing in tomorrow. I just want to note one little line in the Budget about Ngā iti Kahurangi—our little treasures—and the addition of 175 schools to that programme that includes at the moment 600 small and remote schools around the motu. It is $63.1 million and it makes a difference to children in our remote schools. I think about one of my neighbouring schools Ratapiko School—a fabulous Enviro School. The last time I went there it wasn't so successful because we were meant to be planting fruit trees and the weather surprisingly in Taranaki wasn't so great that particular day. But every time I go there the students are so excited about sharing their sustainability journey with me and it's a really busy place. It's two classrooms that cover eight year levels. In those sorts of environments having really good lighting and really good acoustics makes a difference to the learning for those students. They are wonderful busy places and I applaud those teachers who have to cover all those curriculum areas across many levels. They're doing a fabulous job of supporting our rural communities and giving every young person access to great education.It is an exciting initiative. So what they're focused on is improving classroom environments. It may sound mundane to be talking about lighting and sound and heating but we've heard from principals about how those acoustic panels and the addition of LED lights has made a significant impact on their classrooms. The thermal insulation—and from this year those schools will be able to get new carpet. That doesn't sound like much but when you're sitting there having your story read to you by your teacher new carpet ain't a bad thing.The result is that by being able to better manage sound—we heard from a principal about how with the choir you know getting their students to sing and what a difference it makes when you're singing in a space that is built to capture your singing in a different way from what it used to be. It's really great for our students who have sensory challenges and to make sure that lighting and good sound management means that they are much better able to access their learning. Every little bit counts. It reduces the costs from their five-year plans. It frees up cash for those small schools to invest in other parts of the resourcing. It also has an impact on their ongoing operational costs because we're able to help reduce their costs for things like electricity. It's exciting because those rural and small schools have additional challenges. It is expensive to get supplies out to a school and it is expensive and difficult to get tradies. These principals are the caretaker. They don't employ a caretaker; they are the caretaker. This project means that schools are able to be bundled up they have a project manager who can come in and by bundling those schools they're able to have economies of scale and procurement and they are able to make sure that these schools can access opportunities by improving those classroom spaces.So why was the project expanded? Well because it was successful. How do we know that? Because this Government does not just chuck money willy-nilly into projects that they think might make a difference. They go into classrooms they do assessments and then after the work has been done they do another assessment and make sure that it is having a real impact. We take our responsibilities to investing in our school system very very seriously. It's a wonderful thing and it is a really great example of where we are investing in the future of our nation. It's great to have the opportunity to have a shout-out to our rural schools at the heart of our rural communities.