Kaye Nikki: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Kaye Nikki: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 12 March 2013. Volume:688;Page:8443. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon NIKKI KAYE (Associate Minister of Education) 
: 
 I am very pleased to speak in this debate on the Appropriation (2011/12 Financial Review) Bill. Can I start by saying that what our Government is focused on in education is actually results and learning opportunities for children but also we have demonstrated in our education budget that we are prepared to invest in the children of New Zealand. You can see that with the fact that we are spending $9.6 billion—more than any other Government across the world from the OECD perspective. You can see that when you look at how much money we are spending in terms of early childhood education: $1.4 billion which is the second-highest in the OECD. What is very clear is that when you look at our Government we have absolutely improved funding across four Budgets and we have absolutely shown that we can demonstrate we can fund education—more than any other country in the world in terms of OECD countries. 
The second thing I would like to say is that when you actually look at outcomes in accountability—because we heard tonight from Chris Hipkins the word “accountability”—I want to make it clear that these are the things that actually matter in terms of accountability. We as a Government have an early childhood education target which is 12000 more children enrolled. We are making good progress with that: an additional 2300 children enrolling last year and a further 2661 places being made available. These are the accountabilities that New Zealanders really care about—that is kids particularly disadvantaged kids in early childhood education. When it comes to national standards data we have a target of 85 percent of 18-year-olds having achieved National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) level 2 or an equivalent qualification. We hear often from the Opposition about disadvantaged children in New Zealand. Well under our Government Maori and Pacific Island achievement rates for NCEA level 2 are up. So what you can see on this side of the Chamber is the funding and the accountability—actual targets bringing to account both schools and also the education sector and saying that if we do not have targets and if we do not have the investment then those children will not get the learning opportunities. And when you look at our record it is very clear. 
Tonight we have heard about infrastructure issues. I am a Minister who is responsible for property school transport and digital literacy and what I want to say is that we do have challenges in lifting our school system into the 21st century. Any Government at this stage in my view would have those challenges. We are working through the Novopay issues. We recognise what that means for many teachers around the country—but to say that we are doing nothing when we have just put 100 staff into the clearance unit and when we have put $5 million in! 
Also today in Parliament we heard about other issues that the Opposition is focused on. Again we are focused on outcomes and ensuring that we fund our education system. But we heard about the issue of Lesley Longstone and I just want to raise that with Chris Hipkins who has been particularly interested in that issue. I want to take him back and remind him of when he was Victoria University of Wellington Students Association president and what he said back then about a $420000 package to get rid of a former vice-chancellor. I quote from the  
New Zealand Herald  
in 2000: “Victoria University Students’ Association president Chris Hipkins said … while he did not like the idea of paying people money to go away it was money well spent.” So all I would say on this side of the Chamber is that members who are standing up on that side of the Chamber and want to raise issues like this need to go back and remember their previous positions. 
We are focused as a Government on education funding. We have actually got results in terms of what we are spending. We are focused on outcomes in terms of early childhood education. And what we have from the Opposition is a whole lot of issues that do not focus on how you raise achievement for young people in New Zealand because the Opposition opposes national standards. It has actually also opposed partnership schools. What I want to say to members across the Chamber is that we have choice in early childhood education—the private sector is involved in the delivery of early childhood education centres. I was recently in Botany where I got to see a private early childhood centre on school grounds. The advantage of that is that we get to see children—and this was supported by the teachers in that school—right throughout their journey. The private sector is involved in tertiary education and it is involved in early childhood education so the fact that we are offering some communities a bit of choice is a great thing because parents deserve choice in education. So I think there is a very clear difference on this side of the Chamber in education between a Government—