Pillay Lynne: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Pillay Lynne: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:622;Page:17300] 
6.  
LYNNE PILLAY (Labour—Waitakere) 
 to the  
Minister of Education 
: What steps is he taking to lift the quality of early childhood education? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Minister of Education) 
: 
 Funding rates have been changed so that early childhood centres that employ qualified teaching staff are rewarded financially. An estimated 1370 non-profit and private services will benefit from the first stage of rates that flow out of a $307 million 4-year package. Those increases have been welcomed by the early childhood sector especially by private providers. 
Lynne Pillay 
: What steps is he taking to ensure that an adequate supply of places is available in quality early childhood education centres? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: Over the last couple of months I have announced an extra $12 million of investment to create places in early childhood education centres. Since 2000 we have funded places for an extra 4550 children to take part in early childhood education at a cost of about $35 million. A new funding pool of $4.2 million will also help cover start-up costs such as equipment teachers’ resources and beginning time for teachers. 
Hon Bill English 
: What does the Minister have to say to those 30000 New Zealand families whose lives will be thrown into chaos from 1 January next year when up to 400 childcare centres could be closed because they do not meet his unreasonable regulations about registered teachers? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: I have said on a regular basis not to listen to Tory fibs. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Having heard that answer—[ 
Interruption 
] Do not talk to me like that. That answer implies that a member of this House is not telling the truth. The Minister will withdraw and apologise. 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: I withdraw and apologise. 
Hon Bill English 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The figure of 400 actually came from the Minister’s own advisers. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: That is not a point of order and the member knows that. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Perhaps now the Minister should address the question. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: No the Minister did address the question. He made a comment at the end of it which was out of order but he most certainly did address it. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: No no. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Would the member please be seated. I have said that the Minister did address the question. The last word was out of order and he had to withdraw and apologise for it. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. No offence would have been taken at what the Minister had said if in fact he had addressed the question. He simply said that he had advised people and then used the phrase that you have now ruled was inappropriate. That cannot be addressing the question. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Yes it can and I have ruled that it is. 
Deborah Coddington 
: How can the Minister claim to be improving the quality of early childhood education when last week the Kawhia pre-school which had received a glowing Education Review Office report and has the full support of the community had to go to the Hamilton High Court to stop the ministry from closing it down? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: The member should probably catch up with the facts. The judge in that case indicated that the ministry had followed proper procedures and that it was appropriate for quality of service to be improved—that that is a role for the ministry. If the member had read the judgment she would not be silly enough to have asked the question. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: That last comment was not really within the terms of the Standing Orders. It was unnecessary. 
Bernie Ogilvy 
: Is the Minister satisfied that the childcare subsidy continues to be an appropriate mechanism to increase participation in early childhood education when it goes directly to the provider with no guarantee that the savings will be passed to parents in the form of reduced fees—a potential flaw in the Labour Party Government’s voucher system? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: It is not a voucher system because it does not go to parents. Most people involved in the industry are aware that the ministry has increased the monitoring of early childhood facilities by Statistics New Zealand to make sure that the charges do not move in that way. If they do then regulation will be introduced. 
Deborah Coddington 
: Will he in light of Justice Young’s decision to throw a lifeline to the Kawhia pre-school centre assure the other 400 early childhood centres around New Zealand that they will not be closed because they cannot within the ridiculously short time of January next year comply with his draconian legislation which requires them not to employ primary school teachers? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: Early childhood centres were given notice in 2000 of this change. They had an inordinate amount of time to prepare for it. As the member is aware the rules around provisional licensing are very flexible and they will be used.