English Bill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
English Bill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:630;Page:2136] 
4.  
Hon BILL ENGLISH (National—Clutha-Southland) 
 to the  
Minister of Education 
: Does he stand by his statement to the House yesterday that “we are not releasing data that identify individual schools”; if so why? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Minister for Tertiary Education) 
 on behalf of the 
 Minister of Education 
: Yes given that the answer was in the context of the data on the SchoolSmart website. 
Hon Bill English 
: If it is the case that it is the Government’s policy not to release data that identify individual schools why then has he released to me large amounts of data that identify individual schools including National Certificate of Educational Achievement results the proportion of students leaving individual schools with or without a qualification and individual teacher turnover rates for individual schools; and does that breach his understanding? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: As I said the Minister’s answer yesterday was in the context of the SchoolSmart website. Of course that does not prevent people from obtaining information for individual schools from a range of other sources including written questions to Ministers Official Information Act requests or indeed visiting the schools themselves to obtain the individual details on a school’s website but with the school’s permission. 
Hon Bill English 
: Can the Minister explain why it is then that it is acceptable to him that a parent can access information such as teacher turnover by individual school—information that will be on the parliamentary website by the end of the week—but is not allowed to access exactly the same information through the SchoolSmart website where it is currently available? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: As I understand it what the Minister was arguing yesterday is that the general principle that is being followed is that information should be seen in the broader context of the school itself. For example as the member well knows one can access at schools individual information about the school in the context of the aggregate information for similar kinds of schools. But in a general sense if that kind of information was always on the SchoolSmart website then it is capable of being taken out of context. 
Hon Bill English 
: Since the Minister today and yesterday has referred to the right context in which parents are able to see information about their child’s school can he explain to the House just what the right context is; is it sitting in the principal’s office so the principal can answer any question so every parent has to go along and make an appointment in order to see the information; or what is wrong with the context of parents looking at it on a website in the comfort of their own home where they can discuss that information with their student child and ask the school questions if they want to? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: My understanding of what the Minister meant in that regard is that the contextual framework is an informational one not a geographical one. 
Hon Bill English 
: Can the Minister confirm that that is a point of view he holds as a junior sociological lecturer at Massey University and not one that he could possibly hold as a Minister? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: As a senior historical lecturer at Otago I could not possibly comment. 
Hon Bill English 
: Can the Minister now explain to the House how his actions comply with the Official Information Act when he is making available individualised school data under Official Information Act requests and through parliamentary questions but is trying to tell the House that he has an agreement with schools to illegally withhold that information if it is available on a particular website? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I think the member is now drawing an extraordinarily long bow— 
Hon Bill English 
: It’s a nonsense. 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: Even if the member holds it is a nonsense it is not an illegal nonsense. 
Hon Bill English 
: Do I take it from the Minister’s response that he now believes that it is a nonsense that information that is public information available to anyone who asks for it under the Official Information Act is kept secret in the SchoolSmart website? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: What the member can take from my answer is that I believe that he believes it is a nonsense.