Faafoi Kris: Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee 
Faafoi Kris: Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee 
[Volume:674;Page:20301] 
KRIS FAAFOI (Labour—Mana) 
: 
 It is an absolute pleasure to speak on the Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill. Clause 6A of this bill basically applies the ideological initiatives in clause 6 to private tertiary institutions in New Zealand. It is not an insignificant clause of the bill because as a couple of previous speakers have mentioned there are over 300 private tertiary institutions here in New Zealand. Many of them will have a student body of some shape. It is a not insignificant clause because as I say there are over 300 private tertiary institutions in New Zealand. A significant number of those would have a student membership. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: Yeah what’s the point? 
KRIS FAAFOI 
: I will get to the point soon I say to Mr Henare. I will just talk a little bit longer than he might want to get to it. 
This clause opens up a window on the world of what a National-ACT Government looks like. It basically says that no matter where people are they are not safe. People at public institutions and at private institutions are not safe. Student membership of students associations really helps those vulnerable Kiwis who go into tertiary training who need support and who do not have the traditional methods or functions of support through their whanau. They may be training away from what was traditionally called home. They need that extra support and they are wondering about the kinds of support services that some of these tertiary institutions may have. They may be progressive like Canterbury University. Some of these private tertiary institutions may have a childcare centre on their campus. What will it mean for those students who will no longer have the ability to join a student body and have the support of a student association to fall back on to make sure that their experience at a private tertiary institution is a quality one and so they can complete and succeed in their course? 
A number of speakers on this side of the House have pointed out the simple fact that at the moment 10 percent of a student body can get together hold a referendum and disband the student union. 
Simon Bridges 
: Whatever. 
KRIS FAAFOI 
: That is the case I tell Mr Bridges. He should have a look at the legislation. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: Whatever Trevor. 
KRIS FAAFOI 
: “Whatever” is not good enough in this instance; it is a fact. Ten percent of the students can get together and disband the student membership. It has happened once before at Waikato University I understand and was a roaring failure for the students there. There was huge student debt and a huge debt for the council. In the end the student membership decided that that was not the right track to go down. As Kelvin Davis mentioned 10 percent is all they need but no one from ACT has managed to get 10 percent—just 10 percent; that is 1 in 10 students—to get together to force the disbanding of a student membership. So ACT brought this legislation into the House. Ninety-eight percent of thousands of submissions that came on the bill were against it but a party that is on 2 percent is forcing this bill through on purely ideological grounds. 
As I said before some of the services that the student unions have offered over the years have been crucial to the likes of Pacific Island students. I am worried about what happens to Pacific Island students who will no longer have that safety net of support via a student body that has supported those students who have found things difficult not only financially. Some of them may feel like they are fish out of water when they get to tertiary education. Those support systems for Pacific Island students are crucial for lifting the tertiary education achievement levels of Pacific Island students. I am very worried about what this bill will do in terms of the support available to them. Maybe the member in charge of this bill the Hon Heather Roy might be able to answer a question about whether any work has been done on what this bill might do for Pacific Island or Maori students and about some of the services they depend on that come out of student unions.