Martin TraceyHon TRACEY MARTIN (Associate Minister of Education): Kia ora Mr Assistant Speaker. I'd just like to quote from this document to start my contribution: What society asks of our public education system continues to change and intensify. New Zealand First believes it is time to have a nationwide education conversation that includes wide public participation and robust discussion between all stakeholders across all sectors: early years early childhood primary secondary tertiary and trade training adult and community education." The first bullet point reads in this document: "New Zealand First will develop a collaborative 30-year strategic plan for New Zealand education that would set an agreed yet flexible direction for our nation's education that is free from changes in Government and Ministers."That has been the opening statement for New Zealand First in their education policy section of their manifesto for the last six years and this weekend as a coalition Government agreement that will become a reality. For the first time in a long time New Zealanders will actually have the ability to discuss what success looks like for their children—what success looks like for a five-year-old for a 10-year-old for a 15-year-old for a 50-year-old because this coalition Government actually believes that education is from the cradle to the grave. We will continue to support investment inside our education system but more than that we actually will invest in diversity of opportunity inside our education system.As Associate Minister of Education I have the delegation to improve the outcomes for all those students on the learning needs spectrum. The learning needs spectrum runs from our Ongoing and Reviewable Resourcing Scheme students with high physical disabilities and needs all the way through to our gifted and talented children. It was during the last nine years in the previous Government that any funding and any recognition of gifted and talented children in this country was removed. It was under the previous Government that in 2011 being well above the national standards—which were a dumb line to start with—suddenly by the National Government all aspiration for our students was gone and "well above national standards" was removed from anywhere inside the records.This weekend in Christchurch 600-odd people will be coming together to start a nationwide conversation. That conversation will be based on: what will we want what do we want what do we need and what does a student require from us as a country to be the best they can be? Regardless of where that student starts regardless of the challenges that that particular student has what does success look like for them? And then we will go on as a Government to develop the solutions and the workability to create that success reality for our young people.That is just a beginning. Next weekend in Auckland there will be another education summit and again that conversation will take place. Deliberately invitees have been called from every part of our communities every area that has interest in education from young people through to those who participate and stand up and have fought for so long for those of our students who have educational challenges that require more success.We know that system is broken—we know it. It was a great joy to realise during the negotiating period that there were 54 points of commonality in education policy between New Zealand First and the Labour Party. That means that we have been able to hit the ground running. The collegial relationship the continued effort on the same pathway to make sure that we deliver better a high-trust model for our teaching profession a highly invested model based on individual needs for our student body a collaborative model with our parental body working with our boards of trustees and with the Ministry of Education officials who finally can break free from the chains they have been held in by previous Ministers of Education for the last nine years and who finally feel free to speak and give honest and upfront advice to Ministers who listen who appreciate and who actually know what they're talking about—that makes a really big difference.So this is going to be a fabulous weekend this weekend. Myself the Minister of Education and the Prime Minister will be there. We will be listening more than talking which again will be unique for the people inside of education.The debate having concluded the motion lapsed."