Woodhouse MichaelHon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National): Thank you Mr Speaker. It's my privilege to stand in this debate on behalf of my National Party colleagues Sarah Dowie Hamish Walker and the Hon Jacqui Dean—the four of us who are geographically located in the deep south—but also to stand on behalf of the hundreds of staff and the thousands of students who attend the Southern Institute of Technology in Invercargill and the Otago Polytechnic campuses of Dunedin Cromwell and Auckland. I must also speak on behalf of the many hundreds if not thousands of businesses who have tremendous relationships with both of those two iconic organisations—both organisations that are now under material threat should this bill pass. I find it incredibly ironic that the Government—whose principal support partner purports to be the Champion of the regions" prepares to sit idly by while two of the iconic organisations of the regions in Otago and Southland are about to be decimated. I find it quite incredible that they can speak with one voice for the regions and stand idly by and allow this to occur on its watch. Now no one is saying that there aren't significant challenges in the Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITP) sector. That's understood. However I want to quote the CEO of the Otago Polytechnic who before these reforms were announced in an op-ed piece in the Otago Daily Times said that the sector wasn't broken. If one looks at the academic performance right across the ITP sector the performance is extremely high. It is rated internationally as very very good. Now financial viability is another matter altogether and certainly the Southern Institute of Technology and Otago Polytechnic to me are the exemplars of both high performance academically and high performance financially. But that is not the case amongst many of the polytechs further north. One would think that in order to improve things overall why not look at best practice? At those exemplars and say whatever Otago and Southland are doing let's expect that of the ITP sector? Instead—and here is the one area where I do agree with the Hon Jenny Salesa; she actually said that the previous Government tinkered around the edges. Well compared with this reform that's probably an accurate description because this is a massive sledgehammer to crack a nut—a massive sledge hammer. It is typical of a socialist Government to centralise and take away autonomous regional freedom. What we are talking about most particularly is the thing that is fundamental in a democracy: academic freedom. Now I want to talk about the practical manifestation of the very very high quality of connection at the Otago Polytechnic with the business sector. Prior to my becoming an MP I was the head of a surgical hospital. I relied extremely heavily on the allied health professionals that were being trained and graduating mostly out of the Otago Polytechnic. I had occasion to speak to the head of the health science team there and I said to him "Look if you were to ask me whether you were producing the type of graduate that we needed that was fit for the roles that we had I would have to say no." And I was able to explain to him why while the quality of the teaching was very high and the quality of the graduate was high there were things that could be done to make it even better. To the polytech's credit they not only listened to that feedback but they amended their programme in a nuanced way to ensure that their product was fit for purpose and that their graduates were what the business community and the health sector needed.I also had a chat with the former CEO of the Southern District Health Board. This is an example of the sort of nimbleness that that type of autonomy and regional governance allows. The CEO went over to the polytech and said "Look we want more nurses but we don't want registered nurses we really need another batch of second-tier nurses enrolled nurses." At that time there wasn't a training programme for enrolled nurses. They developed that programme set it up enrolled students and graduated them less than two years after that first approach. That's what nimble looks like. That's what responsiveness to the community's need looks like. I fear that when these are being managed from wherever—probably Wellington at the academic level—then that kind of nimbleness that connection with the community that responsiveness to need not only in the health sector but right across trade training and engineering and design will be lost; that would be a crying shame.Now I want to go to the second really big issue that is facing Otago and Southland and that is the question of identity. As someone who has worked in the health sector I know firsthand that the Otago brand is globally recognised. Whether it's Otago University or Otago Polytechnic a graduate—particularly in the health faculties of both of those organisations—can take their qualifications anywhere in the world and that CV and that qualification will be instantly recognised.Now I do declare a bit of a family interest in this. I have a daughter who is studying midwifery at the Otago polytech right now. She will graduate hopefully at the end of next year with a Bachelor of Midwifery. She said to me "Dad I want the Otago brand on my bachelor certificate. I don't want to have a certificate from an organisation that sounds like the degree was downloaded from the internet."—and that's exactly what students at the polytech think of whatever it's called: the New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology; that is not where they are studying. They are studying at Otago. They're studying at Ara Institute of Canterbury. They are studying at the Southern Institute of Technology and they are proud to do so. And that loss of identity that loss of the iconic Otago brand is concerning everybody in that sector.And then of course there is the autonomy. Now the Minister has said that there will be some centralising of certain functions—back-office functions student records finance I.T. and whatever—but that they won't be in Wellington. Well that's fine. The Minister should be telling the regions right now where those jobs will go; he's deafeningly silent on that. Never mind the fact that the resources could well go—and I know that my colleague the Hon Dr Nick Smith will talk about that in relation to Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology—where will those jobs go? It's all very well for the Minister to pooh-pooh the fact that Part 6A of the Employment Relations Act 2000 is being overridden in this legislation and not only that but other employee benefits that are set out in employment agreements the party of the people is going to ride roughshod over employment rights.Marja Lubeck: Ha ha! How ironic.Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE: Now I understand the technical elements of that where there is a transfer of the role from one to another but the mathematical reality is if there's going to be a consolidation of those back-office functions it doesn't matter where in the country they go people will be made redundant. They will either be asked to move to wherever they don't yet know or lose their jobs. What this bill says is that their employee protections are being wiped; gone—and they laugh about it.These former union members laugh about the removal of employee protection. Well we'll fight for them. Maybe in the 21st century the National Party is the party of the people. I can certainly say this party is the champion of the sector and these polytechs are going to continue to fight for their survival. The Minister saw it when after initially saying that he wasn't going anywhere Tertiary Education Commission weren't going to go further south than Christchurch he was forced into meetings in Dunedin and Invercargill and he heard the voice of the people. I and my colleagues members Walker Dowie and Dean will continue to fight for the South."