Rich Katherine: Questions for Oral Answer — Urgent Questions Questions to Ministers 
Rich Katherine: Questions for Oral Answer — Urgent Questions Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:639;Page:9265] 
8.  
KATHERINE RICH (National) 
 to the  
Minister of Education 
: Will there be a place available in an early childhood centre offering 20 free hours for all of the 92000 eligible 3 and 4-year-olds on 1 July 2007; if not why not? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Minister of Education) 
: 
 The Labour-Progressive Government has provided funding for 20 hours’ free early childhood education for up to 92000 2 and 3-year-olds currently enrolled in teacher-led centres. I am optimistic that on 1 July we will have a good range of centres offering free early childhood education. I am equally optimistic that over a period of time from then on we will see—just as in the case of the primary health organisations—more and more centres taking up the Government’s offer of funding. What I think New Zealanders need to know however is whether the National Party will scrap this policy if it ever has a chance to do so or whether it will come clean run a flip-flop and say that it now supports it. 
Katherine Rich 
: If parents of the 92000 3 and 4-year-olds the Minister says will benefit from this policy turn up and demand 20 hours’ free on 1 July 2007 can he confirm that his own officials have told him that there is no way there will be spaces nationally for all those children? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: It may be useful for me to just remind the member how this actually takes place. People do not just turn up on 1 July. People fill out an attestation form and take it along to their early childhood centre. There are currently 259000 forms on order all around the country so they will have lots to choose from. They take that form along to the centre. The centre then passes that on to the Ministry of Education to register the number of parents it wants funded for 20 hours’ free and that is how the centre gets the money. 
H V Ross Robertson 
: Can the Minister tell the House whether he has seen any reports at all proposing that the policy of 20 free hours’ early childhood education be abolished? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: I think that by now the whole country is on tenterhooks waiting for the National Party to finally come clean and announce that what is on its website is in fact its policy or—just like some ongoing soap opera—that this will be the latest of its flip-flops. 
Katherine Rich 
: Does it concern the Minister that the Ministry of Education’s own modelling shows that in one scenario 72 percent of areas will not have enough places for the extra children under the 20 free hours policy with Wellington Canterbury and Auckland being the regions most at risk; and why does he wax lyrical about handing out 259000 forms when there are supposedly only 92000 places which his officials say cannot be filled? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: I want to stress to the member that I am not handing out 259000 forms; the early childhood centres are ordering those forms which shows how high the interest is. I refer the member to the fact that she is looking at modelling that shows the growth in early childhood. When we started this policy of 20 hours free 86000 3 and 4-year-olds were in early childhood centres; there are now 92000. At the end of this policy in 2012 when we have rolled out all of the numbers of trained teachers and have built a whole range of new centres there will be a whole lot more 3 and 4-year-olds in early childhood centres. Is it not a fantastic policy? The member should try agreeing with it. 
Katherine Rich 
: Why does the Minister continue to promote the 92000 figure when having access to 20 free hours is not the same as actually getting it and when his own officials tell him that “Northland Gisborne the West Coast Southland and Tasman are the regions with the highest proportions of areas not offering ECE” and “Waikato Hawke’s Bay and Wellington regions will have the highest proportions of areas that cannot fully cater to the expected demand of 20 hours free”? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: I welcome the member’s concern for this policy. It is a policy that just like the primary health organisation policy will roll out from 1 July. I am sure the National Party will back it because it wants to have 20 hours’ free early childhood education for all 3 and 4-year-olds up and down the country. That is what the Government is committed to doing. 
Katherine Rich 
: If the parents of all those 92000 3 and 4-year-olds take the Minister’s advice go down to their centres and enrol will there be spaces for all those kids or not? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: The Government has provided funding for 92000 3 and 4-year-olds in early childhood centres all across the country. Because that is the number of kids who are currently enrolled if all of those centres take up the Government’s offer then all those kids will have a place.