Martin TraceyHon TRACEY MARTIN (Minister for Children): Kia ora Madam Deputy Speaker. Thank you very much. It's actually with great honour that I rise to speak on the Education (Social Investment Funding and Abolition of Decile System) Amendment Bill. Can I acknowledge the author. Can I acknowledge Erica Stanford. This is one of the areas—I mean we've had the education conversation going on in the last couple of weekends—where there has been cross-party consensus that this is too important an area of Government funding of Government spending of Government focus that should be about political parties fighting each other. So first of all I want to acknowledge Ms Stanford and thank her for her member's bill. I honestly believe that what she's tried to do here is to do better by children. I truly believe that in the same way that when I came into this Parliament the Hon Nikki Kaye—she happened to be the chair of the Education and Science Committee. We had a really strong collegial relationship around what was going to be the vision for children in this country.New Zealand First won't be supporting this bill and I have expressed that. I have had a one-on-one conversation with the author of this bill because that's what's important. It's not about whether the Opposition moans and decides that the Government's doing this and it's not about the Government deciding that this is happening—whatever whatever. This is actually about the conversation between parliamentarians about what's best for children. Ms Stanford and I have had this conversation. The reason why I won't support this bill is because I actually don't think with the work that I am doing around disability and learning support and the change to the funding system—and Ms Stanford understands that those who are moaning don't know anything about education. But what we're talking about is what is actually going to make a difference to children. So I have articulated to Ms Stanford the vision that I have for disability and learning support here inside New Zealand—the understanding that what we are aiming for is a funding system that recognises what each and every child needs and we will make sure that they can be the best they can be. We are not restricting it to academic outcomes as the previous Government was. We are not restricting it to an investment or negative type of connotation; we are deciding that inside those education conversations we are aiming for the skies with regard to our children. I believe that Ms Stanford and Ms Kaye and so on and so forth are going to come along for that cross-party ride about doing better—Hon Mark Mitchell: Oh so you want them to support you? You want them to support you but you won't support them.Hon TRACEY MARTIN: —doing better for the children that we have in New Zealand. Now Mr Mitchell and those other sorts of people who actually have this really narrow narrative about what success looks like because they have been in a place of privilege—they don't understand this conversation but I know that Ms Stanford does. I know that she does because at the end of the day what we're talking about is what is best for children. I acknowledge her as a partner in this conversation and I have extended the olive branch so to speak or the hand that says that I am more than happy to brief her on where I am going around disability and learning support to make sure that the funding system changes to ensure that we're not deciding who is a failure based on some sort of a national census; that we're not deciding Mr Mitchell that those inside Warkworth Primary School which is a decile 7 school but are of our Kiribati and Tuvaluan community—among the lowest socio-economic levels of our community—are disadvantaged by a decile system. I totally support where Ms Stanford is going here. I absolutely will work with Ms Stanford to make sure that every student based on the needs of that student has the funding support has the resourcing support that they need to be the best they can be across this country.I think across this House we can do better but I cannot support Ms Stanford's bill and I have expressed that to her. I acknowledge her I honour her and the work that she is trying to do but I ask her to work with me collegially to make sure we do better for children. Kia ora Ms Stanford. Thank you for standing up for children but let's work together on another way to make this happen.