5. Question No. 5—EducationHon NIKKI KAYE (National—Auckland Central) to the Minister of EducationQuestion No. 5—EducationHon NIKKI KAYE (National—Auckland Central): A question to the Minister of Education—[Interruption] SPEAKER: In fact you've just given them two. 5. Hon NIKKI KAYE (National—Auckland Central) to the Minister of Education: Is he confident that education expenditure has been a priority for this Government?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister of Education): In the context of the largest increase in Vote Education in over a decade absolutely yes. Hon Nikki Kaye: Will he apologise to teachers if the New Zealand Police are prioritised and offered a salary increase of more than 4.5 percent per year well above the offer for teachers?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: The New Zealand Police have not been offered that.Hon Nikki Kaye: If the New Zealand Police are offered more than 4.5 percent which includes 3 percent plus competency/service increment (CSI) will he promise to match that for teachers?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: The member's not comparing apples with apples.Hon Nikki Kaye: If the New Zealand Police have been effectively offered 4.5 percent which includes CSI will he promise to match that for teachers?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: As I indicated the member's not comparing apples with apples. The pay structures are different.Hon Nikki Kaye: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. That was a very simple yes or no question and he didn't answer it.SPEAKER: I think that the member got an answer to it.Hon Nikki Kaye: Was he wrong when he told the House the financial breakdown of the offer was published on the Ministry of Education's website given the ministry have contacted the Post Primary Teachers' Association to say that he was wrong and that the information will now be up shortly?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: A financial breakdown of the offer was published on the Ministry of Education website and I had a copy of it in my hand at the time that I made the statement. The financial breakdown that the Post Primary Teachers' Association (PPTA) were looking for was different.Hon Nikki Kaye: Is he saying the Ministry of Education were wrong in what they said to the unions—that he had not published the financial breakdown of the offer?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: No the financial breakdown I was referring to published in great detail the step-by-step changes that had been offered as part of the contract negotiations. Hon Nikki Kaye: That is not true. That is not true. He knows they—you know they've been asking for it.Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: What the PPTA have asked for—SPEAKER: Order! Order! Order! The member will resume his seat. Nikki Kaye will stand withdraw and apologise.Hon Nikki Kaye: I withdraw and apologise.SPEAKER: The Minister will start again.Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: What I understand the PPTA have asked for is the individual costing of each element of the offer.Hon Nikki Kaye: Does he accept that if he is unable to provide a larger fiscal envelope for teachers we are likely to have rolling strikes and several thousand teachers short given the projected teacher shortages out today?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: The retention rates for existing teachers are relatively high. What we do know is that we don't have enough teachers because the previous Government didn't train enough and that is something that this Government is going to address. With regard to increases in pay I'd point out that this Government has prioritised an increase in teacher pay and we have made them the largest pay increase offer that they have had in over a decade. In fact the pay offer that they have been given amounts to more than all of the settlements they reached under the previous National Government.