Martin Tracey: Estimates Debate — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMartin Tracey: Estimates Debate — In Committee[Sitting date: 21 July 2015. Volume:707;Page:5177. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]TRACEY MARTIN (NZ First):Kia ora Mr Chair. It was incredibly interesting earlier today at question time to see the Hon Anne Tolley stand and talk about the 50-millionth—or the 5-millionth or whatever it was—breakfast that the National Government is now taking credit for—Andrew Bayly: Nine million over 5 years.TRACEY MARTIN: Whatever it is she was taking 100 percent credit for it. But I went to a breakfast meeting of principals when national standards was introduced and the Hon Anne Tolley was the Minister of Education. Decile 1 and decile 2 principals said “Minister we cannot educate these children until they are fed and until they are clothed.” and that Minister said: “Don’t give me your excuses—don’t give me your excuses.” Yet today the same Minister now in a different portfolio is now taking credit for the 5-millionth—or whatever it was—breakfast and lauding the fact that those children—[Interruption]—no wait Mr Smith; wait Mr Smith—are now having better academic outcomes. It is unbelievable to see that today—unbelievable.The other thing that was incredibly interesting just then was Mr Joyce standing up and saying: “In this Budget in education funding in these appropriations we have got a focus for students on 21st century education.” Not in Northland apparently according to Hekia Parata—not in Northland. There is no digital aspiration there. There are no lawyers there are no accountants there is no higher education and there is no greater reach for these students. Hekia Parata said—today—that the schools in Northland need to be teaching those students how they can be forestry workers and fisheries operators and how to work in tourism and marine manufacturing because they need to have an education that equips them only to go and be an employee in their local area for the low-paid wages that those areas have.Where is the aspiration supposedly out of this great 21st century economic drive towards education? Not in Northland apparently—not for these students. No no no no. Apparently in Northland apart from the fact that you can travel on roads that nobody is going to fix up at the same time the Government is going to give you just enough education so that you can go and get a job on a fishing boat. There is nothing wrong with getting a job on a fishing boat but where is the aspiration from this Government for Northland? Not in this Budget—not in these appropriations.I will tell you something else that is very interesting. This Government has an underspend—and again that member over there said: “Wait for another month to get a surplus.” Wait for another month to get a surplus—they certainly will. There is $205 million worth of underspend in education from this Government. Why? Because it is desperate to get a surplus. It is desperate to get a surplus and it is going to short-change special needs children across this country—Paul Foster-Bell: That’s not true.TRACEY MARTIN: —special needs children across this country. There is a zero Budget for gifted and talented children Mr Foster-Bell—a zero Budget for gifted and talented children who are in the spectrum of special needs but you can get it if you have got behavioural problems. According to this Government if you have got behavioural problems—if you are gifted but you are naughty—the Ministry of Education will give you some money. It will give you some money. But if you are gifted and need to be extended or need to have programmes like the One Day School or other programmes such as that there is a zero Budget in here and who removed it? Who removed the Budget spend that was there? The National Government. Who took away “well above” national standards? The National Government. So you see it is very interesting for National members to stand up and say that they invest in education.Here is another thing that they invest in. They talk about the international student body they talk about these new information and communications technology schools and so on and so forth. I went to a private training establishment provider the other day. This Government has capped domestic hospitality and chef students at 300 only inside that organisation but there are 600 international students. It is a growth industry for this country and there is a skills shortage throughout the world and yet this Government caps domestic students. This Government will not put a budget around domestic students but will allow international students en masse into this country to subsidise the education that it should be providing for New Zealanders.There are 70000 students who are not in education employment or training—“neets”—and there were 70000 international work visas given out in the last year. There are 70000 New Zealand students who are “neets” and 70000 international students who got work visas in the last year from this Government. This Government does not invest in its own people this Government does not invest in its education and this Government has no aspiration for these young people unless you are in an urban area and then you can get not only some sort of spend; you can get a road to it.