Turner Judy: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Turner Judy: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Volume:629;Page:1265] 
JUDY TURNER (Deputy Leader—United Future) 
: 
 Earlier this week during question time in this House the Minister of Education made glowing references to the apparently smooth running of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement examination. Today the same Minister proudly announced that in literacy rates New Zealand has ranked well on a worldwide scale. I would hate to think that these pluses—and I suspect they are genuine pluses—were taken as some sort of signal that all is well in the education sector because there are a number of concerning trends that Cabinet should focus on during this term. 
At the chalkface of education teachers are becoming increasingly concerned at the burgeoning staff numbers at the Ministry of Education at a time when they are desperate for essential tools such as more teacher-aide hours for special-needs students. I invite any member of this Parliament to spend an afternoon in a classroom with a special-needs child when the teacher-aide hours for that day have run out. They will then see what teachers are coping with and realise the urgent need for this funding to be increased. In July 1999 ministry staff numbers were 608. Staff numbers peaked in July 2004 at 3186 and settled down slightly at 3116 early last year. The reason offered for the increase to staffing levels was that Group Special Education staff were integrated into the ministry in 2002. However if one takes the time to deduct Group Special Education numbers from the total one will see that staffing numbers have still gone from 608 to 1092—which is an increase of nearly 44 percent. This third-term Government must start to take a very close look at these important issues. 
In classrooms and schools there are clear stress points that will not improve by being ignored. One has only to sit down for an afternoon with a school principal to come up to speed quickly with what those pressures are. 
At the secondary level in education we need to see further developments around an improved response to the very transitional nature of teenage years so that schools while continuing to focus on excellence in core subjects also take a more holistic look at the life skills needed by young people after compulsory education finishes. The current piecemeal approach which largely focuses on reducing risk behaviours falls well short of some of the exciting developments in those kinds of programmes overseas. With our household debt reportedly rising by 77 percent in the last 5 years maybe Tony Blair’s call for British secondary schools to include units of study on personal financial management has huge merit. 
At tertiary level the changes that are needed are clear and generally well acknowledged. Firstly there is a need for a complete overhaul of the funding system so that the New Zealand taxpayer gets value for money. Second-chance educational opportunities remain important but there is a desperate need for greater investment across other parts of the tertiary sector. United Future has secured as part of our confidence and supply agreement assurances that serious attention will be given to reducing the amount of debt that students incur and the criteria for qualifying for living allowances need to be in our opinion where one begins. At the risk of sounding like a stuck record let me remind the House that students are the only group in New Zealand who have to borrow to live. 
Debate interrupted.