Baillie ChrisCHRIS BAILLIE (ACT): Thank you Madam Speaker. I rise on behalf of ACT to speak to the Education and Training (Teaching Council Fees and Costs) Amendment Bill. ACT opposes this bill for a number of reasons but the main reason being that teachers have lost confidence—and rightly so—in the Teaching Council and really it doesn't need tinkering; it needs a complete review. Teachers do a great job in an increasingly stressful situation. More accountability and all sorts of pressures have gone on to teachers just recently. They need a teachers council that actually they trust and that they support and that they know supports them. I renewed my teachers' registration last June. I was the envy of a lot of teachers because I got in just before the teachers council were going to change it to a one-year registration. We know the result of that: the teachers council made that change despite all the negative feedback from teachers who didn't want that. But they changed it so their trust has gone.I was on the Education and Workforce Committee and heard many submitters and like the previous speaker Teanau Tuiono I never heard one submitter who was supportive of this bill. Many issues were raised and they all had pretty common themes. The extra powers that have developed over the years—no one actually knew what the teachers council did. The rushed process was questioned: lots of submissions but they still felt that they didn't have enough time to be heard. Concern that the teachers council weren't the right people to deliver the professional development: science teachers know best what they need to know; every department is more OK with what they need to learn to teach the kids. There was a concern that the Teaching Council keeps changing requirements and then requiring teachers to do professional development so that they can meet those changes. Also a concern whether the teachers council—the body that handles the discipline of teachers—is the appropriate body to provide the professional development and the leadership. A number said that the vast majority of teachers pay for the teachers council for the discipline side of things but it's never actually used. Many mentioned that the key 13 staff in the teachers council averaged $187000 while they were on a pay freeze. There was a certain amount of disdain that the teachers council had a budget and so it should work within it like everyone else and almost every submitter like I said was concerned at the lack of consultation.The select committee report acknowledged that the profession doesn't trust the teachers council and a number of teachers have been asking whether the Minister will be calling for the resignation of the leadership. They made it clear that they wanted to remove the expanded functions of the teachers council and not add to them or do whatever they decide. The Supplementary Order Paper offers no real comfort and if it really does separate the council's leadership functions from its other functions we don't need the bill—user-pays. Teachers haven't been fooled by semantics. Fees levies or whatever—they're not silly. The teachers council should stick to its knitting: registration and discipline—although I've heard some pretty horrific stories about the latter over the last few months.ACT opposes this bill but I'm quite happy to see it pass as it shows the people of New Zealand the contempt this Government has for process and it highlights the self-interest and agendas that we've come to expect. We already know this Government doesn't care about kids. The appalling treatment of charter schools—successful charter schools—shows this but it also shows teachers those hard-working and often loyal Labour supporters that they really don't care about them or their opinions either. ACT does care about kids and we also care about teachers and we oppose this bill. Thank you.