Dunne Peter: General DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeDunne Peter: General Debate[Sitting date: 14 May 2014. Volume:698;Page:17837. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon PETER DUNNE (Minister of Internal Affairs): Very little of what has gone on in this Chamber in the last week or so would have had any connection with New Zealanders who would generally be reviled by the mud-slinging the abuse the name-calling and all of the vituperation and retribution that seem to have become the stock in trade of parliamentary debate in recent times. Perhaps it is forgivable in the smallest extent by the pending election but it is not justifiable nor is it appreciated by the bulk of New Zealanders.For most New Zealanders the challenge is a very simple one. This country has come out of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression—the global financial crisis. We have been through 5 or 6 very difficult tough years where the Minister of Finance and the Government have shown considerable discipline in terms of both their spending policies and the direction of overall economic policies. Now instead of name-calling and catcalling and rumour-mongering what New Zealanders are looking forward to is a dividend on the investment they made in 2008 and 2011 when they elected this Government to office. They expect to see in tomorrow’s Budget some signs of progress for the future of steps that give them confidence in the decisions they have to make in their lives to give opportunity and the prospect of hope to their children.One area I want to talk about which I think is very critical to the future of this country is tertiary education. I think it is time to take a more radical approach to the issue of funding tertiary education. The current system of a fees-based system paid by the contributor the student supplemented in some cases but by no means all by a system of student allowances and student loans has I think had its day. The fact that we have large student loan indebtedness and we are doing all we can quite properly to recover that debt suggests that a continuation of the same sort of policy is simply a repetition of what we have done previously.Maybe the way forward is to turn the system on its head to abolish student allowances completely—because not all students are currently eligible—and to use the money thus saved to reduce and if not reduce then eliminate the tertiary fees that they pay. So you would get a system with some modest additional investment from the Government of tertiary education returning to essentially being free to the user. But students are then responsible for their living costs and their course costs throughout and that will be where the loan system in a much more disciplined way could take some effect. Carrying on the way we are will simply produce more indebtedness and more problems for people trying to recover from that indebtedness and trying to make a long-term contribution to New Zealand.There is another area I think is worth considering. For many New Zealanders the option of tertiary education simply is not there because there is no family history of atertiary education. The family does not have that in their if you like set of horizons about what their children might do. I think there is scope for considering some form of incentive to enable first-time entrants from families who have not previously been in the tertiary education system to come in and to benefit. That is the way you broaden the basis of the system. That is the way you give access to those who may well be currently excluded but it is also the way you make it clear that tertiary education is not the preserve of the elite but an opportunity for all to participate. As a consequence not only do you broaden the base of education and achievement and the ability for people to make a contribution to our society that is positive and long term but you encourage future generations as well.When we start to think about the steps forward that I hope this Budget tomorrow will indicate in terms of our having turned the economic corner then it is important to start to think about how we utilise the fruits of those long-term gains to the benefit of the people whom we are elected to serve. I say one thing as I close: the expectation of New Zealanders is that we contribute positively. It is not that we carry on in the way that this House has been doing in recent times. I think we have reached new lows and the danger is that there is an even lower floor to be set if we continue as we are. Tomorrow provides an opportunity to move forward with some optimism. I hope that the Minister and the Government take it and that Parliament responds accordingly.