Goldsmith PaulHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National): Well thank you very much for the opportunity to speak on this bill. Well I'm bound to say that this is not something that I've had people come up to me on the streets of Epsom concerned about—Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!" they say. I haven't had anybody come up and say "There are these people running around pretending to be teachers and we must bring the great clunking fist of the State down on these people and fine them $2000 because they're running around calling themselves teachers." I've not once had that happen to me yet. Hon Kris Faafoi: You need to get out more mate.Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH: Maybe—maybe I need to get out more that's true. But my hunch is that this is a bill looking for a problem in order to provide a solution that nobody wants and nobody needs. I do feel sorry for Mrs Jenny Marcroft. I can just see what would have happened—just arrived in Parliament and the previous person who dreamed up this bill who's become a Minister flicks it over as she's walking in the door and says "Oh just shove this in the ballot. Nobody will notice." and woomfa! Unbeknownst to her it gets drawn and she's left holding this pup that the Attorney-General has written off. How embarrassing is that to have your first bill before this Parliament written off by the Attorney-General as being—it cannot be justified. It cannot be justified under section 5 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.So we have Mr Parker who—to be honest I don't always agree with that particular member but on this particular occasion I think he has had a rare moment of insight and on this particular occasion is quite correct when he says that "There are a range of people who hold themselves out as 'teachers' and teach in particular subject matters but are not qualified or registered."I'm just conscious of the fact that members might not be aware that today is actually the international day of the mother tongue. If you get out and about amongst the communities—particularly of Auckland where I come from—there are many many ethnic communities trying to maintain and nurture the languages of the communities that they came from and many many teachers that there are working in that area. They haven't necessarily done a three-year course at university. They might not be qualified in the sense of having a qualification recognised in New Zealand but they are teachers. Why should we come along and say that they are no good that they don't deserve the basic title of teacher which is a core sort of expression of the most natural thing in the world for any human to do which is to pass on knowledge from one generation to the next or from one friend to another? So I don't see where the logic for this piece of legislation comes in other than to stuff the ballot for the members' bills and to avoid what needs to be done.I think the other point to make on this is that really what we're talking about here with Mrs Martin who was the original drawer-upper of this bill is a very thinly disguised attack on charter schools which they have never ever come to understand or appreciate. Obviously there's legislation in the House at the moment trying to do away with the charter schools and again I cannot understand what is so offensive about some attempt to innovate within the education system and for small groups of people to gather together and try to experiment with different ways of reaching and educating young people who have struggled within the State system. That's what charter schools have all been about and this terrible notion that a charter school or a different kind of school could use people from different backgrounds and have a little bit of flexibility around who they use in teaching staff is such an affront to some members of the House that they will stop at nothing to make their lives difficult. I don't think that that is a noble or worthwhile cause.So I feel a little bit sorry for the member responsible for this bill that's been dropped on her just as she's walked in the door and she's had the misfortune of having it drawn. But on that basis we won't be supporting this bill."