Peachey Allan: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
Peachey Allan: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
[Volume:671;Page:17479] 
ALLAN PEACHEY (National—Tamaki) 
: 
 I guess it would be gracious of me to begin my remarks by congratulating the young list member opposite on his appointment as the Opposition spokesperson on education. I think that was probably his first substantive address on education in this House since his appointment. Well there is quite a bit of work to be done. But I can recommend a book or two to that member who previously spoke that he may well find instructive. In fact there is one in particular he may like to take as his Bible. 
Hon Darren Hughes 
: I’m one step ahead of the member. 
ALLAN PEACHEY 
: Ha ha! If I could be so bold in speaking to this review to say to the member who has just spoken that he has nothing to build on that his party—the Labour Party—has not really brought any education policy to the table in the last 2½ years and that on reflection I think that the best place to start would be to go back to 1999 and draw a parallel to where the economy was in that time. The Government that was elected in 1999 the Labour Government had the very best of times. Never in the memory of most New Zealanders has there been the opportunity to grow and develop this country and the same comment could be made and is being made now about the schooling system. When old dogs like myself get together and reminisce about our years of leading schools in the 1990s and that sort of thing we talk about that time as having been a dream time to lead schools. Those were times when we were free of the controlling and the ordering and the bossiness that became a feature of the last Labour Government’s education policies. 
It has to be said that schooling did not move forward in those 9 years. But at least there is a fresh face now. He was even at school probably during those dream years in the 1990s if the truth is known. I urge that member to take a completely fresh approach and as I said to read the right books. 
There are a couple of specific things that I want to talk about and one relates to special education. Special education stood still in a mire of ideology and argument and ultimately a refusal to come to grips with some pretty hard questions during the first 8 years of this century. Now at least we are getting some movement as a result of this Government. I invite any of the members opposite to get up and say that they oppose the increase in Ongoing and Reviewable Resourcing Scheme funding for the highest-needs children in our schools. They should get up and say that they do not support that. Those members should not sit there and scream and shout across the floor; they should get on their feet and tell this House that they do not support the increase in Ongoing and Reviewable Resourcing Scheme funding for the least fortunate of our children. I suspect I will wait a long time. 
I invite members opposite also to get up and say they do not support the actions of this Government in reinforcing and developing the role of special schools for our children. They should get up and say that the Labour Party does not support special schooling education. They should not shout across the floor at me; they should get up and say it so the people of New Zealand can hear them. 
I would like also to make a brief comment about the relevance of early childhood education because I suspect we will get a flurry about that in a moment. I invite the member who will deliver that little flurry—and it will be a little one—to explain to the people of Glen Innes in the Tamaki electorate that I represent in this Parliament why the Labour Party does not want their children to have a fair crack at early childhood education funding.