LIST MP HEKIA PARATA based in Mana

Mr Speaker, we are joined today in the House by a number of special guests, the delegates attending the inaugural Pacific Parliamentary and Political Leaders’ Forum. I would like to extend a very warm Aotearoa New Zealand welcome to each of them.

In particular, I welcome the Pacific Ministers here with us today. With your busy schedules and various domestic pressures, it’s a great honour for New Zealand to host you, as your cousins in the Pacific.

I also acknowledge the other members of the delegation - you represent the leaders and decision makers of tomorrow.  It is a privilege to have you here, and I look forward, together with our Members of Parliament, to meeting many of you over the coming days.

I would also like to acknowledge the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Select Committee who in 2010 unanimously recommended to the House this interaction between our Pacific parliaments. I would like to congratulate my colleague, John Hayes MP as chair of the Committee for the work he has led to bring the original recommendation to fruition.  And to all those who have helped – ngā mihi nui.

Mr Speaker, I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge my colleagues across the House who are of Pacific descent and whose presence here adds richness not only to their respective parties and communities, but to our Parliament as a whole.

Cultural and economic links
Mr Speaker, the Pacific is a key priority for the National-led Government, as it has been for successive New Zealand Governments over many decades.

We are a Pacific nation.  First and foremost we are united by the great ocean Te Moananui-a-Kiwa that joins us and that is central to understanding our history, culture, and world view.

Cultural links
Culturally, New Zealand owes much to other Pacific nations. Around 7% of New Zealanders are of Pasifika origin. At the time of the 2006 census, New Zealand’s population included some 58,000 Cook Islanders, 22,500 Niueans, 6,900 Tokelauans, 131,000 Samoans 50,000 Tongans, 9,900 Fijians, 8,900 other Pacific peoples.

In the cases of the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau, - with whom we share particular constitutional relationships - the New Zealand based populations are significantly higher than those based in their home countries.  All of these Pacific peoples add to the social and economic fabric of this great country, and we are richer for their presence.     

The many ties which link New Zealand across the Pacific make the fate of other Pacific island countries a matter of personal interest to many New Zealanders.

Not least because of the significant contributions that Pasifika people make [whether Pacific or New Zealand-born] to the strength of our economy, the dynamism of our communities, and the richness of our culture.

Pacific Island nations have gifted us – and pushed out boundaries in - art, literature, dance, music, film, fashion; experts in health, education, finance, the economy; leaders and politicians at community, local and central government; and of course sport in every arena.

New Zealand’s universities, hospitals, art galleries, government agencies, schools, businesses, and Parliament, have much to be thankful for in terms of the contribution made by our Pacific communities - all wrapped and delivered through language, identity and culture. And long may it continue.  

Economic links
Mr Speaker, economically, our exports to Pacific Island countries total nearly $1 billion.  The region, considered in its entirety, represents New Zealand’s seventh largest export market and twentieth largest trading block.  Trade with the region has grown more than 30% in the last 10 years, and our exports have grown by 50%.  New Zealand industry is working hard to provide the goods and services the economies of the Pacific need.

At the same time, demand in New Zealand for Pacific goods, and particularly Pacific agricultural products is on the rise too.  Imports in this sector have nearly doubled since 2000, and are expanding to include a greater range of quality products.  Moving forward, Pacific engagement in PACER Plus negotiations will strengthen economic relationships, and enhance regional capacity for trade.

NZ’s Foreign Policy Priorities in the Pacific
Mr Speaker, this Government has an absolute focus on, and commitment to, supporting Pacific countries, and New Zealand’s Pacific communities, in achieving their development aspirations.

Not only are we committed to working with our Pacific partners to achieve success, our results tell us we are making a real and meaningful difference in people’s lives.

The most readily visible demonstration of this Government’s commitment to the Pacific is that we spend more than half of our annual overseas development budget, more than $250 million, in the Pacific.

Every day, staff from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade are working alongside their Pacific counterparts to deliver programmes that will assist Pacific countries improve their economic performance and support them to achieve sustainable economic growth.    

Key recent successes that serve as examples of the progress being achieved by the Government include:

Renewable energy
The Pacific Energy Summit, held in Auckland last month, underlined the commitment New Zealand has made to working with the Pacific to assist in channelling international funding to areas of greatest need.  

Over 600 delegates attended the Summit, including eight Prime Ministers, three Presidents and 75 CEOs.  A key outcome of the Summit included securing donor commitments of $635 million to advance renewable energy projects across the Pacific.

In addition to working with developed partners to secure and channel development assistance, New Zealand announced $65 million of funding to assist Pacific Island countries realise their renewable energy and energy efficiency plans. Support was announced for the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu.

Fisheries
The Pacific tuna stock represents the Pacific region’s greatest shared resource. It continues to be a main source of income in the Pacific – contributing US$260 million to combined gross domestic product (GDP), and providing over 13,000 jobs to Pacific Island people.

During the 2012 Pacific Islands Forum, Prime Minister Key announced New Zealand would invest additional funding into fisheries support programmes, bringing our total commitment over the next four years to $50 million.

Our support is aimed at upgrading the Pacific’s fisheries training institutions, fostering seafood business enterprise development, helping people in the industry gain formal globally-recognised qualifications, and up-skilling fisheries officials in areas like international commerce and investment appraisal.  These are all areas that have been identified as priorities by Pacific Island countries and match the particular expertise held by New Zealand industry.

Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme  
The RSE Scheme is helping to address seasonal labour and skill shortages in the horticulture and viticulture industries that cannot be filled from the available New Zealand labour pool.

For the last three years, between 6,000 and 7,000 RSE workers have arrived in New Zealand annually, around 75% of whom are from Pacific Island countries.

The scheme is a win/win for the New Zealand horticultural industry and Pacific sending countries.  Industry is receiving the critical workforce required to improve results while Pacific Island workers are receiving training and solid economic returns.  The scheme is delivering $25 million annually in take-home earnings.   

Mr Speaker, these are but three examples of the way in which this Government is working with our Pacific neighbours to deliver tangible results that are of benefit to the entire region.  

Mr Speaker, in addition to the important work we are doing abroad, the Government is also committed to improving the lives of the more than 280,000 Pacific people in New Zealand. To do so we are focusing on three areas; education, Pacific languages, and work skills.

Education
It is a great honour to me, and a wonderful opportunity to hold both the Pacific Island Affairs and Education portfolios. As Minister I have been able to ensure that our three priorities are education, education, education! 1) quality early pre-school learning; 2) achieving national standards at primary school; 3) securing NCEA2 at secondary school before going on into meaningful work choices.

We have had some encouraging results over the last year with the final NCEA Level 2 results for 16 year olds announced yesterday.

We have seen a 3.5 per cent increase for our Pasifika young people.

And we will continue to do what it takes to raise achievement for all our Pasifika students.

Quality education is an important catalyst to improving outcomes for Pacific people across the board and it is one of our Government’s top priorities.

In November 2012, I launched the Pasifika Education Plan 2013-17. The Plan covers all levels of education from early childhood to compulsory and tertiary level. It targets improving early learning for Pacific children, raising national standards, and improving Pacific students’ NCEA level 2 achievement.

There is strong evidence to show that participation in quality early learning improves future educational outcomes. For this reason there is a strong focus on getting more Pacific children participating in pre-school options.

Earlier this month I announced that the provisional data for Pasifika children for this year shows that the participation rate increased by 1.9 per cent to around 88 per cent, or 6,700 (of the 7,600) children, who started this year. Or about 250 more kids than last year. This is very encouraging. But there is much more to do.

Pacific languages
The Government also puts a strong emphasis on supporting communities to preserve and promote Pacific languages. We are supporting a growing number of Pacific Language Weeks. 2012 saw the largest  number of Language Weeks yet as we celebrated the inaugural Cook Islands Māori, Tokelauan and Niuean language weeks as well as Samoan and Tongan Language Weeks.  

Pacific Language Weeks provide an opportunity for Pacific communities to share, celebrate and educate others about their language and culture. We consider the preservation and promotion of Pacific languages is an enabler of social, economic and educational achievement. They are also a tangible demonstration of the Government’s commitment to follow the leadership of Pacific language communities to reverse the decline of heritage languages and support their unique cultures.

Work skills
Pacific young people already make up a significant proportion of New Zealand’s future workforce. Supporting young Pacific people once they have left compulsory education is another priority for us.

Ensuring successful transition from education to employment means young Pacific people have the opportunity to contribute positively to New Zealand’s economic growth and to while creating a better life for themselves and their aiga.

The Pasifika Trades Training initiative has been developed by government agencies to attract Pasifika students into trades training to support the Canterbury rebuild. The initiative has been well supported in the community. Pacific church leaders across the country have helped to mobilise over 300 young Pacific people who were awarded trade scholarships.

Many of these young people have now completed their first year of training and are in Christchurch working on the rebuild.  These young people have learnt new skills which will set them up for a career in the trades.

These are just some of the initiatives that will support young Pacific people into employment and training. We will be putting more focus and resource into this priority area in the near future.

Supporting Pacific democracy
Mr Speaker, before closing I would like to touch briefly on the issue of democracy, a key theme of the upcoming Pacific Parliament.

One of the values we share with our Pacific neighbours is a commitment to parliamentary democracy.  In the Pacific context different states have devised their own ways to shape and scale the democratic model and style to suit their situation. New Zealand is proud to stand by our Pacific partners and actively support the functioning of democracy in the Pacific.

For example, New Zealand frequently contributes observers and logistics assistance to Pacific countries holding elections. This was done last year in Papua New Guinea when New Zealand provided three RNZAF helicopters to help deliver ballot boxes to the most remote parts of the country. This helped ensure that all Papua New Guineans had the opportunity to cast their vote.

Supporting democracy was also a primary driver behind New Zealand’s significant contribution to the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI). This mission has been a great Pacific success and has included personnel from many Pacific nations. RAMSI has enabled the people and government of the Solomon Islands to continue in their democratic traditions, free from destabilising forces and security threats.

New Zealand is, and will remain, a committed supporter of the Pacific’s democratic traditions, and I have no doubt we will remain ready to support Pacific countries as and when our assistance is requested.   

Mr Speaker, it would be unconscionable however, not to raise the issue of the low representation of Pacific women in their parliaments.  Just as ours in New Zealand has been the better for the strong participation by women Members of Parliament, so too will the parliaments of the Pacific island nations. We should all work towards that goal.

Conclusion
Mr Speaker, I would again like to thank our distinguished guests for their attendance at the inaugural Pacific Parliamentary and Political Leaders’ Forum. [Address the delegates] We want you to know that we are committed to working with you, as our Pacific partners, to improve the lives of people throughout the Pacific. We are also committed to working to improve the lives of our Pacific Community here in New Zealand.

This Government is mindful of New Zealand’s place as a Pacific country. We are honouring that by working to build a brighter Pacific future in which all Pacific people can share.

Tēnā koutou katoa, Talofa lava, Kia orana, Mālō e lelei, Ni sa bula vinaka, Taloha ni, Fakaalofa lahi atu, and greetings to you all.

Good morning everyone.  Thanks for inviting me to be a part of your conference again this year.

As principals, you have a vital role to play as leaders of our education sector, and I’d like to thank you all for your hard work and dedication.

Your conference topic is “All about Auckland”, so let’s take a look at the challenges facing Auckland, and what that means for the challenges of delivering education.

Challenges to Auckland

Auckland is New Zealand’s largest city, and with an estimated population of 1.5 million people, it’s home to a third of all New Zealand’s residents.

Auckland is growing, and quickly; Auckland Council is projecting that, by 2041, the city’s population will have reached 2.5 million.  This is a faster growth rate than the country as a whole.

Auckland’s population is young – with a median age of 34, compared to 37 nationally.  Parts of the city, particularly in the south, have high concentrations of children and young people. 

Auckland is also the most ethnically diverse region in New Zealand, with people from more than 180 different ethnic backgrounds.  Almost 40% of Aucklanders were not born in New Zealand.

Auckland is also home to New Zealand’s largest Māori and Pacific Island populations – reflecting the title it has as the “biggest Polynesian city in the world”. This is a predominantly youthful population, with almost half under the age of 20.

Plus, over a third of all New Zealand’s students are located in Auckland.

So Auckland is a big city, with a lot of students, and a population that is younger, more diverse and growing at a much faster rate than the rest of New Zealand.

It is a city that the rest of New Zealand needs to be successful because what happens in Auckland economically, socially, culturally impacts upon the rest of the country. It is in all our interests that those impacts are positive.

Education with its transformative potential is one of the keys to that success. How well our kids learn, achieve, and succeed is the measure of that success.  Successful contributing young New Zealanders grow the potential of our country; disengaged, dislocated, disappointed young folk don’t. We do not have a generation to waste.

Ours is a small country, physically distant from our markets, rich in natural resources, peopled by adventurers, navigators, with a can-do culture, traders by tradition. How we think, imagine, create and innovate is one of the biggest resources a small nation can develop and trade upon.

Education is the catalyst and the crucible – how you as professional leaders and pedagogical experts create the conditions for quality teaching and learning matters at the level of the individual student all the way through to the health and wealth of a nation.

Nowhere is that more pressing than Auckland. It is our economic power house, our largest collection of communities, with the biggest social and cultural capital and the opportunities are huge. And exciting.

These are the overarching challenges facing Auckland, reflected in smaller dimension in Christchurch and Wellington and matched by the energy and vigour of our provinces.

They are also the challenges facing our education system.

We have the architecture of a world leading education system, and the performance of a world class education system.  This has not happened by accident and nor will it continue without attention.

Generations of education professionals such as yourselves have been the designers, developers, contributors who have made this possible. 

We have a national curriculum and marautanga that combine the strength of being competency based with the permissiveness to develop meaningful, relevant, local curriculum capable of reflecting the language, culture and identity of the diversity of your rolls.

We have assessment models of national standards and national certificates of educational achievement that ensure consistency of quality without uniformity of content, and that are flexible and responsive to the student.

We have an assessment and evaluation process based on high trust, the integrity and professionalism of teachers and principals.

We have a national qualifications framework that anticipates that everyone can be educationally successful at any time in their life. And that does not rely on someone else failing.

We have a best evidence synthesis that uses information, research, nationally and internationally to inform best practice.

We have the largest democratic practice in the country that engages parents in the direct management and influence of our schools through our boards of trustees.

We have high quality professionals who lead and teach, who engage and inspire, explore and demand, push and cajole, who cause learning to occur, for students up and down the length and breadth of our country.

We do indeed have the infrastructure of a world class education system.  It is top performing for most but not for all. That is our challenge and our obligation.

We must ensure that every part of our education system is doing the best that it can in its part of the sector.  We cannot simply relocate the difficulties to the next part of the system. 

At early childhood we must ensure that our infants and toddlers are sociable, engaged, ready to learn.

At primary and intermediate we must build a strong, general foundation for learning through a rich programme of cross-curriculum and co-curricula activity embedded with literacy and numeracy.

At secondary we must deliver pathways for educational achievement that can be reflected in a national certificate at level 2 as a minimum. 

And in the secondary tertiary transition we must give young people choices that set them off on real and meaningful options for further education, training, or employment.

You know how serious our Government is about this.  We have set three Better Public Service targets for education, almost a third of our 10 targets representing how important education is.

And it’s your responsibility, as principals, to make sure that your school, and your curriculum, can not only anticipate, but meet these challenges.

We expect a lot from principals.  We expect you to provide strong leadership that puts the student at the centre of teaching and learning, and wraps the schools’ practices and processes around them.

We expect leadership that draws on, and values the cultures, identities, and languages of all students, but particularly those that are systematically falling below or out of our system, too many of whom are Māori and Pasifika students.  

And we expect you, as leaders, to be constantly engaging with your students, staff, parents, families, whānau, aiga, Boards of trustees, and the wider community. 

The Government strongly believes that reliable and valid information about student progress and achievement is fundamental to the drive to improve the education system, and to inform both parents and decisions about how and where assistance should be targeted.

That is why it is important that we have documents like charters and annual reports available to parents.  Charters enable you to set real, attainable goals and targets, to raise learning achievement. 

And annual reports allow you to review the targets that were set, against what has actually been attained. 

Charters and annual reports will ensure that raising student achievement, in the best, most focused way possible, is always at the forefront of your minds.  And they are ways of consistently informing and engaging with parents about what is happening and how they can support their child and their school.

National Standards data contributes to a range of other information available to schools, in the context of school-review. 

We have published your National Standards data alongside Education Review Office reports, schools’ annual reports and NCEA records on our Education Counts website. 

Together, this information provides a rich and comprehensive body of Public Achievement Information (PAI). 

This will give both you and your parents, together with the Ministry, a clear picture of what has been accomplished, what is achievable, and what next we need to do.

It will help you to decide what needs to happen in the context of school planning, teacher appraisal and professional learning and development.

It will allow you as school leaders, and your boards, to see how your students are progressing in relation to other schools, and compared to national expectations.

And it will allow parents, whānau and the community to see clearly, and unequivocally, how their children are progressing and achieving in their learning.

Involving parents and communities in their learning

The work that we are doing to lift achievement in our system is not possible without the help and support of parents, whānau and wider communities.  We need to work for, and with, all these people, as no one group can achieve the necessary shift alone.

21st Century Learning Environments

We have over 760,000 students in primary and secondary education.  We need to ensure that we get it right for every single one.

A primary and secondary education system that provides access to high-quality, modern learning environments that embrace new technology and digital literacy.

Investing in the right infrastructure gives teachers and students the platform on which to build innovation, share knowledge, and engage with learning in new ways.

I am delighted to have been joined in this endeavour by my associate Minister of Education, Nikki Kaye – an Aucklander! She is a smart, energetic, capable digital native absolutely committed to our vision of equipping our young people with the skills, values, knowledge – and tools – to successfully navigate the challenges of 21st century learning and living.

As you know our Government is investing $1.5 billion in the roll out of ultrafast broadband infrastructure across New Zealand.  Together with Minister of ICT, Amy Adams, we are committed to speeding up the connection of schools.     

We expect three main benefits from ultrafast broadband as it is rolled-out to schools. It will:
•    support effective teaching and learning
•    enable more efficient school administration, and
•    provide better value for money for schools, as it will allow internet content and services to be procured centrally.

It’s going to be the biggest of its kind in New Zealand, with potentially up to 2,500 schools and up to 800,000 users reaping the benefits of being joined to a managed network.

It will allow us to change how students access and engage in learning. And it will challenge principals and teachers to keep up!

With access to digital networks, appropriate ICT tools and the skills and knowledge to use these effectively, learning can be done anywhere, anytime, with anyone. 

It will put young New Zealanders at the very centre of learning. 

Effective integration of digital technology with teaching can significantly improve educational success, particularly for previously disengaged and underperforming students.

Digital literacy is an increasingly important skill in the modern world.  With the right policies and environment, we have an opportunity to help the next generation of New Zealanders become the most digitally literate in the world.

Concluding Remarks

Across the education system, we are taking action to make it work for all of our students.  But it cannot, will not, and should not work without you. 

You are the pivotal part of a world class system that must continue to transform to remain at the top. This is not an easy role you have. But I respect and support your professional leadership and your pedagogical and management abilities.

As with every generation of educationalists there are challenges.  But there are also opportunities.  And there is the excitement of nation-building.

Before I leave, I thought it would be useful to put some context around some issues that arise from time and time.

I want to do some myth-busting.

Myth:  Christchurch is the model for change of school networks in other parts of the country

The reality: There may be parts of the Christchurch education rebuild that the rest of the country would benefit from.  Notably the collaboration of learning communities whether cross-sectoral such as technology or te reo Māori provision, or whole of sector neighbourhood provision from early childhood to secondary; or co-location of ancillary health and social services; or planned and shared civic amenities such as libraries and swimming pools and green spaces.

There are other parts that will not because Christchurch had a 7.1 magnitude earthquake on 4 September 2010; and the Canterbury region has since experienced more than 11,000 earthquakes and aftershocks.

The circumstances that led to a review of the schools network in Christchurch were very specific and we would not want to see those circumstances repeated.

There are no network reviews planned or on the books as it were. That does not mean that there will not be school closures.

The process of individual schools closing when there are capacity or performance issues, and there are more sustainable alternative options will continue where it is warranted. The Ministry will be looking at how to continue to improve the processes surrounding these.

There are around a hundred and fifty fewer schools in New Zealand than there were in 2000. Most of these closures took place before 2005.

The reality is that there are fewer young people than there were due to demographic change. Shifts in the structure and location of the population will continue and we will need to manage schools and access to schools to keep pace with this change.

Christchurch Statistics

There were already about 5,000 places available in greater Christchurch schools before the earthquakes, a further 4,300 students have not re-enrolled, meaning there are now 9,300 places available – that’s roughly equivalent to the entire student population of Gisborne.

Just like we won’t rebuild the CBD exactly the same, the schooling network needs to adapt to the changes in Canterbury.

More than 80 per cent, or 177 of the 215 schools in greater Christchurch, are not affected by the Government’s proposals for greater Christchurch schools.

The rebuild has provided us with an opportunity to have a look at all the schools across greater Christchurch and see what we could do better.

A number of factors have been looked at when making decisions about schools, including earthquake damage, declining rolls, population movement and future growth, building issues, school locations, and what opportunities there are to create better, more modern schools, and grow achievement for five out of five kids.

We have a chance to build brighter, more modern schools in better locations, with great new facilities, and to ensure all children are getting access to good, quality education within a close distance of where they live.


Myth:     The Government is introducing “Performance Pay”

The Government is simply interested in strengthening performance. We know that high quality teaching and strong professional leadership are crucial elements of a successful learning environment.

Our approach is to provide clear expectations around the outcomes we think the system is capable of achieving and strengthening and supporting the profession to achieve these.

While performance pay has and should be discussed as we seek ways to constantly improve our system there is no proposal at this time. However it is worth noting that the use of management units in schools, worth on average $4000 each, is indeed a way of rewarding performance.

There is a misinformed or mischievous view that the implementation of the Progression and Consistency Tool, PaCT, to assist with improving Overall teacher Judgements in relation to National Standards is intended to create the conditions for performance pay.

The reality is that the Government has implemented National Standards so that teachers and parents can have the best information available to them on student achievement through the education system, rather than in the last years of schooling when it may be too late to improve.

PaCT is being developed to help standardise and make consistent the exercise of making objective teacher judgements. This same kind of moderation process that has seen NCEA quality raise to the high standard it is and the international respect it garners. 

Myth:    The Government has an agenda to progressively privatise education in New Zealand

The only agenda the Government has is to improve the quality of teaching and raise achievement for 5 out of 5 kids in whatever kind of school parents choose to send their kids.
There are around 2,500 schools in New Zealand and the vast majority of those are State school including about 11 per cent that are integrated schools. Less than 4 per cent are independent, or private, schools.

Parents who choose to send their children to independent schools both pay taxes that fund state schools and pay the bulk of the schooling costs at the independent school. 

Since 2008, this Government has integrated into the state system, around about the same number of private schools as happened under the previous administration. There are significantly fewer private schools now, than there were in 2000. That is unfortunate given the tension to raise performance that different schools create.

New Zealand has a system of diverse schooling options. The Government is seeking to introduce a small number of partnership schools to add to the mix of schooling options.

These partnership schools will be contracted for outcomes and are funded on the same basis as other schools.

There will be no compulsion for any parent to send their child, no fees will be imposed, and no child can be turned away up to the roll cap. 

A partnership school can be closed if it does not meet its performance expectations. 

Myth – The Government intends to increase competition between schools

The reality: Our Government is interested in increasing the publicly available information on education performance by schools that are public institutions, publicly funded.

The competition that exists between schools is based on roll entitlements which are part of our system. Even so that does not, nor should it preclude collaboration that will see better use of resources, and best practice becoming common practice.

Myth - Schools are Underfunded

The reality - New Zealand is in the top five countries [of the 65 countries measured by the OECD] for the investment we make in education as a proportion of GDP. Our investment in schools is the largest part of the investment in education. 89% of Vote Education in 2012/13 is non-discretionary.

That means that it is committed to school staffing, school property, school transport and early childhood education subsidies primarily. In broad terms, for every $5 education dollars $2 go on salaries; $1 on property; $1 on operations; and $1 on extra resourcing such as professional learning and development.

Schools get their funding by way of the operational grant. They make the key decisions over how they expend that.

Over the last decade the government has made adjustments to schools operational costs over and above the costs of inflation. 

Myth:    There’s nothing wrong with the education system we have

The reality: Recent data indicates that we are not making the gains comparatively with other countries that we can and should make. New Zealand has made significant gains ranked [in 2009] seventh internationally in PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) reading and literacy proficiency levels at Year 11. However, while Pakeha were ranked second of the 65 countries.  , Maori were 34th equal and Pacific students were ranked 44th.

In TiMMS and PIRLS – international studies at primary school level, Years 5 and 8 - there are worrying signs of decline in both numeracy and literacy, and science education.

We are aiming to get 85 per cent of primary and intermediate school students at, or above, the national standards by 2017. At the moment 76 per cent of children reached or exceeded the national standard for reading, 72 per cent of children for mathematics, and 68 per cent for writing.  So, on average and indicative only out of first year reporting, 70 per cent at or above, 30 per cent below and well below.

Myth:    The Government is taking away schools power in Search and Retention - The Education Amendment Bill

No, the Bill aims to ensure schools can maintain a safe environment for kids, by setting out surrender and retention powers for schools.

The Education and Science Select Committee is about to make its recommendations and I anticipate that those will reflect the interests of the sector.

The Ministry will work with a group of education sector representatives on new rules and guidelines relating to the exercise of surrender and retention powers in schools that will complement Police guidelines.

Myth:    The Government is targeting Partnership Schools / Kura Hourua to be the models of all NZ schools

The reality: No. Partnership Schools│Kura Hourua will play their part in meeting our target of five out of five students achieving success in education. They will be established in areas where kids are currently underserved by the existing education system. 

A key feature of Partnership Schools is the greater flexibility given to sponsors (the organisations that will govern Partnership Schools) in the operation of the school, including how they manage their funding.  This will enable sponsors to use different approaches to teaching and learning, property and school organisation.

Appropriate and robust accountability measures will be critical to the success of Partnership Schools.  Partnership Schools will have a fixed-term funding contract with the Crown that will include specific school-level targets and they will be required to report on an annual basis against these.

They will also be required to report regularly to parents on the progress of their students.

I expect these schools to have strong leadership and vision, and to be held to account for raising achievement through innovative programmes that effectively engage their students.

Applications for sponsorship of Partnership Schools are currently being accepted, and will close on 16 April 2013.

An Authorisation Board has been appointed, which will provide advice and recommendations on which applications should be considered for contracts. These appointments are provisional until the passage of the Education Amendment Bill 2012.

No final decisions will be made, or contracts entered into, until the enabling legislation is passed.

All engagement with potential sponsors will be on the grounds that Partnership Schools are subject to the will of Parliament and the passing of legislation.

Thank you once again for your time.

• I’m here today to talk about our education plan. Education is a subject that’s dear to my heart and head - and indeed yours, as future employers and business associates of the generation of young New Zealanders who are coming through our education system today.

• I’ve been around the education sector for many years and as you know I have been the Education Minister for five months. I’m passionate about education and what a good education can do for our young people.

• We have an education system that is among the best in the world. It gives our students a platform to compete here at home and internationally. Four out of five kids are successfully getting the qualifications they need from school and we must celebrate their success and the professionals in our system who make that possible every day.

• But our Government’s education plan is about getting five out of five.

• E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā hau e whā.  Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa

• Good afternoon everyone, I am delighted to be here today to celebrate the official opening of the Ngāti Hine Health Trust Early Childhood Centre.

• I would like to acknowledge my colleague Hon Dr. Pita Sharples, Mayor Wayne Brown, Councillor Sally McCauley, Chief Executive Officer Ngati Hine Health Trust Rob Cooper, Trustee Atarangi Norman, Board Chair Gwen Tepania-Palmer, Board Member Johnson Davis, kaumatua, kuia, teachers, parents, tamariki and members of the community - thank you for your warm welcome.

• A considerable amount of time and work has been invested in establishing this service over the last seven years.

• I want to acknowledge and thank the people of the Kawakawa community who have given their time, energy and passion into creating this wonderful facility.

• In particular, I’d like to acknowledge:

- Ngāti Hine Health Trust Representatives - Henrietta Paraha, Maxine Shortland, Debbie Rihari, Margaret Wikaire, and Mita Tipene.

- Living and Learning Foundation Trustee Glennie Oborn, Director Michelle Pratt and Manager Nikki Prendergast.
 
- The fabulous architect - Phil Smith – for his vision and his commitment into creating this absolutely amazing building that is a whole lot more than just a building.

- And the builder - Howard Harnett – who was able to bring that vision to life

• It is a real pleasure to be here today and I hope you are all feeling very proud of the Ngāti Hine Health Trust Early Childhood Centre.

• A positive identity is further shaped through a sense of individuality and a sense of belonging and this is what early childhood centres can provide.

• Education is not just about learning facts from books.  It is about experiencing the world, embracing society and discovering who you are.

• Early childhood centres are the perfect place for your child to take their first steps beyond their home and into the outside world.

• And we know that early childhood education builds a strong foundation for a child’s ongoing education, learning and development.  Children learn lots of new skills, building on those that they learn at home and from their families and whānau. 

• Our Government’s focus is squarely on raising achievement, in particular for those groups of children who have historically under performed.

• Until our system raises the achievement for all learners, and gives them the same opportunities to participate successfully in a 21st century economy and society we cannot claim that we have a world class system. 

• But we are close. 

• With a successful partnership between parents, schools and the Government, focused unrelentingly on achievement for all, where the learner is unequivocally at the centre of the system, we can have the world class education system we want, need, and deserve.

• For our part, the Government has invested over $12billion in education (the highest ever), of which almost half is committed to the salaries of our principals and teachers - in whose hands the leadership and quality learning engagement rests. The remainder is the resource that funds school properties, transport, operations, and programmes. 

• In addition, in recognition of the modern economy that we and our learners are a part of, we have invested $1.5billion in ultra fast broadband, $160million so far in progressively upgrading school technology connections, and a further significant investment in developing a network for learning that will ensure that e-learning resources can be available to all teachers and learners.

• With the establishment of our new Future Investment Fund from the proceeds of our partial sell down of state-owned companies we will have a further $1billion to invest in learning spaces for the 21st century, real and virtual.

• We have increased funding for education every year over the last three years but we have to ensure that we are getting the best value for money.

• We are currently considering a number of options to ensure money is being spent in the best possible way to benefit the learner.

• I want to congratulate you for developing an exciting learning programme that will enrich your tamariki in the tīkanga and kawa of Ngāti Hine. I want to praise you for creating an environment that combines those three vital components for a successful future: family, education and identity. 

• It is clear to me today that your children are getting the best possible start to their education.   Thank you again for inviting me to celebrate with you on this very special day. I’m delighted now to declare the Ngāti Hine Health Trust Early Childhood Centre officially open.

Please note these are just speaking notes. You can view the Minister's full speech here at www.hekiaparata.co.nz early next week.