5. Hon BILL ENGLISH (National—Clutha-Southland) Link to this
to the Minister of Education
Does he still agree that “comprehensive environmental education from early childhood to tertiary will leave today’s children in a much better position to deal with the very serious issues of climate change, scarce oil resources, and environmental degradation, which sadly are our legacy and the legacy of the previous generations”?
If the Minister agrees with that statement and with the aim of the Government to achieve carbon neutrality, why has his ministry instructed the board of Clydevale School to remove from the plans for its new school all the environmentally sustainable features, such as solar heating, high-grade batts, double-glazed windows, natural-light roofing, and a wood-pallet burner?
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA Link to this
I am not too sure of the detail, but if that member is prepared to send me the detail, we will certainly look into it.
Dr Ashraf Choudhary Link to this
What is the Government doing to support environmental education, in light of the cooperation agreement of the Labour-led Government and the Green Party, and given the need for a bipartisan approach to the issues?
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA Link to this
This Government is committed to lasting and progressive policies in this area. In this year’s Budget we announced $13 million over 4 years for environmental education—something that is short on that side. The funding will be used in the following areas: $7.4 million for education for sustainability; $4.6 million for Enviroschools; and $800,000 for immersion and kaupapa schools.
Hon Brian Donnelly Link to this
Will the Minister confirm that no learning area in the curriculum framework is specifically allocated to environmental studies, that any such curriculum has to be integrated across the existing areas, and that any comprehensive environmental education programme can be determined only at a local school or centre level, and cannot be dictated by the Government?
Is not the Government’s programme of spending $13 million on environmental education a total waste of time, when the Ministry of Education advised the Clydevale School when it was drawing up its plans to identify and verify spending on innovation and energy efficiency components of the budget, then, when the school had done that, turned round and instructed it to remove all those features from the design?
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA Link to this
As I said earlier on, send us the details and we will discuss it. However, on the first part of his question, I tell that member that the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Morgan Williams, said that this funding is a significant increase, and that he is delighted to see education for sustainability recognised. The World Wide Fund for Nature New Zealand has also welcomed the investment, saying that this funding will give schools much-needed resources for environmental education. It is a great policy.
Why should the public take seriously the Government’s commitment to carbon neutrality when it builds coal-fired power stations and refuses to build hydro ones; when it has achieved, for the first time in decades, more trees cut down than trees planted; and when it is instructing people who are doing their best to build a new school in one of the colder parts of the country to remove the high-grade batts, the solar heating, the double-glazed windows, the wood-pallet burner, and the natural-light roofing?
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA Link to this
This Government would put its record, in the sense of environmental management, up against the record of that lot opposite. They are the same lot who brought in the land development encouragement loan that encouraged people to cut down native bush and remove trees from steep country for stock units, then they all went along and invested in forestry. That is what they did.
In the light of the apparent inconsistency between the Government’s environmental objectives and its plans for new schools, can the Minister make a commitment here and now, in order to demonstrate some sincerity about the Prime Minister’s speech, that he will allow Clydevale School to include solar-heating panels, high-grade batts, double-glazed windows, a wood-pallet burner, and natural-light roofing in the plans for the new school, which it desperately needs to get under way?
Madam SPEAKERWould the Minister please be seated. The Minister is entitled to be heard, so would members please lower the level of their interjections.
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA Link to this
Wise Ministers do not make rash and superficial decisions. But what I am prepared to say is that I will ask the Minister of Education to look into it.