10. SUE MORONEY (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister of Education
Does she stand by her recent statement to the House that she has no responsibility for decisions that early childhood education services make as a result of her removal of the subsidy for 80 to 100 percent qualified staff?
Hon ANNE TOLLEY (Minister of Education) Link to this
Yes. The decisions that services make in response to this reprioritisation are their own responsibility, and they have a number of options available to them. I take responsibility for the decision to reprioritise the funding from the two highest teacher-led early childhood subsidy bands towards raising participation, because those groups were failed by the previous Government.
Who is responsible, then, for the $2.7 million funding cut for ABC Learning Centres throughout New Zealand, affecting 8,000 children and their families?
As I just said in the previous answer, I take responsibility for the decision to reprioritise the funding away from those two top teacher-led bands and into increasing participation for children who are not currently attending early childhood education. The Opposition fails to grasp that the spending on early childhood education has more than trebled in the last 10 years, yet participation has not grown commensurately.
Su’a William SioIs she responsible for the $95,000 per annum funding cut for the Māngere Living and Learning Family Centre, which affects 113 children, 98 percent of whom are Māori and Pasifika?
Yes, I have said that I am responsible for changing the funding for the top two bands in teacher-led services, but those services have a range of choices that they can make. Those choices include meeting this Government’s 80 percent requirement for qualified teachers, changing the services they deliver, or changing the hours of their services. They have a range of decisions, and that is their responsibility.
Louise UpstonWhat has the reprioritisation of the funding for the 80 to 100 percent qualified staff in early childhood education services allowed the Government to do?
We have to do more to increase participation in early childhood education. Despite the spending growing by 300 percent, the previous Government increased the numbers of children attending education before they go to school by less than 1 percentage point—300 percent more for less than 1 percentage point. Reprioritising those two top funding bands has allowed us to invest an extra $91.8 million over 4 years for a package to boost participation among groups that are currently missing out.
Moana MackeyIs she saying that the Gisborne YMCA should be grateful that as a best-case scenario it will lose $186,000 per annum in funding, and that the Papamoa East community should be grateful that a kindergarten for 50 families that was planning to go ahead is no longer happening, because of her funding cuts?
I am saying to those services that they have 8 months before the changes are made, and they have a range of options to meet those funding changes. They can make those decisions; I suggest they talk to the parents who use their services. I would be really disappointed if the first thing they did was increase their charges.
Does she accept responsibility for the fact that a kindergarten planned for Papamoa East will now not go ahead, because of her funding cuts? Will she apologise to the 50 families who want to enrol their children at that kindergarten?
No, I do not take responsibility for decisions that that kindergarten association has made. I have taken responsibility for reprioritising the funding; the kindergarten must take responsibility, with its parents, for the decisions that it makes.
Mr SPEAKER