8. ANNE TOLLEY (National—East Coast) to the Minister of Education: Can he confirm that the truancy rate increased from 2.9 percent in 2002 to 4.1 percent in 2006 according to the Ministry of Education’s attendance, absence, and truancy reports; if so, what are the reasons for this 41 percent increase in the truancy rate?

Hon CHRIS CARTER (Minister of Education) : Yes, I can confirm those figures, but I would like to remind that member and make clear to the House that had she read the document carefully, she would have seen that it explains in very clear terms that taking a snapshot of a particular time period in the education system can distort the figures totally, with the circumstances often compounded by particular events that are happening—weather conditions, and so on. We are moving towards an electronic system, now in place in every school in New Zealand, which will give us an accurate account for the very first time of just how many students are truanting.

Anne Tolley: Why is it that despite truancy increasing by 41 percent since 2002 under Labour, we still have a Minister running a Ministry of Education who does not know how many front-line district truancy officers are actually out there dealing with truancy around New Zealand?

Hon CHRIS CARTER: Why does that member never listen to the answers; she just follows her script in front of her. As I explained a few minutes ago, taking a snapshot, year by year, of how many students are away in a particular week is not an accurate way of reading truancy. In 2006, for example, which the member makes reference to, we had the tangi of the Māori Queen in that particular week, and we also had a severe storm experience in Dunedin. Those events naturally distorted the number of students who were in school in that particular week. We are moving towards an electronic system. ENROL, our new electronic system, is now in every school. At the end of this year we will know for the very first time how many students have been away from New Zealand schools. We have invested an enormous amount of money in truancy support services. The member, of course, never gives any credit for that. All she does is read her script prepared by the National Party research unit.

Madam SPEAKER: Would the Minister like just to address the question of the number of truancy officers, which was—I think—the substance of the question.

Hon CHRIS CARTER: We have 89 district truancy services contracted to work in each of our territorial authorities. We have another six staff at the ministry who provide special support for schools.

Hon Member: “Wassup!”, Minister?

Hon CHRIS CARTER: I would like to say that what is up in our schools is that we are dealing with truancy.

Dr Ashraf Choudhary: What steps is the Government taking to ensure secondary students are more engaged in education?

Hon CHRIS CARTER: Very concrete steps have been taken. We have done a complete review of district truancy services, and school-to-work programmes like Gateway and Youth Apprenticeships have come into our schools to engage students in learning. The Schools Plus programme announced by the Prime Minister in February involves fundamental changes in secondary education. This revolution in schooling includes developing a much wider range of pathways to keep students engaged and achieving for longer. It will create stronger partnerships between schools and their communities, and provide better support for at-risk students. National’s answer might be boot camps; ours is education.

Dail Jones: Can the Minister confirm that it is absolutely vital to reduce the truancy rate of students using all means possible, because these truants tend to turn up in New Zealand prisons as inmates as early as their mid-teens at a cost of $80,000 per annum each to the taxpayer?

Hon CHRIS CARTER: I can absolutely confirm that. We need to invest in services that provide support to schools, students, and their families to keep students in education; and we have to develop an educational programme and system for the 21stcentury that engages students in learning. Boot camps are not the answer; innovative, interesting, and effective programmes are.

Anne Tolley: Is the Minister honestly telling the House that this Labour-led Government is fighting a 41 percent increase in truancy and spending $4.3 million on district truancy services every year, yet he cannot tell us how many truancy officers are on the front line fighting truancy, and he cannot give any indication as to how well the district truancy services are doing their jobs, because they do not have to report against any performance measurement?

Hon CHRIS CARTER: I thought I had already told the House how many truancy personnel we have out there. We have 89 groups contracted to our territorial authorities, we have six officials at the ministry who are dealing with case by case support for schools, we have put $2 million into the schools with the greatest risk of truancy, and we invest $4.5 million a year in district truancy services. Why does the member never listen to answers?

Anne Tolley: What sort of responsible Minister has truancy increasing in his own electorate but still does not require schools to report to the ministry the number of prosecutions they carry out each year, which means that nobody knows how many prosecutions in total are taken against parents of truant children?

Hon CHRIS CARTER: Prosecutions for truancy are the responsibility of boards of trustees. Look, truancy is a serious business. That is why we did a complete review of the services, that is why $4.5 million a year every year goes into district truancy services, and that is why we have invested $2 million more in the most at-risk schools. We have the Student Engagement Initiative running in 100 schools for $1.8 million a year, we have six full-time staff at the ministry working on this, we have the electronic attendance register now in many schools so that we know instantly every day how many students are there, and we have the $6.4 million ENROL scheme. What more does the member want? Truancy is a serious business; we are taking it seriously and we are doing something about it. Her party just wants to set up boot camps—that will really encourage kids to go to school!

Anne Tolley: Why is it that the Minister’s predecessor mused about raising fines for parents of truant children at the beginning of last year, and the Minister himself said in December last year that we should look into this, yet the Ministry of Education told the Education and Science Committee that there are no plans whatsoever to change the law and raise the fines from the ridiculously low level of a maximum of $400 for parents who allow their children to skip school repeatedly?

Hon CHRIS CARTER: We will bring an education amendment bill into the House in August. Let us hope that that member and her party support it, because it will address a whole range of issues, primarily about making the school system more effective and engaging for students’ success. I remind the House again that we have done a full review of truancy services and we have brought in all sorts of programmes, systems, and resources to try to deal with the problem. We believe in actually doing something about the problem, not giving out slogans like “Boot camps will solve truancy.”

Anne Tolley: How does his ministry plan to reduce truancy by 20 percent over the next 5 years, when although the Minister seems to know how many people are working on it in the ministry, he does not actually know how many people are out there on the front line in the offices—that is, the number of officers fighting truancy—does not know how well they are performing, and does not know how many prosecutions any or all schools throughout New Zealand are undertaking, and one can get a larger fine for littering in some areas than for allowing one’s children to repeatedly miss school?

Hon CHRIS CARTER: What I do know is that this Government has invested $4.5 million in district truancy services, which are working in every territorial authority in the country; we have put $2 million aside for extra staff to work in the most at-risk schools; we have the Student Engagement Initiative running in 100 different secondary schools in the country; we have six full-time staff at the ministry working with those schools; we have the electronic attendance register going in schools so that we know on a daily basis whether the students are there; and we have set up for the first time ever an electronic system called ENROL, which every school in New Zealand is now on. Why cannot the member just give us some credit for the actions we have taken? All she and her party have come up with is boot camps for naughty kids.

Ron Mark: Why is the Minister speaking in such derogatory terms about military-style training for young people, when currently Judge Becroft is hailing as a success the Youth Quest operation, which is run along military lines in Paraparaumu; when Graeme Dingle, who received so much funding from the Ministry of Social Development, has been asked by the ministry to assist in establishing further such programmes; when the Canterbury Youth Development Corporation is working with the Ministry of Social Development right now to set up another military-style training facility in the South Island; and when I have just heard recently of another one being proposed in Auckland? Why is this Minister the only one out of all the Ministers who seems to have such a derogatory and negative view of the Limited Service Volunteers scheme and all the good work his people are doing out there in the community?

Hon CHRIS CARTER: The initiatives the member has just raised are all excellent initiatives. Indeed, in my own electorate of Te Atatu, Kelston Boys High School runs a really good service academy. These are opportunities that students opt into. The sorts of students we are talking about here are opting out of school. These students are disengaged from learning; they have not chosen to go into the opportunities that the member raises. To drag those kids off the street and throw them into a boot camp, as the Leader of the Opposition has suggested, will not engage them in learning. We are talking about opportunities that capture the attention and interest of young people, rather than punishing them.

Ron Mark: I seek the leave of the House to table information that shows that Judge Becroft actually used Youth Quest as a sentencing option—

• Document not tabled.

Anne Tolley: I seek leave to table answers to written questions from May showing that the Minister of Education does not know the number of truancy officers who are currently employed.

Madam SPEAKER: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is objection.

Anne Tolley: I seek leave to table the Minister’s answer to a written question, showing that district truancy officers do not have to report against any performance indicators.

Madam SPEAKER: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? Yes, there is.

Anne Tolley: I seek leave to table answers to estimates questions showing that the Ministry of Education does not have any plans to change—

Madam SPEAKER: Leave is sought to table those documents. Is there any objection? Yes, there is.