10. Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Labour—Hutt South) to the Minister of Education: What alternatives to the national standards approach, if any, did she consider before their introduction?

Hon ANNE TOLLEY (Minister of Education) : We did consider the approach from the previous Labour Government, which saw our literacy and numeracy achievements stagnate, and almost one in five students leave school without the skills they needed to succeed. We rejected that do-nothing approach in favour of national standards, which are overwhelmingly backed by parents around the country.

Hon Trevor Mallard: What reports has she received on the progress made by students under the previous Government’s literacy strategy?

Hon ANNE TOLLEY: The primary question was extremely broad. I do not have those results with me; I had no way of knowing that they would be required. But I am happy, if the member wishes to put that in a written question, to answer it.

Hon Trevor Mallard: Can she remember, from the briefings she has received, what the student gains in reading and writing were, under the literacy strategy of the previous Government?

Hon ANNE TOLLEY: My answer to that is that I am happy to answer such a detailed question in written form. I can remember the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, which showed that our readers had not progressed in the last 10 years. That coincides with the previous Labour Government’s management of education.

Hon Trevor Mallard: Can she remember receiving a briefing that indicated that students’ gains in reading and writing under the previous Government’s literacy strategy were twice those that could be expected without the intervention, and that schools had accelerated the rate of progress for the majority of at-risk students by four times the expected rate?

Hon ANNE TOLLEY: No, I did not read the Labour Party manifesto. But I do remember that it is very clear that almost one in five students—

Hon Trevor Mallard: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. My question, right at the beginning, was whether the Minister could remember a briefing. The Labour Party manifesto is not a briefing, so I ask you to ask the Minister to at least start off by answering the question.

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: The Minister said that she had not read Labour Party policy. She said that. If the member would like to ask the question again for clarification, I would be happy to accept that.

Hon Trevor Mallard: Can she remember reading a briefing to her about the previous Government’s literacy strategy, which indicated that students’ gains in reading and writing were twice what could be expected without the intervention, and that schools had accelerated the rate of progress for the majority of at-risk students by four times the expected rate?

Hon ANNE TOLLEY: What I can remember is receiving many briefings outlining that nearly one in five New Zealand students is leaving school unable to read, write, or do maths at anywhere near the levels they need to in order to succeed.

Nikki Kaye: What funding has the Government made available to support national standards?

Hon ANNE TOLLEY: The Government has provided $36 million of additional funding to support students and schools to meet the national standards. We will be announcing how we can make best use of that funding in the coming months. That funding is additional money that has been appropriated in Budget 2009. I have heard ludicrous suggestions from the education spokesperson for the Opposition that we should actually scrap that funding.

Hon Trevor Mallard: Did she read and understand the briefing to her as an incoming Minister that indicated that the previous Government’s literacy strategy resulted in student gains in reading and writing that were twice what could be expected without the intervention, and that schools accelerated the rate of progress for the majority of at-risk students by four times the expected rate? If she did read and understand that, why has she not invested more in that area, which has proven results, rather than the $62 million put into her national standards?

Hon ANNE TOLLEY: There was such a lot in that question. But, actually, New Zealand rejected that, not just me. New Zealand elected a Government that promised to introduce national standards so that every single child could read, write, and do maths when they left school. That is what the country voted for. No matter what the briefings say, no matter what the Opposition may say now, almost one in five children failed. They failed under the previous Government.

Hon Trevor Mallard: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. That was a very straightforward question about whether the Minister had considered her briefing as an incoming Minister before she made that decision. She did not address that question.

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: I believe that she did. She said that she had had many briefings, and then she went on to explain why the new Government has a different position to what the previous Government had even though there had been briefings.

Hon Trevor Mallard: I seek leave to table the document that outlines the gains made under the previous strategy, which is the briefing to incoming Minister that the Minister appears not to have read and understood.

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Leave is sought for that purpose, is there any objection? There is objection.

Hon ANNE TOLLEY: That document is already in the public domain. I released it.

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: We have just ruled on that, so the matter is finished.