Urgent Debates Declined — National Certificate of Educational Achievement—Scholarship

Jim Peters seeks to debate “the failures that have crippled the NCEA scholarship system”. The way in which the member has raised this matter does not constitute a particular case of recent occurrence, and his application is also declined.

I have also received letters from the Hon Bill English seeking to debate the release of a report concerning the introduction of the New Zealand Scholarship qualification and from the Hon Ken Shirley about a Government decision to dissolve Te Wānanga o Aotearoa. With regard to the latter, I would point out that the Government has indicated that it has begun the statutory process of dissolving the wānanga’s council, rather than the wānanga itself. Nevertheless, I accept that with both applications there is a particular case of recent occurrence involving ministerial responsibility, and I would have been inclined to allow a debate on either. Standing Order 375 states that there may be only one such debate on the same day and that if more than one matter is raised that would justify a debate, the Speaker gives priority to the matter that, in the Speaker’s opinion, is the most urgent and important. I therefore have to make a judgment as a matter of priority on which of the two applications to accept. Urgent debates on aspects of the New Zealand Scholarship were held on 9 February and 30 March. No urgent debate has been held on events at the wānanga. An application on 1 March was declined. In these circumstances, it seems to me justifiable to give priority to Mr Shirley’s application, as it relates to a matter that has not recently been debated in the House. I therefore call on him to move that the House take note of a matter of urgent importance.