Urgent Debates Declined — Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust Board—Audit and Terms of Reference

I have received a letter from the Hon Nanaia Mahuta seeking to debate under Standing Order 386 the results of the review of the financial controls of Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust, which were released last night by the Minister of Education and the Associate Minister of Education. This is a particular case of recent occurrence involving ministerial responsibility. The test for whether a particular case requires the immediate attention of the House is a high one. The business of the House should not be set aside just because a ministerial announcement has been made. There must be an element of urgency for the matter to take precedence over other business. Although public confidence in the use of public funding is important, the announcement does not raise issues of national significance that require substantive or urgent policy change. A question has been addressed to the Associate Minister today and the House is about to embark on a general debate. In these circumstances I am not persuaded that the matter deserves the immediate attention of the House today. The application is therefore declined.