Debate on Crown Entities, Public Organisations, and State Enterprises — Tertiary Education Commission

It is a pleasure to talk about the achievements of the Government and the Tertiary Education Commission at this particular time. Just for those who are listening, we are talking about the Tertiary Education Commission, which fundamentally provides the stakeholder funds to the universities, the wānangas, the private training establishments, the industry training organisations, and the polytechs. It has been very important to appreciate that on coming into Government, National recognised that that area was grossly over-supported but without the products and results coming out. So the Government is to be commended for the wonderful job that it has done in focusing especially the training providers into being accountable to the taxpayer for the dollars that are invested in there—the better part of $2 billion. That has been the work of the Government and the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment in focusing those particular providers on the job at hand.

It is very important that the taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and that the intention of the tertiary education strategy is implemented, and we certainly see that over the last two Budgets that has certainly been the case: further improvement. I cast my mind back to when I heard a comment in one of the interviews that we had with the Minister with regard to how much more blood you can screw out of a stone. I thought to myself: “What a wonderful analogy.” That is the difference between the Opposition and the Government. The Government, on this side of the Chamber, has extracted better value for the taxpayer dollar out of the tertiary education sector—not only in one area but across the whole gambit within the Tertiary Education Commission. It is also focused very much on what the Government can do to pull levers to stimulate and attract people into those areas that are very important for the continual growth in science and innovation of our economy. That is what it has been doing.

There has been further investment in those “STEM” subjects—the sciences, the technologies, the engineering, and the mathematics. All those things are certainly opportunities that should not be missed. We have heard a lot of dialogue today about how we are potentially missing opportunities. I would put it to the House that, in actual fact, the missed opportunities all happened long before National took office in this National-led Government.

In respect of innovation, we talked about Callaghan Innovation, but one of the innovations that is happening inside the Tertiary Education Commission and funded by the Government is the establishment of the information and communications technology graduation schools. These are going to be established in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch. They are really good strong partnerships with business. These will create internships and research with high-tech firms. It is certainly that indication that we are moving into that really connected environment—that digital environment—and as a country, it just underlines the principle that for us to maintain our standing in the OECD, as was referred to previously, every New Zealander needs the best possible education. It is a very long continuum, but at the top end of it, the Tertiary Education Commission has been greatly improved and refined. The accuracy and the accountability have been improved. We have only to look at the industry training organisations where the Minister has focused on with legislation to add transparency, accountability, and refinement so that we get better outcomes for those stakeholder tax-funded activities.

But just to elaborate, one particular area that the Government will be incredibly satisfied with is the apprenticeship reboot situation. It has moved from a provider-based training situation, which occurred immediately after the Christchurch earthquakes, where there were an amazing number of provisions for people to take up opportunities for training, whether at the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology or with the Southern Institute of Technology or whatever—all of those polytechs. Well, what we are now seeing with the growth in the economy, with the growth in Auckland, with the growth in Christchurch, and with the growth in the regions is a far greater uptake of employer-based training. So that is your genuine apprenticeship training model, and it is wonderful to see that we have increased that spending by $70 million. This is all very good and it shows that we have got a very appropriately balanced Tertiary Education Commission.

Kia ora, Mr Chairman. The Education and Science Committee’s report on the Tertiary Education Commission made an important point about how the Tertiary Education Commission is having to cope with ongoing cuts to tertiary sector funding rather than manage a stronger budget for the sector. The sector is crying out for support at a time when we have record numbers of young people leaving for Australia, record numbers of unemployed young people, and a refusal by the Government to properly fund tertiary education for those still living here in Aotearoa.

That is why it is important that in considering this report on the Tertiary Education Commission we also consider the research that tells us how the lack of access to tertiary education defines the future for many of our young people. It is research that tells us that high fees stop many from thinking that they can aspire to a tertiary education, from even bothering to enrol, and from signing on for longer and more costly degree-length courses, even though they know that that is the pathway to better employment opportunities. It is research that tells us that many crippled by student debt leave as soon as they graduate to escape a life of indebtedness, or drop out early because of the heavy financial commitments of tertiary study. Sadly enough, it is research that tells us what most of us already know but many of us refuse to acknowledge, and that is that these problems are ever more complex and far more damaging for Māori, Pasifika, and for those who grow up in communities where poverty is the norm.

That is why it is important that we say that if we want New Zealand to become a genuine player in world affairs, then instead of trying to bribe our way on to the United Nations Security Council, and instead of throwing even more money at Team New Zealand after already blowing $90 million on two failed campaigns to date, and instead of constantly cutting funds to what was once a leading international tertiary sector, perhaps we should be overhauling our whole education system and rebuilding it based on a full commitment to free education. That would show our young people that we want them to grow here, to learn here, to live here, to work here, and to invest here, and that we are happy to invest in them, because we know that an investment in them is an investment in us all.

Of course, we know that education is a public right, and something that should be paid for from the public purse, and that Aotearoa is a better nation with an educated population. We know that student debt is a huge deterrent to people taking up tertiary study and a massive burden in a low-wage economy like ours. We know that we need to be tapping into the nation’s intelligence, to become innovators rather than mere consumers for the world’s multinationals, and that without a culture of free education we shall become nothing more than the zombies of the world—the dull and dimwitted slaves to a rich, powerful, and ever greedier elite. That is why we need to increase access to our tertiary institutions, to convince parents that their children can get into those places, and to get our young people to believe that tertiary education really is available to everyone, regardless of the colour of their wallets.

That is why one of Mana’s very first policies is free education, a position also promoted by our partners in the Internet Party, and a position based on our absolute belief that our young people are worth every cent of our investment. That is why we say this. Drop the decision to shut down student associations, and let them continue to be voices for change, campaigners for student rights, and advocates for freethinking. Dump the plan to remove students, staff, and community members from tertiary governance bodies, and let them continue to be the voices of their communities. Write off student debt, as the first step in our investment in our own future, provide a proper living student allowance for all tertiary students, scrap tertiary fees, and challenge ourselves to create a world that we want for all of our young people, not just those who can afford it. Yes, we know that this approach will cost us, but in the final analysis, Mana still says yes, and absolutely yes, because we absolutely believe that our young people will be worth every single cent. Kia ora tātou.

I just want to make a short contribution in terms of some of the comments made by the honourable member Hone Harawira. Firstly, it is important to note that funding has not been cut to the tertiary education sector. In fact, the increase in investment in public tertiary institutions since 2008 is 14 percent, and the increase in the university sector since 2008 is 18.6 percent. It is also important for him to note that the number of qualifications granted by the New Zealand system has been growing very strongly as a result of our focus on results. We are now up to 162,000 qualifications achieved in the 2012 year and also significantly the highest level of qualifications at the degree level and above, at around 25,000. The other good news, given his references to struggles for young Māori and Pasifika, is that the numbers of young Māori and Pasifika people studying at university have gone up by around 3,000 each, from memory. That is good news as well; it is a significant increase.

In terms of the cost of student loans to individuals, they are currently paying them back, if they stay in the country, in around 6 to 7 years on average. I think the member pretty much nailed a multibillion-dollar increase in expenditure in the tertiary sector in that short speech, including writing off student loans, a much larger student allowance, and free tertiary education for all, so he might need to cuddle up with the Greens and their money-printing machine, but at least it will be a 3-D printer, and I suppose that is positive.

The New Zealand tertiary education system is very high performing. It does a very good job for students. It actually covers 70 percent of the cost of their tuition. It provides student loans, which are then written off, because there is no interest—of around 40 percent—on student loans if you stay in the country, and of course there are also student allowances available for many students as well. It is a very generous student support system, given the private benefits that are obtained from tertiary education, for example. The slight irony of Mr Harawira commenting about this is that tertiary graduates achieve an income roughly about 50 percent of premium over those who never go to university. The irony of making those who never go to university pay for those who do seems a little bit strange. But of course, this is a contest of ideas, and that is appropriate.

The other point that I would make in closing is that, as I say, we have a very strongly performing tertiary sector that is delivering great results and we are working to improve it further, with a particular interest in some of the skilled areas like information and communications technology, engineering, science, and agriculture, where we definitely need more people, and that is a programme that is continuing. I think that the Tertiary Education Commission is doing a good job. It is always a work in progress, but I think Mr Harawira needs to go and look at some of the facts about the performance that we are achieving in the sector. Thank you.

Report noted.

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