Nikki Kaye questions Education Minister over school donation election promise

May 22, 2018

The government was questioned over a Labour Party election promise during Question Time today, after previously promising to scrap voluntary school donations in their first Budget.

National's education spokesperson Nikki Kaye asked Education Minister Chris Hipkins, "Does he stand by all his promises in education; and if so, does he agree with Labour's Education spokesperson, Chris Hipkins, who said on the morning of 26 October 2017, that the end of school donations will be in his first Budget?"

In July last year, Labour pledged to end voluntary school donations under a $4 billion revitalisation of the education sector. It was not included in Budget 2018. 

"In answer to the first part of the question, yes," Mr Hipkins said.

"In answer to the second part of the question, as Minister of Education I've been clear that the commitments in the Speech from the Throne, the coalition agreement, and the confidence and supply agreement would all be considered as part of the first and subsequent Budget processes."

"Budget 2018 marks the biggest increase in education spending in over a decade. However, it will take some time to deal with the nine years of neglect we inherited."

The government put $1.6 billion into education operating costs and $334 million into capital in Budget 2018. 

Ms Kaye asked Mr Hipkins: "Is he telling this House that on the morning that he was sworn in as a Minister, where he committed to end school donations, it's not valid because he hadn't signed his ministerial warrant; if so, are all promises that he made prior to signing this warrant invalid?"

"Budget 2018 had to accommodate the largest cost pressures due to population growth in several decades," Mr Hipkins replied. 

"We are not happy to leave kids in corridors, libraries, and gymnasiums because their schools don't have classrooms to put them in and because we cannot recruit teachers to put in their classrooms because of the neglect that we inherited from the previous Government. That does not mean that we are not going to deliver on those commitments. To quote Rachel Hunter, 'It won't happen overnight, but it will happen''."

SHARE ME

More Stories