July 2013 Tena koutou katoa ko te wiki o te reo Mori tnei! Greetings - its Mori language week!

The theme this year is the pronunciation of names, and there is very helpful information at www.koreromaori.co.nz. All Mori words break down into syllables ending in a vowel. Once you know the vowel sounds, just break any Mori word down; P ri ru a, R u ma ti, Ka pi ti, e z pee zy

Hola! Buenas dias!

With Ana Maria Read - Manager at the Centre of Innovation and Education at Fundacion Chile

I recently returned from a successful visit to Chile where I spoke at the 13th education seminar organised by Libertad y Desarrollo in Santiago, attended by over 1,000 principals and teachers from public schools, country school managers, educationalists, and other key sector stakeholders. My presentation was on The Keys to Public Education Success in New Zealand. A copy of those notes can be found on www.hekiaparata.co.nz . It was very well received, and with significant envy of our system as a whole as well as the component parts. They have started with a focus on assuring quality so were particularly interested in our Education Review Office as well as the possibilities of our integrated, simplified, high quality NZ Qualifications Framework.

I also met with the Minister of Economy, Development and Tourism, Felix de Vicente and announced a new exchange programme, Flying Kiwis, which will see a group of 15 and 16 year-old Spanish language Kiwi students travel to Santiago later this year. It is a response to the highly-successful Chilean government-sponsored Penguins without Borders programme, which was piloted in New Zealand this year, and saw forty Chilean students come to New Zealand to live and study for two terms in the first half of the year. Another 100 students will arrive later this year.

School Visits
As you know and would expect I get around the country as much as possible to visit our schools and early childhood centres. As there are over 2,500 schools and 5,300 ECE, there is no possibility that I can get to them all. But last week I was in New Plymouth and one of the schools I visited was Waitara East Primary School where the quality of leadership and teaching and learning was on full display as was the sheer enjoyment of the kids.

Waitara East Primary School students [Photo: Taranaki Daily News]

Electorate
Electorate Survey
By now those of you living in the Mana electorate would have received a survey encouraging you to send in your thoughts and opinions. All your answers help to shape the way I can best advocate your concerns. So, thank you and if you havent yet had a chance to fill them in and get it back to us there is still time and I am looking forward to seeing all your answers.

Shine - The Porirua Education Initiative

The Shine Summit was held at Te Raupapaha Arena on 14th of June. I was unable to attend due to my presence in Chile. Officials from the Ministry of Education attended as well as a representative from my electorate office. It has been great to hear that there were theme discussions around strengthening education in Porirua and connecting students to organisations that can serve as support systems outside school. It does take a village to raise student achievement for all our children!

I look forward to hearing of further action points from the event, and to being as supportive as I can be.
You can support the initiative too by liking their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/ShinePorirua

Patrick Snedden, Chair of Manaiakalani Education

Dr Cathy Wylie, Chief Researcher, NZ Council of Education Research

Pacific Business Trust

In June, I also attended the Pacific Business Trust event Unlimited Pasifika at the Westpac Stadium.

The Porirua-based Pacific Business Trust is helping Pacific businesses and entrepreneurs get off the ground and guiding them towards their goals. This support is essential to their success. The support of the Pacific Business Trust means that new and established Pacific businesses are able to call upon the knowledge of business experts to assist them in their own business journey. I encourage you to contact them if you would like more information and ensure you visit them in their Porirua office on Parumoana Street.
For more info go to their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/PacBizTrust

Unlimited Pasifika Pacific Business Trust event: Meeting with John Fiso, Director, NZIS

Porirua Youth Award Nominations Now Open

Together with Partners Porirua and Porirua Foundation I am pleased to announce that application forms for the Porirua Youth Awards fund are available and we are looking for nominations from your school community. The awards are for young people in two age groups, 12-15 and 16-19 years; who are excelling in art and culture, education, environment and community, and sport in Porirua, as well as students who live in Porirua but study outside of the electorate. Successful applicants will receive an award of up to $1,000 to recognise their excellence, and to assist them with their future aspirations. Applications open 1 July 2013 and close 9 August 2013 and a special awards presentation event will take place 12 September 2013. Please promote this opportunity to your school community; teachers, students, their parents and families. We have had a significant focus on sport in the past year and would be keen to encourage nominations in the other categories for 2013. This fund has been established because we believe that excellence should be encouraged, and success and achievement recognised and where possible, rewarded. There are many talented young people in Porirua, and we are hopeful that the awards are one more incentive in our communities to translate that talent into action, and on to achievement.
For an application form please visit: http://www.poriruafoundation.org.nz/porirua-youth-awards

Dame Margaret Shields

I would like to pay tribute to the life and the many contributions of Dame Margaret Shields. Dame Margaret was a Cabinet Minister and represented the electorate of Kapiti which encompassed Paraparaumu, Waikanae and Raumati from 1981 to 1990. She was a prominent figure in various New Zealand social movements and her work on womens matters, on the Wellington Regional Council, as well as her commitment to the Mana and taki electorates will not be forgotten. Moe mai e kui, moe mai i ng parirau tapu a te Ariki.

UFB and Rural Broadband Rollout

Our UFB and Rural Broadband rollout is now reaching nearly 1500 schools and more than 171,000 homes and businesses. The Mana electorate is becoming better connected, with residents living in Whitby, Plimmerton and Papakowhai now able to connect to the UFB network. UFB gives people peak speeds of at least 100 Mbps, which helps to make us one of the most connected countries in the world! Our National-led government is investing $1.35 billion in delivering UFB as part of our commitment to deliver better public services. This investment in high-tech infrastructure is great news for the Mana electorate and New Zealand as a whole!
For more information regarding these changes visit: http://www.med.govt.nz/sectorsindustries/technology-communication/fast-broadband/government-action-plan-for-broadband

Education Portfolio
National Standards and Ng Whanaketanga Rumaki Mori
The latest National Standards data shows an increase in Years 1-8 achievement, particularly for Pasifika children. We have a more complete picture of education in New Zealand with the inclusion of Ng Whanaketanga Rumaki Mori information for the first time. This data is powerful for identifying and providing support to all children, and targeting professional development to teachers to continue to improve their overall judgments against the standards. Its a credit to our teaching profession to see progress being made child by child and school by school. I would like to thank teachers and school leaders for all their work and for the continuous improvement in collecting, compiling and using National Standards and Ng Whanaketanga Rumaki Mori data. Good quality data is essential if we are going to achieve a system wide lift and deliver better education services for our children, and our goal is to see 85 per cent of children at or above National Standards in 2017. Regional and individual school data will be released later in the year, and I will update you in the next panui. Without data, it is just another persons opinion. Dr Andreas Schleicher, OECD
For more information visit: http://www.hekiaparata.co.nz/index.php?/archives/443-National-Standardsand-Ng-Whanaketanga-Rumaki-Mori-data-released.html

Education Amendment Bill Passes

The Education Amendment Bill 2012 passed in Parliament this month, amending the Education Act 1989. The Amendments provide for: Clarity on search, surrender and retention to ensure schools can maintain a safe learning environment at all times. For the establishment of a new model of schooling, Partnership Schools | Kura Hourua. The primary responsibility of Boards of Trustees as ensuring all students achieve their highest possible educational standards. Assigning a National Student Number to pre-schoolers at risk of not attending quality early learning. Building of ECE on school grounds. Flexible timetabling in and by schools. Alternative constitutions for schools
For more information visit: http://www.national.org.nz/Article.aspx?ArticleId=41183

Government
Primary Growth Partnership round nine opens
The next round for Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) funding is open, and were seeking applications to join the investment of $658 million for the 13 projects currently underway. The PGP invests in major programmes of research and innovation. Its aimed at boosting New Zealands farming, forestry, and food sectors. Increasing productivity is crucial to achieve the Governments goal of doubling primary exports by 2025 especially when these projects represent a potential benefit to the wider economy of over $7 billion. Applications must be received by midday 19 September, and applicants will be advised of their proposals outcome by late November 2013.
More information visit: http://www.national.org.nz/Article.aspx?articleId=41199

Offender levy delivers more support for victims

Returns from Nationals Victims Offender Levy will put an extra $739,000 into supporting victims of crime. The extra funding will go towards piloting an enhanced homicide support service, supporting families of victims killed by a criminal act, and Rape Prevention Education. A new crime scene grant will also be introduced to support victims with accommodation costs where their homes cant be used because they are crime scenes. We are delivering on our promise to put victims first. It is critical victims get the support they need to help them recover and rebuild their lives. We are well on track to deliver our Better Public Services targets reducing crime and reoffending will mean 18,500 fewer victims of crime every year from 2017.
More information: http://www.national.org.nz/Article.aspx?articleId=41190

700 new homes for Christchurch

Our Government is building 700 new Housing New Zealand homes in Christchurch, the biggest Government house building programme in Christchurchs history. The 700 New Builds programme is the third phase of Housing NZs response to the Canterbury earthquake. The first phase was 27,000 urgent and emergency repairs, and the second is Repair 5000, involving substantial repair work to the 5000 homes economical to be repaired. The new homes will be insulated and energy efficient, they will make better use of existing land, and will be of the right size and type to meet New Zealanders needs. The 700 new homes mean a new house being built every working day from now until the end of 2015. This will boost housing supply, provide jobs, and reinforces Nationals drive to rebuild Christchurch.
For more information: http://www.national.org.nz/Article.aspx?articleId=41163

Whats Coming Up
Youth Parliament
Youth Parliament will be held on the 16th and 17th of July. I will be meeting with Liam Booth, our Mana representative to pick his brain and offer some debating tips before the big event! If you have any suggestions or words of encouragement for Liam dont hesitate to contact my office and we will pass them along. Good luck Liam!
For more information on Youth Parliament 2013 visit: http://www.myd.govt.nz/young-people/youthparliament/

Please feel free to visit my website www.hekiaparata.co.nz; where you will find my press releases and other key information. It could trigger you to provide comments or ask questions which I encourage you to do. I update my social media pages regularly with photos, press releases, questions and comments. Please follow me or add me as a friend on facebook.com/hekia.parata or Twitter @hekiaparata. Please feel free to forward my newsletter to others who may be interested. Ka mutu..

Hon Hekia Parata National List MP based in the Mana Electorate Funded by the Parliamentary Service and authorised by Hekia Parata MP, Level 1, 20 Parumoana Street, Porirua.