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Tolley: Not My Policy But I'll Give It Half A Billion

Friday 10 June 2011, 8:43AM

By Heather Roy

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ACT New Zealand MP Hon Heather Roy today criticised Education Minister Hon Anne Tolley for her failure to answer what spending half a billion dollars on early childhood education would actually achieve when asked in the House today.

“Early childhood education spending has trebled since 2004 yet the number of children starting school with an early childhood education increased by only one percent. The Government has failed to learn from this and announced in Budget 2011 that they intend to spend another $550 million on early childhood education over the next four years,” Mrs Roy said.

“My colleague Sir Roger Douglas and I asked Mrs Tolley what was caring about imposing marginal tax rates of 53 to 102 cents in the dollar for low income earners to subsidise early childhood education for high income earners. Her only response was to avoid the question by stating that ‘this Government does not have any policy of 20 hours free’.

“Mrs Tolley’s lack of answer was an embarrassing admission that, despite not agreeing with the structure of early childhood education while in opposition, National is now going to throw half a billion dollars at it.

“Universal funding of early childhood education means that all too often children in the poorest areas miss out on funding. ACT has called for early childhood funding to be targeted to those most in need.

“National has recently labelled ACT as extreme. If it is considered extreme to want funding to go to those who need early childhood support, then ACT is guilty as charged,” Mrs Roy said.