Independent Schools Conference

May I begin by greeting everyone in the languages of the realm of New Zealand, in English, Māori, Cook Island Māori, Niuean, Tokelauan and New Zealand Sign Language.  Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni and as it is the afternoon (Sign)

May I specifically greet you: Peter Fergusson and Deborah James, Chair and Executive Director respectively of Independent Schools of New Zealand; Ross Scrymgeour, President of the Association of Heads of Independent Schools; Sue Britton, President of the Association of School Bursars and Administrators; Distinguished Guests otherwise ; Ladies and Gentlemen.

Thank you for inviting my wife Susan and I to attend the Independent Schools of New Zealand 17th Annual Conference here in Wellington today.

I have been asked to formally open the Conference, but before I do, I would like to speak as to the importance of the independent school system in New Zealand's wider education system, particularly in light of the current world economic situation.

I think it can be fairly said that a providing a good education sits alongside providing nourishment, warmth, shelter and love as the most important rights of the child.  Education provides the key that allows every person to unlock their potential and to be all that they can be.   Indeed, the 19th Century philosopher John Stuart Mill once quipped that: "An education ought to be very good, to justify depriving a child of its liberty." 

In turn education, and the inquiring and questioning minds it develops, provides the spark of innovation that leads to scientific discoveries and the creation of new knowledge.  Both are key drivers in our increasingly knowledge-based economy and to the foundation of a healthy civil society.

And so if education is every child's right, it follows that it is also every parent's responsibility to ensure their children get a good education.   New Zealand, like many western nations, has also seen both a societal obligation and value in education.  By law, New Zealand requires all children and teenagers to receive a primary and secondary education as well as providing, from everyone's taxes, schooling to meet those ends.

But while the State requires parents to send their children to school and provides an education system that allows that to happen, the obligation on parents to ensure their children get a good education never goes away.  As well as supporting and nurturing their child's education at home, they also have to decide which school to send their children to while some parents choose to home school their children.

In a democratic society, that fundamental choice is important.  As a child, I attended a state primary school, Richmond Rd in the Auckland inner-city suburb of Ponsonby.   But when I was a teenager, my parents chose to send me to what was then an independent secondary school, Sacred Heart College in Auckland.  Sacred Heart subsequently became a State-integrated school, but retains its special character that reflects its Catholic roots.

A healthy and vibrant independent school sector plays an important role in the wider education system.  Independent schools have a proud record of educating young people to the highest standard, and many have gone on to high profile careers in science, business, law, academia, medicine, sport and the creative industries to name but a few.  The contribution many of those alumni have made to New Zealand's society and economy has been significant.  Some independent schools are newly established, others have existed for more than 150 years.

In valuing the importance of the independent sector, I do not see the relationship as being one of competition with the state.  The education of future generations is too important for important energies to be lost on such distractions.  Rather than competing with the state sector, both the independent and state schools should complement each other.   Each brings its own perspectives and special character and insights to the education of New Zealand's young people. 

Certainly, academic staff have never viewed the sectors as rigidly demarcated.  For example, I recently had the pleasure of opening a new aquatic centre at Auckland's Diocesan School for Girls where its newly appointed principal, Heather McRae, joined the school after having been a teacher and principal at Pakuranga College, a state school.    That such moves, in both directions, are not uncommon highlights the complementary nature of the two sectors.

That complementary nature will be important in the days ahead. According to many economists, New Zealand and the world are entering one of the most difficult economic periods since the time of the Great Depression of the 1930s.  A malaise that was originally centred solely on the financial sector has spread far further.  A report earlier this year by the World Bank suggested the world economy as a whole would shrink for the first time since the end of the Second World War.

Unfortunately schools-both state and independent-are not immune from this economic turn of events.  All schools look to charitable donations to assist them in providing a better quality of education for students and in these times those funds may be harder to find.   Thinking innovatively, will require schools to look beyond monetary donations to the skills, time and effort that members of the school community can also provide.

And just as our schools are not immune from these difficulties, neither are our children.  Tensions and difficulties at home and the wider community will often be played out in the school ground and all schools and their staff will need to be especially sensitive in tackling such issues. 

More than 50 years ago, my predecessor as Governor-General, Sir Charles Lyttelton, the 10th Viscount Cobham, pointed to the heart of the education system in a speech to the then Ardmore Teachers' College.  He said: "Education of the young is a combined operation, carried out jointly and sympathetically by parents and school teachers."   It is a simple statement, but it highlights the importance of the school's role in the community and the community's role in the school.  In keeping with that fundamental point, may I urge you to work together, both within your own school communities and within the wider education sector in the days and years ahead.  Co-operation between colleagues and schools in the independent and state sectors will invariably craft responses that are more resilient than those developed in isolation.

And on that challenging note, it gives me much pleasure to declare the Independent Schools of New Zealand 2009 conference open. 

And with my official duties done, I will close in New Zealand's first language Māori, by offering everyone greetings and wishing you all good health and fortitude in your endeavours.  No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tēnā koutou katoa.