Trevor Mallard

Education Minister Anne Tolley has got herself in such a muddle trying to defend her national standards that she has misrepresented the Schools Trustees Association in Parliament, says Labour Education spokesperson Trevor Mallard.

"Association president Lorraine Kerr, obviously embarrassed through no fault of her own by Anne Tolley's assertion in Parliament that the association is 'extremely supportive' of national standards, says she needs to have a conversation with the Minister," Trevor Mallard said. "Whether it does any good having a conversation with someone like Anne Tolley is a moot point at best, but it's encouraging that Lorraine Kerr is prepared to persevere in trying to get the point across. "It seems that Anne Tolley is so fixated in her desperate search for support on national standards, that she completely misunderstood the reason Lorraine Kerr received a standing ovation at the conference," Trevor Mallard said.

"How any minister, no matter how egotistical or misguided, could interpret a standing ovation for an association president as a sign of 'extreme support' for a government policy defies rational analysis.

"The standing ovation for Lorraine Kerr acknowledged her 21 years of service as a school trustee," Trevor Mallard said. "It had nothing to do with any appreciation for Anne Tolley or her national standards.

"Anne Tolley's Alice in Wonderland version of what happened at the conference is smile and wave gone mad. It's simply nuts.

"Lorraine Kerr says she has never said boards are supportive of national standards. Ninety six percent of correspondence sent to Anne Tolley by boards from across the country shows just how concerned boards are about national standards.

"Anne Tolley is living in a fool's world, and seems hell bent on dragging our children down to her level."