Transcript:

NIKKI KAYE (National—Auckland Central) : I am delighted to support the Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill. This is the third of three bills that are designed to transform Auckland and improve the lives of all Aucklanders.

I would like to start by acknowledging the huge number of Aucklanders who submitted on two of the bills. I also acknowledge the Hon Rodney Hide and the Hon John Carter for the huge amount of work they have done in this area. I acknowledge that change can be very hard. This is probably the biggest piece of reform that we have ever had in Auckland, and I acknowledge the number of people who have contacted me since we produced this revised legislation and told me that we have done a great job.

I want to remind the House of the reason the Government is carrying out this reform. Auckland is a city that does not need seven councils. Auckland needs one regional entity with one mayor and 21 local boards. The reason we need this reform in Auckland, and the reason the royal commission recognised the need for change, is that we need to have a city that is efficient in the way it delivers its infrastructure and caters for the disadvantaged. I want to address that issue.

One of the reasons I am very supportive of having one regional entity comes down to one simple question. We when we look across to South Auckland—and I have had this conversation with George Hawkins—we can ask ourselves this simple question: how on earth do we expect that community to be able to deliver the kind of infrastructure it deserves with the rating base it has? We are finally delivering one rating base that will enable the major and councillors to be able to look across Auckland and deliver greater equality of opportunity. In my view, this bill will deliver greater social outcomes for Auckland.

The other area that I want to deal with, which the select committee spent a lot of time on, is the area of council-controlled organisations. I hope that members opposite have acknowledged, as many Aucklanders have acknowledged, the changes we have made in terms of transparency and accountability of these entities. In fact, these council-controlled organisations will be more accountable than other council-controlled organisations in New Zealand. We have put a number of provisions into the legislation that also enable the local body politicians to appoint directors from day one.

The key issue we faced was that we had to put an interim structure in place from day one, and, via the select committee process—and I acknowledge members opposite who were part of that process—we have managed to put in the nuts and bolts that enable the city to function from day one while also handing over power to the new local body politicians. I think we have struck that balance really well.

The other issue I will deal with, which the select committee dealt with, is the issue of greater participation for youth within Auckland. We have done something quite special within this legislation. Many submitters said they did not feel that they had a voice within the city. We have put within the legislation a clause that makes the mayor have to recognise, consult, and engage with people who are too young to vote. So I am very proud. I worked on that piece of the legislation. I am very proud that one of the youngest cities in the world will now have a mechanism that will enable youth to be better engaged in the process.

NIKKI KAYE: The member talks about a youth council. I want to address that. There are two reasons why we did not put the structure formally within the legislation. Firstly, I would ask members opposite to develop a selection clause that would have enabled youth to be selected. That is a very difficult thing that we would have had to do. Secondly, we wanted to leave that up to the new local-body politicians, because part of the balance of this bill has been that we put in what we need to enable the city to function while not directing local body politicians too much.

The third area I want to talk about, which I am very excited about, is that we will have greater environmental responsibility in Auckland, finally. There will be one regional entity responsible for things like stormwater drains, and there will also, finally, be a spatial plan. I commend the select committee members for recognising the fact that now the spatial plan has a reference to economic, social, cultural, and environmental issues in terms of Auckland. We will finally get planning that represents the holistic view of local government in Auckland. I think that is very significant, and I have had great feedback about that part of the bill.

I also acknowledge the many submitters who talked about the cultural fabric of Auckland. I think we acknowledged that, as I said, within the spatial plan. But we also acknowledged that by this Government recognising that it would carry on the provisions of the Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Act. My predecessor, the Hon Judith Tizard, deserves the credit for that legislation. The select committee had many submitters who were concerned that that would not carry through, so I am proud that we have delivered it for those submitters.

The fifth issue, and, I think, the most important, is about having accountability, transparency, and efficiency in terms of public money. That is what we are doing by not having as much duplication across Auckland. What we are delivering, actually, is a system that has greater accountability and transparency in terms of council-controlled organisations. We are delivering a system that will enable Auckland to finally reach its potential from a cultural and a social perspective. We are delivering a system that will have greater environmental responsibility.

One of the biggest issues the select committee faced was the line between what is regional and what is local. I have thought about this quite a lot. Members opposite criticised us for not putting the functions and powers in legislation. The difficulty that we have—and it was raised by another member today—concerns how we distinguish between what is right for Waiheke, what is right for the central business district, or what is right for Waitakere. We have said that the Auckland Transitional Authority will make those initial allocations and that the new Auckland Council will be prevented from changing those allocations except to add extra functions or powers for a period of time to ensure that those local communities are protected and can live up to their potential in terms of diversity. I am very proud of that.

I say to members opposite, who have finally acknowledged within the select committee report that they support one regional entity, that I assume they now support the local boards. Even though their position has changed dramatically throughout this whole process, because Mr Twyford is leading the charge for them, they are finally acknowledging that they actually support the basic tenants of the system. They have issues about the council-controlled organisations, but I think that it is really important for people out there, particularly in Auckland, to recognise that 80 percent of the Parliament supports the basic structure of this legislation.

I am very pleased, as I have said, that we are delivering a system that will give greater local democracy for Auckland. We are delivering a system that will have greater efficiency and transparency of people’s rates through one regional entity. We are delivering a system that will have greater potential for the cultural fabric of Auckland. We are delivering greater environmental responsibility.

I want to mention a couple of things that we will not take responsibility for, because I think it is really important for Aucklanders to recognise this. We can put the structure in place, but what also matters, and what I have not heard many members talk about this afternoon, is the people. There will be some people who will step up for Auckland. We can put the legislation in place. I hope that many Aucklanders take the opportunity to stand for council or to stand for a local board position—and I already know of a number who are looking at putting themselves forward—because they are important too.

What also became very clear throughout the select committee process was that regardless of what we do in terms of the legislation, there are thousands of Aucklanders who give their time in a voluntary capacity to support community groups, to support local government, and to support projects with in their region. I acknowledge them. I acknowledge all the people who have been involved in this process.

I think this is a really exciting time for Auckland. It is a time of opportunity. It is a new era of local government for Auckland. I think that people have realised that we have listened, we have made significant changes to the legislation, and that, finally, Auckland will get one regional entity delivering strong infrastructure across the city, and strong, empowered local boards. We will finally get the Auckland we deserve—a greater Auckland.