NIKKI KAYE (National—Auckland Central) : I rise to speak on the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill. This bill is about delivering to New Zealanders greater transparency and accountability in local government. As MPs we often have constituents coming to us when they have issues in getting basic information from councils and when they think issues are very complex, so I am very pleased to be able to speak on this bill, because I think we will be able to do something in this Parliament to help those constituents get greater access to information.
If I could sum up this bill, I would say that this is about greater freedom of information for residents and ratepayers. Recent analysis by the Department of Internal Affairs shows that the cumulative increase in rates per head in the next 10 years will be 49 percent. We know that many ratepayers are concerned about increasing rates, so more and more New Zealanders want to know how their hard-earned money is being spent. We on this side of the House stand up for the right of those New Zealanders to have access to that information.
That is why I find it so difficult to understand members opposite and their position on this bill. They are opposed not only to New Zealanders having greater access to information and accountability on how their rates are being spent, but also to giving communities more power over that information, which could see better use of that money. So when members come to this House and talk about helping disadvantaged people, and greater transparency, it is really hard to believe them. When it comes to the crunch with a bill about transparency and delivering greater use of people’s rates, what do they do? They vote against it. It is really difficult to believe those members of the House.
As we sat through the select committee process on the legislation that changed Auckland governance, so many people came and said they could not get even basic access to information about how their rates were being spent. It is really difficult to understand the position of members opposite on this legislation.
The other point I will talk about is public debt. It is forecast to increase by 97 percent, and expenses are forecast to rise by 91 percent. We on this side of the House think it is unacceptable to have a situation where local government cannot produce transparent information about how people’s rates are being spent. Let us talk about some of the mechanisms that are within this legislation to try to achieve this greater transparency and accountability for the New Zealand taxpayer.
The first step in this bill is about a principle that says local government should operate within a fiscal envelope. As I have said before, we all know of examples of local authorities that have racked up accumulated debt in a way that has not been transparent to the New Zealand taxpayer. The other key thing, which came out during the select committee hearing of submissions on the Auckland governance legislation, is that within long-term council community plans some of these documents are hundreds of pages long. Do we on this side of the House really expect people to wade through those documents to understand how their little local project is being dealt with? Actually, that is not possible for a lot of New Zealanders.
We on this side of the House support the fact that the Minister of Local Government, the Hon Rodney Hide, and this Government are interested in making these plans simpler and clearer for people to understand. What we are trying to do is give more individual power to New Zealanders through clear and simple information about how their money is being spent. The bill also includes provisions on financial disclosures, which have to be in plain English. This ensures that simple information is available to members of our community, be they local board members within Auckland, or constituents who are able to decipher the gibberish that is being thrown up by some of these councils. I think it is important to acknowledge that this information could also be more available to some community newspapers. I have had some of them come to me and say they cannot get basic information about projects within their areas.
The other key aspect of the bill, which is very important, and I find it very interesting that members opposite do not support it, is the concept of pre-election reports. That is about saying to local body politicians that they must go into an election with greater transparent information about what the council’s financial position and commitments are. How can members opposite not support that basic level of transparency? No longer will I accept those members going around public meetings in Auckland talking about transparency and accountability, when they are voting against this bill. Under this legislation the chief executive of a local authority will have to prepare a report before each triennial election, providing information to promote public discussion on the issues facing that local authority.
The next aspect of the bill that is very important is the concept of a financial strategy. The purpose of this document is to help facilitate local authorities’ proposals for funding and expenditure by making transparent the overall effects of funding and expenditure proposals on local authority services, rates, debts, and investments. Again, this was a core principle that came through a number of submissions from people within the community who said “Look, we just want to know what our council is doing, what the debt is, and what the basic financial position is.” I find it very difficult to understand how members opposite cannot support those provisions. I also believe that the council consultation processes are unnecessarily onerous and complex, so I am really pleased that the bill will help achieve less complex consultation processes.
In conclusion, I say that this National Government is delivering legislation that is about greater transparency and accountability for the New Zealand taxpayer. I am proud to support this bill.
