Nikki Kaye

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.

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NIKKI KAYE (National—Auckland Central) : I am very pleased to support the Statutes Amendment Bill. Firstly I acknowledge members opposite and my members on the Government Administration Committee. I noticed that the chairperson of the committee was not here earlier; I know how much he has been dying to speak on this bill. Unfortunately, I have the wonderful opportunity to do that. I also note that we have had 196 very interesting amendments.

Hon Paula Bennett: Go through them all!

NIKKI KAYE: I would love to go through them all, but I do not have the time to do that. I also note that one of the wonderful things about Statutes Amendment bills is that they bring people together. The reason that they do is that we actually cannot disagree, because if we do, the clause in question drops out. It is a lovely moment being on the Government Administration Committee.

I will deal with a couple of things that the previous Labour speaker mentioned. The decision on clause 156(2)—to not have to reprint the bill—was a really good one by the committee. I also acknowledge that clause 196(1) regarding the validity of wills will be dealt with, I think, during the Committee stage in the House. There are a number of amendments that it is very important that the House scrutinise, but they are not controversial. They include amendments to the Electoral Act, the Juries Amendment Act, and the Copyright Act. I commend this bill to the House.

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.

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30th November
Safe Cycling Speech
(not delivered word for word)
Auckland Regional Council Chamber

Good morning. It is a pleasure to be here. Before I start I would like to publicly acknowledge Trevor Mallard who did a superb time at the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge yesterday of 4hr and 59 minutes. Notice that I congratulated him on a superb time but that does not mean if I hadn’t fallen off my bike I wouldn’t have beaten him.

I want to thank Roadsafe Auckland for inviting me to speak to day and I want to acknowledge the people and organisations in the room including Barb Cuthbert from Cycle Action Auckland who are doing their bit to improve cycle safety in Auckland. I think we all are here because we know there is a problem. It is not just recent events on Tamaki drive that have highlighted this. » Continue Reading

NIKKI KAYE (National—Auckland Central) to the Minister of Transport: What progress has the Government made on progressing the Victoria Park road of national significance?

Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister of Transport) : I am pleased to report that last week I turned the first sod on construction of the new, $400 million Victoria Park project, which is the first road of national significance project to get under way. This is also one of the first projects to benefit from the Government’s decision to increase State highway construction funding by $1 billion over the next 3 years. It provides further certainty in an important and vulnerable time for the construction industry. I am pleased to report that the project is expected to employ 450 people: 350 directly on-site, and a further 100 in downstream jobs.

Nikki Kaye: What long-term economic benefits will the Victoria Park project provide?

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NIKKI KAYE (National—Auckland Central) : I am delighted to speak in the first reading debate on the Borders (Customs, Excise, and Tariff) Processing Bill. I am particularly delighted that it will be going to the Government Administration Committee, and I look forward to deliberating with other members on that committee.

The purpose of the bill, as has been mentioned by many other speakers, is to improve security at our borders. I want to touch on a point that was incorrectly stated by a number of Labour members. » Continue Reading

NIKKI KAYE (National—Auckland Central) : I do not believe that anyone in this House is disputing the devastating effects that methamphetamine is having on so many New Zealanders. Some estimate the cost of this drug to New Zealand as being in the billions.

The cost is in what we pay out to help the victims of meth crime. The cost is in our health system, and the rehabilitation and treatment for meth addicts. The cost is in the prisons and in the police officers that we need to fight this drug. But the more difficult cost to measure by far is the personal cost to so many New Zealand families. How do we measure the personal cost to the father or mother who has spent months cleaning up the trail of destruction that their son or daughter has caused as a result of this drug? » Continue Reading

NIKKI KAYE (National—Auckland Central) : Why is the Opposition so grumpy that it cannot acknowledge a bit of good news? Today we have seen a spark in the New Zealand economy. The boat, or perhaps the bike, as Opposition members might prefer to call it, is going slightly faster, with GDP data showing that the economy grew 0.1 percent in the June quarter. Although it is a positive sign, it is really important that we do not get ahead of ourselves. For many New Zealanders, particularly young New Zealanders, the measure of a good economy is having a job to turn up to on Monday or a regular pay check for their family. That is why young Kiwis are taking up our Job Ops package. Over 1,200 young people are being offered opportunities as a direct result of that scheme. Today’s result is positive. » Continue Reading

NIKKI KAYE (National—Auckland Central) : Auckland is an incredibly gifted city, with a third of New Zealand’s population and a unique and diverse people and geography. Auckland has the stunning Hauraki Gulf, many bayside beaches, and New Zealand’s largest business district. How we better engage with people who are younger and of different ethnicities will be very important in the future. The reform of Auckland’s local government will help us put a structure in place that will help deliver this engagement. » Continue Reading