Carter John: Local Government (Auckland Council) Bill — Second Reading Procedure In Committee 
Carter John: Local Government (Auckland Council) Bill — Second Reading Procedure In Committee 
[Volume:657;Page:6375] 
Hon JOHN CARTER (Associate Minister of Local Government) 
: 
 I really really need to respond to that member Sue Kedgley. The first question I have to ask myself is why she does not speak to the person in the bench next to her Sue Bradford who actually supports exactly what the Auckland Governance Legislation Committee did along with the Labour Party and along with every other party represented on the select committee. We worked hard. I hope she is listening and not listening to Phil Twyford who supports what we did in the Local Government (Auckland Council) Bill in this regard. I draw to Sue Kedgley’s attention the fact that the select committee was unanimous. I really need Sue Kedgley to listen to this; I wonder whether Phil Twyford will allow Sue Kedgley to listen to me. The fact is that the whole select committee unanimously backed this part of the legislation. 
Let me explain to Sue Kedgley and to some others who did not listen—such as Andrew Williams Bob Harvey and a journalist called Bernard Orsman who just did not want to understand what is happening—how this works. The Auckland Transition Agency has the responsibility come 2010— 
The CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy) 
: The member Phil Twyford cannot stand in the aisle and conduct a discussion. There is another way for him to do that. 
Hon JOHN CARTER 
: Thank you Mr Chairman for interrupting. You can interrupt me any time you wish. The fact is that in 2010 or before once the Local Government Commission has made its decision about how many boards there are and where they are it will look at those functions. I say to Sue Kedgley that Waiheke Island is a classic example or Papakura if it gets to be a board. The Auckland Transition Agency will then look and ask what the current functions of the Papakura District Council are and what current functions the Auckland City Council carries out on behalf of Waiheke Island. These are the sorts of questions that Sue Bradford asked in the select committee because she wanted to be convinced that the legislation was right. These are the very questions she asked. The answer she got was that the Auckland Transition Agency will look and say what Auckland City Council currently carries out for Waiheke Island or Papakura or wherever it might be—for example Devonport. The local boards will be allocated those functions by the Auckland Transition Agency. 
Alongside those functions the boards will be given a budget to cover the cost. Sue Bradford the Labour Party the National Party and the Maori Party all questioned to make sure we got that right. So the fact is that those functions will be allocated to the local boards. Once they are allocated they become the domain of the local boards; the unitary authority cannot take those functions off them. For example if there happens to be a Manukau local board in whatever form and one of the things that is allocated to the Manukau local board is its swimming pool and the fact that it is a free swimming pool it will become the domain of the Manukau local board. I tell Ross Robertson to listen because he really needs to understand this. It is really important. His party supported this so he needs to understand why it did. George Hawkins Su’a William Sio and Phil Twyford supported it. The whole committee supported it. The Manukau local board gets allocated the responsibility of looking after the Manukau swimming pool. It gets funds to allocate it. The local board then makes the decision as to whether access is free. The local board makes that decision not the unitary authority. 
As things progress the unitary authority carries out the regional functions that it is responsible for and if for some reason the regional authority or the unitary authority decides that it should have a say in what happens then it has to be by negotiation. If the local boards say that they will carry on doing their swimming pool or those functions that Waiheke Island has been allocated or if the Papakura local board says it will carry on doing what it is doing then the unitary authority cannot interfere with those responsibilities and functions. That is what Sue Kedgley’s colleague sitting next to her Sue Bradford ensured happened. Sue Kedgley needs to read the whole bill. She can wave it round as much as she likes. I will take my jacket off and wave that round—it means about as much. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy) 
: No you won’t. 
Hon JOHN CARTER 
: I am trying to explain to the member how the bill actually works. In fact if it helps I will take a lot more off and wave everything round and see if that helps her understand what is going on. 
The point is that we have made very clear steps to ensure that the local functions that the local boards want to have are granted to them that those functions are funded and that the boards have the ability to carry them out. Regardless of what the member thinks she is reading here I say she should talk to her bench mate Sue Bradford. She will tell her; she questioned the officials time and time again. I tell Sue Kedgley to talk to the Labour members; they questioned the officials time and time again. So did we on this side of the Chamber to make sure that we got it right. When we came to vote on the provision it was unanimous because we know that we are empowering the boards and that is what the people of Auckland wanted to happen. That is what the Minister of Local Government said would happen. That is what I said would happen. That is what the select committee said would happen. That is what will happen. The people in the communities will have their voice. The people in the communities will have their local democracy. The people will have their heart. That is what they asked for and that is what they will get. 
I say to Sue Kedgley that I understand that if one reads this bill by itself one could misinterpret it. I understand why Bernard Orsman actually misunderstood it. Having read it for 10 minutes—I know he is a clever journalist—he suddenly realised that the Labour Party had got it wrong the Green Party had got it wrong the Maori Party had got it wrong the National Party had got it wrong the select committee had got it wrong the officials had got it wrong—[ 
Interruption 
] No Bernard Orsman was right just the same as Sue Kedgley says she is right! Funnily enough everyone who had been working on it for all those months—all the select committee members the Labour Party the Green Party the Maori Party and the National Party—had apparently got it wrong according to Bernard and Sue Kedgley. 
I say to her to Bernard and to those others to please understand that we will be allocating functions to the local boards; the Auckland Transition Agency will do that. They will then allocate the funding to allow them to carry those functions out. The unitary authority cannot interfere with those responsibilities unless it is by agreement. If it tries to interfere it actually goes against the principles of the bill which are most important and it can be taken to court. But I tell the member that in order to ensure that a whole lot of litigation and ratepayer money will not be wasted we will in the third bill put in a disputes tribunal that will rule on those instances. That is what the member’s colleague on her bench asked to make sure would happen. She was assured that it would happen. I know it will happen. The Minister said it would happen. I will make it happen. The select committee will make it happen. 
I ask members in this Chamber to please understand that these boards are empowered. They are not weak-kneed. They will have the right and the responsibility to represent their communities because that is what Aucklanders have wanted. That is what we will give them. The most important thing we could do while we had the regional structure in place to look after those regional issues was to ensure that the heart of Auckland was looked after retained and allowed to get on with its life. We have made sure that that has happened. I tell the member not to misread the bill and not to misrepresent what is happening because we have given the boards more power than they ever thought they were going to get. They will do such a good job for their communities. 
The member can wave the bill round as much as she likes and I will wave anything she wants me to wave at her. But I tell Sue Kedgley to understand and to talk to her bench mate because it was unanimous at the committee. There is more work to be done but by the time those local boards get out there they will do everything their community wants them to do. They will have the money to do it and they will have the muscle to do it. That is what this bill is all about. That is what the select committee has brought back to this Committee. It is what Aucklanders wanted and it is what they will get. Thank you.