Bennett Paula:  
Bennett Paula:  
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Hon PAULA BENNETT (National—Waitakere) 
: 
 It is something to be able to stand up and speak to the Local Government (Auckland Reorganisation) Bill which I obviously think is an outstanding bill that will make a positive difference to Auckland City and will actually— 
Hon Steve Chadwick 
: That member voted against the Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Bill. 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: Sorry what was that? 
Hon Steve Chadwick 
: That member voted against the Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Bill. 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: What is that sorry? The members opposite are still a bit uptight about it are they not? They are still a bit uptight about it all. 
I would like to talk about—if I might speak to the Minister in the chair—the important role of the chief executive. It is an important role. The powers of the chief executive—[ 
Interruption 
] 
The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Rick Barker) 
: We want to hear the member. I am getting a lot of aural graffiti at the moment. Interjections are OK—rare reasonable and hopefully witty—but I just cannot hear the member at this point. I invite the member to continue. 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: Thank you very much Mr Chair. It is important that we talk about the Auckland Transition Agency: exactly what it looks like what the make-up is what its functions and purposes are—which of course is what Part 3 does—and how important it really is. 
I say that in Waitakere there is just about universal approval for having one Auckland. People want to see a city that works that works for them and that actually gets them to the place where they want to be. [ 
Interruption 
] 
The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Rick Barker) 
: I say equally to members on either side of the Chamber that both my ears are ringing. I cannot hear the member. I think it is fair enough to have some interjections. I say to one interjector who was saying: “… sold you … you … you …” that that is out of order. I invite the Hon Paula Bennett to continue. 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: Thank you Mr Chair. A heated debate is going on right now on this bill—there are no two ways about it. The people of Waitakere are debating this bill at the moment and they are debating what it means to be one city. I think that that debate is a good thing and we certainly encourage them to have it. I am delighted to live in that electorate—the electorate that I serve. I take great pleasure in living there; I find it is one of the most beautiful places in the world to live in quite frankly. I choose to live there; it is my home. I do not stand up and express platitudes like members from the other side of the Chamber do; I stand up because I really believe what I say and I want to walk the talk. 
The transitional authority will see us becoming able to make the transition to what the Auckland Council truly needs to look like. We will see one city. We will see our city come together in a way that it has not. That fact has not been lost to members on this side of the Chamber. The Government certainly gets that and gets what is important. What is important is looking at how we pull a city together: how we get the transport working properly how we get the infrastructure working properly and how we get our water most of which will be coming from the beautiful hills of Waitakere of course. What is important is how we transition into one city as we move towards having one council. This part looks at the Auckland Transition Agency: what it looks like what its functions are what its powers are and what is actually needed. It was of course recommended by the royal commission that a transitional authority be set up. It said there needed to be something between now and then and it said what the transitional authority should look like. We listened to the royal commission—that is what happened. Hence this authority it to be set up. We saw what actually needed to be done and what was truly important. 
I have some big questions around the role of the chief executive. I think that is a prime role. Everyone gets caught up with the issue of who will be on the agency—and I think those are fair concerns and fair questions; I can tell members that decision will not be made lightly. But equally I think the role of the chief executive is very important. That appointee will actually have a lot of say on how we transition into one city which at the end of the day is what everyone—[ 
Interruption 
] Sorry what was that? 
Hon David Cunliffe 
: Could you explain the Christine Rankin decision? 
Hon PAULA BENNETT 
: I am delighted to talk about Aucklanders and the difference they can make in this country not just in a city like Auckland. There is no doubt that as soon as a woman with a bit of spunk stands up in this country people like to wipe her down—they like to knock her down. But the reality is that we are OK with people standing up for what they believe in—making a stand getting in there and putting their opinion forward. So I congratulate those Aucklanders who make a difference in our country who step up into different roles who actually have an opinion and are not scared to put it forward and who are not scared to have an opinion that differs from that of other people. I think that that is a fine thing. It is a fine thing for Auckland and it is a fine thing for our country and for this Parliament. Unlike the Labour Party I and other members on this side of the Chamber do not have a lot of angst about people having a different opinion from ours and we do not have a lot of angst about Labour differing from us on a few things. But I am actually struggling to find what it does differ from us on as far as this bill is concerned.