10. Question No. 10—Local GovernmentHon JACQUI DEAN (National—Waitaki) to the Minister of Local GovernmentQuestion No. 10—Local Government10. Hon JACQUI DEAN (National—Waitaki) to the Minister of Local Government: Does she stand by all her policies and statements?Hon NANAIA MAHUTA (Minister of Local Government): Yes.Hon Jacqui Dean: Why is the Government adding more cost to councils with the wellbeing framework when she stated in the House last week that she is planning to respond to cost pressures on councils"?Hon NANAIA MAHUTA: I reject the premise and know that councils have been working very hard to ensure that they are balancing the needs of their community with the income that they're receiving with some severe cost pressures that have been built up over a long period of time.Hon Jacqui Dean: If a council's priority is to incur no extra cost—her words—will it still be required to participate in the wellbeing framework which will incur extra cost?Hon NANAIA MAHUTA: Firstly I'm not going to be accepting words that have been taken out of context and without the full interpretation but what I can say is that there are many councils who are actually implementing the wellbeing approach in a way that balances the needs of the community as expressed by the community with what the revenue is that they're getting in with some other challenges and that's led to some really exciting outcomes.Hon Jacqui Dean: Does she consider that ratepayers would rather have their councils undertake a considerable amount of wellbeing planning or that they invest that money in new roads to ease traffic congestion?SPEAKER: I'm going to ask the member to rephrase it so it does come within the Minister's responsibility.Hon Jacqui Dean: Does she consider that ratepayers within local councils would rather have their councils undertake a considerable amount of wellbeing planning according to her wellbeing framework or invest that money in new roads to ease traffic congestion?Hon NANAIA MAHUTA: That's a pretty broad statement but what I can say is that community members in Taupō who participated in for example the Otumuheke stream enhancement project alongside the Taupō district community stakeholders mana whenua to enhance the stream for tourism value delivered a project that had community priorities whereby the council did actually work for an outcome that the community wanted. But there is more. There is Kia Puāwai in Auckland where the Manukau community worked alongside training providers to train into jobs young people that had been previously been sitting on the benefit for a very long period of time. Work and Income worked alongside them as well to get community outcomes. Those are outcomes defined by those communities where those councils worked very hard to ensure that better wellbeing outcomes could be achieved for the environment but also for people.Hon Jacqui Dean: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Thank you. I did ask a very specific question of the Minister relating to expenditure on wellbeings or expenditure on roading and the Minister didn't address that.SPEAKER: Yes and the first time the member had a crack at it I got her to rephrase it. Even the second time it ended up with "What does the Minister consider" and she certainly got quite a lot of what the Minister considered some of which is outside her responsibility—so it was answered."