O'Connor GregGREG O'CONNOR (Labour—Ōhāriu): It's such an apt time to be discussing this bill particularly Part 1 of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill (No 2). I can imagine: it's Friday night we're right in the middle of local body elections—Tim van de Molen: It's Thursday.CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): Actually I thought it was Thursday.GREG O'CONNOR: Sorry Thursday night. Around the country there will be—CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): It seems like Friday I agree.GREG O'CONNOR: We are always far ahead of our time on this side of the House unlike the other side. So there'll be candidate meetings taking place tonight around the country.CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): Yeah but none of which is actually in this quite focused—GREG O'CONNOR: Well if I could just give some context to this please Madam Chair.CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): No I don't need any context—I don't need any context.GREG O'CONNOR: What I would like to do is speak to replacement section 24 set out in clause 9 which is around the scope of local government reorganisation because of course that's one of the topics that is hot on the local body election meetings at the moment. Each of those bodies is speaking—for example subsection (1) Local government reorganisation may provide for 1 or more of the following matters [to be considered]:". Now these are the very matters that will be very important to be discussed. As people are limbering up for their meetings tonight fresh in their minds will be what the organisation they are standing for will or may look like because these if we go to section 24(1) are the very criteria which will be used to decide what the future of those very local government bodies that these keen young men and women and older men and younger women that are going to be standing for these bodies will have to consider—CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): Well only if they are contemplating reorganisation.GREG O'CONNOR: Well this is the whole point. Reorganisation is a very live issue and the very fact that we are considering this legislation now just shows—CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): I doubt any candidate would be standing up talking about council reorganisation. Focus on the bill.GREG O'CONNOR: Well actually I am on the bill. I'm on section 24(1)—CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): That's right. Well speak to it. I'm on it too.GREG O'CONNOR: —because it actually goes to—if I can say—the constitution of a new district or region. This again is going to be an incredibly important part of this because again when one stands one doesn't know whether this is going to be still the body that one was standing for. It includes the constitution of a local authority for that district or region because in the past determination of such a district or region has been set. Some study I've been involved in in the past—one of those things that people most recognise actually is they know which rugby club region they're in. That's what determines that. So it's important that the issues that do come are local issues; the local body means just that: local issues.Going on to paragraph (c)—where I may have exhausted everything we are ever going to eke out of paragraph (b)—"the abolition of a district or region including the dissolution or abolition of the local authority for that district or region:". Again we've seen in our time something that may have directly affected the Hawke's Bay and Wellington—the debates that go on. Again this is what is part of this proposed amendment here—the debates that have gone on the history. In Hawke's Bay it looked like it was a lay down misère at the time that there would be an amalgamation. Surprise there were a lot of locals around the local dam out there and at the end of the day it was rejected by the local people. So the local body—those who as I say are limbering up for their meetings tonight will be well aware of what's going on.But I move down this list because there are quite a number of—CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): Thank you.GREG O'CONNOR: If I can go to paragraph (d) and I know you're waiting with anticipation as to what paragraph (d) may do—CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): "Anticipation" isn't the word I'd use.GREG O'CONNOR: "The alteration of the boundaries of any district or region:". Now it would appear that many of these points are joined in one but again you can see the context of this. Again there are those that have put their names forward—those fine men and women who have put their names forward whose posters we see around the countryside now hopefully not too badly disfigured or vandalised. They will all be hoping that because it's an expensive thing to do to replace them. But then we go on to paragraph (e)—CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): Right that's the finish—that's the finish. Now look in fairness to the member just reading out the bits of the bill is not actually genuine debate. So the member either makes some genuine points or sits down: one or the other.GREG O'CONNOR: Well Madam Chair you've only got to see this whole point that we're actually talking about here.CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): We're talking about reorganisation and the changes in the bill not elections.GREG O'CONNOR: We are talking about reorganisation but to be able to reorganise one has to have the shape it cannot be—[Time expired]"