Hawkins George: Rodney District Council Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Hawkins George: Rodney District Council Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 21 July 2010. Volume:665;Page:12547. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS (Labour—Manurewa) 
: 
 I just want to say how good it is to see the previous speaker Tau Henare back in the House. He is quite an interesting member. I think he started many years ago in New Zealand First then he turned to Mauri Pacific and now he is in National. By the speech he just made he is smoke-free and will be joining the Maori Party in its policy. 
I think local bills demand a bit more respect. This Rodney District Council Bill would be unnecessary if the Government had done what it should have and had a referendum of the people of Auckland. Then this bill would not have reached the House. I want to thank my colleague Darien Fenton for bringing it to the House. It took a Labour list member to do it. Other members of Parliament are associated closely with Rodney such as the Speaker of the House the Hon Dr Lockwood Smith. I can understand his reasons why he may not want to address the House. John Key the Prime Minister is probably too busy. 
Hon Maryan Street 
: Too busy doing what? 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: Well he is going around everywhere smiling. He is going around saying we will not have any mines with an ear-to-ear smile as he says it. 
H V Ross Robertson 
: From cloud to cloud. 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: That is right. So the people of Rodney who want this bill before the House are disappointed. There are other members of Parliament from the North Shore like Wayne Mapp. He dodged the crossfire; he did not want to be involved. We have Jonathan Coleman but he did not want to know about it. Of course we have— 
Darien Fenton 
: Or Murray McCully. 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: Or Murray McCully. He is over in Afghanistan and many people hope that no harm comes to him. But I doubt that all those people would come from Rodney because they are very disappointed. They want to stay by themselves. Labour supported the reorganisation principle right from day one but the National Government forgot one thing and that was to listen to what people were saying. I suggest to Rodney Hide and John Carter that they take a call on the first reading of this bill and say why they will not support it. We know they will not support it. I know that Rodney Hide is busy trying to get his vote up. I was at one of his meetings on Monday where he shared the platform with Penny Bright. That is desperation politics but that is what happened. Will those members support local people like Bill Townsend who worked like nobody’s business to try to make submissions and have the Government take notice of him? It did not happen. Penny Webster Mayor of Rodney District Council and a former member of this House and former member of ACT— 
David Garrett 
: Former! 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: Well they cannot afford too many formers or that member will be gone. I must say I would not advertise the fact; I would sit there quietly take a deep breath and get on with things. People who by substantial majority in a referendum say they are opposed to what is happening should be shown the decency of seeing this bill going to the select committee. I know that the select committee will bury it; that is what happens. I am doing a local bill for Manukau City—a prostitution by-law bill—but I know that it will not go very far because Manukau is going into Auckland. But Manukau goes in with its eyes wide open; Rodney is fighting it and other communities are still very very unhappy. Papakura people are bitterly disappointed that the Government did not listen to them. They were told by John Carter: “We’re listening.” But they were not hearing. We need a voice in the House to represent that area and I am really pleased that Labour is doing it even though we do not hold a parliamentary seat on the North Shore. When all else is lost people come back to Labour. That is what they will be doing; they will be coming back to Labour. The people of Rodney will not forget this betrayal.