O'Connor Simon: General DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeO'Connor Simon: General Debate[Sitting date: 06 May 2015. Volume:705;Page:3258. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]SIMON O’CONNOR (National—Tāmaki):It seems such a short time since you were in the chair last night and I was giving an oration on the New Zealand Business Number Bill and I am still curious as to whether Dr Woods has read Result 9 of the Better Public Services agenda—no? It is Result 9. You have really got to read it. It is going to be very good.Dr Megan Woods: You’re talking to me a lot.SIMON O’CONNOR: Encouraging—encouraging. There are a couple of things that I want to draw the House’s attention to. The first is actually one of the health announcements—if I am to put my chair of the Health Committee hat on. Today there was an excellent pre-Budget announcement by the Minister of Health noting that there will be 4000 more elective operations a year than ever before. This is on the back of a Government that has actually produced every year since it has been in Government at least 40000 to 44000 more elective surgeries. And with the extra funding announced today we are going to be moving towards 44000 48000 50000 extra elective surgeries a year. I think that is absolutely tremendous.I do though want to turn the primary focus of my speech to Tāmaki. But in beginning to do so I want to note what I think is some rather unfortunate if not almost shameful behaviour occurring in the Auckland Council as it looks towards rates increases of nearly 10 percent. I want to put my voice very firmly on the record and on behalf of the constituents of Tāmaki say that we are completely opposed to rates rises of that amount for spending priorities of a dubious nature. I want to make that voice very clear to the mayor and to the councillors who will be voting on that plan—that these rates rises are totally unacceptable and that the choices being made around the spending are also unacceptable. I want to make it very clear too that adding on further transport levies is again totally unacceptable.There is some great activity happening in Tāmaki. I am very pleased to be in an area where the Tāmaki Redevelopment Company is soon to set a development of over 2500 former Housing New Zealand Corporation homes. In recent days Ministers have announced that these homes in Glen Innes Panmure Point England—Hon Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga: That’s right.SIMON O’CONNOR: —and I have got my fine colleague here Sam Lotu-Iiga. We share that area together between the seats of Tāmaki and Maungakiekie. We are going to see some real substantial changes in Tāmaki.The discussions in Tāmaki have been going on for a while. It is funny; the Opposition jokes about this. One of the really fundamental things if you truly understand your communities—and good electorate MPs will know this—is that you get into the community and you have conversations. I know that Sam as a local MP and myself as a local MP have been very engaged with the community—and yes through that we have also seen opportunities where the likes of the Tāmaki Redevelopment Company and others have been engaging with the community. They are making a real difference and I want to acknowledge the work that the Tāmaki Redevelopment Company is doing in bringing the community on board.We know that in recent weeks we have seen the opening of a new early childhood centre. We have seen the development in Tāmaki of what was an old scout hall that has been redeveloped as a community facility—those who are locals will know it well. A good number of us will be there on Saturday morning when the new music and arts centre in Glen Innes Te Oro opens. I am very much looking forward to that.Glen Innes is an incredibly strong and vibrant community. It is a very proud community. It is absolutely fantastic and they are calling out for these services these opportunities—including as the honourable Minister pointed out the Auckland-Manukau Eastern Transport Initiative project to the south of my electorate and to the north of the Hon Sam Lotu-Iiga’s electorate. This is a huge array of initiatives funded by the Government going on.Do you know what? I should note what is really making a difference because it was mentioned by one of my colleagues the other day that Glen Innes is this really red Labour seat. The irony is—and I was looking back over the figures—that actually National and the MP there as well almost won the booths of that seat in the last election. In fact in one of the booths in the very heart of Glen Innes the Labour candidate won the seat by only 11 votes.Hon Member: No!SIMON O’CONNOR: I know—shock horror. Eleven votes in the heart of what is supposedly a Labour part of my electorate. I mention that only because I believe actually that the hard-working MPs—dare I say it—and also the National policies are making a substantial difference and people are seeing that.There are 2500 homes that are going to be turned over to the Tāmaki Redevelopment Company and over the years they will be transformed into about 7500 new homes particularly in Glen Innes but also through to Panmure. It is a wonderful opportunity for the people of Tāmaki.