McAnulty Kieran; Waititi Rawiri; Kuriger BarbaraHon KIERAN McANULTY (Labour): Thank you very much Madam Speaker. It's absolutely extraordinary that there are members in this House who in the last campaign rallied vigorously up and down the country on the basis of a principle that they said they held dear: one person one vote—any change to that would be an affront to democracy!As my colleague Greg O'Connor pointed out the leader of the National Party expressed support on behalf of his party for the idea of removing the ratepayer roll. But it's important to understand that the only reason Christopher Luxon said that is because he was under the pump on his position on co-governance in terms of the Treaty. It is very clear to me that if the National Party were today debating the concept that rural people got two votes in rural areas they would be defending it; if it was Māori people with two votes in their areas they would be opposing it. It is very clear to me that they are motivated by the idea of property ownership.They scoff but I'll put their arguments back to them. They stood there tonight and justified that someone who owns a property in this district should get a vote and also get a vote by owning a property in that district. What about renters? What if someone owned a property in one district but for their work purposes rented a property in another? They wouldn't support that so what's the difference? The difference is property ownership and that is the guts of this issue.Now all they need to do—Andy Foster: Wrong wrong.Hon KIERAN McANULTY: —is vote—listen up; you might learn something Andy Foster! All they need to do is put this through to select committee and allow the people to have their say—allow those renters who are part of a community who take an active role in those communities and if that was their sole point of residence they would have a vote but because they rent a property and don't own it they therefore don't get a vote but they have just as much to do with that community in that district that council as someone who is an absentee ratepayer who happens to own the building.No taxation without representation" is another saying that the Government has clung to tonight. So I would put to them: what about teenage workers that pay tax? Are they going to advocate for them to have a vote on local councils? What about immigrants who pay through a work visa work hard for our economy contribute to their community? They pay tax. Is the Government going to advocate for them to have a vote in this community? No they're not. None of them own property. None of them are able to vote. That is the key here. None of them can vote. None of them own property so they don't care. It is inconsistent to their position. They are sticking up for their mates. They are sticking up for people that own property. It is actually an affront to the basic principle of one person one vote—the very principle that they used to oppose the opportunity for tangata whenua to have a say in their customary rights. There is a word for that I will not say it; people can draw their own conclusions. But to stand up during an election and say that "We hold this principle dear" and then confronted with an opportunity to apply that principle they have backed away—every single one of them have backed away.New Zealand First campaigned on this vigorously. They have mentioned me by name. What I said as Minister for Local Government to defend co-governance they opposed that on the basis that people should get the same level of democratic participation. Oh no not today because they are looking after those that own property. They are looking after those that own businesses—it might be fisheries or forestry or whatever. Their interests are not aligned to the general public. Their interests are not aligned to renters and people who otherwise only get one vote. They had an opportunity today to stand up to their principles and they have folded like a piece of origami. They should be standing up here today and backing Greg O'Connor—at the very least backing the select committee and letting the public have a say; the public they say they represent and the public they're letting down today.RAWIRI WAITITI (Co-Leader—Te Pāti Māori): Point of order. Madam Speaker I don't want to tell you how to do your job but the House has absolutely turned to custard. I don't know who's instigated it but I like to hear the speakers if that's possible. Thank you Madam Speaker.DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yeah thank you. It has been a very vigorous debate and perhaps we can still have interjections but just keep the noise down a bit. It's a fair point because the speakers are having to yell."