Kaye Nikki: Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Kaye Nikki: Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 12 June 2012. Volume:680;Page:2854. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
NIKKI KAYE (National—Auckland Central) 
: 
 I am very pleased to speak on the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill in its first reading. Can I start by just saying look I think we need to reflect on why we are here. When we came into power what we saw was excessive debt within local government. Over a period of time we saw debt go from $2 billion to $8 billion. Let us just get that straight. Council debt quadrupled in New Zealand from 2002 from $2 billion to $8 billion. We also had a very difficult situation in Auckland where we had fractured local government and we had under-investment in infrastructure over a large period of time. We have had fractured local government and significant debt over a long period of time and what we acknowledged is that we needed change. So what you have seen from this National Government is significant reform in both the Resource Management Act and local government that culminated in the Auckland local government reform. I am very pleased to say that we now have one council one mayor and one plan for Auckland.  
But what this bill is about is saying there are many New Zealanders struggling at the moment. They cannot afford excessive rates rises. They need clarity around what local government is responsible for. And what we acknowledge is that when the previous local government legislation came in it gave incredibly wide paths around the purpose of local government. That is where we have seen some of the debt blowout. What we are standing up and saying is that this is part of a package of reforms that we have had that is about reducing costs to the household reducing costs to businesses reducing compliance costs and ensuring that people get speedy processes in terms of their interaction with their local authorities. We have seen that through the Resource Management Act and we are now seeing this as a package of local government reform.  
Members will hear from the left that this is about taking away democracy. They will hear that this is about ensuring that some local body members do not have as much power. What I would say to members is that we have been very clear that we do believe in local government but we believe in local government that is not duplicating the functions of central government. That is not good for the ratepayer that is not good for businesses and that is not good for New Zealand. We also believe in local government that ensures that businesses are able to get on and do what they need to and not have excessive costs and time delays.  
I just want to address a couple of parts of this bill that I am very confident many New Zealanders will be very pleased to see. The first thing is transparency and financial accountability in local government. Most New Zealanders I have talked to actually think that is a very reasonable pragmatic thing to expect of local government. We do it at central government level. We have many different processes whereby New Zealanders can look and see the accountability and they can see the transparency around where funds are spent. And this bill is saying that we are going to have stronger governance improved efficiency and more responsible financial management.  
The second thing that this bill is very very focused on is those councils that struggle. Let me say that there are many councillors and local body members who do an outstanding job in New Zealand but sometimes they get into trouble. This is what this bill says: we are actually going to put a process in place that strengthens those local authority governance provisions to enable central government to help those councils that may be struggling.  
But it also does something that I think is very important and the genesis of this was the Auckland local governance reform provisions whereby we acknowledged that in order to empower elected representatives we actually might need to give them more power over employment and remuneration authority. It is working reasonably well in Auckland and we acknowledge that this is actually about empowering local members to be able to have greater control over their communities.  
These are very reasonable and sensible reforms that most New Zealanders would understand. It is about ensuring we have greater financial accountability and transparency around funds and where they are spent but also empowering those local members to be able to get on and do their agenda. I know there are members in this House—because I know them pretty well—who have been local representatives who have been frustrated when local representatives have not had the ability with council officers to control the agenda. And what this bill does is it gives greater power in that area.  
Finally I just want to mention that there is a person in the building tonight Ambassador Huebner—and I am going to relate this to local government to ensure that it is relevant for my speech—who gave a wonderful quote last night from Oprah Winfrey about New Zealanders and Americans. He said lots of people want to ride with you in the limo but the person you want next to you is the person who will catch the bus with you when the limo breaks down. I just want to acknowledge that—and I am going to link this to the local government reforms—the ambassador is in the House this evening. This bill is about delivering long-term infrastructure for communities and what we are saying is that we are striking a balance in this bill to ensure that communities have the power over a significant period of time to pay for that infrastructure. What we have seen in a city like Auckland is significant under-investment over a long period of time and the reality is that that has been in successive local authorities and it is because we have not had a structure in place. I just want to acknowledge that what this legislation is about is ensuring that actually that is done in a reasonable and pragmatical way that is affordable for the many households that are struggling at the moment and cannot afford significant rates.  
This Government is about greater financial transparency in local government this Government is about ensuring that local bodies have their power and are empowered by the council employees that they have with them and it is also thirdly about ensuring that local infrastructure is focused on what we need and is not duplicating central government. So I am very proud to support this legislation to the House. I support this legislation. Thank you.