Kedgley Sue:  
Kedgley Sue:  
[Volume:654;Page:75] 
SUE KEDGLEY (Green) 
: 
 Part 2 is very short but it really gets to the heart of this Draconian legislation. It is the part that deletes all reference to eight democratically elected city councils—that expunges them from the face of the earth—without so much as a vote. It expunges Manukau Waitakere and the other city councils. But we have to remember that we are not just stripping away and expunging those councils; we are stripping away and expunging democracy. I have a cartoon here that sums up what this particular part of the bill is all about. In the cartoon there is a maniacal demonic Rodney Hide with his jackboots trampling on Manukau Papakura Waitakere Rodney the North Shore and Franklin. The caption states “Who’s laughing at my dancing and yellow jacket now?”. The demonic Rodney Hide is trampling on the democratically elected councils of Auckland. 
I ask members whether the Government told the people of Auckland before the election that it was planning to destroy—to expunge—the eight democratically elected councils of Auckland. Did the Government tell Aucklanders or New Zealanders that before the last election? It did not. The Government is trying to con New Zealanders into believing that it is implementing most of the recommendations of the royal commission. But did the royal commission recommend expunging eight local councils from the face of the earth? Did it recommend getting rid of Waitakere Manukau etc.? It did not. Part 2 gives the lie to the Government’s pretence that it is implementing the recommendations of the royal commission because it is not. Part 2 is the complete antithesis of what the royal commission has recommended. 
It is a basic tenet of democratic Government that if there is to be a change to a system of governance that should be agreed to by the majority of the governed. That is why we had a referendum when we changed to MMP. But the people of Auckland are having their governance completely wiped away. Their democratically elected councils are being completely wiped away without any referendum without any poll without any say and without any consultation. Nobody has put to the electors of Manukau: “Are you dissatisfied with your council?”; “Do you want to have your council expunged from the face of the earth?”. Nobody has asked the people of Waitakere whether they want to get rid of their city council. That is why this bill is so profoundly undemocratic and so profoundly Draconian. It is expunging those democratically elected city councils without ever asking the people represented by those councils whether they want to get rid of them. 
Contrary to what Government members are saying satisfaction studies have been done year after year that have shown that the majority of people on the North Shore support the North Shore City Council. They do not want the council expunged; they support it. The majority of people in Waitakere support their council. They do not want it expunged. That is why Part 2 gets to the heart of the bill and why this legislation is so Draconian. That is why we are having this protest here in this Parliament today. We are protesting at the Draconian way this Government is eliminating eight democratically elected councils without ever giving them the right to vote. And the bill is in violation of the Local Government Act because the Act requires a poll before any reorganisation.