Carter John: Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill — In Committee 
Carter John: Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:663;Page:11453] 
Hon JOHN CARTER (Associate Minister of Local Government) 
: 
 Apart from thanking the Minister of Local Government the officials the Auckland Transition Agency and all those who have been involved in this process I guess it is appropriate at this time to also record my thanks as chairman of the Auckland Governance Legislation Committee to all the members of the committee who were involved in this process. I acknowledge that the Opposition members were constructive as we went through the select committee process. The major Opposition party and the minor parties involved were all helpful as we went through the challenging process of hearing the people of Auckland. 
One thing that I am very proud to say—and I want this recorded in  
Hansard 
—is that this legislation has been drafted by the voices of the people of Auckland. It has been drafted that way because the select committee listened. I guess the disappointing thing is that having had the Opposition participate in the select committee process all the way through when it came towards the end of the process it started getting complicated. It became quite technical and some significant changes were made with quite rapid speed. Unfortunately they went over the heads of the likes of Mr Twyford who just does not seem to have understood the end result. I know that the Opposition has continually harped on about—and I have to say many requests were made by the people of Auckland regarding this—ensuring that we did not corporatise Auckland that the local boards would have their say and that democracy in local government was put back into Auckland which is one of the things that this Government and the select committee concentrated on doing. 
Contrary to what Mr Twyford likes to keep going on about I draw the Committee’s attention to a couple of clauses that set out very clearly not only the intent of the Government but also the effect that the legislation will have. I draw people’s attention to clause 75AA which sets out very clearly the powers that the Auckland Council will have over the council-controlled organisations. This legislation gives the Auckland Council more authority over council-controlled organisations than any other local authority in New Zealand has. It specifies things that they have to do which other local authorities do not. The legislation says that the council has control of what it thinks the council-controlled organisations will do. Indeed the legislation is so specific that it sets out the policy and basically says to the council-controlled organisations that they will administer Auckland Council policy. It even goes further and says that by the way at any time the council is unhappy with what they are doing it will dismiss all the directors and pull it back to being a committee of council. 
What authority other than that could we have given the Auckland Council? The fact is that if the council does not like the council-controlled organisations with the exception of the transport authority and water services—the only ones we have kept in law until 2015—the council-controlled organisations can disappear from day one if that is the wish of the council. From 1 November they are entirely in the hands of the council. There is public reporting and public accountability. They have to report to the council. The council sets the direction of the council-controlled organisations. 
Quite honestly I do not know how I can make it much clearer. We have seriously tried in the select committee—and we actually achieved it—to ensure that the Auckland Council was in control of the council-controlled organisations. That is what Aucklanders wanted what the Opposition wanted and more important what the people of Auckland wanted and that is what they have. Members should read clause 75AA. What is really disappointing is that when the Minister and I went to Auckland to tell the people about the select committee report it took the likes of the  
New Zealand Herald  
reporters just a few hours to click on and understand. Unfortunately that seems to be beyond the ability of the Opposition. I just wish that we could get the  
New Zealand Herald  
reporters to take one or two calls so that the Opposition can understand. 
I turn to local boards and draw the Committee’s attention to clauses 17 and 39C which set out very clearly the responsibilities that the local boards will have. The point is that the people of Auckland and the Opposition kept saying to us that they did not want Wellington telling them how to run their city and that they want us to keep out of it. They want to run their city. It is their right to have their city. They want to have their local democracy so we need to make sure that they get the powers and the responsibility to run their local boards and that is exactly what we have done. We have given the responsibility to the local boards and we have done it the way we have for this reason: we have done it in principle. We have just heard contributions from Opposition members and quite honestly we—and I include myself in this—did not have the skills or the knowledge to know of every function that every particular board would have. 
H V Ross Robertson 
: Still don’t. 
Hon JOHN CARTER 
: No of course; that member is quite right—and neither does the member who just interjected. 
H V Ross Robertson 
: Oh you’d be surprised. 
Hon JOHN CARTER 
: Well the member claims that he knows every function of every board that there will be—all 21 boards and every one of their functions. 
H V Ross Robertson 
: I never said that. 
Hon JOHN CARTER 
: Well does the member believe he does or not? 
H V Ross Robertson 
: I never said that. 
Hon JOHN CARTER 
: He never said that—right. The fact is that he does not. The fact is that no one on this side would claim to know that and no one in Auckland knows every function. That is why we had to have a team of people to work out what the functions were. The Auckland Governance Legislation Committee did not have the time or the resources so a group of people are out there doing the work. They will specify the functions that will become the functions of the local boards. They are set down in the legislation in concrete and cannot be moved unless there is agreement between the council and the local board. 
Aucklanders keep telling us in Wellington not to dare to tell them what to do because they want to do it themselves yet the Opposition is saying that we should have prescribed it in the bill. Well people cannot have it both ways. Either we prescribe it—and quite honestly we did not have the ability or the resources to—or alternatively we give that responsibility to Aucklanders which is what we have done. We have put the “local” back into local government. We have put the “local” back into the local boards and we have given them the funding to do the job. We want the local people to control their own destiny and that is exactly what will happen through this legislation. 
I am proud of the legislation that this Government is dishing up because it is exactly what the people of Auckland asked for. I tell members that it will work because it is a great piece of legislation that will set the future for Auckland and as a consequence for the rest of New Zealand.