Hide Rodney: Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill — In Committee 
Hide Rodney: Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:663;Page:11477] 
Hon RODNEY HIDE (Minister of Local Government) 
: 
 I gave an overview of the Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill earlier but let me begin by thanking Jacinda Ardern Phil Twyford George Hawkins and Shane Jones for their contributions and also the Auckland Governance Legislation Committee that considered this bill. I think we all agree that this is an important bill for Auckland and indeed for the country. Its genesis goes back a long way; in fact it probably goes back nearly 100 years when we see what Michael Joseph Savage campaigned on in 1919. 
It was the previous Government that set up the royal commission. What has impressed me about the progress of this bill is how everyone has worked together to produce the best results. In particular the Opposition has worked hard to keep us on our toes and it has done a good job. The work we have done as a Government reflects that. Currently I have officials working through the Supplementary Order Papers from the Labour Party and the Green Party to take on board their concerns and to see the improvements those proposals could make. We are taking them seriously and I thank them for that. 
I would particularly like to thank the councils for the effort they have put in. They have worked with central government and with the Auckland Transition Agency to make sure we get the best result. It is a very tough time for them because they are at the sharp end of the upheaval. The Department of Internal Affairs has worked around the clock—literally at times—to keep to the timetable. I would like to especially acknowledge the Aucklanders who have come together under the Auckland Transition Agency to do what is the most enormously complex change management process in New Zealand’s history. They have been doing an outstanding job. I thank the members of board whom we have appointed and in particular Mark Ford. 
Today is 1 June. A remarkable New Zealander Rob Fisher has been helping us and it is his birthday. He is 66 years old today and he was born on 1 June 1944. 
Hon Darren Hughes 
: The Minister’s younger brother? 
Hon RODNEY HIDE 
: I wish. I do not have the brains to be Rob Fisher’s older brother. The remarkable thing is that Rob Fisher is out the back working through the Supplementary Order Papers that the Labour members and Green members have put up and is keeping an eye on the bill to see what will be the best result for the governance of Auckland. I would like to think that there will be some Supplementary Order Papers that we can find our way to support if they make the bill better. Certainly we do not believe that getting the governance right for Auckland is a matter of the Labour Party having it right the National Party having it right or the ACT Party having it right; it is about getting the best governance for Auckland. We all have an interest in getting the best governance for Auckland and I am sure that members given the help we are receiving out the back from Rob Fisher and others would bear with me for a minute if we record in  
Hansard 
 a very happy birthday wish for Rob Fisher who has taken the trouble to come down here. Thank you.