Hawkins George: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
Hawkins George: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
[Volume:656;Page:5828] 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS (Labour—Manurewa) 
: 
 I shall spend a little while addressing what the Minister of Local Government Rodney Hide has done and the trouble he has caused. Watching his performance over the first 9 months was like watching  
Yes Minister 
. He makes courageous decisions and unfortunately the Prime Minister has not seized the wonderful opportunity he presented to him only this week. When a Minister puts his or her head on the block the chopper should be got out—that is what should have happened. We could have had two Ministers from Epsom gone in 3 months. I think that would have been rather good. This Minister not only is not treating Maori properly—and it is not just in Auckland; it is across the country—but he is treating the mayors and the councillors throughout New Zealand in a way that is not very satisfactory at all. 
We have a Minister who wants to bring things back to narrowing local government down—core business. This is going on as he runs it as a smokescreen for what will happen to Auckland. Why did that Minister not proceed with a referendum after the royal commission made its report? Why did that Minister run away from making a referendum a part of Aucklanders having their say? That Minister has his hands on a big chunk of money and he could have done that. Yes I am talking about money Mr Chairperson. That Minister has control over it. He could have got someone else to go along to Cabinet for him and argue for a referendum. He could have talked to the Minister of Maori Affairs not just about what was going on in local government; he could have made sure that not only do they get a fair go when it comes to representation but also a fair share of the money that that department has. I think that one just cannot isolate one from the other. 
The Minister was going to keep rates down as well. There are lots of people who have received their rates demands in the last few months and who have found out that rates are going up. It is interesting that the opportunity that he talked about before the election that he talked about as soon as he became Minister and that he wrote about to mayors all over the country has not resulted in very much pleasure in terms of local government. He talked to the mayors of Auckland he talked to Bob Harvey he talked to Len Brown he talked to Calum Penrose and they are all disillusioned that they have a Minister of Local Government who is hell-bent on his agenda and will not listen. 
I am really sad about that because I thought Rodney Hide as a Minister dealing with a big budget would do something. I thought he would listen to people. But of course it helps to be listened to by the Minister if one is a Pakeha—he will listen a wee bit. But if one is a Maori it seems that his or her views are swept to one side. When we hear people in the Chamber today asking the Minister of Maori Affairs what he is doing and we see that they have to work together—how cruel can one get! What is happening is that two people are being sent away—one with the ammunition and the other with an empty basket. We have a Minister who has his own agenda and it is supported by the Prime Minister John Key. He supports it. He is not supporting the Maori people of Auckland. He is not supporting Maori people throughout New Zealand in having a say in local government. [ 
Interruption 
] Of course there is one of the Maori members from National calling out. Why does he not cross the floor? I invite him to cross the floor but he will not have the nerve.