Williamson Maurice: Local Government (Auckland) Amendment Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee 
Williamson Maurice: Local Government (Auckland) Amendment Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee 
[Volume:618;Page:14043] 
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON (National—Pakuranga) 
: 
 This is about the title of the bill. Clause 1 is the title and as members will know the bill is called the Local Government (Auckland) Amendment Bill. But that is not really what this bill is about. It is about how legislation is passed to make it nigh impossible to get roads built in Auckland. That is what it is. It is a sop to the Greens. The Greens hate roads they hate the things that drive on them and they hate the people who drive in the things that drive on the roads. That is why all the press releases of Chris Carter Judith Tizard and the Prime Minister and the big announcement on 12 December talked about—I want members to remember this—fixing Auckland’s transport issues such as rail bus ferry pedestrian and cycle transport needs. There was not a mention not a mutter or a murmur about the one thing that will fix Auckland’s problems and that is roads. We in the National Opposition will have a policy that will have bulldozer engines started within no time. 
There are a number of things one can do in order to do that. We will not be like Judith Tizard and just have our photo taken with a bulldozer every now and then and that is all one does. We will do a number of things. 
Deborah Coddington 
: How can you tell the difference? 
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON 
: The member has raised a fantastic important question. No legislation will work without one thing and that is the political will of the Government to make it happen. Any legislation with any number of clauses can be passed but if a Government is not committed to seeing it happen not committed to seeing the tar-seal being poured and not committed to seeing the carryalls moving hills filling in valleys and seeing the roads being built then it will never happen. 
 It is not so much the Government members themselves—although some of them are as bad as that—but it is because of their coalition commitment to the Greens who do not want to ever talk about roads and I do not know why it is such a phobia. They should try it with me. Try the word “toad”. That is easy. It is green and I am sure they would like it. Try it again: “toad”. It is easy. The word “road” is not very different. It is just a first-letter change. They should say: “road”. It is quite easy. They will say “broadcasting” and I did not know until tonight that the word “road’ is hidden in there. “Road” is in the middle of “broadcasting”. They should say “broadcasting” then I will say: “Gotcha you at least said ‘road’ as part of the word.” But no Green members do not want to mention it. There has not been a mutter or a murmur from them about roads. This legislation is just adding more bureaucracy to Auckland. 
Would any member here come with me to do a survey down around Stanley Street at 5 o’clock next Friday night and say: “Hands up those of you motorists who wanted some more bureaucracy for your roads to be fixed.”? I double-dog dare anyone to come with me. We will ask the question: “Do you think more bureaucracy will fix this?”. Members of this Committee know the answer to that question without even starting. The answer of course is that the last thing Auckland needs is some more bureaucracy: “ARTA”—“ARTA” and“MARTHA” and “FARTHA” and everything else that has gone into the bureaucracies. People want actual solutions and this will delay it even further. My colleague the Hon Lockwood Smith is dead right. It will delay it even further. 
The title of this bill has to be the most misleading title I have ever seen. It is the Local Government (Auckland) Amendment Bill. No it is not; it is the “We Hate Roads and We Are Going to Try and Stop Them or Slow Them Down as Much as WeCan by Putting Barriers in Front of Them Bill”. That is not good enough. 
I know that drive time will now be coming to an end in Auckland at about 10 to 10. Some of my constituents in Pakuranga will still be wending their way home having left town about 5.30 but some will now be home. Some will have got really angry and put a hole in the wall because of the frustration and anger that they feel every night as they drive home. But will this legislation solve that? No. According to this legislation people will see solutions. But when I look at the dates published in the national land transport programme I see: “State Highway 20 completion date 2017 State Highway 18 completion date 2018” I see“2020” and“2021”. That is just a joke. People in Auckland cannot wait until 2007 or 2008 let alone 2017 or 2018. This bill is a disgrace.