Prasad Rajen: Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill — In Committee 
Prasad Rajen: Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:663;Page:11553] 
Dr RAJEN PRASAD (Labour) 
: 
 Talofa lava Mr Chairman. I want first to acknowledge and state my support for my Maori colleagues who have been arguing strenuously for the interests of tangata whenua and for the Maori Party as well. I talked earlier about one feature of the Ethnic Peoples Advisory Panel provisions in this bill in which a sunset clause states that in 2013 the panel will expire unless the Auckland Council wants to do it differently. I think that that makes the provision very tentative I say to the Minister in the chair the Hon John Carter. The implication of that provision for the Pacific Island community and the ethnic communities of Auckland is that the measure is seen as a temporary concession. Therefore it reflects an only tentative support for and commitment to the diversification of Auckland and the huge part that is played by the ethnic community in Auckland. 
I listened to the Minister very carefully when he spoke earlier to say that the Government does not want to impose on Auckland from Wellington. I can see that he wants to put some limits on that imposition through this particular bill. That is not to say that passing the bill is not in itself an imposition; it tells Auckland what it now must do. But I think the point the Minister is making is that some flexibility should be left for Aucklanders to decide what is important to them so I understand the principle I say to the Hon John Carter. However I think that applying that principle in this case to the Pacific Peoples Advisory Panel and the Ethnic Peoples Advisory Panel is a mistake and I urge the Minister in the chair to really think that through a little bit more. There is an amendment in my name on the table to omit the two relevant subclauses from clause 111. 
I say to the Minister in the chair that if he asks Pansy Wong a member of his own party whether she supports the Ethnic Peoples Advisory Panel being a permanent feature I can guarantee what she will say. If he asks Mr Bakshi who is sitting in the Chamber right now he will say—as all in our community would say—that of course the panel must be a permanent feature. I hope Mr Bakshi will take a call shortly to make that point. Melissa Lee would say exactly the same thing. She would say that from a Korean community perspective she would not want to see the panel as a temporary concession. Our community is there in Auckland for the long haul. If we asked my colleague Raymond Huo he would say that of course the Chinese community would want the panel to be a permanent feature. Why are we making the panel temporary? That is a question that irks those communities. Ashraf Choudhary would say the same thing about the Muslim community in New Zealand. I certainly would say the same thing about the Indian communities of Auckland and the many other ethnic communities I have worked with there. 
If we spoke to Winnie Laban what would she say about the temporary nature that this sunset clause implies about Pacific representation? Su’a William Sio would say the same thing along with my colleague Carmel Sepuloni. The Minister’s very own colleague Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga would say no we should make this a permanent feature. Charles Chauvel our Tahitian member of Parliament would say the same thing. 
Across this Parliament and its ethnic members I do not know of any reason why this sunset clause should be supported. My amendment takes it out and I plead with the Minister in the chair to take the amendment away and think about it. Those I have spoken to have sincerely seen the provisions of clause 111 as a temporary concession. It is different to appoint people for 2 years and say that at the moment that is the only time period they will be in place for. The people affected by that provision would have a different type of participation from the participation that is stated as being a permanent feature of the governance of Auckland. We should let the governance of Auckland reflect the very people who live there. If we do that then I think we have made a concession. I say to the Hon John Carter that this is not a big ask. I ask him to please take this amendment back to his “boys” who are working in the back room on the amendments. If that were done I think those communities would take great heart from this whole process. 
My Green colleague David Clendon was just saying that there are people listening to this debate and indeed there are. I know that members of my community will be listening to this as well. I encourage my colleagues Mr Bakshi who is in the Chamber and Pansy Wong if she is around to stand in the Committee and take a call on this matter. It is the one provision that the diversification of Auckland demands. Tangata whenua have a different status. They are tangata whenua. But our Pacific brothers and sisters are here for the long haul as indeed are our ethnic communities.