Boscawen John: Local Government (Auckland Council) Bill — In Committee 
Boscawen John: Local Government (Auckland Council) Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:657;Page:6508] 
JOHN BOSCAWEN (ACT) 
: 
 It is a pleasure to take a call in this debate. I have heard so much rubbish being spoken on this issue in the last 24 hours by members on the Opposition benches that I jokingly said to George Hawkins as we crossed the bridge across to the Chamber this evening that if he gave a speech then I would certainly find something in it to criticise. But I did not have to wait until George Hawkins got to his feet because I got the comment I wanted to hear as I walked in the door. As I walked in the door I heard Lynne Pillay finishing her speech. And how did she finish it off? I will tell members. She said that had the bill gone to a referendum then there would not be the debacle we see now. Labour suggests that the Government should have put up the Local Government (Auckland Council) Bill for a referendum. 
I will tell members of the Opposition about referendums. We have just had one and those members have chosen to ignore the result. But I say to the people of New Zealand that one party is not ignoring the result of the referendum on the anti-smacking legislation. My next public meeting on the subject will be held next Monday in Waimakariri in the Labour-held electorate of Clayton Cosgrove. There were 26000 No votes and Clayton wants to ignore them. 
Let us move on to Ross Robertson. He is a fine member of Parliament; he is the member for Manukau East. I grew up in his electorate and I know that the electorate holds Otahuhu College. What did Ross Robertson have to say? He said that the people of Otahuhu have not got a swimming pool. He talked about the people of Otahuhu being denied the most basic right of having a swimming pool. I wonder what Ross Robertson actually knows about his electorate because I can tell him that the people of Otahuhu have a swimming pool. 
H V Ross Robertson 
: That’s the college one. 
JOHN BOSCAWEN 
: He is dismissing a 33-metre swimming pool at Otahuhu College that was dug by hand by the pupils of the college and their parents in the 1950s. That pool has been locked to the Otahuhu community. Mr Robertson’s Government was in power for 9 years. If he had wanted to make the pool available for the people of Otahuhu he could have done so. What an absolute waste to have a 33-metre high-quality pool that is locked away and denied to the people of Otahuhu. The member’s Government which was in power for 9 years could have funded Otahuhu College to make its pool available to the public and it did not. 
It was a privilege to serve on the Auckland Governance Legislation Committee and it gave me an opportunity to meet members of the committee whom I had not had an opportunity to get to know very well in the 7 or 8 months I have been in Parliament. I was privileged to get to know Mr William Sio. I had not had much to do with Mr Sio before. I apologise to Mr Sio for this but I was not aware that he is a former Deputy Mayor of Manukau City. He was the second-highest elected official in Manukau City. How did Mr Sio get to become the Deputy Mayor of Manukau City? Was it because of the reserve seats for Pacific Islanders? No he won his seat fair and square in a head-to-head competition in the ward of Otara. Mr Sio can have pride in being elected a councillor for the Otara ward and then going on to be elected the Deputy Mayor of Manukau City. 
Mr Sio said this morning: “The Pacific communities throughout Auckland were prepared to put on hold their ambition to be included at the top table.” Nothing more than that comment could better illustrate to me the folly of having dedicated Maori seats. Mr Sio said to Parliament that the Pacific communities throughout Auckland—and I heard this morning that the Pacific community represents something like 12 or 13 percent of Aucklanders and that Asians make up 13 percent of Auckland City—were prepared to put on hold their ambition to be at the top table while specific Maori seats were allocated to Auckland City. I say to Mr Sio and every member of the House—and members can call me glib if they like—that we have an electoral system in New Zealand that is one person one vote. Mr Sio won his council seat in Otara and went on to be elected the Deputy Mayor of Manukau City. 
I have heard Sam Lotu-Iiga being mentioned this afternoon and he is in the Chamber. He is another Pacific Islander and he was elected to the Auckland City Council for the ward of Maungakiekie. Mr Darren Hughes may not be aware of this but the members of the select committee went out and heard evidence in Papatoetoe in the heart of Manukau City and we heard that there are three Maori councillors on Manukau City Council now. They were not reserve seats; they won their seats fair and square. 
I tell Mr Hughes that we also heard that Manukau City councillors had the opportunity to provide for specific Maori seats under the existing legislation in New Zealand and that they chose not to—just like the councillors for Waitakere chose not to. Now that the Auckland Council bill is going through councillors who have previously voted against having Maori seats based on racial grounds are now saying that the Government should provide for them when the provision has been there all along and they have chosen not to take it. 
I heard this afternoon about excluding Maori from the Auckland Council. That is utter rubbish. Maori are not excluded from the Auckland Council in the same way that Pacific Islanders and Asians are not excluded from the Auckland Council. I also heard that the Government does not listen. That is the feedback we have had from the other side. 
Hon Darren Hughes 
: That’s true. 
JOHN BOSCAWEN 
: Well Mr Hughes I say to you that had you come to the select committee hearings then I think it is fair to say— 
H V Ross Robertson 
: I raise a point of order Mr Chairperson. I know the member has not been here very long but on two occasions—I ignored the first one—he brought you into the debate. That is not correct and I ask you to ask the member to refer to members by their names or to speak through the Chair. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Rick Barker) 
: The member is correct; the member used the word “you” but as I recall the sentence he started it by saying “Darren Hughes such and such you—” so I took the “you” to be connected directly to Mr Hughes. He did not reflect it on me so I think the matter is in order. But the point the member makes is a good one; we have to refer to members in the third person. I invite John Boscawen to continue. 
JOHN BOSCAWEN 
: I will conclude by saying that the overwhelming number of submissions the select committee heard rejected the idea of having councillors at large. I personally was supportive of the concept of having councillors at large. If I have a chance to talk on the subject perhaps later this evening I can put up some of the advantages of having councillors at large. The overwhelming number of people who made submissions to the select committee were against having councillors at large. The Government has listened to those submissions and that is what is reflected in this legislation. We do not have councillors at large; we have councils being elected from wards of one member or multi-member wards. 
I also heard this afternoon that Auckland is rejecting the idea of the super-city. If members go out on to the streets of Auckland they will find that Aucklanders do not reject the idea of the super-city. They want one city one mayor and one rule book. 
I will conclude as I started. I have heard so much rubbish this afternoon from the opposite side of the House. There is overwhelming support in Auckland for the Auckland Council and I have no doubt that it will be an outstanding success. Thank you very much.