Mahuta Nanaia: Franklin District Council (Contribution to Funding of Museums) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Mahuta Nanaia: Franklin District Council (Contribution to Funding of Museums) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:652;Page:1669] 
Hon NANAIA MAHUTA (Labour—Hauraki-Waikato) 
: 
 I rise to speak to the Franklin District Council (Contribution to Funding of Museums) Amendment Bill and for the sake of clarity I reiterate what the previous speaker from the Labour team Phil Twyford said: Labour will be supporting this bill. Having heard the contribution from the local MP and sponsor of the bill Paul Hutchison I say that I tend to agree that he is well regarded by the Franklin District Council—so much so that people think he should be a Minister. Sadly that is not the case. 
However when we look at the issue that is being— 
Hon Judith Collins 
: He’s got more chance than that member. 
Hon NANAIA MAHUTA 
: We look forward to the reshuffle on the other side of the House with the endorsement of that Minister that Paul Hutchison will soon be a Minister. I thank her very much. 
This bill seeks to rectify something that was an issue through the election campaign. Dr Hutchison will know that I too represent the area that the Franklin District is in and that jurisdictional issues come up when we look at boundaries. Always legislation tends to have an unintended consequence on boundaries whether they are local government boundaries or iwi boundaries and there are many examples of things that are in the grey area. This is one of them. We will support this bill because it rectifies an anomaly. When we look at the Franklin District we see that it is a fine and fantastic model of a can-do attitude. We have market gardens the Glenbrook steel mill and thriving local businesses; the district really wants to stand out and apart from Auckland’s growing reach. The point was well made that what happens in the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Auckland Governance will have an impact on Franklin. Let us hope that it is not a negative one because this district sees itself as a real player in and contributor to the regional economy and certainly to the peripheral gains in the Auckland isthmus. 
I raise the point as to why this anomaly should be rectified. Both Dr Hutchison and I attended the opening of the local library - museum - art gallery in Pukekohe some time ago. The facility was supported by the Glenbrook steel mill and was opened at a time when the Hon Judith Tizard was a Minister. One of the things that stood out was that the community itself had evidently invested in its own gains and in what it wanted to see happen in the community. I reiterate that this community punches well above its weight and is doing some fine things. 
I am very pleased that residents within the Environment Waikato boundary—in Tuakau out in Onewhero and out along the Waikato River in Pokeno—will no longer have to contribute in the way that they have been levied for previously. Sadly none of those costs can be recouped for those ratepayers but the most important thing is that they can continue to support the investments that Environment Waikato has made within that region and pay only one levy. It would be a bit of a myth to say that if one is not in the peripheral boundaries of the Auckland communities one does not visit any of the museums in Auckland. I would say and I am sure that Paul Hutchison would agree with me that a great number of families from those Environment Waikato communities have visited Auckland museums including the Museum of Transport and Technology because they hold a lot of family events and a lot of very interesting events that many families would travel up to Auckland for. But I certainly believe that those people should pay only one set of rates—the rates of either Auckland Regional Council or Environment Waikato. The bill seeks to rectify that situation and I am happy to support it.