Hawkins George: General Debate 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Hawkins George: General Debate 
[Sitting date: 24 March 2010. Volume:661;Page:9777. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS (Labour—Manurewa) 
: 
 The previous speaker John Hayes got a clap for that speech; I thought that people would rather forget it. 
I will talk about Auckland governance and I will go back through a little bit of history. Three bills relating to Auckland governance have passed or will pass through this House. On the first bill there was no consultation. It was rammed through on a weekend. The second bill had some opposition. In relation to the third bill I have to say I am disappointed that the Maori Party has not been fighting in the trenches as the Labour Party has been. 
I go back to the second bill the Local Government (Auckland Council) Bill. One of the Maori Party members said: “This bill is an insult to due process an insult to partnership an insult to justice and an insult to the mana whenua of Auckland. The Maori Party will be opposing this bill every step of the way.” Who said that? 
H V Ross Robertson 
: Hone Harawira. 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: That is right. When it came to the third bill Labour was in the trenches facing the Government at the select committee. The Greens were there; David Clendon was there. But where was the Maori Party? Well Dr Sharples talked about various things. 
H V Ross Robertson 
: Did they speak up? 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: They did not speak up; they did not even show up. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Correct me if I am wrong but the same rules apply within select committees as in the House. Members cannot go on about the non-appearance of a member either at a select committee or in the House. 
Hon Darren Hughes 
: Point of order— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I will hear the Hon Darren Hughes briefly. 
Hon Darren Hughes 
: Very briefly. The member is quite right: the same rule applies to both. But the member speaking is referring to a political party; he has not identified an individual member of Parliament. He was talking about a particular political party’s approach so I do not think that that triggers Speaker’s ruling 25/2. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member certainly cannot refer to individual members as being absent from a committee but it sounded to OK me. 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: The Labour Party and the Green Party were fighting in the trenches for Maori representation on the super-city. But what did the Maori Party have to say? 
H V Ross Robertson 
: What did they say? 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: Nothing! One has to be there to say things. Were they listening to the Maori people of Auckland? No they were not. They were too busy getting a flag put on the Auckland Harbour Bridge. That was their big achievement—a flag on the Auckland Harbour Bridge. In 16 months as a Government party the Maori Party got a flag put on the Auckland Harbour Bridge. 
I have to tell Dr Sharples that the people in his electorate are really disappointed. He has changed his mind. He says that he regrets what the Government is doing but what he is really on about is working away in the background changing the basis of voting. He does not like the idea of one person one vote. I think that he is actually planning to have an Upper House so that he can retire into it. It will not be very surprising if that is where he is tracking down. The Minister of Maori Affairs was also clear about the need for Maori seats on the advisory board and the worthlessness of having an advisory board. Did the National Government listen? No. Did the Minister say it loudly enough? Did he say it strongly enough? Rodney Hide got to the Prime Minister’s ear first and he made his point. Who is the more terrifying for the Prime Minister: benevolent Dr Sharples or Rodney Hide the bulldozer who is straight in? 
We can see that the Maori people especially in my area of South Auckland have been let down by the Maori Party. [ 
Interruption 
] Oh that member can squawk but her whip should have made sure that Maori attended a select committee to hear what people were saying. That is very important; it is a part of the process that the Maori Party wants so much—part of the process that ordinary Maori families who are paying high taxes and who will be paying even higher taxes want representation on. But they are not getting it from the Maori Party. That bill was very important for one-third of New Zealand’s population—one-third of New Zealand’s population—but where was the Maori Party? It was missing in action. Its members were not anywhere but Labour kept the fight going in the trenches. 
You know even John Banks of Auckland City is talking about how the bill will not work too well and saying that council-controlled organisations will have a life of their own. They may have a life of their own but there will not be any Maori people on those organisations either I dare say. They will not have Maori on them. 
I feel sorry for Mr Henare. At the time of the second bill he went around the country around Auckland and to marae but he could not say a thing.