Carter Chris: Local Government (Auckland Council) Bill — In Committee 
Carter Chris: Local Government (Auckland Council) Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:657;Page:6441] 
Hon CHRIS CARTER (Labour—Te Atatu) 
: 
 I rise to speak against this legislation. I feel that I can bring some experience to this debate having been the Minister of Local Government between 2002 and 2005. [ 
Interruption 
] Thank you very much Mr Hawkins for those kind words. Indeed the Local Government Act which I guess will be the overriding document to fit this legislation around currently stands in my name. So I have quite a passionate interest in this legislation. I am also an Aucklander which will have a direct impact on my life and on where I live and on the communities of Te Atatu Henderson Kelston Massey and Glendene which I represent in this Parliament. 
It was the Labour Government that set up the royal commission to look at Auckland governance. In the 3 years that I served as the Minister of Local Government I had a very frustrating experience at times dealing with myriad conflicting ambitions among the seven Auckland territorial authorities especially around the issue of transport organisation which is so critical for our city. The Labour Government recognised that some improvement needed to take place in the governance structures of Auckland. Indeed almost every local body politician one spoke to in the Auckland region agreed with that. It was just about finding a way forward. The royal commission was set up it went through an exhaustive process it had lots of excellent submissions it had great participation from the public and it came out with a report. But what did the new Government do with it? It adapted it to suit its own agenda. That is why the Labour Party cannot accept the bill as it stands before the Parliament. Catherine Delahunty from the Green Party spoke for about 10 minutes about her passion her determination for the Green Party to see Maori representation in Auckland. 
We have had lots of speeches about that today and I want to compliment my colleague Phil Twyford and his team who have been so active in giving the Labour Party’s point of view on this legislation and why we cannot support it. They have also touched on the critical aspect of having all of Auckland’s communities— 
Hon Darren Hughes 
: He’s emotional. 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: Yes because I care about the city I live in. I care about the communities that are there. I care about the diversity of the city and how it will be represented as this new super-city. It is really important that “local” means local that the Maori community and the other communities of Auckland have a say and a participation in how their city is governed and that they have a say in what happens in regard to the many rules that are made in that city and that impact on their lives. 
I heard Mr Hide this morning on National Radio saying that one vote means one vote for all. Of course the reality is not quite as simple as that. I know that in the 3 years that I was Minister of Local Government one of the issues I was very concerned about then—and Local Government New Zealand said it was concerned about it—was the under-representation of Maori people in local government. There are very very few Maori elected to community boards to councils and as mayors—very few. The reality is that there are barriers to participation. Those barriers are about having the resources to stand; they are about having the widespread appeal to the population. It is a reality. 
It is no good to wring one’s hands in here or come up with populist nonsense on Radio New Zealand as Rodney Hide did this morning saying that one vote means one vote for all. That is not the reality. We recognise that in this Parliament. We have set aside designated Maori seats. We have done that for over 100 years because we have said that the role and status of the original people of this land—the tangata whenua the indigenous people of New Zealand—is such that they have a special status. We are all equal yes but it does not mean that we are all the same. The reality is that Maori have first of all a unique constitutional position in New Zealand as represented in this Chamber with separate Maori seats but also the reality is that the 16 percent of the population that is of Maori heritage does face barriers to participation in local government. That is the reality. We can just look at the statistics. 
Why would we not have Maori seats in Auckland? Why would we not give an opportunity where people are elected to stand as councillors in the new Greater Auckland Council to participate in that council and compete equally in those seats against other candidates for designated Maori seats? It would absolutely improve the participation and involvement of tangata whenua in Auckland. We want everybody else to be participating as well. Progressive councils in Auckland have already set out to implement one of the ways to do that. In Waitakere City where I live we have the Waitakere Ethnic Board which provides a voice and representation for the many emerging communities in Waitakere city that trace their heritage to Asia to the Middle East to Africa to Latin America. We also have a Pacific Advisory Board and a Maori advisory board all of which have an active role in shaping how Waitakere City decides on policies and programmes that impact on the lives of the citizens of all those communities who live in our city. 
On that basis I would like to support the amendment put up by my Chinese colleague from the Labour Party Raymond Huo who proposes to set up by amendment an Asian Advisory Board as part of this legislation. I know that Raymond Huo will not be wanting just an Asian Advisory Bard; he will be hoping that we have a Pacific one. I would rather see Maori councillors but if we are not going to see that at the moment—we hope we might in the future—at least let us have a Maori advisory board as well. This is all about participation. It is about really putting the “local” into local. 
I see the Minister in the chair at the moment is Pansy Wong who was New Zealand’s first Kiwi of Chinese heritage to be elected to our Parliament. She is not the only one of course; we have Raymond Huo from Labour now. I am wondering how Miss Wong feels about this Asian Advisory Board. She and I are matched together all over New Zealand at ethnic events because for 6 years I was the Minister for Ethnic Affairs and I am still the spokesman for Labour. I have heard her say so often since the election: “We want real participation for Asian New Zealanders a real voice in shaping how New Zealand develops.” I have to say to Miss Wong that here is her chance to actually do something about that. I ask her to support Raymond Huo’s amendment to set up an Asian Advisory Board. She has talked so often in the last 6 months about real participation and real decision-making by Asian New Zealanders and here is her chance to actually do something about that. Here is her chance to say: “Right I went against the National Party. I said that Raymond Huo is right; it is about participation. It is about putting the ‘local’ back into local government and I voted for his amendment.” Of course we all know that she is not going to do that because she so often has proven in the 6 months she has had the job that she is just a mouthpiece for National’s policies. 
The thing I am really worried about is Auckland’s assets. Some of our cities like Manukau City and Waitakere City have been vigilant about guarding our assets. The ratepayers through their council ownership have the port company and they have some airport shares left. I ask Mr Twyford how many billion dollars of assets there are in Auckland at the moment. 
Phil Twyford 
: Twenty-eight. 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: There are $28 billion of assets in Auckland at the moment. I wonder whether for Mr Hide and his greedy little ACT Party of exploiters and profiteers—we know them so well from the 1980s and 1990s do we not—it is actually $28 billion worth of Auckland assets that this is all about. Is it not strange that Auckland is to be amalgamated into a sort of greater Reich but Wellington with its myriad of councils is not to be touched? I wonder whether that has a lot to do with the $28 billion worth of assets. Mr Key made a promise that he would not sell any assets in the first term of a National Government. No such promise has been made about local body assets. I wonder whether Auckland with its beautiful little treasure chest of $28 billion worth of local assets is really what Mr Hide and his mates are after. 
This legislation is fatally flawed. It has been rammed through under urgency. Here we are in urgency again this week going through this process. It defies and goes against the bulk of submissions that the public made to the royal commission. It defies the royal commission in a number of critical ways; one of them which I guess is the most important and symbolic is the Maori wards. My colleague Mr Twyford just talked about the small number of councillors—that is another really important issue.