Sepuloni Carmel: Third Readings — 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Sepuloni Carmel: Third Readings — 
[Sitting date: 03 August 2010. Volume:665;Page:12955. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
CARMEL SEPULONI (Labour) 
: 
 Firstly I will speak on the Affordable Housing: Enabling Territorial Authorities Act Repeal Bill. Labour remains opposed to changes to affordable housing laws. The fifth Labour Government passed the Affordable Housing: Enabling Territorial Authorities Act which this bill seeks to repeal. The Act provided the power for councils to levy developer contributions to provide for social and affordable housing for New Zealanders—something there is a great need for. The Act also provided for councils to use a range of incentives to facilitate those contributions. Labour accepts that the economic bubble has burst and that to date those powers have not been widely used by councils but we also have to acknowledge that officials have made it very clear that there has not been enough time for the powers to be implemented by the authorities. With all that in mind we strongly believe that the Act could be useful in the future and that it is typical of this short-sighted Government that it is now seeking to repeal it. 
Housing affordability remains a major issue in New Zealand. Almost one in three New Zealanders is now spending at least 30 percent of their disposable income on housing and many of us would have seen instances where the amount was actually more than one-third. That is unsustainable. As legislators it is our role to ensure that housing is affordable and accessible for all New Zealanders and I think it is pertinent—as Maryan Street brought up earlier in this argument—that one of the fundamental things we need to ensure that New Zealanders have access to is shelter. That was the previous Labour Government’s goal when it introduced the Affordable Housing: Enabling Territorial Authorities Act. The objective was to promote the provision of affordable housing to low and moderate income households and to encourage mixed communities in order to close the inequality gap in New Zealand. Perhaps—although I doubt it—the Government does have good intentions with this bill. Maybe it thinks that the current Affordable Housing: Enabling Territorial Authorities Act is not working. But if that were the case why did the Government not refer the legislation to a select committee to consider possible amendments? We have seen all too often with this Government that it does not allow legislation to go to a select committee so that it does not even consider the possibilities. That would have been responsible governance. It would have been the action of a Government that cared about the long-term well-being of all New Zealanders and that cared about affordable housing for the many not the few. But this has not happened. Instead the Government has decided to repeal the Act without such consideration meaning that the tools we have to address the issue of housing affordability in New Zealand are further limited. 
Although Labour is opposed to this legislation we support the retention of clauses prohibiting restrictive covenants that aim to exclude social housing. Nevertheless we are disappointed because these provisions have been significantly watered down by the Government. For example its decision to make these provisions apply only if such discrimination is the principal purpose of the covenant creates a huge loophole in the law. We also wish to see the retention of clauses prohibiting restrictive covenants that aim to exclude affordable housing. Unfortunately for those New Zealanders who are spending too much of their income on housing the Government has neglected to retain these provisions. When the Infrastructure Bill was before the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee there were various submissions from concerned parties in relation to the repeal of the Affordable Housing: Enabling Territorial Authorities Act. I would like to focus on one in particular from the National Council of Women. The council expressed its concern that the section on restrictive covenants no longer prohibited those who aim to exclude affordable housing. It pointed out that this change would adversely affect New Zealand women and their families. The majority of single parents are predominantly women. In addition a large number of retired women live alone as widows. Women’s incomes are already only 88 percent of men’s. Affordable housing is already out of reach for many New Zealanders particularly women and repealing the Act will just make that situation worse. We consider this legislation to be a step back on the path to affordable housing for all New Zealanders and will not be supporting it. 
Secondly I would like to speak to the Utilities Access Bill. My colleagues have already covered Labour’s position on broadband accessibility today and during the first and second readings of the Infrastructure Bill. I would like to talk about broadband accessibility from my experience being based in the Waitakere electorate. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: I thought you were in New Plymouth. 
CARMEL SEPULONI 
: I say to Mr Henare that I want to talk today about Henderson Valley School. This school is situated at the beautiful foothills of the Waitakere Ranges about 5 kilometres from the centre of Henderson. The school has a broadband connection on an ADSL line with an average download speed of 0.1 megabits per second. In other words it has painfully slow Internet. This means that only about six Internet users can be online at any one time. It also means that documents cannot always download and online video clips will not play. It makes the teachers’ jobs harder it makes the administrators’ jobs harder and it seriously restricts the use of e-learning at the school. I have spoken at length to the principal of Henderson Valley School about this issue and her main concern is that the students at the school are being disadvantaged by poor broadband connectivity. Although the teachers at the school continue to do a wonderful job e-learning is a valuable part of a primary school education and no New Zealand kid should be missing out. The experience of Henderson Valley School highlights a flaw in the Government’s broadband policy. Although the Minister for Communications and Information Technology likes to talk up ultra-fast broadband he is not coming even close to delivering on it. We just keep hearing talk but we do not see any action. All Henderson Valley School needs is a functional broadband connection and honestly that should not be too much to ask. 
Efficient telecommunications infrastructure is very important for economic development. This is one thing that National and Labour can both agree on. Another important aspect in broadband policy is its use as an educational tool. The days when a school could survive without computers are long gone. To give our kids the best possible start in life they need access to computers and broadband in schools. The focus needs to be on equitable access on making sure that all kids no matter where they go to school have access to broadband. So although Labour will be supporting the Utilities Access Bill I would like the Government to keep the kids of Henderson Valley School in mind when using this legislation to advance its broadband policy. Thank you.