Barry Maggie: Kaipara District Council (Validation of Rates and Other Matters) Bill — Second ReadingText is subject to correctionBarry Maggie: Kaipara District Council (Validation of Rates and Other Matters) Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 13 November 2013. Volume:694;Page:51. Text is subject to correction.]MAGGIE BARRY (National—North Shore): I rise to speak in the second reading of the Kaipara District Council (Validation of Rates and Other Matters) Bill which is sponsored by Northland MP Mike Sabin. This is a bill with a very narrow purpose. It validates specified rates set between the 2006-07 and 20011-12 financial years. That is it. This bill is the best solution to fix some of the irregularities so that the council cancontinue to function. Under the commissioners who have been in place for the past year that is just what this council is doing.The Local Government and Environment Committee heard a lot of submissions as other speakers today have alluded to. There were 133 submitters who were opposed to the bill. We received 157 written submissions. But when you analyse them in more detail 24 submissions were in support of the bill and one of them was representing 88 additional people. So we are very aware that 112 people who submitted to us were very much in support of this member’s bill by Mike Sabin. I think that needs to be kept in mind because everybody agonised over this bill. It was so far from ideal it just was not funny.I think that those of use who were at Maungatūroto and who have been at the hearings in Wellington also are very well aware of how much angst and misery has gone on over this particular situation for so long. In fact Graeme Ramsey who was the former mayor of the district of Kaipara for 6 years up until 2004 which was well before these difficulties began actually outlined to us that there was some 30 years of controversy surrounding building a community waste-water system. There had been problems with a fast-growing community and there were issues with water quality in the harbour. Nobody had any accord or any agreement. Against that background a deeply divided community came up with a solution and elected a council that did them wrong and that did the wrong thing. Whether it was incompetent or whether it actually had corrupt practices those are the measures that will be determined by other findings by other reviews.I have to reaffirm this: this particular piece of legislation which is the best that could be done under the circumstances does not impinge on any of the other inquiries under way. The Office of the Auditor-General’s inquiry into the EcoCare sewerage scheme—the independent inquiry of the Auditor-General—and the commissioners’ inquiry into matters aside from the above including the actions of the former chief executive officer will all continue and this piece of legislation does not impinge on those. What it does allow people to do is to get on with life.We have heard from the commissioners. The chair of the commissioners John Robertson appeared before us on several occasions. He is somebody who has worked very hard to ensure that they are putting in place mechanisms that will help and they have done so already. Much has been achieved. Finances and risk management and financial reporting processes are now in place to monitor performance.I am going through these because I know very well from people who have come to speak to me at my clinics on the North Shore and from hearing and listening carefully to the submitters that there are a lot of people who feel that things are going to be in a very bad and dreadful state. I want to take this time to reassure them that much has been done. When this piece of legislation goes through before Christmas they will then be able to get back on track.On rates the commissioners have achieved a balanced budget. Their forecasts indicate small rate increases through to 2022 which will pretty much essentially cover inflation. Significant council resources have of course been applied to this. This is why I think apart from one exception there has been a real unanimity of purpose around this. We did not like to think that all of the people in the Kaipara District—not just those in Mangawhai with the sewerage scheme but everybody—are paying for this. Everybody is having to dig deep over a series of problems and irregularities. It is very important that we have hope for the future and that hope has been given.I would like to end what is unfortunately a short call on this—and I will speak further on this in the third reading—with some of the things that have been said to us by some of our submitters. They said that there can be no solution going forward and theycannot have justice in this district by withholding revenue from the council. Clause 14 as others have said will enable everybody who wants to to have their day in court and to hold people accountable.I agree with the sponsoring member Mike Sabin that the auditors and others probably have a case to answer and this is not a “get out of jail free” card at all. Of the people who have submitted to us I will end with Graeme Ramsey who commends this legislation because “Passing it does not excuse past mistakes nor absolve decision makers and advisors from responsibility. Rather it provides a basis on which we can move forward.” and rebuild the trust and mend the broken relationships. Thank you.