Sio Su'a William: Local Government (Tamaki Makaurau Reorganisation) Amendment Bill Local Government (Auckland Council) Amendment Bill Local Government (Auckland Transitional Provisions) Bill — Third Readings 
Sio Su'a William: Local Government (Tamaki Makaurau Reorganisation) Amendment Bill Local Government (Auckland Council) Amendment Bill Local Government (Auckland Transitional Provisions) Bill — Third Readings 
[Volume:663;Page:11634] 
SU’A WILLIAM SIO (Labour—Mangere) 
: 
 I will begin with some pleasantries. E nga mana e nga iwi e nga reo e nga hau e wha e nga karangaranga maha tena koutou tena koutou kia ora tatou katoa. Talofa lava. Ou te fa‘atalofa atu i lau afioga i le Fofoga Fetalai fa‘apea sui mamalo o le Maota Fono ae maise fo‘i le paia maualuga o Samoa o lo‘o fa‘afofoga mai. 
I take this opportunity to briefly thank the House. This is the last day of the present sitting block. I appreciate—and I reflect the appreciation of the Samoan community—the acknowledgment of Samoan Language Week in the House. I am particularly grateful to all members who attempted to use the language here and I hope they continue to use the language outside of the House. 
I now express my appreciation to my colleagues on the Auckland Governance Legislation Committee: the Hon George Hawkins Phil Twyford and the Hon Shane Jones. I thank my various colleagues from the Auckland region who participated throughout the consultation process. I think it is important that I acknowledge them because in the Committee stage they were able to convey what the people of Auckland were saying. To be fair I also acknowledge the chair of the select committee John Carter for the way he conducted our proceedings and I acknowledge all the members from the other side of the House. 
This afternoon I have been somewhat reflective as we have been debating the third and final readings of the bills derived from the third bill to set up the new Auckland structure. I have listened intently to the submissions made by MPs from around this House. There are two Samoan sayings that come to mind that I want to expand on in my speech. The first one is: “Ua aliali le va‘ava‘a o le tuli”. It means that when the bird called the tuli reveals its insides all one sees are bones—nothing more—but when it closes its wings it looks nice and fluffy. The other saying is: “E le falala fua lau o le niu e ala ona falala ona ua agi le matagi”—“The leaves of the coconut tree do not move without reason; they move because the winds are blowing.” I have to say when I reflect on the first bill the second bill and now the third bill that change is coming. The winds are cold outside and I have a feeling that it is going to be colder for the people of Auckland. 
I have a picture in my mind of Manukau City and the Auckland region. I got this picture on Monday when I attended the premiere of a movie called  
Groove City 
. It is a movie made by people from Manukau and it showcases the wealth of talent of people in Manukau. One could not help but cry laugh and be overwhelmed by the joy that that movie showed. I recommend it to the House when it comes out. That film showcases what I think is the best of Manukau City. There are many murals that also reflect that. My experience is that when we put up a beautiful mural on the wall of a town centre or by the library as showcased by the  
Groove City  
movie the minute some idiot some inane creep tags it whether it be a yellow white black blue or red tag it destroys the beauty of that mural—it really does. 
In the beginning of this process when we talked about uniting the region when we talked about our vision for the future of enabling Auckland to be competitive with the other significant cities of the world the people of Auckland felt some hope and some desire that it would be a good thing. But since then the first bill was rammed through this House in urgency without consultation. The people of Auckland were up in arms and they asked where the consultation was. The Prime Minister broke a pre-election promise. He said that he would consult Aucklanders when the report of the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance became available. Aucklanders did not like the fact that the first bill was rammed through this House without consultation. The sad thing is that laid the foundation for the death of the eight local territorial authorities that exist in the Auckland region. 
Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman 
: So Labour’s against it? 
SU’A WILLIAM SIO 
: I say to the member “Hold your horses!”. That is the sad story about this whole affair. In respect of the second bill because National members had listened to and heard the anger of the people of Auckland they decided to consult. But instead of maintaining due process in respect of that consultation National collapsed the process and shortened it and people again were not happy about the way it was done. I listened to the consultation. Many Aucklanders were not happy about the second round of consultation but they felt that they should be polite. I heard the chairperson of the select committee say that they should wait for the third bill—there would be some changes. That did not happen. In respect of the third and final bill legislation from which we are debating and are about to vote on today people lost their patience. Some significant individuals in the Auckland region were quite angry and they pointed out to the chairperson of the select committee and the members of the Government what they truly thought. In my second reading speech I listed what many of those significant Aucklanders said. 
As an Opposition party Labour has fought tooth and nail on the first bill the second bill and the third bill. The third bill was introduced for consultation during the Christmas period. Most people were not focused on it; they wanted to spend time with their families. It almost felt as if introducing the bill during the Christmas period was the deliberate intention of this Government so as not to reveal everything to the people of Auckland. People submitted to the select committee that they were unprepared and that they had not been given enough time to make their submissions. 
I repeat what Aucklanders have said to me and to the other members of the select committee. The National Government’s third bill is seen as designing a corporate governance structure for the Auckland region and its peoples. The majority of Aucklanders are opposed to this corporate design. The majority of Aucklanders believe that the Government’s super-city structure is about positioning the Auckland region for a hostile takeover of its strategic and significant asset holdings. Submitters have described—and I repeat—the third bill as the third strike against this Government’s recidivist determination to abuse undermine and ride roughshod over the democratic principle of good governance structures based on power by the people of the people for the people. The majority of Aucklanders did not vote for a National Government to flog off assets that they had put a lot of sweat and energy into acquiring. This legislation is the final nail in the coffin. 
I say that for Manukau City the third bill seals up the fate of that wonderful city and its people to the unknown. We will no longer see the Manukau sun shining in the Manukau sky. It will not be Manukau air that we breathe from here on. They will not be Manukau parks that our children play in any more. Groups and small businesses will have to redesign their names and logos at their own cost. We will lose a part of our identity because of this measure. 
I now finish by saying that this Government got it wrong. This Government got it wrong by not consulting Aucklanders. It got it wrong by having only 20 councillors. It got it wrong by having powerful council-controlled organisations or CCOs. It got it wrong by not having the powers of the local boards enshrined in legislation. It got it wrong by not having Maori representation. That was a significant submission from the people of Auckland—they wanted Maori representation. That has been a missed opportunity by this Government. It got it wrong by not giving clarity to the Pacific communities to the ethnic communities to the youth to the many disabled people in the community— 
H V Ross Robertson 
: The seniors. 
SU’A WILLIAM SIO 
: —and to the senior citizens as Ross Robertson said. It got it wrong when it did not provide any certainty to the business improvement districts. It got it wrong and the people of Auckland will have to pay for it.