Wagner Nicky: Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill (No 3) — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeWagner Nicky: Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill (No 3) — Second Reading[Sitting date: 22 May 2014. Volume:699;Page:18288. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon NICKY WAGNER (Minister of Customs): I am very pleased to be able to take a call on the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill (No 3) in its second reading. This is a bill that is about better more effective and more efficient local government and it amends the Local Government Act 2002 to give effect to the second phase of the Government’s reform of local government. It is all about providing councils with tools to give local authorities the ability to provide better services to their communities and it focuses particularly on improving housing affordability through the changes made to development contributions. Local government just like central government needs to be able to deliver better services to New Zealanders through tight fiscal times and this bill and its reforms are part of National’s programme for building a more competitive and productive economy and for delivering better public services.It was very interesting listening to the member Phil Twyford talk about the bill. He obviously does not understand the detail. I want to make it very very clear that all infrastructural costs of a new development for housing must be paid by the developer. That is in terms of the roads the sewers the water etc. etc. including parks reserves and community centres. The only extra facilities that cannot be put on those development contributions are those that are also used by existing residents. In other words we are sharing it fairly across the whole community.National does not want future generations to be unable to afford to buy their own homes nor do we want local authorities to be unable to invest in the infrastructure necessary to make our communities grow. It is so important then that development contributions are fair and no higher than they need to be and I think everyone agrees with that. Some councils have had specific projects that have required ongoing development contributions for bigger projects and so we put a transitional clause into this bill to allow them to continue to collect those contributions for things that have already been built or that are currently under construction.We have also changed section 200 of the Act. Clause 54 amends the section to clarify that territorial authorities cannot charge development contributions for infrastructure that has already been provided for and funded by the Crown. In other words if the Government pays for it the ratepayer does not have to pay for it and that seems ultimately fair to me. The bill also requires better and more transparent planning for the costs of infrastructure and we noticed that these huge infrastructure programmes like those for water sewage—those sorts of things—really put the pressure on rates. So this bill specifies that the council must have a strategy that says that the most likely scenario—Denis O’Rourke: They have always had those. This is not new.Hon NICKY WAGNER: —for the management of the infrastructure assets’ indicative estimates and projected for capital and operating expenditure. Some councils may have done this but what we are looking for is a consistency across the councils to make sure it is very transparent for ratepayers. These estimates will be linked with their long-term plans over 10 years to start with and then for 5 years as it is further out.At the request of the local government sector this bill extends the local boards model that has been used in Auckland. It is a model where the local boards share the governance with the councils’ governing body. It is something a little bit like community boards which people are familiar with across the country. But these local boards are statutory bodies. They have mandated responsibilities and cannot be sidelined by the council which often happens with community boards.Ratepayers are very keen for their councils to deliver services efficiently and well. This bill will encourage greater collaboration and shared services between local authorities and it will provide local authorities with a range of really practical ways to achieve efficiencies of scale without necessarily having to amalgamate. The bill also focuses on better consultation decision making and planning. It provides councils with more flexibility and clarity about how and when to consult. It allows that consultation process to be easier and simpler and it also specifies that they have to use plain English documents which I think will please a lot of ratepayers. It also allows councils to use new modern technologies and techniques to consult with the public and hopefully that will keep the price of consultation down.The final goal of this legislation and of all National’s local government changes is to provide better services and to keep rates affordable. Rate rises are getting under control. The average rate rise in 2012 was 3.1 percent and it has been coming down year after year under the National Government since the high peak of 8.62 percent in 2007 under Labour. I think that is good news for all New Zealanders.