Mahuta NanaiaHon NANAIA MAHUTA (Minister of Local Government): I rise to take a call on the Local Government (Customer Focus) Amendment Bill and say that we will not be supporting it. It's a seemingly small and innocuous amendment but it's the kind of bill where it proposes a solution and we're trying to figure out the problem because the problem that the member's proposing actually relates to the Resource Management Act.So we will not be supporting it but let me go through in detail around why because the member Jacqui Dean has said that part of the proposition is to ensure that there is a greater emphasis of councils on the customer. It demonstrates that either the member has failed to recognise the range of customers on a daily basis that local governments and councils deal with or she's talking about a specific type of customer. In the example that she's given by and large building consents are a certain type of decision making where if that was the intent then she should have had the definition in that bill.But let me come back to the range of customers because that does make a very big difference. I mean we inserted the four well-beings" back into the law which was supported by councils because councils realised that they needed to engage quite widely on a number of fronts with their communities and that was going to be a hallmark of their ability to deliver services that would actually meet the aspirations of a community on a number of fronts: recreational facilities cycleways waste services the way in which you set fees and levies. So councils already engage with their communities and they consult widely on a number of things. They have the annual plans and long-term community plans.They consult on things like bylaws. And if we go to the range of bylaws that they consult on—in roading speed limits parking traffic; alcohol ban bylaws; trade waste; freedom camping; and dog control to name a few. And if you go on to any council website they will detail the range of things that they are consulting on to secure community feedback—those most affected perhaps in some instances—so that they can then use that feedback to tailor the decisions that they make. That's a really important element of the services that councils provide because if we truly believe in local people making local decisions then we have to be able to ensure that they are able to engage with their community and take on board really strong views and really local things in order to moderate the decisions that they're making that are impacting those most directly affected. So I wonder whether the bill is somewhat misplaced and the member having focused a large part of her contribution on building consents may have actually wanted to target another set of provisions or expand out so more precisely her intent could be reflected in the bill that she was going to bring to this House.When I think about a number of councils that I've visited and the New Zealand Society of Local Government Managers awards that highlight the level of community engagement and customer focus that councils have to engage in—because they are measured every day in every moment on a number of fronts because where the rubber hits the road is on the range of services that they're providing—when I look to the member's own council I was quite interested around the range of engagements that they had on things like the Kakanui mowing survey. They surveyed the community. The community didn't want a change of service but the council took on board that—they didn't change the service although they undertook a new contract. That very much was reflected back by the local community to ensure that the mowing of that particular area was going to stay the same even though the person delivering the service was going to be different.When I look at the consultation in again the member's own area Ōtematatā master plan—where that was engaging with the community to set out their vision on how and where the township will grow there was a lot of feedback on that particular issue and the council was able to glean from that feedback a better response to the decisions around the master plan and planning. Then there are things like where the Moeraki toilet was going to be placed and the community expressed a strong view in favour of the council and so the toilet went up and the project proceeded. My point here is that every day the council has to engage with the community on a number of things. Yes for significant things—again the annual plan and the long-term plan actually capture a lot of the significant aspects but then there are smaller aspects very local that can get communities very charged up and it would be remiss of any council not to take on board the views of those most directly affected so that they can better make decisions. If that's not customer focus I'm not sure what is.Some of the contentious areas however—and let me come back to things like planning fees and charges. These are often consulted on because a dollar here a couple of dollars there increase can make all the world of difference; but again you can go through many council websites and they will demonstrate how they are consulting on planning fees and charges across a number of services that councils provide and then take on board the feedback about where there is the most concern or impact on those most directly affected and then councils are able to propose the types of changes that take account of those types of things. That is as we would want it—surely surely.I acknowledge what seems to be the genuine desire to ensure that there should be a customer focus across councils but I assert that there are already mechanisms within councils that take account of this. We have to ensure by and large that on a regular basis as a matter of best practice and good protocol councils develop the tools where they are regularly engaging with communities not driven hard by statute but actually this is about responsible good governance good local decision-making and enabling the community to feed into a process.I was really really encouraged by the range of things in my own area that have been consulted on—everything from gully restoration to recreational facilities playgrounds Hamilton being a family-friendly area upgrading all the playgrounds being ensured that we're a cycle-friendly town—the extension of the cycleway has been really useful in promoting all sorts of activities and our recreation facilities. Those are things that communities and families feel really strongly about—even where you can take your pet for a walk without being hassled by anyone else. So there are already mechanisms in place for councils to garner the feedback of their communities—those most directly affected—so that they can tailor their decision making to ensure that their focus is on their local communities: those most directly affected.Let me come back to the issue of building consents because again if you go to council websites you'll find that councils oblige themselves by identifying the process that they undertake to work through building consents and the timing you can expect but also if there are off-ramps because of whatever reason what might cause a delay and the clock gets stopped. You can go through the 67 territorial authorities and see that level of visibility. Now I'm not saying that that in itself is an absolute assurance but that is there to give people users greater oversight as to the processes the timings that they can expect from a certain council.Lastly can I say as a result of the COVID experience and timely payments to small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) Minister Nash and the Minister of Finance and I sent a letter to councils just to say that people are going through difficult times; it would be really good if SMEs could be paid on time by councils. Councils respond really positively. They don't need a stick. In fact many councils pride themselves on best practice in the way that they engage with people because their focus is about delivering better services to all communities in their area and there's no need for the bill really."