Twyford Phil: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
Twyford Phil: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
[Volume:656;Page:5754] 
4.  
PHIL TWYFORD (Labour) 
 to the  
Minister of Local Government 
: Will he resign as a Minister if Maori seats are included on the Auckland Council? 
Hon RODNEY HIDE (Minister of Local Government) 
: 
 Yes. On 6 April Cabinet decided that there would not be separate Maori seats on the new Auckland Council. Subsequently on 3 June I met with the Prime Minister when he asked for my thoughts on reserved mana whenua seats. I advised him that it would be impossible for the ACT Party to vote for any race or tribal-based seats on the Auckland Council. We believe in one law for all every citizen having a vote of equal value and every position of political power being open to every citizen in fair and free elections. I advised the Prime Minister that I would not be able to introduce any bill that included separate Maori reserved seats for any group and that in such a case I would not be able to continue as Minister of Local Government. I also gave the Prime Minister my assurance that the ACT Party would abide by its confidence and supply agreement and would continue to support his excellent and honest Government which stands in marked contrast to the Government of the past 9 years. 
Phil Twyford 
: Has he seen any reports of the ACT Party leader who said in last year’s Television New Zealand election debate that he would support the entrenchment of Maori seats and did it influence his view now that Maori seats are fundamentally against the culture of New Zealand and the principles of the ACT Party? 
Hon RODNEY HIDE 
: Yes I stand by that statement and no it did not influence my view. Before the last election the Hon Tariana Turia came to see me and explained that the seats if we were going to have Maori seats should be in the same position as every other seat in the House. On the basis that I believe everyone should be treated the same I agreed with her. 
Phil Twyford 
: What indication following the Cabinet decision in April that there would be no Maori seats has he received from the Prime Minister that National would change its mind and support Maori seats? 
Hon RODNEY HIDE 
: The Prime Minister I think has been quite public in his consideration of the issue. It is also the case that the parliamentary select committee is considering the bill and the issue and has received submissions on it. Ultimately this will be a decision that the Government and Parliament make. I just wanted to be clear to the Prime Minister about my position so he would not have any surprises. It certainly was not a threat in any way. 
Phil Twyford 
: How does the Minister reconcile his statements in relation to the super-city: “I don’t sort of go in there and say it’s my way or the highway” and: “We live in a parliamentary democracy where Parliament ultimately will make this decision.”; how does he reconcile those statements with his threat to throw his toys out of the cot if he does not get his own way on Maori seats? 
Hon RODNEY HIDE 
: Very easily in fact because I have never made threats or said it is my way or the highway. What I have said is that this is a very important principle to the ACT Party and as the leader of the ACT Party I could not be responsible for introducing legislation that ran so counter to ACT’s philosophy and principles and therefore if the Government or Parliament wanted to do it they would need to find another Minister of Local Government to introduce that legislation. That is not “my way or the highway”; that is a politician standing up for a principle of his party—something that the Labour Party members seem to know nothing of. 
Phil Twyford 
: Did the Minister or anyone in his office leak or authorise the leak of Tau Henare’s email in order to grandstand and demonstrate that a party polling at 1 percent can tell the Government what to do? 
Hon RODNEY HIDE 
: No I did not see the email until after TV3 had it; so no that was not possible.