Cosgrove Clayton: Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
Cosgrove Clayton: Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:660;Page:15578] 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour—Waimakariri) 
: 
 In addressing clause 1 on the title of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill I say that one could call it the “ Rodney Hide Special Bill”. I for one am not at all surprised that Mr Hide has brought in this bill. He has talked about transparency. What is his tag line when he is in the political mire as he has been day after day? It is to say he has to go out and do the best job that he can for the people of Epsom. I say to Mr Hide that this bill reeks of hypocrisy. Mr Hide has a long long track record of talking about transparency and accountability. He talked about it when the issue was about perks and we all know he came a gutser on that. He talked about transparency and accountability in respect of law and order and we know he came a gutser on that too when he covered up for David Garrett. 
Now Mr Hide has brought into Parliament this bill which could be titled the “Biggest Act of Hypocrisy That We Have Seen Come in Here Bill”. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: Calm down. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: At least I have not had a couple of crates of V this morning as that member has. If any member in this Chamber should calm down it is “Old Psycho” over there. He should not tell me or any other member to calm down because Nick Smith does not want councils to be accountable not even his own council in his own patch. The old windbag over there the old hayseed does not want his council to be accountable to the community or to consult it. Oh the pills must have kicked in! He is a bit silent now. 
I say to Mr Hide— 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I take offence at the coarse allegations that are being made by Clayton Cosgrove. They are both untrue and unparliamentary. I ask him to withdraw and apologise. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: I withdraw and apologise. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy) 
: I am on my feet. The debate has been quite passionate but on a reasonably respectful plane. We are nearing the end of it and I would not like us to lose that. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: I come back to the point that Rodney Hide and other members of the Government have gone around the country saying this bill is about transparency and accountability. Mr Hide has made great play of the fact that the people should have their say. He has said the people should be involved in local government and the politicians in local government should be accountable to them. It is a pity he does not apply that to his own personal affairs but putting that aside he states that politicians should be accountable to the community. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: Always in the gutter. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: You are no example I say to Dr Smith. Then we come to this bill which reduces the requirement on local authorities to consult and be accountable to their communities. I come back to the suggestion that a good title for this bill would be the “Yet Again a Rodney Hide Special Bill”. It is a case of Mr Hide talking about transparency accountability the good people of Epsom and how every day he has to try to be the best MP that he can be regardless of his track record in this place then pushing through a bill under urgency. Every bill on local authority matters that the Minister has introduced has been handled under urgency— 
Phil Twyford 
: Bar one. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: —bar one—because he does not want his legislation to be scrutinised and does not want the people to hold him to account. 
I challenge the Minister to get up and explain how reducing the requirement on a local authority to actively consult with its community on community goals and outcomes in any way engenders and enhances political accountability to those people. I ask the Minister that question. That is what he said he founded ACT on. It is what he says he lives by apart from in his own personal and political affairs in Parliament yet although he preaches that he does not walk the talk. How will a local authority know which goals and outcomes a community wants to have if it is not required to consult that community? Even Nick Smith’s council will not be required to consult on those community goals and outcomes. Yet again Mr Hide preaches accountability and transparency for everybody else. He takes the moral high ground desperately trying to rekindle a political future that is in tatters. 
I will give Mr Hide this: he has guts. Even though he is trying to rekindle his political future and reinvent himself yet again with or without the spray-on tan he still has the fortitude to bring into Parliament a bill that does exactly the opposite of what he preaches that everybody else should do. Everybody else should be accountable; everybody else should consult their electorates. He says he consults the people in Epsom but he brings a bill into the Chamber that reduces the requirement of a local authority to consult its community its constituency. I ask my colleagues how that shows accountability and how that will hold local politicians’ feet to the fire when they propose to do bad things—and we have seen that occur. 
When it comes to water I challenge Nikki Wagner. We have a major water issue in Canterbury—a major water issue. This bill of course allows the privatisation of water assets in the future. So I look forward to future debates with that member over there Nick Smith and with Nikki Wagner as well.