Sepuloni Carmel:  
Sepuloni Carmel:  
[Volume:654;Page:65] 
CARMEL SEPULONI (Labour) 
: 
 Before I start my speech I acknowledge my colleague Su’a William Sio who spoke before me. He is not only now an MP but also a former Deputy Mayor of Manukau City. He therefore has a very good insight into how the Local Government (Auckland Reorganisation) Bill might affect people in Auckland particularly in Manukau City. 
The National Government is again showing its true colours by failing to consult with the people who will be directly affected by the legislation it attempts to push through. I say “attempts” because obviously it is not doing a very good job. We are here on a Friday night at 7.40 because National’s attempt to push through legislation is not really working. Given that we have only about another 500000 amendments to go we should not be here too much longer! 
Tonight I will talk about clause 11 “Governing body of Transition Agency”; clause 12 “Chief executive of Transition Agency”; and clause 13 “Functions and duties of Transition Agency” and I have several questions for the Government. The first is around the appointment of the Auckland Transition Agency. We have already heard David Cunliffe speak and we know that this process will not be fair and transparent. I have questions around how this agency might reflect Greater Auckland. My second question is with regard to the chief executive: whether the process of appointing the chief executive will be fair and transparent. My third question is around the governing board. If my assumption is right and the board is not reflective of Greater Auckland then how can we expect the board to carry out the functions and duties of the transition agency in the best interests of Aucklanders? Those are the questions I want to discuss.  
Going back to the question of the transparency of the selection of the board we already heard earlier that there is a huge possibility that people like Christine Rankin will be on this transition agency. In my mind I cannot even comprehend how Christine Rankin could be a reflection of the wider Auckland community. Carrying on from what Su’a William Sio was saying with regard to Manukau one thing that I think the National Government and Rodney Hide have overlooked is that currently 14 percent of the population in Auckland is Pacific and 11 percent is Maori. That means that a quarter of Auckland is Maori or Pacific. Will the board reflect that percentage? I doubt it very much. Let us say there will be four board members. That would mean that in all fairness one should be Maori or Pacific. As a Pacific person we would say that person should be Maori.  
But if we look a little bit deeper and think about what is happening in Auckland long term and at the demographic shift that is taking place we know that the demographic for Maori and Pacific is young and that in Auckland 10 or 20 years from now Maori and Pacific people will make up an ever bigger proportion of the population. So it is only fair that the board represents what will happen in the long term for Auckland as well as what it looks like now. I do not know the exact numbers off the top of my head for the numbers of Pacific and Maori youth but I do know that just in the Mt Albert electorate 28 percent of all school pupils are Pacific. That is not in Otara or Mangere; that is in Mt Albert. Will the board reflect the interests of those people? I do not think so.  
In terms of transparency and fairness I ask how we can expect this process to be transparent and fair when the consultation that has taken place so far has been anything but transparent and fair. We have already heard from Su’a that on Monday night a Pacific regional fono was held at the TelstraClear Pacific stadium. That Pacific regional fono was not just for Pacific people in Manukau; it was for Pacific people across the Greater Auckland region. They came to that one place to discuss their concerns about what the National Government and Rodney Hide are proposing for Auckland. Were they happy with what is going on? They were furious! These people were not just a little bit angry—they were furious. Do members know who was at that meeting? Su’a William Sio H V Ross Robertson Carol Beaumont and I were there. Where was Rodney Hide? This was a Pacific regional fono. Where was Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga? 
Hon Member 
: At the council. 
CARMEL SEPULONI 
: That is right. On the same night as this Pacific regional fono about the super-city was taking place Sam Lotu-Iiga was holding—