Blue Jackie: Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill — In Committee 
Blue Jackie: Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:663;Page:11484] 
Dr JACKIE BLUE (National) 
: 
 I was going to talk about the local boards but I will get on to them shortly. I will start by making some comments about council-controlled organisations because of the misinformation given by the previous speaker Lynne Pillay who said there was no accountability for the council-controlled organisations. There is a lot of misinformation about that. In fact there is a lot of accountability for the council-controlled organisations. When we went around all the regions of Auckland whether to the east west south or north we heard the concerns of submitters. There were concerns about the council-controlled organisations and the lack of accountability—concerns that they were at arm’s length from Auckland Council and were basically secret organisations. 
I say to that member that the council-controlled organisations are not a power unto themselves and they will not be doing their work in secret. Council-controlled organisations have to produce a statement of intent which outlines their objectives and plans ahead. The council-controlled organisations must account to the council in terms of all those objectives; they are accountable to the council. The council-controlled organisations have to produce those statements of intent and stick by them. That is how the system will work. Auckland Transport is the only council-controlled organisation that has been set up as a statutory council-controlled organisation and it will require an Act of Parliament to disband it. Watercare Services can be disbanded after 2015 but essentially any other council-controlled organisation can be disbanded by the council as it sees fit. 
The council will also require the council-controlled organisations to follow a specific accountability policy which spells out exactly what the council expects of each council-controlled organisation and the Auckland Governance Legislation Committee has recommended that all council-controlled organisations be made subject to the council’s long-term plan. Under the Local Government Act 2002 meetings are subject to the provisions of the Official Information Act and as such they do not have to be open to the public but it is important to note that the select committee has recommended that the council may require in its accountability policy that council-controlled organisations must hold their meetings in public. So there is huge transparency and huge accountability; it is quite different from what that member said. 
I will now talk about local government because that is one of the most important aspects of this bill. We have the super-city—we have the big picture for the council and the mayor—but the local boards will be the face of local government and the face of local communities for all of Auckland and concern about the boards was the main fear that members of the select committee heard submitters raise. Submitters were concerned that communities would lose their identity and be swallowed up in this new regime. We listened carefully to submitters; we listened and we have made changes to the legislation. The local boards will represent communities at the local level and they will play an integral role in the Auckland Council’s overall planning process. Their role will be wide-ranging and very significant. They will help to build strong local communities. 
The local board members will be elected from the local community. Those local board members will know exactly how their communities tick. They will know about a community’s hopes its fears and its aspirations. Those local board members will be absolutely crucial in bringing a local community together. They will be required to meet regularly with the community that they represent and to understand exactly what its concerns are. They will be required to formally consult the community when developing their local board plans. Those local board plans will have to be done every 3 years and every year the local board will have to agree with the council on its local priorities and funding. It is important to note that the local boards will have funding to match the responsibilities and role that they have. 
The second bill provided for local boards to be responsible for all non-regulatory activities unless taking a regional approach would better promote the well-being of Aucklanders. In other words local boards will deal with all matters that are not regional. Local boards will be able to propose by-laws and are expected to undertake a range of regulatory functions delegated by the governing body. Some regulatory functions might include by-laws consent processes licensing such as dog and liquor licensing and animal management. The Auckland Transition Agency cannot delegate regulatory authority to the local boards but the council can—and I am sure that it will after 1 November. 
Let us take the example of alcohol which is very topical at the moment. It could well be that the council develops a region-wide policy and framework so that there is consistency throughout the region but the council could well devolve responsibility—and I hope that it does—to the local boards so that they have the ability to make decisions about liquor bans and possibly the placement of liquor outlets. I know that that is a huge concern in Mount Roskill. In the area where I work in Mount Roskill South residents were up in arms. They revolted against the potential opening of a liquor outlet last year. They came together for the first time. It was unprecedented but they were united in their opposition to it. The proposed liquor outlet was to have been in a local store metres from some schools a kindergarten and local parks not to mention the fact that there were already a number of liquor outlets within a kilometre of the site. The community objected violently. Residents could not do much about it as the consent had already been granted but they still vocalised their opposition. They won in the end because quite sensibly that liquor outlet decided not to open. Thank you.