Sio Su'a William: Local Government (Auckland Reorganisation) Bill — Second Reading In Committee 
Sio Su'a William: Local Government (Auckland Reorganisation) Bill — Second Reading In Committee 
[Volume:654;Page:3266] 
SU’A WILLIAM SIO (Labour—Mangere) 
: 
 Mr Chairman I think you may have to get some lights for this part of the Chamber. I have been calling out for the opportunity to speak and you have had difficulty seeing me. I am not sure whether it is the colour of my skin or the light here but certainly we have to do something about this side of the Chamber. 
Labour opposes the Local Government (Auckland Reorganisation) Bill and I want to address my remarks to four amendments— 
Hon Gerry Brownlee 
: But the member does support reorganising Auckland! 
SU’A WILLIAM SIO 
: —if the member holds his horses. The first amendment is to amend clause 3(7) by inserting a new subclause (aa) after subclause (a): “to remove the right of Aucklanders to vote on any reorganisation of Auckland Local Government as currently provided for in the Local Government Act 2002.” Clause 3(7) states: “the purpose of this Act therefore is—(a) to establish a single unitary authority to govern the entire Auckland region” and the question that needs to be asked of the Minister is where he got his mandate. Where did the Minister get the mandate to establish one unitary authority? The Minister hopefully will take a call or the Associate Minister ought to take a call and answer that question. If the answer is that National won the election then I need to also ask whether National declared prior to the election that it would set up a super-city once it was elected as Government. I have not seen anything that indicates that that is what it was going to do but I have heard Mr John Key say that once the royal commission’s report was made known he would go out and consult Aucklanders. That consultation has not taken place and here we are with clause 3(7) establishing a unitary authority. 
If the Government also says that its mandate comes from the royal commission having consulted 3500 people then I have to ask whether that is a sufficient number when we consider 1.8 million people live in Auckland. In Manukau alone I think there were only 160 submitters. Do 160 submitters give the mandate for us to establish a unitary authority without consulting the people widely? I also say that the process of making submissions to royal commissions or select committees is generally a foreign one for most ordinary workers—workers who have a voice and who have been speaking out at recent meetings at the TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre. About several hundred people turned up there and all of them spoke against the establishment of a super-city. 
But it is also about the way that this is being done. I think people are hearing that Mr Key who with the greatest respect has been referred to as the smiling assassin— 
The CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy) 
: The member will withdraw that. We are sticking to the way in which the House operates which is by using proper names; just withdraw it. 
SU’A WILLIAM SIO 
: I withdraw that. I did say “with the greatest respect”. Although Mr Key has been saying to Aucklanders that he is listening Mr Hide on the other hand has been pretty determined to rush this bill through under urgency. 
Under the Local Government Act Aucklanders have a right to have a vote whenever there is a reorganisation of local government. I ask the Minister whether he received any advice regarding his obligations under the Local Government Act 2002. If he did receive that advice what was the Minister’s response to it? I would like to hear the answer. Polls have been taken throughout the city meetings have been held and a hikoi is coming up on Monday 25 May. All of those polls and meetings are passionately saying that this Government is doing the wrong thing by ramming in legislation under urgency that takes away local government as they know it and takes away their right to have a voice. 
The Government is saying that yes people will have a voice on the second and third pieces of legislation but they are having a voice on what the Government has set up—this unitary authority. Clause 3(7)(b) states: “to dissolve the existing local authorities that govern the Auckland region”.