Blue Jackie: Local Government (Tamaki Makaurau Reorganisation) Amendment Bill Local Government (Auckland Council) Amendment Bill Local Government (Auckland Transitional Provisions) Bill — Third Readings 
Blue Jackie: Local Government (Tamaki Makaurau Reorganisation) Amendment Bill Local Government (Auckland Council) Amendment Bill Local Government (Auckland Transitional Provisions) Bill — Third Readings 
[Volume:663;Page:11628] 
Dr JACKIE BLUE (National) 
: 
 I am pleased to speak on the third readings of the Local Government (Tamaki Makaurau Reorganisation) Amendment Bill the Local Government (Auckland Council) Amendment Bill and the Local Government (Auckland Transitional Provisions) Bill. I would like to congratulate the Ministers Rodney Hide and John Carter on all their hard work and all the officials and the Auckland Governance Legislation Committee staff on all their very hard work. This is the final legislation and it completes the governance arrangements in the Auckland region which will bring enduring unity and progress to Auckland for the next 50 to 100 years. Although the legislative process began over a year ago the actual process began with the royal commission. The royal commission after 18 months of consultation and much advice and discussion uncovered significant problems such as suffocating red tape transport bottlenecks delayed development and lost opportunities. The commission found that many things were holding up Auckland and in particular the way the city was run. Doing nothing was not an option. The royal commission was concerned that there was a lack of leadership that there was no single vision for moving Auckland forward and that important regional issues were getting tangled up in political red tape. That is why this Government has acted swiftly. 
I was privileged to be part of the select committee. We went to all parts of Auckland and listened to Aucklanders from all walks of life. There were many concerns about these bills and as a result there have been significant changes. Indeed in the Committee stage a number of amendments were considered. An excellent amendment by the Hon George Hawkins was adopted. Mr Hawkins’ amendment increases the public accountability of all council-controlled organisations of the Auckland Council. It makes all council-controlled organisations have two board meetings a year open to the public at which the public can speak directly to board members. I am pleased his amendment was adopted. 
The Government is serious about ensuring the council-controlled organisations are accountable and there are many provisions to ensure this. Concern has been expressed that there has not been accountability for council-controlled organisation. There has been concern that they are a power unto themselves doing their business in secret and at arm’s length. Perhaps it is not appreciated that council-controlled organisations must produce a statement of intent that outlines the objectives and plans ahead. They must account to the council in meeting those objectives. Council-controlled organisations will be held to account by the council. Only Auckland transport 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 otherwise the new council can disband any council-controlled organisation it sees fit. In addition the council will have a specific accountability policy for council-controlled organisations that spells out what is expected of them. 
The select committee also recommended that all council-controlled organisations are subject to the council’s long-term plan. Under the Local Government Act meetings are subject to the Official Information Act but they do not have to be open to the public. The amendment in the name of the Hon George Hawkins means that all Auckland Council council-controlled organisations must have two board meetings a year open to the public at which the public can speak directly to board members. It is important to note that the council-controlled organisations are not new entities. They have been around since the Local Government Act 2002. Indeed Auckland has 40 council-controlled organisations. Bob Harvey Mayor of Waitakere City praised council-controlled organisations in a letter to the  
New Zealand Herald  
in March of this year. He said: “For the record CCOs have worked well for Waitakere City. In 1989 we were born with few assets and CCOs helped us bring up capital from almost nothing. There are many questions to be asked and many relationships to get right on how CCOs will work but they do.” 
Local boards will be a crucial link. They will be the face of local government. It is true that the mayor and the 20 councillors will focus on the big picture and make decisions that affect the Auckland region but it is the local boards that will represent communities at the local level. They will have an integral role in Auckland’s overall planning process. Auckland boards will have a significant and wide-ranging role. They will make decisions on local matters provide local leadership and build strong local communities. Local board members will be locally elected from people who understand their community’s hopes and aspirations and understand what makes them tick. Local boards will be required to meet regularly with the communities they represent understand their needs and help deal with the things concerning local people. They must formally consult communities when developing their local board plans which will be done every 3 years. Each year the local board will have to agree with the governing body the council the local priorities and the funding. There will be much consultation and it will be two-way consultation. 
Prior to the local body elections in October the Auckland Transition Agency will publish the local boards’ baseline list of responsibility functions and funding. Local body roles and functions have not been defined in the legislation. There is good reason for that which I will explain. Instead the Government has inserted in law the principle that decisions are best made at the local level unless there is good reason not to. Initial roles and functions of the local boards will be set out by the Auckland Transition Authority which is designing the super-city. The select committee concluded that a prescriptive approach would be far too difficult complex and restrictive. The committee considered that a principle-based approach would allow for flexibility and provide for the ability to adapt to changes of local preferences and demographics. The Auckland Transition Agency’s discussion document on local boards shows it has a very good understanding of the role of local boards in their community. I am confident that when the list is published it will be appropriate and a wise choice. The new Auckland Council will be able to review the local boards’ responsibilities after it comes into being on 1 November. It has the ability to add new functions and devolve more responsibilities but importantly it cannot take away responsibilities. The select committee added new section 87A to provide for this. The select committee felt that this would give local board members and the communities they represent more certainty about their roles and functions. We felt this was the right thing to do. 
The commentary on the bill provides examples of what might be local board non-regulatory activities. The examples provided are vast and wide ranging. The examples provided in the commentary which literally went on for pages and pages emphasise that the detail required to legislate would be prohibitive. The committee is confident that a principles-based approach is the way forward and the best way to allocate functions as appropriate. It may well be that the new council will devolve some regulatory powers to the local boards and I certainly hope this is the case. I know that alcohol is a huge issue in local communities and I am confident that this will devolve to local boards where they will have their own decision-making powers to look at local bans and outlet licensing. Certainly the Auckland Transition Agency document indicated that this issue could be a very good one that local boards should adopt if the council sees fit. Local boards will need to be flexible and respond to their community’s needs. Being prescriptive and defining in legislation would have potentially the opposite outcome and that is why the select committee outlined a non-prescriptive approach that would allow for flexibility. That certainly would be an unintended consequence. 
Just before I conclude I say that I am wearing the All Whites T-shirt today in honour of our soccer team and I wish them all the very best in the World Cup which begins next week. Thank you.