Boscawen John: Local Government (Auckland Council) Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
Boscawen John: Local Government (Auckland Council) Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:657;Page:6594] 
JOHN BOSCAWEN (ACT) 
: 
 It is a pleasure to speak in this third reading of the Local Government (Auckland Council) Bill and I thank National for allowing me to take one of its calls. As a member of the Auckland Governance Legislation Committee it is a privilege to speak on this bill. The select committee heard from over 800 submitters. There were well over 1000 written submissions and over 800 individuals or groups were heard by the select committee. It was a very arduous process. In the first 2 weeks the committee sat from 9 in the morning until 9 in the evening on most days. 
I acknowledge the comments of Sue Bradford. She talked about the quality of the submissions and the passion with which they were delivered and she said it left her feeling very optimistic for the future of our city. I totally concur. It was a privilege to sit and listen to the submissions and to hear from so many community groups. We also heard from many local councillors. A councillor from Waitakere the former Mayor of Glen Eden had been serving the people of west Auckland as an elected representative for over 40 years and what a contribution she has made. 
I acknowledge the chairmanship of the Hon John Carter. Members of the committee were spelled at various times but John Carter was there every morning at 9 o’clock and he was there every evening at 9 p.m. when we finished. He sat through every submission and chaired every meeting. His dedication his commitment and his hard work was beyond equal. I have never seen anything like it. I found it hard and I do not know how John Carter coped because he did not actually get a break. 
I would like to contrast the differing approaches from National and Labour which I found particularly interesting. National members on the committee—Simon Bridges Jackie Blue Nikki Kaye and Tau Henare—basically came every day. Yes we were spelled on the odd occasion and the Hon John Carter did a very good job of marshalling his troops and making sure we were well watered and fed but by and large the National members attended the committee every day so those individual members can speak with authority because they heard most of the submissions. I contrast that with Labour’s position. I prefer the approach that Labour took because its members were spelled regularly. Several Labour members sat on the select committee. They may not have sat on the committee for the entire time but Phil Twyford and George Hawkins certainly spent a lot of time on it. Many other Labour members sat in on the proceedings maybe for just half a day or for a day so they will have gained a very very good view—probably more so than the National MPs. 
How demoralising it must be for Labour members to have to participate in this debate. So many of them heard those submissions and one could not possibly sit through that select committee process and come away with any other conclusion than that there is overwhelming support in Auckland for a super-city. There is overwhelming support. Although I know that there are probably only five National MPs who sat through the proceedings personally I know there had to be at least 20 if not 25 Labour MPs who sat through that process. Even the Hon Phil Goff turned up to the first 2 hours of deliberations on the first Monday in order to appear on television. How demoralising it was then for Labour members to have to go through that debate and to have to stand up and oppose the overwhelming wish of the citizens of Auckland to have one city. 
Let us look at some of the contributions that have been made. I am very much aware that the general public sees just the ping-pong between the Government and the Opposition. As one person stands up for the issue another one stands up to oppose it and the public are probably often wondering who is right. I would like to comment on some of the contributions that were made last night. We heard from George Hawkins. He talked about the cost of the super-city and about having to go from eight computer systems to one computer system. I ask George Hawkins and the Labour Party what the cost is of eight computer systems. What did it cost to put eight computer systems there in the first place? If we do not have a super-city what will it cost to replace those eight computer systems? Yes they may not be replaced at the same time but Papakura District Council is going to replace its computer system as is Waitakere District Council and North Shore City Council. Eventually it will happen. What we have is massive economies of scale. We are moving from eight councils and eight computer systems to one computer system. 
One of the overriding themes in this debate has been the issue of Maori seats. What have we just heard from the Hon Shane Jones? He said that Maori want their issues their agenda represented at the top table. What about the agenda of the Pacific peoples? What about the agenda of the Asian peoples? We heard from Su’a William Sio a person whom I have come to respect for the contribution he made on the select committee. Yesterday he said that the Pacific community was prepared to put on hold its aspirations to be at the top table. What Su’a William Sio was really saying to this House was that yes they would like to be there too. Without a doubt they would like to be there too but they are happy for Maori to have the Maori seats first; they will go with that first. Then we will have Pacific seats and who knows where it will stop? 
One of the things that I found most moving about my participation in the select committee process was the element of Maori culture from the Maori submitters the formality of the Maori submissions and the karakia at the beginning when the Manukau City Council presented its submission. That council’s submission was just one of many submissions to start the proceedings in a very formal way. Maori culture is unique to New Zealand and it is something we should all cherish. But surely the major argument the one key argument against having Maori seats or any seats divided by race is that we are one people we are one country and we want to go together. I say that the reason we do not have Maori seats is that if we have Maori seats then we will have Pacific seats and Asian seats. Who knows? One day we will probably have white seats. The dynamics of New Zealand are changing and one day European people will be in the minority. 
Let me go further. Su’a William Sio undermined his own argument. He was a former deputy mayor of Manukau City. There are 20-odd councillors on the Manukau City Council. He was elected as a councillor for the Otara ward and he was elected as the deputy mayor of Manukau City. He was the second-highest official in Manukau City New Zealand’s largest-growing city. Did he win that position as a result of there being a specific seat for Pacific Islanders? No he did not. He won it by being elected on a first-past-the-post basis for the Otara ward. I have heard mentioned the name Sam Lotu-Iiga the member for Maungakiekie. Sam Lotu-Iiga was also elected to the Auckland City Council for the Maungakiekie ward on a first-past-the-post basis. 
I would like to comment briefly on the contribution made by David Shearer. He talked about the fact that the mayor of Rodney was listened to because she was a former ACT MP. What utter rubbish! The submission of the Rodney District Council showed that the council was totally opposed to going into Auckland City so that is far from the truth. 
Let me finish by mentioning last night’s contribution by Lynne Pillay. She said that there should be a referendum on this issue. How many times have we heard over the last 36 hours that there should be a referendum on this issue? I ask the members of the Labour Party what the point is of a referendum. We have actually just had one. [ 
Interruption 
] That is right Mr Cosgrove. We have just had a referendum. Mr Cosgrove knows that I am holding a meeting in his Waimakariri electorate next Monday night because 27000 people voted No in Waimakariri and only 16000 voted for Mr Cosgrove. The reason I am holding a public meeting in Waimakariri is to try to get support for my member’s bill. I believe that people in Waimakariri need to be listened to and Waimakariri is a Labour electorate. About 11000 more people voted No than voted for their local MP. 
Let me conclude by saying that it was a privilege to serve on the Auckland Governance Legislation Committee. It was a privilege to get to know other members of Parliament particularly the Labour members of Parliament. I would say that at least 20 if not 25 members of the Labour Opposition attended the select committee at various times. It was a pleasure to get to know them and it was a pleasure to get to know Sue Bradford. It has been a privilege and a pleasure to serve on this select committee. Thank you very much.