Dean Jacqui: Kaipara District Council (Validation of Rates and Other Matters) Bill — Second ReadingText is subject to correctionDean Jacqui: Kaipara District Council (Validation of Rates and Other Matters) Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 13 November 2013. Volume:694;Page:45. Text is subject to correction.]JACQUI DEAN (National—Waitaki): I am disappointed that New Zealand First members cannot find themselves being able to support this Kaipara District Council (Validation of Rates and Other Matters) Bill because the select committee has worked extremely hard as has the member representing New Zealand First in trying to find a way through a deplorable situation in Kaipara. I am disappointed that New Zealand First members have taken this view because the question then becomes: “Well if they can’t support this solution what solution can they support?”. What needs to happen—Rt Hon Winston Peters: Well how about asking the banks whether they did due diligence?JACQUI DEAN: And Winston Peters who does not know a thing about the bill who has not read the bill who does not understand the issues and who clearly has not been briefed by the New Zealand First MP who does sit on the committee is going back to his normal fall-back position of seeing a conspiracy under a rock somewhere. Well that might be politically convenient and politically expedient but actually his member Andrew Little—Maggie Barry: Andrew Williams.JACQUI DEAN: —Andrew Williams thank you colleague—gave Andrew Williams—Hon Member: Practically twins.JACQUI DEAN: Yes they are practically twins but unlike the Labour member Andrew Williams does not seem to have been able to convince his leader that if the House does not support this bill then what? I would like Winston Peters to get to his feet in this debate and explain to the House just why it is that although his colleague has sat diligently—Rt Hon Winston Peters: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. If the member is going to throw out that challenge I am asking her to yield now and I will give her my answer.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): No no—Rt Hon Winston Peters: Oh she does not want an answer then?The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): No I am ruling.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Give her a chance.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): The member will sit. I am calling Jacqui Dean to continue her speech.JACQUI DEAN: Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker. The problem is that Winston Peters can retreat to his fall-back position which is to see a great conspiracy somewhere to find demons that he think will advantage him in the sad ending of his political career—and it is the demise of New Zealand First—but sitting directly behind him is a member a former mayor who has in fact worked very hard on this bill with the Local Government and Environment Committee to the benefit of the people of Kaipara.This bill is not here to benefit Winston Peters. The bill that we are discussing today is to get over a problem that the ratepayers of the Kaipara District Council are facing. That is fine. We can demonise and we can blame the chief executive and the decision-making process of the elected members and of the chief executive and anyone else who isinvolved. We can do that but does it actually fix the problem? His member can see that. Winston Peters’ own colleague who is sitting right behind him Andrew Williams can see that and no doubt tried to brief his leader but it has clearly fallen upon the ears of somebody who has not even read the bill who has absolutely no liking for the processes of local government and so who is now taking this position against the interests of the ratepayers and the older folk.Just remember who those ratepayers are. They are the older folk the older residents of the Kaipara District who are living on a fixed income who are no doubt SuperGold cardholders and who are looking to this Parliament for direction. They can look everywhere else around this House but they cannot look at New Zealand First. So those very constituents whom Winston Peters seeks to please are the very ones who would be suffering because that party cannot find it in their hearts—well it clearly does not understand the bill but Winston Peters cannot find it in his heart—to look past his own political self-interest and to understand that this validation bill brought to the House by Mike Sabin is not about Winston Peters and politics; actually it is about validating some pretty poor decision-making on behalf of the Kaipara District Council.I want to commend Mike Sabin who was put in the invidious position of being asked to sponsor this bill because it is a bill with no clear remedy at first. There are a number of aspects to the situation in Kaipara and yes there was a rates revolt by a number of ratepayers. I have to acknowledge that the rates revolt came about through the sheer frustration of the ratepayers of Kaipara who were unable to get their point across to their local authority. I think there is a lesson in there as well for the future health of the Kaipara District Council and indeed all district councils going forward and that is to listen to its ratepayers. It might not like hearing what it is being told and in this case no it should not have liked what it was being told but the rates strikers if nothing else have raised attention so that the local member Mike Sabin has brought this matter to the House for the House’s consideration.I also want to congratulate and pay tribute to the 13000 ratepayers who continued to pay their rates. I want to commend them for the support of the commissioners because just over the fence perhaps was a neighbour who was a rates striker and who was still receiving services provided by the local authority through these difficult times but they were not paying their contribution. Part of this validation will remedy that and I think that is a good provision in the bill. There is a lot of upset there is a lot of anger and there is a lot of frustration around this bill on behalf of the ratepayers because they have not been well served by their elected members and the chief executives.The local bill that we are dealing with in the House will pass before Christmas which is to be commended and I want to thank the House for its cooperation in this. It is only part of a number of processes that are under way to help achieve putting right—and it is putting right—bad mistakes that were made in Kaipara.Since 2012 there has been quite a significant range of interventions. There have been investigations and actions have been initiated so I am just going to run through those. There was the implementation of a Government-appointed review team and it was its subsequent report that led to the resignation of the previous council. That is no small event in the life of a local authority and as you can imagine that is the kind of event that is going to take many years and much hard work to overcome. Then there followed the appointment of a team of commissioners and again I want to commend the commissioners for their work. Again I want to commend those ratepayers who have worked with the commissioners and who supported them through an incredibly divisive process.There then was an investigation led by the Office of the Auditor-General into the Mangawhai EcoCare Wastewater Treatment Scheme and all matters related to that.There was also an independent inquiry into the council auditor at the time Audit New Zealand. There were also inquiries from both the police and also the Serious Fraud Office with a view to establishing criminal investigations if applicable. We do not know if that is applicable just yet. Those investigations are under way but to date there has been insufficient evidence identified to warrant investigations. There have also been inquiries by the commissioners into actions within the council including those of the former chief executive officer.In the third reading speech I will go into some more detail about what is contained in the bill but I just want to finish my contribution today by again condemning New Zealand First members for not being able to see past the politics—the shabby politics—that they see as being what matters under this bill. I utterly condemn—and why should we be surprised though—Winston Peters taking this position when directly behind him sits a good member of Parliament a former mayor who understands completely—Hon Member: He quite likes that.JACQUI DEAN: Well OK I am saying “good”. He understands completely that proper processes are absolutely critical in local authorities. This bill is putting right those. It is about the ratepayers of the Kaipara District. It is not about the shabby politics the populist politics of New Zealand First. Thank you.