Brown SimeonSIMEON BROWN (National—Pakuranga): Thank you very much Madam Chair. I appreciate the opportunity to take a second call and to ask some more questions.Hon Shane Jones: Again?SIMEON BROWN: Yes again Mr Jones because there's so many questions to ask on this tax. This is just another tax tax tax" on the other side of the House where they are trying to displace funding that we had put into these projects in Auckland so that they can build a tram up Dominion Road through the Prime Minister's electorate.Well I want to talk about consultation because this is one of the parts of the Act in which a regional council needs to consult its community. We've seen the consultation results come back from Auckland Council and they've come back very strongly opposed to this fuel tax. They've come back consistently opposed to this fuel tax. In my electorate in Pakuranga with the Howick Local Board area they have come back the most opposed to this particular fuel tax.Now my question is around the word "consultation" which is in new section 65F(1) in clause 5. The regional council "(a) must carry out consultation in accordance with the principles set out in section 82 of the Local Government Act 2002;". Well what does "consultation" mean? That's my question for the Minister in the chair the Hon Phil Twyford. We've seen the consultation—we've seen the consistent feedback from ratepayers and residents in Auckland and they've been ignored. They've been ignored over and over again and now they're about to be ignored by this Government which thinks that they know best and they know how to spend people's money better than ratepayers and taxpayers know themselves.So does this consultation mean they can just put in place a regional fuel tax without listening? Does it mean they can just put out a document rush it through shorten the consultation process not even listen and then vote against what the people are saying? That's what Aucklanders are feeling like at the moment—they're feeling trampled by a Government and a council which is putting in place a tax which is being rushed through and where the council is not listening.There was a Facebook poll which was referred to by one of the members on this side. When it first went up on their website they said "This poll on Facebook will count as formal consultation for the regional fuel tax." Then they looked at the results and it was 60 percent 65 percent and it got up to 72 percent opposed. Then they said "Well it'll just be indicative and it will be informal feedback."So what does "consultation" mean? What actually counts because there were thousands—there were thousands and thousands—of Aucklanders who engaged on social media. The principles of the Local Government Act allow that you can engage in a whole variety of different ways but when the result became something which the council didn't like they decided they'd just call it informal feedback which will be taken into consideration. Well I find that shameful and I think this Government and the Minister need to clarify what consultation means and what expectation he is going to set on regional councils in terms of the consultation process that they are going to go through.I find it absolutely shameful that you could put through this legislation which gives powers to councils to put in place huge taxes and which will burden ratepayers and taxpayers and people who need to fill up their cars take their kids to the school and pay for groceries and all the rest—and they don't even have to listen. I think that's shameful. There should be no taxation without representation so where is the representation in this legislation? And I'd like the Minister in the chair to take a call and actually answer that question because it's about time we heard some answers to some of these significant questions which the people of Auckland are asking asking asking. And here I am in the Chamber asking on behalf of my constituents in Pakuranga.There's a range of other questions that we've got on this bill but I think consultation is one of the most significant because we can't as a House pass legislation which allows a council to go out there and not even listen. We can't allow the council just to go out there and just do what they like when there are significant cost savings that they could also make. There are other ways that this could be funded. There are other ways that the council could make these decisions but we've just given them carte blanche—they can go out there and put these taxes in place—and I find that absolutely shameful.So as I conclude I once again ask the Minister: what does consultation mean? What expectations does he have on the council? What process is he expecting of them? If the feedback cuts consistently against the proposed proposal will there be an expectation on the regional councils to vote these things down or will he just let them go through? Thank you very much."