Wong Pansy: Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill — In Committee 
Wong Pansy: Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:663;Page:11561] 
Hon PANSY WONG (Minister for Ethnic Affairs) 
: 
 No wonder Pakuranga and Botany voters thrashed Labour in the last election! Our good people in those two wards know that Labour members do not believe in democracy. The great majority of Pakuranga and Botany voters said that they wanted their ward to be known as Howick. An independent telephone survey of 750 people was carried out 250 each in Howick in Pakuranga and in Botany and nearly 60 percent supported the name Howick. Even people who lived in Flat Bush or other parts of the community supported the name Howick because they understood the strong community feeling about it. 
I will put the record straight. Su’a William Sio did not come to a single meeting in Botany or in Pakuranga and he pretends to speak on behalf of the people. On the other hand the hard-working and effective Hon Maurice Williamson and myself the MP for Botany turned up to the public meeting. The public meeting was called by the three community boards. Dyann Calverley was there from the Botany Community Board. She was the only one of the three community boards’ members who objected to the name Howick. According to Labour— 
Hon Member 
: There’s a silent majority. 
Hon PANSY WONG 
: Actually there was no silent majority at the last election in 2008. A majority turnout rejected the command-and-control Labour because those people knew Labour does not believe in democracy. In the public meeting that was called by the three community boards—Pakuranga Botany and Howick—the board members put their own opinions aside to listen to all the people who turned up including people who lived outside Howick. They said that they would not settle with the name Howick-Pakuranga-Botany and that they wanted to go all the way and just be known as Howick. Howick has its own radio station and it has Howick village and everybody respects those. In Pakuranga and Botany we respect community and we believe in democracy. 
I want to put the record straight I was really upset that Su’a William Sio insulted our local community papers the good papers  
Howick and Pakuranga Times 
 and  
Howick and Botany Times 
. They decided to take on the cause because they had had so many calls to the paper. They did a very objective survey between the names Howick-Pakuranga-Botany and Howick and Howick came through. The Hon Maurice Williamson and I are the local MPs. He is the MP for Pakuranga and I am the MP for Botany but do we put our own interests first? No. We are happy for the ward to be known as Howick and that is the spirit of the good people who live in that area. 
Tonight I acknowledge our good Minister of Local Government the Hon Rodney Hide who accepted the representation from the Hon Maurice Williamson and myself which reflected the majority opinion of the ward and sponsored Supplementary Order Paper 138 to put the people’s wish first. Labour members have been saying for the past 2 days that the Auckland Council legislation is about people. Labour has to put its votes where its mouth is. If Labour members do not vote for Supplementary Order Paper 138 then that will expose all their empty words about democracy. They absolutely do not believe in it. We believe that the ward should be called Howick because that reflects the local community’s feeling. 
Once again I say good on the Minister of Local Government. I really enjoy working with my hard-working colleague the Hon Maurice Williamson. Tonight it is about democracy—democracy throughout Auckland and particularly for the good people of Howick. I challenge Labour members to champion democracy because the people of Howick Botany and Pakuranga will be looking at how they cast their vote on Supplementary Order Paper 138.