Ross Jami-Lee: Local Government (Auckland Council) Amendment Bill (No 3) — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeRoss Jami-Lee: Local Government (Auckland Council) Amendment Bill (No 3) — Third Reading[Sitting date: 04 May 2016. Volume:713;Page:10799. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]JAMI-LEE ROSS (National—Botany): I will not be making any personal endorsements but I am looking forward to running the campaign of another team this year as I did last local body elections. It is my first opportunity to speak on the Local Government (Auckland Council) Amendment Bill (No 3) and I wish to congratulate Alfred Ngaro on bringing this so far through the House. I must admit when it was first discussed between Alfred and me and other members I was a little sceptical but I have to say the list member based in Te Atatū—soon to be the member for Te Atatū—is a very persuasive individual. He has brought me around. I am pleased to say that I am happy to support this bill along with my colleagues here tonight.It is interesting if you just give me an opportunity to reflect back a little bit on the history of how local boards came about and their predecessors because I think it is worthwhile considering those matters when we talk about the process used for electing members of local boards. As some of my colleagues know I was a member of the Manukau City Council and the Auckland Council very briefly. For my sins I was elected to the Auckland Council. I found a better place to come to—Hon David Parker: Double-dipper.JAMI-LEE ROSS: Oh only for about 1 day Mr Parker then I resigned from the Auckland Council. But I found a better place to come to: Parliament. I was a member of the Manukau City Council but back in the day before we had local boards city councillors actually were appointed to community boards. So I was in the position where I served on a city council and also served on a community board. Some might ask themselves whether there are some similarities there between members serving on one local board two local boards or three local boards all at the same time. I think there are some differences though.I have heard this argument before about how it is that up and down the country members can sit on a city council and then sit on a community board as well but now a member on the Government side is trying to pass a piece of legislation saying people cannot sit on two local boards. I think the difference is the fact that when it comes to members of a city council sitting on a community board as well they are representing the same area. So the decisions that they make and the decision-making processes that they go through internally when they come to a decision on how to vote on a matter before the council or a matter before the community board—they are taking into account the interests of the same people. Whether they are sitting as a member of a community board or sitting as a member of the local authority they are still representing the same people who voted for them.The difference when it comes to local boards and a member sitting on more than one local board is that at all times when they are making decisions they have to weigh up—and this may be difficult for some of them—the competing interests of different local boards. So if a member was for example—just to use my local area—a member of the Howick Local Board and a member of the Manurewa Local Board I could imagine situations where there were issues that could cross the borders or issues where the two local boards were working on decisions or working on projects together where a member could be in a position where they were unable to do justice to one particular local board. Of course if they are on three local boards as we know has been the case—they may be on a district health board as well; maybe a licensing trust too—there are so many competing interests that a member is having to take into account. So after discussing issues like this with my friend and colleague the future MP for Te Atatū—sorry for the birthday present there Mr Twyford. When I have discussed this with my friend and colleague the future MP for Te Atatū Alfred Ngaro—hey hey hey! He does not have a Chinese surname Mr Twyford so just do not go laughing Mr Twyford. When I have discussed this with Alfred Ngaro I can see the logic. [Interruption] What was that?Ron Mark: David Bennett will call you a racist.JAMI-LEE ROSS: No no. David Bennett is a friend of mine. I am on the same committee as him—two of them actually. For my sins I am on two committees with David Bennett. It is an enjoyable Thursday—and Wednesday—morning for me.Getting back to the point when discussing this issue with Alfred Ngaro I can see the logic in what he is suggesting in that it is important that when members are on local boards they are sitting there representing a particular community and can do justice to that role and can ensure that without fear or favour without competing electoral interests. This is because at the end of the day when one is sitting as a local board member one will inevitably—as politicians do—have a little bit of an eye on the next election. We would not want local board members to be sitting in a local board meeting making a decision as a local board member with an eye to an election in a different patch a different area that could influence their decision making on the local board they are sitting on at that point in time. So I can see the logic in this bill.I think it is also worthwhile considering the breadth of issues that local boards now deal with. Local boards are very different from the community boards of old. The community boards of old were very good as representation areas where local issues could get representation and get a hearing at a local level and where community boards could be the eyes and ears and the voice of their community. But my experience has been that the local boards that we now have in Auckland have a much greater role to play in the governance of Auckland than community boards did. Of course the model of Auckland Council right now is very different from the old model in Auckland where community boards were almost subservient to the territorial local authority. Now local boards are actually part of a co-governance model. It is co-governance between the governing body—the councillors and the mayor—and the local boards. When we look at an organisational chart they are not underneath the council; they are next door to the council. They are co-governors of Auckland so the breadth of issues that local board members now deal with is much greater.That leads us to the argument that it would be more difficult for a local board member to sit on more than one local board given the roles and responsibilities that they now have to deal with. And given that the local boards now deal with such greater roles it is important that greater transparency around the electoral process is in place too because I think it is fair and reasonable that when a voter goes to vote and they go to consider their voting form they have greater transparency about whether a member is standing for more than one local board.Of course Mr Deputy Speaker knowing that you have read every word in this bill you will know that the way in which the bill is structured is that people can stand for more than one local board but they have to rank which local board is of most interest to them and is their higher priority. That will of course create some interesting electoral situations for people where if an individual does want to stand for more than one local board they would have to actually say to a community that the other community is more important to them. Imagine if you were a voter in a local board election and you saw that Mr X Y Z—Joe Bloggs—had ranked your local board area as their third priority. I have to say that if a member was going to say to me as a voter that I would be only their second or third or fourth priority in the community I would be rather disappointed by that so greater transparency around the interests of members is also something that is going to be welcomed through this bill.As an individual who has had experience in local government in the old system—the good old days of Manukau Auckland Waitakere North Shore; back in the old system—and having had experience there as a community board member as a city councillor and briefly sitting on the Auckland Council too I can say that I see this as being a model that is going to be beneficial for Auckland. I thank Alfred Ngaro and I thank Maggie Barry for bringing this bill to the House. I also thank the other members across the Chamber for their wholehearted support for such a change as has been proposed here. I commend this bill to the House.