Henare Peeni; Dyson RuthHon PEENI HENARE (Minister of Civil Defence): Tēnā koe Madam Speaker. Thank you very much for the opportunity to stand and speak on the third reading of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill (No 2). First and foremost big congratulations as the numbers are almost confirmed in many respects for the members across the country who put their hand up for local government. We know it's not easy. But what we see as the results start rolling in is that people are finding their voice. Sure some will argue that a low voter turnout questions mandate. But what is clear is that where communities are unhappy or communities certainly have a particular strong view about the way that their local councils should be running they turn out. We have seen some changes and we have seen in some councils the status quo remain. But first and foremost to the many people that do put their hand up I think it's important to acknowledge them. As members in this House will know it's not easy.I'm reminded of a visit recently to Wairoa and the words of the deputy mayor who I see was re-elected in the recent elections who said to me and the group I was travelling with Welcome Minister to Wairoa and don't bloody tell us what to do." I think that this particular bill encourages what was mentioned by my colleague Dr Duncan Webb about the desire for communities to find their voice in how local councils are run. I want to touch on a couple of things as I continue my contribution on this particular bill. I made a point of it during the process but now I want to just state it again but also express my joy in seeing a stronger provision for Māori in this particular process. Māori often find themselves isolated when it comes to the goings on in local government regional and even central government in many respects. So the opportunity in the absence of Māori being voted in to councils to have a voice in the operations and the running the planning and the strategising of the job of a council I think is something worth celebrating. One that acknowledges not just the aspirations of the local hapū and the iwi but also the knowledge and mātauranga that they bring. There was an aspect of the bill that talks about those with the knowledge of tikanga Māori and as an exponent of tikanga Māori the role of Te Reo Māori in the way we shape our communities and we lead our communities. That's one case.The other one is to allow iwi whānau and hapū to find their voice in the planning and strategising for the council. I think those are seriously exciting opportunities for Māori communities and I think of myself in Tāmaki Makaurau and the multiple tribal interests across Tāmaki Makaurau. Many have overlapping interests and if there's one thing I look forward to in seeing how this process evolves it is how those with overlapping interests are engaged by council. We know in the past and myself being involved in some Treaty settlements that there are always issues around overlapping interests and one of the issues isn't that there is an overlapping interest but that the person in power or the organisation in power will choose the rights of one over another. I am interested to see at a local government level with this bill the opportunity for iwi whānau and hapū to find their voice but equally in particular in cases of overlapping interests in like I say my electorate of Tāmaki Makaurau. We know that in legislation there are 14 tribal entities recognised in one piece of legislation and in others it recognises many more. So in terms of the way that local council and regional council run their matters I'm really curious to see how this evolves but I do want to commend the Minister and her bold approach to ensuring that that particular opportunity is afforded to those groups. The other one is of course the reorganisation and it was mentioned how council-controlled organisations (CCOs) are supposed to run like a business. One of the things I am truly encouraged by in particular being an MP in Tāmaki Makaurau is of course the opportunity for the public to have far more accountability and transparency in that process the dealings and of course the strategising that is being done by CCOs. It's well-known in Tāmaki Makaurau—the issues around the CCOs in Tāmaki Makaurau the demands of the public and the huge gap that sits in between them both. The gulf is in fact so huge that many of the ratepayers and many of the voting public in regional and local government simply don't feel a connection simply feel that their voice and their aspirations aren't heard in the management of those organisations such as Auckland Transport agency and many others. I think that the provisions that are set out in this bill offer the opportunity for far more accountability and transparency. It will be interesting. I want to acknowledge the relationship between central government and local government and I think that this particular bill will strengthen that; the same again with the provisions around tikanga Māori and also consultation with Māori on matters relating to areas in local government. I'm also curious to see with the recent local government elections having concluded how the relationship will continue in the hope that we can make sure that the suite of work that's being done in this space by Minister Mahuta actually is all aligned well.There were questions recently in the House about the wellbeing objectives being put back into the local government space the cost and the impact on local governments. We've made it clear that a stronger working relationship between central government and local government will go a long way to ensuring that we're all on the same page in striving for wellness and wellbeing in our communities. One of the final ones and Minister Mahuta mentioned it in her contribution was that on the request of the Minister of Transport the bill includes a provision to enable transport functions to be transferred between regional councils and territorial authorities. Of course my colleague Dr Duncan Webb talked about the situation in Christchurch and perhaps its possibility and potential. But you know I often think once again of my own electorate of Tāmaki Makaurau and wonder exactly how that might fit. Quite often we're maligned in Tāmaki Makaurau for the issues around traffic and the troubles with public transport and in recent times other regions have had the unfortunate opportunity to experience many of the frustrations that Aucklanders have when they are dealing with public transport. Many people have already said they're more than happy to engage in public transport but what we need is one that runs on time one that is reliable and one that is affordable.So perhaps as we look to this particular provision in the bill there might be some opportunities not for horse trading but for the ability to look across what or how each of those authorities might better manage the system and the ability to transfer the authority between them. I'm not too sure what that will look like but I look forward to the opportunity of seeing how that might play out into the future.Just in conclusion I want to once again commend the Minister for her fantastic work. This is and it already says it in the title of the bill number two. There has been a suite of bills put forward by the Minister to better align local government with the ambitions and the aspirations of central government. We believe they are in line with the community and the desires of those communities to have far better communities—ones that are full of wellbeing have aspiration and meet the connected needs of the community that reside within local and regional authorities. It is my pleasure to commend this bill to the House and the work of the Minister.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Ruth Dyson): Thank you. Can I just apologise. I got distracted and didn't give you the two-minute warning bell. My apologies for that."