Blue Jackie: Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill — First Reading 
Blue Jackie: Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:659;Page:8559] 
Dr JACKIE BLUE (National) 
: 
 I rise to speak to the first reading of the Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill. I would like to reassure Aucklanders that this bill will work for them and that it will be a great Christmas and New Year’s present for them because Auckland will finally get moving after decades and decades of slowing down and of having congestion on the motorways. 
This is the third Auckland governance bill and it completes the legislative framework for a greater Auckland. I congratulate the Minister of Local Government and the Associate Minister the Hon John Carter on their leadership in getting these three bills to the House and on doing so in a very timely way. These bills—let us face it—have been the result of a royal commission that consulted far and wide under the previous Government. For over 20 months commissioners talked to groups and to individuals. They consulted they talked and they came to the decision that Auckland needed to have one council and that that was a matter of urgency; it was not something that should happen in the future. People had been talking about it for so long and the commissioners said that it was urgent. There needed to be one council and the council needed to be in place by the local body elections in the next year and it will be. 
This issue has been going on for over 50 or 60 years. The Hon John Carter pulled out the newspaper clippings I have here. 
Simon Bridges 
: Those are big speech notes. 
Dr JACKIE BLUE 
: Yes they are big speech notes. They are newspaper clippings from over 50 years ago and I will read through some of the headlines. 
Todd McClay 
: Historic. 
Dr JACKIE BLUE 
: I know; they are historic: “Remedies sought for confusion—Auckland local authority reform moves” is the first headline. Then we go to 1959. I was only a little baby at that stage but this was news in those days: “Inquiry of two-tier local body system sought: overseas examples hearten reform advocates” “Rapid population growth adds to problem: division in Auckland local body affairs” “Minister strong advocate of new system: two-tier local body plan ideal for Auckland” and so they go on. This issue was hot news 50 years ago and it is still hot news now. This Government will sort it out once and for all; we are doing so. I say “Well done!” to our Minister the Hon Rodney Hide and to John Carter. 
The previous two Auckland governance bills have been about the “what” and the “who”. They have been about the structure of Auckland’s new council and the power and roles of the mayor councillors and local board members. This third bill is about the “how”. It transfers the assets and liabilities of Auckland’s existing councils to the new council and protects the interests of the staff who will move from the old councils to the new council which I think is a very important point. There has been a lot of uncertainty with talk of redundancies and downsizing. The staff need to know what will happen and they need to have certainty. This bill will give them that. The bill will also give the new council the powers it needs to be up and running on 1 November 2010 which will be the time of the local body elections. National is committed to achieving that and we are on track for that. In particular this bill provides for ethnic communities with the establishment of an ethnic advisory panel and it also provides special recognition of mana whenua. The new local boards will have true local powers and will be real local authorities. 
I was privileged to be part of the Auckland Governance Legislation Committee with other members from the House and I believe that it was a very constructive select committee. We went to all corners of Auckland and heard the people. We heard their concerns and we heard their fears. Their main concern was about local boards and authority and whether they would lose their identity as a community. I believe that we have addressed those concerns. In fact I do not believe that; I know we have. On the concern about the local power thing—the local boards their powers and their roles—I say that these local boards will be ready by the local body election next year. There is no doubt about that. 
The Auckland Transition Agency will have the responsibility of initially allocating the activities of local boards. The boards will be responsible for that using the principles set out in the legislation. This will not be something that is pie in the sky. The boards will have powers as set out in the legislation where those principles have been expressed so eloquently. They will have powers and people need to be reassured that their local board will be able to effectively represent them to the new council with their community concerns. The local boards will have a lot of responsibility. They will have to liaise with the council and the council will have to liaise with them. It is a two-way communication. There is no way that local boards will be left high and dry. They will definitely be part of the community and people in Auckland need to be reassured by that. 
This bill will go before the Auckland Governance Legislation Committee and I hope to be part of that committee going forward. I know that we will work constructively. The committee will hear submissions in February and March so that we can get this bill in front of the House again for its final reading and then progress it into law. This will be the chance for the public to have their say and they will have their say; they will not be rushed. Everybody who wants to be heard will be heard as they were in the last select committee process. This legislation is about Auckland getting moving finally after 50 years of inaction and inertia. We are going to get Auckland moving and I say: “All power to Auckland.” I commend this bill to the House.