Sio Su'a William: Local Government (Auckland Council) Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
Sio Su'a William: Local Government (Auckland Council) Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:657;Page:6599] 
SU’A WILLIAM SIO (Labour—Mangere) 
: 
 I say to the House e nga mana e nga iwi e nga reo e nga hau e wha e nga karangaranga maha tena koutou katoa. Malo e lelei. Talofa lava. Kia orana tatou katoatoa. Ni sa bula vinaca. Fakalofa lahi atu. Ni hao ma. Namaste. Sat sri akaal. I think it is important that I reflect to the House the languages spoken by the people of the Auckland region in order to give members a bit of a taste of the diversity that exists in the Auckland region. 
I also want to use those comments to acknowledge the hundreds and hundreds of submitters who came from the four corners of Auckland to put forward their views and their opinions who gave their time and energy and who took time off work to contribute to the work of the Auckland Governance Legislation Committee and to this debate overall. I particularly acknowledge my colleagues in the Labour Party who by and large have attempted to do their best to reflect to the Government the views that have been expressed by the people of Auckland. In particular I acknowledge the Hon George Hawkins who has led our team of MPs on the select committee. I also acknowledge the other Opposition members on the select committee and to be fair I also thank the members from the Government side. 
One of the submitters whom select committee members will be aware of is councillor Efu Koka who submitted in Manukau. The first question that he asked the Government members of the committee was: “Are you listening?”. There was a deafening silence. The submitters in the room including Maori women from the Maori Women’s Welfare League then chastised the ACT member on the select committee because he was playing on his phone. He was not listening to the submitters. Throughout the debate the theme from the people of Auckland has been that this Government is not listening to the voices of the people who will be affected by this change. 
We have to ask ourselves what this debate is all about. From Labour’s perspective it is about setting up a vehicle a democratic structural governance model that will ensure the full potential of the Auckland region is released now and in the future. Labour wants the Auckland region to be dynamic inclusive thriving and progressive for all people young and old male and female Maori and Pakeha Pacific and Asian Africans Latin Americans—for all people. We cannot take everyone on this journey into the future unless we ensure that the diversity of Auckland’s communities is acknowledged recognised and tapped into. As a region and indeed as a country we must be comfortable with people of different colours who speak different languages who have different religious beliefs and who have different lifestyles. We must take that diversity and find our unity and strength in it. “Our unity in our diversity” is what we say in Manukau. 
Auckland is after all the region that impacts on the rest of the nation. It has been said that if Auckland sneezes the rest of New Zealand gets a cold. The debate then is about how we ensure that Auckland now and in the future becomes strong dynamic thriving and a progressive region that benefits all its people. To enable us to understand the governance structure and for the benefit of our public we have to ask what the values are that drive that change. From Labour’s perspective we acknowledge that any change to the governance structure requires united support from the regional and local authorities and their peoples. Labour values consultation and taking everyone along in the change process; the Government does not. It listens but it does not hear. It rushed through the first bill snuffing out the life of the existing local governments. It rushed through the select committee process which has been called a sham by the people of Auckland. It will no doubt rush through the third bill. 
Labour values a Maori voice; the Government does not. The Government listens to the race-based arguments of the ACT Party—the party that has been dubbed the “1 Percent Party”—and enhances Mr Hide’s mana and no one else’s. Labour values inclusiveness where diversity is strength; the Government does not. Government members are determined to deliberately exclude Maori Pacific Asian young people and people with disabilities because nowhere in that bill is there any recognition of that diversity. 
I say this in response to ACT member John Boscawen who spoke earlier. The Otara ward is a ward of only 35000 people and about 25000 voters. Two councillors represent that ward on the Manukau City Council and yes I was elected from that ward. I became the deputy mayor because I was elected by the councillors of the Manukau region. Two councillors represent 20000 voters in the Otara ward. What is changing—the big difference—is that that we are deleting or extinguishing the life of those local authorities and replacing them with 20 councillors representing 1.4 million people in the Auckland region. Is that democracy? I say to members that it is not and that is how the people of Auckland feel. There will be 20 councillors representing 1.4 million people which is a population of over 70000 for each councillor. That is more than the population represented by most MPs. In response to John Boscawen’s comments about Pacific people supporting Maori seats I say that it is the view of Pacific people that if the establishment or the Man does not get things right for Maori how on earth will the establishment get it right for other minorities? What is wrong with having everybody on the governance structure? What is wrong with enabling participation from Maori Pasifika Asians Africans and Latin Americans? There is nothing wrong with that. What drives the Government’s intent in not allowing for that participation is fear; it intends to keep the governance and the decision making to a select few. 
Labour supports the reform of Auckland governance. It always has. But it wanted to take everybody with it. That is why there was a royal commission which took 18 months to look at the issue. There needed to be more consultation. Labour opposes the Local Government (Auckland Council) Bill because it is flawed and undemocratic and because the whole consultation process has been a sham. 
There are two documents on the Table which no doubt the public will eventually get to understand. The first is the select committee report. On the whole I have to say that there was a genuine attempt by the select committee members to reflect what was said by submitters. Generally the report provides the evidence and it is basically reasonable. The other document on the Table is the bill itself with the amendments that have been made by the select committee. The clauses in the bill do not reflect the sentiments in that report. I want to say briefly that when it comes to local boards—and I was pleased that the select committee listened to what the public said—if we look at the report and then compare it with the amendments in the bill we see that they do not align—there is no recognition of the sentiments in the report. Let me show members. Clause 10 “Local boards” lists purposes. Those are nice words. Clause 12 is about their membership. There will be four to nine members. Clause 12A says that a local board’s status is that of an unincorporated body. It recognises in clause 13 functions duties and responsibilities. In terms of the principles for allocating responsibilities clause 13A identifies activities that must be included in a long-term council community plan. 
The bill talks about a funding policy and it talks about local boards having a plan. But the whole essence and crux of it is the fact that those local boards cannot act without agreement from the 20 people on the local council. In essence they cannot move if they do not get permission from the local council. Again I say we have an authority that will have an impact on the lives of the people of Auckland and its power will be held by a minority few. 
I want to briefly say that the issue of Maori seats was an important point in this debate. Others may say it was a small point but it was a significant point. I want to read out something that I think the House will benefit from. It came from Ngati Whatua. They say: “It is the presence of Maori which makes a large part of what makes New Zealand distinct from anywhere else—what makes New Zealand and New Zealanders different. That is an important quality which should be valued treasured and safeguarded. Maori have a distinct contribution to make to New Zealand society. Ensuring a place at the top table enables such a contribution to take place.” Auckland deserves better than what this Government is proposing.