Carter John: Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill — Second Reading 
Carter John: Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:663;Page:11415] 
Hon JOHN CARTER (Associate Minister of Local Government) 
: 
 One cannot help but reflect on the fact that the role of the Opposition is to oppose and propose but all we have heard today is the oppose bit. I have not heard one good idea from any of the contributions made by the members of the Opposition. What a disappointment! Here they had an opportunity to set out their thoughts about what should happen to Auckland. They should be saying to the people of Auckland where they think Auckland needs to be but there was not one mention of that. All they could do was whinge whine and tell us about things that people said in the past not about what they are now saying as we present the third bill to them. 
As my colleague the Hon Rodney Hide has noted this bill completes the legislative framework that will deliver Auckland a single unified council. Well done! This reform is all about enhancing the effectiveness of community participation in democracy while ensuring the council has strong effective regional decision-making ability so that essentially it can get things done. This reform delivers a system of local government that provides the framework to make Auckland into a world-class city and allows for greater economic development which is a must for the future of both the city and the rest of New Zealand. 
For 50 years—indeed for 100 years—Auckland has struggled to find a way through the conflict between regional and local issues. The previous Government acknowledged that and created the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance to consider it. However since receiving the royal commission’s report this Government with the support of a range of officials has actually got the job done and delivered a solution that is now complete. That solution I am pleased to say has been well-received in Auckland. 
The work done to get the bill here today has been impressive. It shows clearly the Government’s determination to do what needed to be done in order to give Aucklanders a city they want now and in the future. The Government did not wait until the elections of 2013 2016 or 2019; it acted. That action means the single Auckland Council will be up and running by 1 November this year—up and running. To achieve that the Auckland Governance Legislation Committee engaged with Auckland citizens ratepayers local authorities and organisations. I am very pleased indeed proud to say that Aucklanders’ voices have shaped this legislation. All told there were nearly 1000 submissions on the bill. 
I thank the committee for its work. I also thank the staff supporting the select committee including Edward Siebert Leeanne O’Brien Amanda Cliff Vathani Shivanandan Michele Reardon and their teams. They did a great job. I also say a special thanks as the Minister has to the Department of Internal Affairs for all the work and staff support it has put into this bill. I need to recognise the Auckland Transition Agency. Its members must be thanked for their significant contribution in implementing the reforms and for the work that is still ongoing. In particular I thank the Minister of Local Government the Hon Rodney Hide for his leadership and for his drive to get this legislation through so that Aucklanders can have what they wanted—a unified city. Thank you Rodney. I know that most of the members of the Auckland Governance Legislation Committee took their duties seriously and worked long and hard analysing submissions on the bill. I thank them for their contribution for making the actual job which was rather large as pleasurable as it was while we worked our way forward. 
I must say however that it is unfortunate that towards the end Labour members became so uninterested in the select committee that they actually missed some of the important decisions. It came as a surprise to them that we had opened up the council-controlled organisations to the public and it came as a surprise to them that we had changed the transport committee. 
Hon Rodney Hide 
: Weren’t they there? 
Hon JOHN CARTER 
: Well funnily enough they were but it seemed that they missed what was going on in the select committee. 
Hon Rodney Hide 
: It’s like Phil Twyford missing out on a seat. 
Hon JOHN CARTER 
: I guess that seems to happen. Overall the recommendations the select committee has brought back to this House I believe are positive and beneficial to this legislation. Even members of the Opposition I am pleased to say have said so and certainly the media have thought so. 
Hon Rodney Hide 
: Do you hear that John? Phil Twyford’s standing in Epsom. 
Hon JOHN CARTER 
: Oh well—there we go. I am not sure that that is actually in the bill but we could slip it in in a Supplementary Order Paper. 
Hon Rodney Hide 
: He’s only going to get one if we legislate. 
Hon JOHN CARTER 
: Ha ha! Even the Opposition and the media have thought that the changes are positive. The select committee set out to address community concerns and from the feedback I have received from many commentators I believe that the select committee has succeeded in that mission. 
The select committee focus on this bill covered many aspects. It focused in particular on increasing the accountability of the council’s operations especially in relation to council-controlled organisations and on providing more assurance about the powers and funding that local boards will have in the new city structure. Some submitters wanted to see the responsibility of local boards set out in the bill so that there was greater clarity and certainty about their roles and functions. The issue was covered by the select committee last year when considering a local government bill. The select committee at that time rightly believed that an approach based on principles would give greater flexibility to the Auckland Council to adapt the functions of the local boards to suit specific local needs and preferences as the Auckland Council saw fit. Therefore the Auckland Council would be more responsive to changes in community preferences than if it were bound by a statutory regime created by this Parliament. It is not for us in Wellington to tell Aucklanders what to do at the local level. Indeed we did not have the knowledge or the ability to do so. The Government remains convinced that this is the best way forward. The committee has recommended an approach that will achieve the clarity and certainty that many submitters were looking for while still allowing the council and its local boards to make their own decisions. 
Phil Twyford 
: Unbelievable! It’s not for the Government to tell Aucklanders? 
Hon JOHN CARTER 
: What is wrong with allowing Aucklanders to make decisions for themselves? 
The committee recommended that the bill should be amended to provide for an initial allocation of non-regulatory decision-making responsibility for local boards by the Auckland Transition Agency and that the boards be given legal status. The Auckland Transition Agency allocations which have been prepared in consultation with Auckland councils and citizens will be published before the October local body elections. Any minor changes can be negotiated and agreed on between the Auckland Council and the local boards when the 2012 long-term council community plan is developed. The amendment will allow the new council to add to the responsibilities of local boards but not to reduce those responsibilities without full consultation with citizens in the course of developing the long-term council community plan. As a consequence local boards will have functions funding and certainty. 
I will also refer to the council-controlled organisations and I say again that this Government has heard the concerns of the people. As a consequence not only did we in the Government say that we would appoint the first five directors out of the seven only in consultation with the mayors of Auckland and that we would allow the Auckland Council to appoint the chairman and the deputy chair but we also said that from day one if council members wish it they can change all the directors from 1 November if that is their decision. 
Secondly we have now opened up council-controlled organisations to public scrutiny. Unlike the suggestions that these groups are unaccountable the public can attend the organisations’ meetings and they can ask questions. The council can ask council-controlled organisations to report on a monthly basis if it so wishes. What we have done is to put council-controlled organisations in the hands of the mayor and the council of Auckland as the public asked us to do; we have followed their wishes. 
Phil Twyford 
: Window dressing. 
Hon JOHN CARTER 
: The fact is that the mayor and the councillors are in charge of the council-controlled organisations so if that is window dressing that is great; it is exactly what the people asked us to do. It needs to be understood that to ensure Aucklanders are in control the structure we have set up from day one is entirely in the hands of the council and the council can decide whether the regime of council-controlled organisations will continue. That is Aucklanders’ decision as well; it is for Aucklanders to decide. Ultimately the select committee’s recommendations mean that Auckland Council control over substantive council-controlled organisations will be significantly greater than that of any other council. 
In finishing I say that when the Prime Minister remarked that “The price of doing nothing is far too high not just for Auckland but for New Zealand. Let’s make a great place even greater. Let’s make Greater Auckland great.” this Government took up the challenge and acted to ensure that Aucklanders had the structure to build a greater Auckland. Thank you very much.