Ardern Jacinda: Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill — In Committee 
Ardern Jacinda: Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:663;Page:11456] 
JACINDA ARDERN (Labour) 
: 
 After much debate and petitioning and after many submissions and discussions it is with mixed emotions that I come to this stage in the debate on the Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill. Much of the time in the Committee stage will focus on the detail of this bill: how the provisions will and perhaps will not work what is missing and even perhaps what should not be there. But I will begin with some very general thoughts. 
Labour has always supported the need for there to be reform in Auckland. It is a point that every single Auckland-based Labour member has always made and by and large we supported the vision presented by the royal commission. The vision presented by the royal commission was set out in a report that looked not just at one element of our lives but also comprehensively at our social needs. It looked at our environmental needs and it looked at our planning and development needs. The royal commission looked at our need for true democratic representation not just at our transport needs. It looked at not just one or two of those issues but all of them in a comprehensive way and it looked at them for all of us not just for one or two groups in our communities. It looked beyond the cursory nod towards advisory boards to ensure that there was representation across the board. 
Labour supported that vision of Auckland. We do not support the vision that has been presented to us and the supposed leadership that has been presented to us by the National Government. I listened closely to the statements made by the chair of the Auckland Governance Legislation Committee and to his claim that this legislation was written by the people of Auckland. I would say the people of Auckland would not want that responsibility to be put on their heads and just because one says something that does not make it so. 
What is my measure of what would have made good legislation? What is my measure of legislation that would have demonstrated some leadership from the National Government as to its vision for Auckland rather than just leaving everything to chance? Well my measure is pretty simple. I am a list MP based in Auckland Central. I guess that in many ways I cover the heart of Auckland including the beautiful gulf islands but more important I consider myself to be a proud “Grey Lynner” and resident of Auckland. On that basis this is my measure of what would have made a good bill: will this bill make our lives as Aucklanders better? 
Will this legislation make the lives of the young people who make up 37 percent of the population in Auckland and whom we constantly make decisions on behalf of better in the future as well? Will it improve our environment not only in places like Waiheke Island and Great Barrier Island where we are acutely aware of our surrounds but also for folks who live in the central business district out in Waitakere or in south Auckland? Will it encourage sustainable development? Will it give us all a greater say over our public spaces an area where we have consistently failed in the past? Will it give Aucklanders the chance to have input into the master plan for the waterfront which so far has been lacking? Will it protect our assets such as the ports and our water? Of course 75 percent of those assets will now sit with council-controlled organisations but the chair of the select committee says that was all our decision and Aucklanders wrote that into the bill. 
Will this legislation improve people’s view and experience of democracy—of political representation? Will it encourage participation or will it breed cynicism? Will it give genuine hope and a real sense to people not only people of voting age—and I see that this bill cynically separates people into two groups: those who can vote and those who cannot—but also those who are not of voting age that they can create change in their city regardless of whether they can post a ballot? Will it give the same rights and responsibilities to those who are members of the Auckland Council that council members in other jurisdictions throughout New Zealand currently have? 
My measure is a very simple one: will this legislation make our lives as Aucklanders better? I ask that not simply in a monetary sense which I know is a measure that some other members may have used but also in relation to all areas that create well-being and all the areas that the royal commission touched on. I think not.