Whaitiri Meka: Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill (No 3) — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeWhaitiri Meka: Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill (No 3) — First Reading[Sitting date: 03 December 2013. Volume:695;Page:15153. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MEKA WHAITIRI (Labour—Ikaroa-Rāwhiti): Tēnā koe. Tēnā tātou katoa. I am happy to take a call on the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill (No 3) particularly in light of the Auditor-General’s reportInquiry into the Mangawhai community wastewater scheme which was tabled in the House today. I say “particularly” because in the Auditor-General’s own words it was a “woeful saga”. Kaipara District Council “failed to attend to its fundamental legal and accountability obligations.” It was woeful because Kaipara District Council “effectively lost control of a major infrastructure project.” and in terms of the work undertaken by the Auditor-General’s own office her comments were that her office “[fell] short of the standards I expect.”I stand along with my colleague the Hon Annette King from this side of the House in support of this bill at its first reading. We particularly look forward to it going to the Local Government and Environment Committee where there will be further scrutiny undertaken. But like my colleague the Hon Annette King I too have some reservations about this bill that has come before the House. Labour’s position is clearly one that upholds the democratic rights of all citizens in all communities throughout Aotearoa New Zealand so it makes sense to us that local issues and local concerns are addressed at a local level. In looking at this particular amendment bill we are seeing the opportunity for us to look at practices that govern local government to ensure that open and transparent practices are not only said to take place but actually taking place.I also share the concerns about bills being introduced so close to Christmas. I do hope that the Government ensures that there are adequate time lines—real time lines—for people to have their say on what is a considerable piece of legislation being brought before this House. I also encourage the Minister of Local Government the Hon Chris Tremain—and again it will be supported by the work undertaken by the selectcommittee—to ensure that the submissions that will come before it are fairly received fairly considered fairly analysed and go towards informing how the bill will be presented in its final state. Having been a member in this House for less than 6 months there are many bills that have come to this House that have given me some concern. But I am here to support this particular bill. I am here to support its first reading.I want to draw the House’s attention to the comments of the President of Local Government New Zealand Lawrence Yule who welcomed the Auditor-General’s report. But I also note his comments around the issues about governance and management capability at the local government level. As much as this side of the House endorses local decisions at a local level there are also some realities that we face around the capacity and capability to do that particularly when it involves major infrastructure projects that commit ratepayers’ money to better the areas for which local government is responsible. I applaud the response by the president in putting up his hand as the president of that organisation to ensure that there is intensive training given to new councillors who may be elected for the first time and also as most communities do for taking responsibility for improving local government at that level.Regarding the parts of the bill that we are being asked to comment on can I first talk about how the bill amends the Local Government Act to change what development contributions can be used for and to allow for objections to development contributions charges. I too look forward to more detail about exactly what those contributions will look like and what they will be used for. The other change in the bill is the encouragement of more collaboration and shared services between local authorities. It is absolutely a no-brainer that if we are moving to a shared service model the efficiency gains that can be achieved through that approach will speak for themselves if it is fully implemented. For me it means saving ratepayers’ money so that it can be put into areas that may be under pressure and we mentioned earlier about the four well-beings. I support that as a proposed amendment.The other area that this bill touches on is making consultation requirements more flexible. The member from the Government who stood and spoke before me Nicky Wagner mentioned iwi and Māori consultation. My experience is that we have some very good models out there in Aotearoa New Zealand but we definitely have some that need to do a lot better. I have recently been sitting on the board of inquiry hearings into the Tukituki Catchment Proposal and issues of consultation with iwi Māori up and down the riverway definitely need to be understood a bit more not only by people in this House but also by people in local government. This will ensure that when we are consulting iwi Māori as per the Resource Management Act we are actually speaking to the right iwi. We go on further to talk about an engagement policy. Of course nothing more needs to be said around that. Again it will be a test of how and whom we engage with and ensuring that those views are considered and taken into consideration.I too stand in support of the long-terms plans that are being proposed in this amendment bill. Again the bill is an encouragement to the Government to take the widest view on planning particularly in terms of key stakeholders not just business and community groups. As that side of the House as well as this side of the House will acknowledge New Zealand’s society is changing it is getting more diverse and therefore more views need to be considered when we are coming up with long-term plans.One of the key points that I want to end this call on is again referencing the President of Local Government New Zealand Lawrence Yule when he talked about capacity building and a commitment to training councillors. I want to commend this side of the House for doing its share of growing mayors and councillors particularly with the recent loss—our loss; their gain—of Canterbury mayor Lianne Dalziel. I also want toacknowledge Stevie Chadwick the Mayor of Rotorua and a former member of this side of the House and of course we cannot go past the Hon Rick Barker who now sits on the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council. So I would just like to stand and commend those three particularly and the work of this side of the House in building capacity at the local level. Nō reira thank you very much.