Penk ChrisCHRIS PENK (National—Kaipara ki Mahurangi): Thank you Mr Chair. In the dying stages of this excellent discussion on local government with the Minister in the chair—Simon Court: And this Government.CHRIS PENK: Oh the Government—the dying days of the Government too Simon Court points out. Well I'm sure he's not far wrong there. We've got nearly three weeks to go—sitting weeks—or two weeks to go plus a bit as colleagues in my office misleadingly put up every time.So I do want to make a bit of a local pitch in relation to the local representation arrangements in my electorate and again not to put the Minister on the spot to be OK with the particular aspects that I'm going to talk about but it is an opportunity to put on record some concerns of the community that have been expressed to me—CHAIRPERSON (Greg O'Connor): In so far as they refer to the appropriations Mr Penk—CHRIS PENK: Absolutely and so far as they refer back to—CHAIRPERSON (Greg O'Connor): Which you will refer back to constantly.CHRIS PENK: Absolutely absolutely. I'll refer constantly back to the appropriations Mr Chair and I appreciate your guidance on that point. Although can I just say and I know I'm straying to dangerous territory but you'll indulge me I hope these points have been made to me but also the Labour list MP based in the area namely Marja Lubeck. I do want to acknowledge ahead of her valedictory statement which will be made in just over an hour in fact that that's an aspect on which we've been working together closely with local advocates and I've enjoyed doing so—CHAIRPERSON (Greg O'Connor): That still doesn't lead it into the appropriations.CHRIS PENK: No no but if I were to say how that relates to the appropriations I probably wouldn't have much to say. So I will actually just get on firmer ground and say that while the appropriations for local government for the relevant year whichever that may be relate to various ways of local government operating of course it's important that it operates as efficiently as possible and revenue streams are relatively limited because of course we've got a particular system that's enabled under the legislation and the rating thereof. The point that relates very clearly to the appropriations in relation to my electorate is that the more rural areas sometimes feel underrepresented because they're part of a larger whole whereby the old Rodney district for example which existed in its own terms is now part of the Auckland Council—the so-called super-city—despite the fact that this area is very much not a city. It's very rural in character and nature and the plea from locals who meet with me they say Chris for goodness' sakes next time you're in the House and discussing the appropriations of the local government sector in an Estimates kind of way can you please raise this?" And I say "Well that would be very relevant so I'll be happy to do so".CHAIRPERSON (Greg O'Connor): Well you could go back to them and say you have local issues time to do that.CHRIS PENK: We have local issues time as well that's right Mr Chair. I think you're giving a very good contribution if I may say; it's almost as good as my own. But look I do just want to make that point that that's part of the bigger conversation about what's important to local government: the efficiency the revenue that's obtained by rates and the fairness of the representation there on. So with that I welcome any response that the Minister may have to that in the remaining time."