Simpson Scott: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeSimpson Scott: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 05 November 2015. Volume:709;Page:7749. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]12.SCOTT SIMPSON (National—Coromandel) to the Minister of Local Government: What is the Government doing to ensure councils are best placed to support regional economic development?Hon PAULA BENNETT (Minister of Local Government): This week I announced that I will introduce legislation to give councils greater flexibility to work more together and set up regional structures that better suit economic growth. Councils manage close to $100 billion of fixed assets and over the next decade plan to spend another $41 billion in capital expenditure. Current legislation prevents multiple councils from setting up a shared council-controlled organisation that could for example manage their water or transport assets on a regional level. I want to give them this option so that they can have a coordinated regional approach aimed at maximising economic growth.Scott Simpson: What kinds of benefits could regional council-controlled organisations deliver?Hon PAULA BENNETT: Regional council-controlled organisations have the potential to achieve significant efficiencies through bulk purchasing and shared expertise—something many councils can simply not achieve on their own. Assets will still be owned by ratepayers through the controlling councils but the assets themselves can be managed regionally. This is vital to ensure there is a strategic regional approach to make sure infrastructure supports economic development. Communities have made it clear that they do not think mass amalgamation is the best option. What we want to do is give them other tools where they can manage their assets.Scott Simpson: What reports has the Minister seen about the eagerness of councils to take up the opportunity to work together?Hon PAULA BENNETT: For example I have seen comments today from Whanganui mayor Annette Main who says “Our council believes that the future success of regions like ours depends on how collaborative we are. The new legislation will give us the ability to be more confident about raising new and more innovative ways of working together.” There are also several other regions that have said they are interested—like Waikato and Canterbury—in setting up a regional council-controlled organisation. I hope others take up the opportunity as well.Darroch Ball: I seek leave to table a document prepared by the Parliamentary Library which shows the December 2008 “neets” rate are 10.9 percent which is lower than the 11 percent that Mr Joyce quoted today.Mr SPEAKER: Order! We do not need the qualification. I will put the leave. It is a marginal call but I will put the leave and the House will decide. Leave is sought to table that particular Parliamentary Library information. Is there any objection? There is none. It can be tabled.Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.Ron Mark: Would the Minister be prepared to speak to the Minister of Transport about the adverse effect on economic development within territorial authorities’ regions of the reduction in funding assistance for rural roads which sees Masterton Carterton and South Wairarapa being reduced 1 percent per annum for the next 4 years; and the reduction—Mr SPEAKER: Order! The question is quite long enough.Hon PAULA BENNETT: What I will say—and I am always happy to talk to my colleague about transport issues and particularly in the regions—is that Wellington has recently made it very clear that it is not interested in amalgamation. However it has been talking about some form of transport council-controlled organisation or something else that actually looks at the region as a whole—public transport as well as our roads—and how that could work better from a regional perspective. I certainly welcome that and I hope that those mayors and the leaders of this region continue to show their commitment to that process.Dr David Clark: I seek leave to table a document that shows that every area the Government has had a regional growth programme has lost jobs—Mr SPEAKER: Order! Source of the document?Dr David Clark: It is from the Government’s statistics—from the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment.Mr SPEAKER: No statistics are easily available for members to get for themselves.