Baillie ChrisCHRIS BAILLIE (ACT): Thank you Mr Speaker. I rise on behalf of ACT to speak on the Local Government (Pecuniary Interest Register) Amendment Bill and I also congratulate the member Tangi Utikere for the introduction of this bill. I'm speaking on behalf of our local government spokesperson Simon Court who's also stuck in Auckland. The bill seeks to introduce requirements for members of local authorities to declare pecuniary interests to align themselves with the requirements of members of Parliament. However there are already rules under the Local Government Act which require a declaration of a conflict of interest in particular decision-making. A number of other things will need to be sorted out through the select committee process. The bill adds to this and in effect makes it stricter for them than for members of Parliament. It makes sense that elected officials—people chosen by the public and paid by the public—are accountable to the public. The public need to trust that the people who are representing them are honest and are working in their best interests. They need to be transparent and accountable. Unfortunately these qualities are becoming increasingly rare. The bill seeks to address conflicts of interest that local government elected members may have and currently don't have to disclose. This is important when decisions need to be made about awarding contracts approving or declining planning permissions—buying Christmas lights from China for example—or all-expenses-paid trips to conferences and sister city meetings in Third World countries or Denmark. They work for the public and not their own agendas. The bill will require members of local authorities to disclose gifts and payments which others might see as having an influence on their decision making. Formalising this process makes things more professional and allows voters and contractors and watchdogs to rest easier. There are of course possible unintended consequences some of which have been mentioned. Knowing the make-up of many councils there is the real danger that those community-minded hard-working people who may own small businesses or be farmers or heaven forbid be successful could well be put off putting themselves up as a candidate knowing the potential for a pile-on by the woke activist councillors that pervade many councils—or maybe these are intended consequences. Finally the bill's purpose is to improve transparency and strengthen public trust and confidence in decision making of local authorities. This is a noble aim that every New Zealander would unanimously support and I think it's important to remind ourselves of what transparency means. I'll quote: Transparency ensures that information is available that can be used to measure the authorities' performance and to guard against any possible misuse of powers." Where activities are done in an open way without secrets so people can trust that they be fair and honest "In that sense transparency serves to achieve accountability which means that authorities can be held responsible for their actions." As I said before ACT has some reservations about this bill and we will support it to the select committee. But I must note the irony of the demand for transparency and accountability from the least transparent Government in New Zealand's history."