Leary IngridINGRID LEARY (Labour—Taieri): I'll add to those words from my good friend Dr Duncan Webb: along with narrow view" and "exclusive view" "backward view". I mean this is just bizarre that the Government which is holding itself out to be wanting to get New Zealand moving to look after rural communities is suddenly saying "Oh except when it comes to local democracy. No you're gonna have to get in your car or get in your chopper if you're far away or whatever it is you need to do." It is absolutely a backward step when we have the technology now to have robust democratic processes that allow more people to participate.I know in my electorate the electorate of Taieri we start in South Dunedin but we go down Clutha right down to Kaka Point—beautiful rolling farmland there—across to Middlemarch. Middlemarch is so remote that there used to be a ball an annual ball there every year to try and get women to come in on a train so they could matchmake them with farmers so they could keep the population of Middlemarch going. Sadly that ended when the trains ended. I don't know how they're keeping the population going but that is how remote some parts of my electorate are. To have people from those communities be enabled to participate in regional councils and in those fora would just be a game-changer. For women for people with disabilities for people who have got children who are juggling things this is just a no-brainer. We know that when we have more participation we get better decisions.The other thing I found very bizarre from one of the speakers opposite was them saying that "It's OK to participate; just don't vote and trust the other people on the regional authority to vote for you." Well I wish the people in the territorial authorities in my area got on that collegially but they are hammer and tongs against each other and I think that's a sign of a good robust democracy. So I'm not sure what's happening in Marlborough.I can tell you that out of the 78 councils four of the 10 biggest regional councils by land are based in the South Island and for territorial authorities nine out of 10 of them. So this is a really good thing for the people of the South Island. Once again this Government—interested in Auckland interested in building roads up north interested in everything that happens in the North Island—is not thinking about the consequences for the people of the South Island. It's just such a shame because the standing orders could be amended to enable them to make sure that participation is done in a really fair way.I don't understand the kind of strange arguments coming from the other side. In fact if I look at the bill if we go to clause 4 inserting new clause 25A(6) in Schedule 7 of the principal Act—it's just a short bill but subclause 6 says that when a local authority is including things in its standing orders it can also add any other requirements that it considers are "appropriate to maintain public confidence in the transparency and integrity of decision-making processes and the conduct of members".Now there's the safeguards but what is incredible is the bizarre interjections from Simon Court over there talking about democracy saying it's anti-democratic when all we've seen in this House over the last hundred days is legislation getting ran through with no due process under urgency no select committee hearings. And suddenly on this day the last day of February—leap year I have to say—they've suddenly woken up and said "Oh we're interested in democracy; we're interested in transparency." Oh put the handbrake on; let's go back 50 years because that's what this Government likes to do.They are so backward and what they are missing out on is a chance to impress their rural communities the ones that they say they champion the ones that are wanting them to go into bat for them. But no no no no. They're more interested in looking after the urban centres maybe Auckland—people that are like them. As my colleague said let's forget about disabled people let's forget about women let's forget about rural communities that have got long tracts of roads to get through—that just makes them rule themselves out of the democratic process and local government—and let's just stick to people like us to what we know make assumptions that everybody can get there because that's how we've always done it; we are a bit fearful of the technology perhaps and maybe we go for a cup of tea and if we can't vote that's all right because we trust our council colleagues anyway!Just a house of cards in their arguments. This is a great bill and the Government should be supporting it."