Wagner Nicky: Kaipara District Council (Validation of Rates and Other Matters) Bill — In Committee Third ReadingText is subject to correctionWagner Nicky: Kaipara District Council (Validation of Rates and Other Matters) Bill — In Committee Third Reading[Sitting date: 04 December 2013. Volume:695;Page:15274. Text is subject to correction.]NICKY WAGNER (National—Christchurch Central): The Local Government and Environment Committee unanimously supported the Kaipara District Council (Validation of Rates and Other Matters) Bill. We supported it not because we liked the bill not because we are keen on validation legislation but simply because this bill is the best possible solution to a very difficult very messy and very unpleasant situation.This is not a time to play politics. It is a time to make good decisions for the people of Kaipara. There is no satisfaction and no pleasure in dealing with this type of bill. I want to thank the select committee and the officials for their goodwill for their hard work and for their willingness to work together to come up with the best possible compromise.We unanimously agreed to recognise the input of the ratepayers who have raised concerns asked questions and challenged the council over the years. We did that by making sure that late penalties on rates were rebated. However all the rates that could have been struck legally need to be paid so that those who have so diligently kept paying their rates are not disadvantaged.A very comprehensive and independent Auditor-General’s report covering the period of 1996 to 2012 and covering the planning and the construction of the Mangawhai waste-water scheme was presented to Parliament yesterday. It records long-term mismanagement and poor governance from the council and its management team. It records a lack of records improper decision-making and poor auditing oversight. It identifies negligence and a lack of prudence but it does not—does not—identify corruption or any criminal wrongdoing.The select committee is very keen to receive this report and we wanted to receive it before we passed the bill but the Office of the Auditor-General assured us that it would not affect this validation legislation and it was right. We were very aware of the increased cost to ratepayers every month while this legislation was outstanding. So we made the commitment to pass this bill before Christmas rather than prolong the agony and the mounting costs to ratepayers.There is no doubt that the Kaipara District Council has had a tough time over the last few years trying to manage the waste-water project. It has tested the community emotionally and physically and it has challenged ratepayers financially and socially. The worry the uncertainty the frustration and the anxiety have taken their toll.This bill is designed firstly to stop the bleeding—to stop the bleeding of costs and disruption—arising from the present situation. It then looks to address the wounds to work through the errors and irregularity of rates. The select committee went through this meticulously. We have validated only rates or decisions that could have been made correctly if the council had been more pedantic about its systems or its wording. Inother words we validated only decisions and rates that were technically invalid rather than illegal or inappropriate.Finally the bill looks to heal—to provide the certainty the consistency and the finality that will allow this community to move on. Without this bill the district and the ratepayers could have been bogged down in misery and uncertainty for another decade and that is expensive and unhealthy for any community.