SpeechANGIE WARREN-CLARK (Labour): Thank you Madam Speaker It's a real pleasure to rise and speak on this bill—and just to clarify for the member who's just resumed his seat Todd McClay the select committee process will enable people to have a say as well. So that's a great opportunity to have a say on this bill.It's really interesting to have a local bill come before this House and I just want to acknowledge the local member Tāmati Coffey for his sponsorship of this bill. I think it's really important that he has engaged alongside the council—Hon Todd McClay: He lost his seat twice.ANGIE WARREN-CLARK: Don't be mean. He has engaged alongside the council—Hon Todd McClay: Lost the first election and then lost his seat.ANGIE WARREN-CLARK: —and agreed to sponsor this bill. I think someone over there's got sour grapes. I'd also like to congratulate the Rotorua community for bringing this bill and thinking so much about it. I'd like to acknowledge the mayor Steve Chadwick who is retiring this year and it has been a particularly fascinating community to watch. I'm based in the Tauranga community and one of the things that I have done in the past is buddy MP into the Rotorua community and it has been a real pleasure to watch partnership in action with tangata whenua and council. And it's something that I can only hope; that we as a council eventually get to that place in Tauranga. Essentially this bill is very clear about what it wants to do. There was an interim option and I'd like to correct Hansard for the other National member that has resumed his seat prior to the previous speaker. He did say that this bill was not agreed to unanimously. This part of the bill the local bill was; the interim agreement or interim option was not the part that was agreed to unanimously. So what we know about this bill and I think it is particularly useful thing to repeat is that we're looking at voter parity. So the preferred option that has come to this House to be discussed is that there will be one mayor one Māori ward with three seats—so that's Te Ipu Wai Taketake—and three general seats: Te Ipu Auraki ward. So there's a general ward and a Māori ward. There will be four at-large seats and then of course there's the Rotorua Lakes Community Board and the Rural Community Board. This to me sounds very much like democracy. It sounds very much like there is actually parity amongst voters. I want to acknowledge the fact that there are 21700 people on the Māori roll. There are 55600 people on the general roll. And what I would like to do is encourage each and every person on that roll to get into local democracy and to vote. I'd also like to encourage them and those who are going to appear before the Māori Affairs Committee to actually really think about the implications of how this would look rolling out across the country—rolling out across the city.One of the things that I think is particularly interesting is the history which the member Tāmati Coffey talked to us about. He talked to us about the Fenton Agreement. Gosh I wish that we had a museum in our city. I did some Googling and managed to find some information from the Rotorua Museum and I want to again state this quote: We should never forget that the city's foundation was built upon a unique relationship between the Crown and local tāngata whenua; the good the bad and the ugly. The Fenton Agreement should be remembered as being an integral part of our shared communal history as a city an example of great generosity by iwi and a forward thinking willingness to work together." Isn't that a great thought for our country and isn't that a great thought for the city of Rotorua that we could go back to go forward? And on that note I commend this bill to the House."