Hawkins George: Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill — In Committee 
Hawkins George: Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:663;Page:11481] 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS (Labour—Manurewa) 
: 
 That was quite an interesting little speech from the member for Tauranga Simon Bridges who hardly got into the Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill at all. I do not think that the  
New Zealand Herald  
column will save Nikki Kaye. I think her obituary has been written by the  
New Zealand Herald  
already. This bill writes her political obituary. When there is a situation at select committee meetings where one goes up rushes around and tells people that one will do great things those people will look at that and they will ask how that changes— 
Nikki Kaye 
: I’ve had great feedback. 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: No that member has not had any influence on anything—not a thing. I will talk about the $200 million that this legislation is costing the ratepayers of Auckland. Nikki Kaye should be going around opening the ratepayers’ purses and showing them how much it will cost them. She should go round and show the old people. I tell her to go round and tell the young people who are struggling with rents for apartments how much it is costing them. I think that is the real key. 
We have not even talked about the eight chief executive officers who will lose their jobs. They will have to get big payouts—big big payouts. It will be like winning the first division prize in Lotto for some of those chief executive officers except that they do not have to keep on buying tickets. That is something that people in my area who are struggling to manage with only a proposed $3.30 a week extra from the Budget will look at and ask why some of the chief executive officers get over $1 million—over $1 million—and why they will have to pay for that. That is what is wrong with this legislation. In an electorate like Manurewa a lot of people cannot afford to pay for the million-dollar golden parachutes that those people will get. 
All this sort of thing has not come out but it should because people need to know the full story. When one realises that a lot of directors soon will not have their jobs and maybe some of the ordinary workers will not have their jobs I think that that is a real worry. Although people can put a gloss on this bill about how wonderful it is for Auckland it will not be good for some individuals. We have to look at people not only in Manurewa but also in Franklin. The people in Franklin are not very happy. They are not very happy in Franklin. There sits the member for Hunua Dr Paul Hutchison. He has come to life again. He sits there like a statue—in fact King Dick’s statue outside does a lot more than that member—because he did not get stuck in for his constituents in Franklin. He should have got stuck in and really argued. This bill will mean that he will have an independent National opponent standing against him. They have already selected a person. That is because that member did nothing. 
Let us look at Papakura. It has a very good mayor in Calum Penrose. It may have some councillors who are not too flash but the people there have passion. They have a real passion for the town that they live in and they feel cheated by this legislation. I have not heard Government members get up to explain how this is a vote winner for them. It is not a vote winner for them. Nikki Kaye can grin from over there but I remember sitting in the motel listening to submissions. Regardless of whether submitters were from Great Barrier Island Waiheke or Auckland she would get up run over and say: “Great speech. I really listened to that. That was so wonderful. I will do my best.” Well people in Auckland on Waiheke and on Great Barrier Island ought to know that Nikki’s best is not good enough—it is not good enough. People who go into Auckland to try to eke out a living look to their MP for support but what happens? Nothing.