Hipkins Chris:  
Hipkins Chris:  
[Volume:654;Page:85] 
CHRIS HIPKINS (Labour—Rimutaka) 
: 
 I am going to do something that the Government might find a little confusing. I am going to actually talk about the bill. Despite all the calls from the Government side we have yet to hear those members talk about this bill which they are so desperate to ram through the House. In particular I want to talk about the amendment put forward by my colleague George Hawkins to amend clause 9(2) by adding “as defined by the Local Government Act 2002”. 
This Government has been lazy in its drafting. It is so desperate to push this bill through the House that it has been lazy in its drafting. The Government is giving powers to the new Auckland Council that it is not willing to define. We will define them by way of amendment so that the people of Auckland know what powers the Auckland Council will actually have. We think the people of Auckland need to know those kinds of things. This amendment draws the bill back to the Local Government Act. 
I want to talk about the Local Government Act. I am willing to wager that not one member on that side of the Chamber has actually read the relevant section of the Local Government Act. Hands up any member on that side who can say that he or she has read it—other than John Hayes! There is one member—John Hayes and he is not even from Auckland! None of the Auckland members have read the relevant section of the Local Government Act. The relevant section is section 149. It confers on regional councils the power to make by-laws and that provision is one of them. 
Section 14 of the Local Government Act 2002 “Principles relating to local authorities” deals with the principles by which this local authority will need to operate. What is the very first principle? It is that a local authority should conduct its business in an open transparent and democratically accountable manner. Has the Government been leading by example in that regard? No it has not. It is trying to push this bill through at 11.40 on a Thursday night. It is desperate to push this bill through. It did not want to send the bill to a select committee. What kind of example is it setting for the new Auckland authority that it is establishing? A very very bad one. 
What is the next principle that the Auckland Council will have to give effect to? Section 14(b) states that a local authority should make itself aware of and should have regard to the views of all of its communities. Has the Government done that by pushing this bill through the House? No it has not. We heard from the Maori Party earlier on this evening that 50 percent of Maori in this country live within the jurisdiction of this new authority yet they are being steamrollered by this Government which is ignoring the recommendations of the royal commission in regard to Maori representation on the new authority. The Government is not setting a good example for this authority. It is not willing to adhere to the principles in the Local Government Act 2002 yet it wants the new Auckland Council to adhere to those principles. Frankly it is disgraceful. 
We know that this Government is all talk. Government members are willing to strut their stuff around the House and to pretend that they are in charge now and can do whatever they like without any reference back to the people who put them there. They do not care. We heard earlier from Ministers and members in that Government that the people had their say on 8 November last year and that is it—they do not get another say for 3 years. I can tell Nikki Kaye that in 3 years’ time when those people have their say she will be history as will Paul Hutchison and all the other Auckland members because they have not listened to their communities. Allan Peachey will be history in 3 years’ time—2½ years’ time in fact. Aucklanders are counting down the days until they can get a member who will represent their interests and who will lead by example when it comes to following the principles of the Local Government Act which this Government expects the new authority to adhere to although the Government itself is not willing to adhere to them. 
The Government has not shown any leadership when it comes to consulting and to acting in an open transparent and democratic manner. It has not gone back to the people of Auckland. It has changed the royal commission’s recommendations. It has ignored large chunks of them. In fact the Minister of Local Government Rodney Hide said that some of the recommendations were heavy-hitting. I invite Rodney Hide to tell the Committee which recommendations he thinks are heavy-hitting and which ones he does not. Thus far we have heard no evidence from Mr Hide as to which recommendations he thinks are heavy-hitting.