Jones Shane: Urgent Debates — Royal Commission on Auckland Governance—Government Response 
Jones Shane: Urgent Debates — Royal Commission on Auckland Governance—Government Response 
[Volume:653;Page:2529] 
Hon SHANE JONES (Labour) 
: 
 Kia ora Mr Assistant Speaker. Representing 33 percent of Aotearoa’s population 33 percent of our tax revenue and 33 percent of our GDP the powerhouse of Auckland includes multiple ethnicities the largest Polynesian population and the largest gathering of Maori. The document I have here  
Making Auckland Greater 
 is the blueprint for that seething body of creativity and humanity. It is a blueprint. There is no brown definitely no red and no green; just blue and white. Auckland welcome to your future! 
Our friends from the Maori Party are lamenting the fact that they did not get any Maori seats in this deal. They have a chance. If they continue to vote for the supply and confidence agreement they will implement this system into power. But they have revealed their impotence signed up to the Government and are now quarrelling and crying. They do not have anywhere to go. If one lies down with a big beast one wakes up with an itch. I say to the Maori Party “Koia tena to utu.” 
With such a huge number of people such a large body of our economy one cannot agree with the rationalisation of functions for that region without positing it upon the legitimacy of participation. This document shows that there will be no meaningful participation unless one is blue or white in Auckland. There will be no opportunity for the large growing young families in South Auckland to influence the Paratai Drive corporate wealth along with the people who are so keen to privatise the local government assets of Auckland. That is those families’ future. 
The Minister of Local Government Rodney Hide has an idea that he will create 20 30 or 40 small boards. He is yet to tell us what those boards will do and what they will deal with—dogs brothels or cemeteries—and I wonder where he will find his best friend. Those small boards will be toothless underfunded and reduced to supplication when going to the powerful centre which will be accountable to characters at large. Animals at large are accountable to no one. Without a ward system the only way that the contents of this document will have any legitimacy is to get rid of the proposed councillors at large for an area that will cover 1.3 million people. 
Mr John Carter the handmaiden of Mr Hide is suggesting that he will cut off the bookends. He will give Wellsford back to the north and parts of Franklin back to Tainui. That however will not change the essential iniquity and unfairness of this system. This system is designed to disempower the young families and the working families of Auckland. There will be no power in the west east north or south; it will all reside at the centre. Irrespective of how powerful the arguments are for water utilities and transportation unless it rests on the informed consent of the people and they have an opportunity to choose genuine members from their communities we are yielding to corporate powers the legitimacy that ought to be belong in the community. 
I say to the Maori Party “Haere ra!”. Maori Party members should explain to their supporters that once the Maori Party stepped up to the plate and agreed to a confidence and supply agreement irrespective of how much its members moan they are maintaining the power base that is doing their own people damage. 
Hon Georgina te Heuheu 
: What’s that party’s policy? The same. 
Hon SHANE JONES 
: Of course Georgina te Heuheu was actually in Cabinet when this decision was made unlike Dr Pita Sharples. We are told that she never spoke one word in support of Maori voters or Maori ratepayers. She did not speak one word. Georgina te Heuheu dutifully delivered a letter—written bilingually no doubt—by Dr Sharples to the Prime Minister. That is something akin to a primary school teacher delivering a letter to the headmaster. She never said one word. 
Rationalisation of functions for Auckland is positive but without its being posited located and founded on participation and democratic principles it will always fall short. Kia ora tatou.