Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) - New Zealand Parliament

3720 Local Government (Tamaki Makaurau Reorganisation) Bill 16 May 2009
sleepiness into the heart of this very key part of our legislature. I want it noted that we
appreciate the services of those in the Clerk’s Office.
It is necessary for us to rehearse ever so briefly why we have taken umbrage with the
style and agenda shown by the Prime Minister and Mr Hide. This is what the jurist, the
Hon Peter Salmon and his assistants, came back with—it deserves more than 1 day of
sitting time of this House. We did not actually imagine that weeks and months would be
tied up as the House debated and sent the bill to a select committee, because the royal
commission settled upon a model that a huge number of parliamentarians saw some
merit in. We took a great deal of exception to the undemocratic, unconstitutional,
reckless, and dangerous style with which the rights of Aucklanders, families, workers,
and community members have been trampled on, as a consequence of there being no
opportunity for the public to comment on this reorganisation bill.
The bill posits inordinate power with a small, shadowy group of people. We have no
idea what they will cost us, broadly imagining that the ratepayers of Auckland will be
left with the bill. They are a small group of people whom we fear will rack up inordinate
expenses and then provide an opportunity for others not far away from them to use that
as a chance to drive ahead with a privatisation agenda. We have been concerned that,
and we have recited reasons why, this reorganisation bill will actually weaken the
ability of Auckland to achieve mega-city status.
There have been ill-informed remarks from members on the other side of the House,
because, I understand, they believe that entertainment opportunities have been
squandered as a consequence of the Pasifika, Māori, and Asians—who deserved an
opportunity to come forward and simply tell their story. So it fell to Labour to ensure
that the cloak of democracy sits easily on this House—not ruffled, wrapped up, and
thrown aside like unwanted chip paper; that is not for us. That is why we have taken the
time to try to explore every opportunity to ensure that the ratepayers of Auckland
remember that it was the National Government that showed arrogant, uncaring, profitdriven,
narrow, and divisive zealotry. That was what we sought to show the entirety of
Auckland.
I must continue on this rather baneful subject of the costs. The royal commission did
not come up with exclusive costings. Rodney Hide stood in this House and said he did
not know how much it will cost. John Key is not interested in how much it will cost.
Bill English is already busily working out how he can claw it back after Treasury has
had to fund it. It will fall on a whole bunch of people in Auckland who can hardly cope
with the cost structure they are living with at the moment.
There is a small reliance on the Māori language, as this bill gets to its fateful, fitful
end. You know, the name Tāmaki-makau-rau is emblematic of what we have been
through here. “Tāmaki” means either “ancestor” or “object of desire”; “makau” means
“sweetheart”, and it also means “low tide”. This is definitely where the tide has begun
to ebb for this uncaring, reckless, agenda-driven, and ideologically driven Government.
The people of Auckland can see when the tide starts to go out, and it is definitely going
out in particular on those Auckland MPs in the Government. Let them go out and
explain to the Auckland communities why, from now on, every council decision will
have to be reinforced or mandated by a small shadowy cabal of tsars. That is very, very
dangerous. Let those MPs go out and tell them.
Let them tell them in Onehunga. Of course, “hunga” means “people”, and “one”
means “soil”. That is where the people who supported this madness of the National
Government will be buried. Māngere in South Auckland—well it is unfortunate that
those members’ colleague, who could not be here, has decided that the entirety of South
Auckland should be written off with a glib remark about criminality. Of course we
know that in Māngere they will remember that, because “māngere” means “lazy”,