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3644 Local Government (Auckland Reorganisation) Bill 16 May 2009 cares about is turning the transition agency into a small, unaccountable group of people who will be driven by profit. They will not think of the humanitarian considerations that employees deserve at a time when avalanche after avalanche of bad news is coming from overseas. The rights of children, mothers, fathers, and grandparents are the rights that we should be concerned about, and they have been completely forgotten. The Minister of Local Government stands up and gives lame accounts as to how Opposition members are either being trivial or not treating the House seriously. This is the highest court in the land. Aucklanders have every right to look to the Opposition to hold the Government to account in terms of speaking up for their right—given that to date we have failed to make any difference whatsoever in relation to their democratic rights—to be able to go to work and continue to contribute to and enrich the city of Auckland and its broader environment, knowing that they will not fall victim as they did in the 1980s to Mr Roger Douglas’ foul schemes, knowing that they will not fall victim to half-baked ideas from people who, unfortunately, will not be elected but will be appointed. The Government will not appoint Māori from the local tribes. It will not appoint tangata whenua and give them a decent fee to represent the indigenous dimension. Similarly, the Government wants to appoint people on fat salaries who will not be accountable to us. They will smash the rights, smash the entitlements, and accept none of the obligations that fall upon good employers. So it falls to us to remind the media, to remind our friends here in the broader Opposition, and to remind the Government that these sorts of things open up ill will. These sorts of things cause people to feel that they no longer have a decent stake in the development of what is meant to be the super-city. This provision enables the creation of a mega-city over the bodies of good, God-fearing, decent workers. How can that possibly be sustainable? How can that possibly lay down a basis for productivity, and for growth in the confidence of people who want better parks, who want better goods and services, but who fear they will be unable to achieve them, because every time they have a request of a significant nature to improve their working environment it will have to go across Rodney Hide’s desk? His desk will be littered with applications for contracts and a variety of other foul schemes to erode and undo the good work that the very workers we are concerned about have created and contributed to. It might be said that we should not focus too much on those groups that we will get to speak about later in the day—that is, the tangata whenua and the Pasifika. But those are the groups, along with other vulnerable sectors of the employment force, that this bill is designed to protect. I would like to hear from Mr Rodney Hide. How on earth does he think that instilling power in a small group of corporate-driven, unaccountable people will enrich the rights of workers? Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Labour—Hutt South): I raise a point of order, Mr Chairperson. Towards the end of that speech I was watching the clock fairly carefully. I want to check with you that the clock did not go a little bit fast towards the end. The CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch): It certainly did not go fast. There are two of us here checking. That is completely out of order. JONATHAN YOUNG (National—New Plymouth): I move, That the question be now put. Hon LUAMANUVAO WINNIE LABAN (Labour—Mana): Kia ora, talofa lava, and warm Pacific greetings. I am very pleased to stand in this Chamber to support Carol Beaumont’s amendment to insert new Part 10. I want to put forward a bit of history from a Pacific woman’s perspective in relation to the importance of being a good employer and having good personnel policies that acknowledge and look after the diversity of our communities and our country. Pacific unemployment has gone up from 8 percent to 13.7 percent, yet Auckland is the biggest
16 May 2009 Local Government (Auckland Reorganisation) Bill 3645 Polynesian city in the world. I will talk about a personal story, to put it in context. I say hello to my mother, who is 80 years old and is watching us on television. Mum came over from Samoa in the 1950s. She worked as a shorthand typist for the Department of Social Welfare, and she managed to become the manager of 30 women. She became the first Pacific equal employment opportunities coordinator in that department, together with Elsie Ellison of Ngāti Porou, who was the first Māori equal employment opportunities coordinator. The point about having those communities represented in the workplace is that it means there is a better connection with those communities. Having them represented ensures that they participate and have information, but, more important, it ensures that the needs of those communities, and some creative responses and innovation, can be part of the mix. I am very, very proud to say to the Minister of Local Government that it is important in this debate to honour the contribution that Pacific people have made to this country. We should think of the big picture. I think of the Rugby World Cup. Who plays in our rugby team? Who plays in the New Zealand Warriors and in the Kiwi netball team? Who won the Lexus opera competition last week? It was a Kiwi-born Samoan. Who heads Black Grace? It is Neil Ieremia from Cannons Creek, who now lives in Auckland. Jonah Lomu and all those other people came from very humble beginnings. It is those workers who need to be looked after. It is about value for money, but it is also about value for people. It is really important that we address that issue in terms of work, workers’ rights, and better investment to support those workers to lift their capability. It is also important to have an organisation that reflects the look of Auckland, because that is good for New Zealand, good for the Pacific, and good for the world. Our whole community, like any other community, has contributed to “New Zealand Inc.” New Zealand is very, very well known all over the world in terms of its Māori, Pacific, Asian, and Pākehā contributions. Each contribution enhances us. Unless those groups are reflected in the workplace, not just at the level of a cleaner but at the management level where decisions are made, the delivery of the agency will be ineffective and fall short of its responsibility. I stand as a New Zealand - born Pacific woman. I am very proud to be a Kiwi. Pacific people are very proud of our country. We do not want to be honoured just for playing good rugby; we have a contribution to make in terms of the economy and our society. Our people, like those in many other communities, work extremely hard no matter what job we do. We see examples of that in Parliament, from bottom to top. It is important that we look after our people, because they contribute to the economy, and they contribute enormously in terms of social capital, too. They do a lot of voluntary work in the areas of sports, culture, spirituality, and faith. Those areas are all part of the package. I congratulate Carol Beaumont on her vision of creating personnel policies that are not token gestures or responses but actually enhance, are integral to, and reciprocate the enormous contribution that Pacific people have made to this country. After all, Aotearoa is part of the Pacific. Thank you. DARIEN FENTON (Labour): I rise to support this excellent new part proposed by my colleague Carol Beaumont. I can only echo what all my colleagues have said. But I also affirm our plea to the National Government to seriously consider this part, and to think about what we are talking about when we talk about good employment practices, being a good employer, and how important that is, particularly at a time when 6,300 workers are living with enormous uncertainty. They do not know whether they will have a job in 18 months. They do not know what the rationalisation of their jobs means. That is what the Government has proposed—that their jobs be rationalised by October 2010.
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HIPKINS, CHRIS— Bills— Local Go
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