Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) - New Zealand Parliament

16 May 2009 Local Government (Auckland Reorganisation) Bill 3711
agency that is being established, and that agency is under no obligation to consult
anybody, other than the Minister Rodney Hide.
Some of my colleagues have already suggested that we should be calling this bill
after Rodney Hide. That seems very appropriate, given how much power he has to
control this agency. This agency is made up of somewhere between three and five
people. There are no requirements here to determine any criteria for selecting them.
There is no need for that agency or its board to be representative of anybody. In fact, it
could be made up of five of Rodney’s best friends or, as somebody said, five members
of the ACT Party, for example. This is entirely possible under this bill. Let us call it the
“Centralised Power in the Hands of a Rich Few Bill”, shall we? Let us do that. Let us
call it the “Centralised in the Hands of the ACT Party Bill” or indeed the “Centralise it
in the Hands of Rodney Hide Bill”.
Will Rodney Hide bother to talk to anybody about any of the important matters that
the transitional agency will be dealing with? I think it is highly unlikely, given there
was no consultation on the recommendations of the royal commission, given that
developing the Government’s proposal after the royal commission did not seem to
involve consultation with anyone other than the Government, and given that no effort
was made to cost it or to take a regulatory impact analysis before pushing this bill
through Parliament. I think it is highly unlikely that he will consult people about the
implications of some of the matters that the transitional agency will be dealing with.
Despite our best efforts over the last few days to scrutinise this bill, in the absence of
a select committee process there will undoubtedly be things that have not been able to
be checked in this Parliament. We have done our very best. We have raised issues
concerning representation and making sure that people are represented—that the diverse
and large population of Auckland is represented appropriately. We have put in place
amendments concerning assets in order to make sure not only that they are not
privatised but also that our elected representatives do not lose control of them—that
they have the right to control those assets. We have made a number of amendments
concerning workers and the treatment of the 6,300 council workers. But none of that has
been taken into account by the Government. Its members are far too arrogant to think
that any of those things have merit.
I think that Aucklanders, and in fact New Zealanders, will be highly resentful of the
fact that the Government has not bothered to pick up a number of very important
matters that Labour has raised with it. Labour members know that those issues matter to
New Zealanders. The public control of public assets and the fair treatment of workers
matter to New Zealanders. We have raised our concerns about unintended
consequences, such as the paid parental leave provisions, which Gerry Brownlee
considers to be a silly matter. If we are right, then a lot of women will be very
concerned—and a lot of families, in fact—about Mr Brownlee’s attitude to this
important matter of paid parental leave.
There are a number of matters that we have not even been able to consider. One of
those matters concerns clause 33. This clause has not had any consideration by the
Committee, but again we could call clause 33 the “Let Councillor Lotu-Iiga off the
Hook” clause because that clause, which we have not considered yet, is all about filling
extraordinary vacancies during the transition period. This now provides councillor Lotu-
Iiga with the opportunity to resign—
Hon Clayton Cosgrove: I raise a point of order, Mr Chairperson. I apologise for
interrupting the member, but I would like some advice. It is highly irregular and deeply
offensive for a member, as he is wandering around the Chamber, to be screaming—not
interjecting—at the speaker on her feet. He is not even bothering to sit in his seat. I ask
you to enforce the relevant Standing Orders.