New Zealand Parliamentary Debate

Gisborne DC (Alfred Cox Park) Validation Bill [4452]

pay off the debt of the city. Those are all the things he said when he was Mayor of Wellington. Now that he is an Opposition back-bench list MP, he says: It's a terrible thing that councils are putting their rates up. I'll have to go into Parliament tonight and vote to cap the amount that rates are put up by a council. That is despite the fact that every single year that that man was the Mayor of Wellington-when, by the way, he opposed the Transmission Gully motorway; that was about four or five political parties ago and four or five failed businesses ago-he spent all that time putting up rates, and it was an absolute disgrace.

Anne Tolley

: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I hate to stop my colleague midstream, but could we please confine the debate to the bill before us. It has nothing to do with Transmission Gully.

DARREN HUGHES

: Speaking to the point of order, I point out that the problem I had was that the member's own colleague was interjecting on me. If members want to take the risk of serving up an interjection, they will have to bear with the results. I have to assert my rights.

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER

: I am pleased you have overcome your problem.

DARREN HUGHES

: All I know about Mark Blumsky as the Mayor of Wellington is that he was a big spender when he was the mayor. Now that he is a back-bench Opposition list MP, he tries to make sure that councils cannot do the very good sorts of things we are debating here tonight with the excellent Gisborne District Council( Alfred Cox Park) Validation Bill in the name of Anne Tolley, the local member of Parliament.

There are a lot of good things happening in local government that we support and think are fantastic. We are a partner of local government, which is why we put up our hands to say we could progress this bill all in one stage, rather than dividing it up over several nights. That option was not taken up by the House, but it was certainly an offer that was made by Labour as part of our ongoing commitment to our relationship with local government. I hope that at a future time when I get to visit Gisborne and try to assist in that regard, I will have a chance to visit the Alfred Cox Park and see a city that is on the move-and maybe pick up a bargain or two at the local flea market. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to make a brief contribution tonight.

Bill read a third time.

PRINCIPLES OF THE TREATY OF WAITANGI DELETION BILL

First Reading

R DOUG WOOLERTON( NZ First):

I move, That the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Deletion Bill be now read a first time. Before I get into the substance of my speech, I would like to acknowledge our Labour colleagues. I know that, sometimes, fulfilling an obligation that is agreed on one's behalf is not easy, and I understand that it is not easy for our Labour colleagues this evening, but we admire their dedication and we admire their honour. After all, I have had my time of having to do those sorts of things myself. In supporting this bill going to the select committee, I just hope our Labour colleagues get into the swing of saying yes, and perhaps as it goes through the select committee process they will see the sense of this bill and say yes to it coming out at the other end and becoming law. So at the appropriate time, I intend to move that the bill be considered by the Justice and Electoral Committee. I will move that later on in the piece.

The Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Deletion Bill is about one simple thing. I want to say at the outset that New Zealand First is not against the Treaty of Waitangi. We are not against the Treaty of Waitangi being in legislation; we understand that and we honour the Treaty. But we believe that the word principles should be deleted, and