Thursday, 6 August 2009 - Issue 79

Local Government New Zealand Conference

Last week a group of us from Manukau City Council attended the Local Government New Zealand conference in Christchurch.

This is an annual get-together of mayors, deputy mayors, councillors, chief executive officers and council staff. It's an opportunity to discuss issues of concern and interest for local government in New Zealand.

The major topics of conversation in local government have been around the Auckland governance issue and the apparent impasse between our Minister, the Honourable Rodney Hide, and local government members.

The Auckland governance issue tended to hang over the conference and was a matter of constant reference in discussion. We enjoyed the thoughts of Justice Peter Salmon, who chaired the royal commission on governance.

Councils outside the Auckland community also talked about the Prime Minister's opening comments for the conference. He noted the Government did not intend to take the initiative in any further amalgamations outside of Auckland, but would listen if communities and regions were to come to the Government with proposals.

I suspect that at most of these conferences much of the real work is done in the corridors and the coffee shops between sessions. In this occasion I am absolutely certain that mayors, chairs and councillors took ample opportunity to work through whether or not there might be an opportunity for further amalgamation or closer liaison between councils across the country.

Local Government Minister Rodney Hide's speech was much anticipated and beaten up by media as something of a show down between local government and our minister. I think everyone recognises that our new minister has a philosophy that he is committed to, seeing less rather than more government as the optimum journey of political life in New Zealand.

A paper going to Cabinet seeking a review of local government and opening up a debate on defining the core services of local governments in New Zealand was a subject of considerable debate at the conference.

Mr Hide's speech was interesting in that a good part of it involved singing the praises of a trust in our city that has had a significant impact on improving education in our community, the City of Manukau Education Trust (COMET). The Minister had visited the trust and was so impressed by it that in his words it 'rocked his socks off'. He was effusive about his support for the work that COMET was doing and he told me that it has changed his view on the role of community and the social focus for councils.

The proof will be in the pudding in the sense that we are expecting a draft bill to go to Parliament seeking greater transparency and accountability in local government through legislation, but also attempting to provide some definition for the types of services that local government should deliver to their community.

My primary comment to him was that local government at the very least deserved to have a strong, considered and extensive input into that process of defining what services we provide our community given that we have developed a range of services with our community's approval. The Minister will have held discussions with representatives of Local Government New Zealand as an organisation, but I'm yet to hear if it will extend to a general broad discussion as a whole.

Alcohol review
I enjoyed chairing a workshop on the alcohol law review which included a very interesting paper by Sir Geoffrey Palmer. He heads the Law Commission, which is conducting a review of alcohol legislation in the country. It was released last week for public discussion and will eventually lead to legislation to amend the liquor laws.

Sir Geoffrey's presentation was very animated and it's clear he's got the bit between his teeth on this matter. He is, as we all are, appalled with our nation's binge drinking mentality and the proliferation of liquor stores in and around our communities of greatest need.

His desire is to take this paper with its proposals and ideas for reform around the city for full and inclusive consultation. A fine counter point to the Local Government Minister's lack of desire for consultation on his proposed changes to local government law.

I also raised with Sir Geoffrey the fact that while we support an overarching review of the liquor laws I can see no reason why Parliament couldn't determine - as a separate issue and with some urgency - moving Lianne Dalziel's private members bill forward.

The bill, which will allow for significant community input into the issuing of liquor licenses, has already passed its first reading. As a council we will continue to encourage the Government in bringing this matter to Parliament for a second reading ahead of any changes to the liquor laws next year.

Business news
There were two significant matters in our business community recently. I was particularly pleased to see the announcement by the Auckland International Airport Limited of a joint venture with Tainui for the provisioning of our first four and a half star hotel in Manukau city.

It is anticipated the hotel will be built in time for the Rugby World Cup. I've seen the conceptual drawings of the proposal and it will be a brilliant addition to the region's accommodation requirements.

The airport hotels have proven to be successful in recent times and I have no doubt this venture will be too. The hotel has an iconic shape and will reflect strongly the interest of Maori and Tainui particularly in its design.

Even in these difficult recessionary times the airport company continues to develop and grow. With this marvellous proposal and the continued development of the second runway, why would anyone consider selling our interest in this airport either as our city or as the region?

I enjoyed attending the opening of Toll Logistics new building in Mangere East ,which has 40,000 square metres (10 acres) of storage area. Toll is a company which employs 30,000 people around the globe and has $7 billion in revenue per annum. It's a significant logistics player and I understand the seventh largest transport logistics type company in the world.

It is better known in this country as being the prior owner of our rail system. It has recently sold that of course and has continued to focus its efforts in supply chain logistics covering all areas of rail, freight and storage. For such a large and powerful business force, it is operated largely under the radar.

So I really enjoyed being at the opening of its facility and in particular the hospitality of its New Zealand chief executive officer Greg Miller. What I liked about the company is their strong commitment to staff retention during these difficult times. For a big company, they have relatively low turnover and they provide a significant internal training base to bring staff up to speed and up-skill for promotion within the company.

Ninety per cent of those employed in this new facility are local. It was a great day and another opportunity to enjoy a significant international firm investing in longevity and our local business community.

It was also great to be at the announcement of the finalists in the Westpac Manukau Business Excellence Awards. The quality of entries this year was really high, so being named a finalist is a huge achievement. The council started the awards 16 years ago and I believe its more important than ever to celebrate success during tough times.

Boost in Early Childhood Education
It was great to note the Government's announcement this week of a boost in grants to ensure that more places are made available in early childhood centres. I am particularly heartened by the fact that of the $8.9 million in grants announced, more than $5 million is coming to the Counties Manukau district.

This funding will go a long way to ensuring our youngest citizens don't miss out on a vital start to their education. The fact that a number of organisations across our city will benefit is a sign that the government is listening to our concerns, and will open opportunities for education and more choice for parents and families.

Have a great week.

Len Brown

Mayor of Manukau

ENDS

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