Speech by Hon Rodney Hide to Meeting of LGNZ Zone One Representatives
Council Chamber, Ground floor, Auckland Town Hall, 301 Queen Street, Auckland.
Friday 12 March 2010

Good morning and my thanks to Local Government New Zealand for the invitation to speak to your Zone One representatives today. Zone One is very important to me as Minister at the moment!

You have invited me to talk about the Governments reform of Auckland’s local governance – a topic that I know is very dear to all your hearts – and my work on improving the transparency, accountability and financial management of local government

I’m not going to bore you with a lot of detail that you already know about, being so closely involved in all the Auckland changes. I will speak for a short time and then am very happy to take questions.

Before I begin - special greetings to Mike Cohen and Eugene Bowen, and to Grant Taylor representing the ATA.

And, I would very much like to thank all Zone One Mayors and Chief Executives for your open engagement with the ATA and hard work to support the changes underway in Auckland.

I know it’s an enormous undertaking for you, and I appreciate the personal and professional effect it must be having for you.

As you know, successive Government have attempted different arrangements for Auckland’s local governance in an effort to assist the Auckland region to speak with one voice, and to become the marvellous city/region that I know it can be.

Auckland is New Zealand’s only city/region that is positioned to take on the global connections NZ needs to succeed and prosper.

Auckland already exhibits a number of characteristics of a strong international city. We can be proud of Auckland with its natural beauty, a jewel of a harbour and its wonderful diversity. But in my view there is a huge untapped potential. It could be so much better.

Recent evidence shows that Auckland has a productivity premium of around 50 per cent higher than that outside Auckland. Although Auckland is a strong performer in the national context, we believe it has potential to significantly improve its productivity.

That is why the Government is determined to set up a regional governance structure that both enhances productivity and ensures that Auckland continues to be a great place to live and work.

Auckland's future depends on critical decisions being taken at a regional level. Effective region-wide decision-making must have region-wide governance arrangements to overcome the competing interests, parochialism and factionalism that held Auckland back for so long.

The Government’s changes will provide a better environment for Auckland citizens and businesses to interact with their local authority.

I’m excited about the potential we can unleash through these changes, and I’m getting more excited as the final pieces of the new picture start to fall into place.

Some of these final pieces are:

• The Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill - the third and final Bill to effect the Auckland Governance changes, which as you know is currently before the select committee;

• The Local Government Commission’s final determination as to Local Boards and their members;

• The ATA’s discussion documents on Local Boards and CCOs – which I hope you are providing feedback on.

I will just briefly touch on these now

Third Bill
As you know, the third Bill develops and enhances the two earlier Auckland Acts and amends other pieces of legislation.

It will give the new Auckland Council the tools to be up and running effectively in November this year, following the election of new representatives in the October 2010 local government elections.

The Auckland Governance Legislation Committee received over 800 submissions on the bill, and has recently finished its hearings. They will report back to the House in early May and the Bill needs to be passed shortly afterwards so that arrangements are in place for the elections.

Local Boards and the Council
As you know the new Auckland council is going to have two complementary levels of decision-making in the new Council – the governing body made up of the Mayor and councillors, and the local boards which have specific decision-making responsibilities in their own right.

One of the most difficult issues facing us in designing these new arrangements is how to effectively provide for the local voice in regional decisions, and the regional impact of local decisions. We have tried to do this in several ways.

The governing body is responsible for decisions on the regulatory functions of the Council as a local authority, although it has the power to delegate many of these to local boards.

The governing body is also responsible for financial management, and ensuring the Council as a whole has the capacity to provide, or ensure the provision of, services and facilities, including local activities, across the region.

In meeting these responsibilities, the governing body must consider any views and preferences expressed by a local board, if the decision may affect the local board or the well-being of communities within its local board area.

The Council’s local boards are responsible for identifying and communicating the interests and preferences of the people in their local board areas. It will consider the content of the strategies, policies, plans, and bylaws of the Council, and developing bylaws for their local board areas and proposing them to the governing body.

Responsibility for the Council’s non-regulatory activities has been specifically designed to reflect and support the different roles that the governing body and the local boards have in the Council structure.

As you know the Local Government Commission has made its final determination and has made a few changes as a result of submissions on the draft determination.

The proposed two member Orakei–Maungakiekie has been split into two single member wards (Orakei Ward and Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Ward);

Two of the largest proposed Local Boards have both been split into two new boards. The Hibiscus, Albany, East Coast Bays board is now split into the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board and the Upper Harbour Local Board.

The proposed Waitakere Board has been split into two separate boards (Waitakere Ranges Local Board and the Henderson-Massey Local Board).

A number of other ward and local board boundary have been made to ensure communities of interest are not split and to provide for fair representation across Auckland (i.e. within plus/minus 10 percent). For example, all of Mt Eden community is now in one ward

I hope that many of you here today are thinking of standing for the council or a local board.

CCOs
There are currently over 300 council-owned entities with some form of corporate or business-like structure, spread across the existing eight councils in Auckland.

The Government asked the ATA to review and rationalise the council-owned entities prior to 1 November 2010, and to develop proposals for a consolidated structure for the new Auckland Council.

The proposals need to meet certain criteria before the Government will agree to them. They need to:

• address inconsistencies in service delivery methods across the existing local authorities to achieve a consistent approach for the new Auckland Council; and

• eliminate multiple CCOs with the same purpose, to provide the Auckland Council with a consolidation of the entities.

The Government has already approved three CCOs for Auckland – these are Auckland Transport, Watercare Services Limited and the Waterfront Development Agency.

We expect that the stocktake and review of council-owned entities that the ATA is undertaking will result in the establishment of a small number of new CCOs, primarily based on the rationalisation of like activities that presently operate independently from local authorities through CCOs, trusts or business units.

Any of the existing 300 council entities that are not affected by the new CCO structure will simply transfer, as is, to the Auckland Council on 1 November 2010.

The CCO structure, once fully developed by the ATA and approved by the Government, will remain in place from 1 November 2010 until the new Auckland Council has completed consultation with Aucklanders, along with LTCCP consultation, on any proposed changes.

The Government is looking for effectiveness and efficiency in service delivery while also providing for the Auckland Council to remain democratically accountable for the delivery of those services.

We expect the new unified Auckland Council to bring many benefits to its residents and ratepayers, and serve as a positive example for other regions to follow in the future.

Further down the track, we will consider the implications of the review of Auckland’s governance for local government in general.

TAFM
I’d like to briefly touch on the government’s work on improving transparency, accountability and financial management in local government.

The local government sector has provided valuable input into this work through Local Government New Zealand and the Society of Local Government Managers. In fact, many of the changes I’m proposing had their genesis in work done by one of these organisations.

I started this work because it very quickly became clear to me, from letters I received and the public meetings I attended, that very many ratepayers are concerned about increasing rates, and many are struggling to pay these increases.

These concerns are well founded.

Recent analysis by the Department of Internal Affairs of data from 2009 to 2019 long-term council community plans (LTCCPs) shows that the cumulative increase in rates per head over the next 10 years is 49 per cent, and that rates funding will increase as a proportion of councils’ operating receipts.

At the same time, public debt for the sector is forecast to increase by 97 per cent and interest expenses by 91 per cent. And it is ratepayers, including commercial ratepayers, who are expected to pay for most of the increases.

More effective and responsive local government and a brighter future for ratepayers are most easily achieved by improving certain aspects of the Local Government Act 2002.

The three underlying principles guiding this work are:

• local government should operate within a defined fiscal envelope

• councils should focus on core activities

• council decision-making should be clear, transparent and accountable.

In general the changes agreed to by Cabinet will help ratepayers and residents to understand council costs, rates and activities a whole lot better so they can exert greater influence and control during planning and decision-making.

Long-term council community plans will be simpler and more strategic in focus, financial disclosures will be in plain English, and councils will have more flexibility in choosing effective and efficient delivery methods for water services.

Council reporting will be consistent so that residents and ratepayers will be able to make comparisons between different councils.

As from 2013, every council will produce a pre-election financial report to allow voters to make informed choices. And the return in focus to core services will mean that processes are simplified and streamlined.

I believe councils’ consultation processes are unnecessarily onerous and complex. Worst of all, they are largely meaningless to the average ratepayer.

Most LTCCPs are bulky documents running to hundred of pages and often more than one volume. This makes it difficult for residents to identify the things that really matter to their communities, and can also deter them from taking part in decision-making processes.

It is possible to remove a lot of the more descriptive, highly technical and non-strategic material from LTCCPs to produce a document people can more easily understand.

The community outcomes process will be merged into the long-term council community plan. LTCCPs will be renamed “long-term plan” and will have a more strategic focus. This will eliminate the costs and inefficiencies of running two separate long-term planning processes.

Other benefits of the changes include greater attention to the prioritisation and affordability of proposals, allowing communities to decide the issues they want their council to consider, and clearer links between a council’s outcomes and how it proposes to achieve them.

Essentially, there will be greater flexibility for councils in responding to community needs and clearer information for the public by integrating community outcomes into strategic planning.

It is important that decisions about the role of councils continue to be made locally, rather than by central government. And council activities and decisions should match the priorities of ratepayers who foot the bill.

Water Services
The present law restricts councils from structuring their water services in ways that best meet the needs and preferences of ratepayers and residents. Current restrictions reduce councils’ flexibility to choose effective and efficient delivery methods for water services.

The Government has agreed on changes to allow greater use of public-private partnerships in the construction and operation of water and wastewater treatment plants. Build – Own – Operate – Transfer (BOOT) schemes will become more feasible. However, ownership of assets would revert to councils at the end of any agreement to ensure public ownership is retained.

We are proposing legislative changes to extend the 15 year limit on water services contracts and joint arrangements with the private sector to 35 years to make these arrangements more workable.

The changes will repeal provisions that require councils entering into a contract or joint arrangement with the private sector to retain control over the management of water services, with control over pricing and policy to be retained by councils.

These changes will be provided for in the Local Government Amendment Bill, which I plan to introduce to the House this year. There will, of course be a chance for public input through the Select Committee process, and I encourage people to make their views known.

Ok, that’s enough from me – I’m happy to take your questions now, and I’m sure you’ve got a few.

Reserve Bank confirms ETS to Lift Prices, Boost Inflation

Dr Allan Bollard, Governor of the Reserve Bank today confirmed what ACT has said all along; that the new ETS tax will lift the price of electricity and petrol from July and will push inflation to the top end of the Bank’s 2-3 per cent band, ACT New Zealand ETS Spokesman John Boscawen said today.

"The Reserve Bank confirmed they had accepted Treasury estimates of a 5 per cent increase in the price of electricity and 4 cents a litre increase in the price of petrol in calculating their inflation estimates.

"However, the real impact on inflation is likely to be much greater than the Reserve Bank's 0.4 per cent calculation as the Bank has only taken into account the expected electricity and petrol increases and their indirect consequences.

"In addition to electricity and petrol, industrial processes will also be included in the ETS from the 1st of July although the Bank has failed to allow for this. Processing of basic food stuffs, like milk and bread, will be captured by the ETS and will percolate through the economy.

"The Labour Party continues to pretend to be concerned for those on low and middle incomes. If they were really concerned, they would be joining with ACT in it's call to have the introduction of this extra tax delayed indefinitely.

"With none of our three major trading partners - Australia, USA or China - likely to adopt an ETS in the foreseeable future, it is time for the Government to join in our call to halt this expensive experiment," Mr Boscawen said.

Good morning.

Richard Manthel, the CEO of Robert Walters New Zealand; and Liz Nixon and the team at Robert Walters and all the attendees here today, thank you for the opportunity to address you today.

I know, that as Chief Financial officers of Auckland based companies you will all have an interest in how the new Auckland governance structure will work, and the opportunities for businesses during and after the transition. I hope to address some of the questions you may have here today, after which I will welcome your thoughts and questions.

Auckland is New Zealand's only city that is positioned to take on a globally-connected city role. Auckland already exhibits a number of characteristics of a strong international city. We can be proud of Auckland with its natural beauty, a jewel of a harbour and its wonderful diversity. But in my view there is a huge untapped potential. It could be so much better.

Recent evidence shows that Auckland has a productivity premium of around 50 per cent higher than that outside Auckland. Although Auckland is a strong performer in the national context, we believe it has potential to significantly improve its productivity.

That is why the Government is determined to set up a regional governance structure that enhances the productivity and competitiveness of Auckland's businesses.

Local Government in the Auckland region needs to optimise the region's productivity and maximise economic development, tourism, and cultural and social events.

Auckland's future depends on critical decisions being taken at a regional level. Effective region-wide decision-making must have region-wide governance arrangements to overcome the competing interests, parochialism and factionalism that has held Auckland back for so long.

The Government intends to provide a better environment for Auckland citizens and businesses to interact with their local authority. Strengthening Auckland's governance will, in turn, make it a better place for businesses to operate.

As a unitary authority governing the region, the Council will represent the interests of the entire Auckland region and foster a common identity and purpose.

As a unitary authority, it will be well positioned to provide cost-effective, efficient essential services and facilities for ratepayers.

The structure will ensure better value from rates and central government funding, by reducing duplication and delays in previously intractable problems such as transport issues.

Services such as administration, office systems, finance, human resources and information technology will be integrated and streamlined.

Each council currently operates its own systems, so there are real savings to be made here.

Unified decision-making, better transport and infrastructure and more efficient delivery of services will all contribute to a great Auckland region where people will want to live and do business.

The Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill is the third and final Bill to effect the Auckland Governance changes and is currently before a select committee.

The Bill develops and enhances the two earlier Auckland Acts and amends other pieces of legislation.

It will give the new Auckland Council the tools to be up and running effectively in November this year, following voters electing their new representatives in the October 2010 local government elections.

The Auckland Governance Legislation Committee received over 800 submissions on the Bill, and has recently finished its hearings. They will report back to the House in early May. As the Bill will make changes to existing councils' planning decisions in June 2010, it must be passed by the end of May.

The new Auckland council is going to have two complementary levels of decision-making in the new Council - the governing body made up of the Mayor and councillors, and the local boards which have specific decision-making responsibilities in their own right.

The governing body is responsible for decisions on the regulatory functions of the Council as a local authority, although it has the power to delegate many of these to local boards.

The governing body is also responsible for financial management, and ensuring the Council as a whole has the capacity to provide, or ensure the provision of, services and facilities, including local activities, across the region.

In meeting these responsibilities, the governing body must consider any views and preferences expressed by a local board, if the decision may affect the local board or the well-being of communities within its local board area.

The Council's local boards are responsible for identifying and communicating the interests and preferences of the people in their local board areas. It will consider the content of the strategies, policies, plans, and bylaws of the Council, and developing bylaws for their local board areas and proposing them to the governing body.

Responsibility for the Council's non-regulatory activities has been specifically designed to reflect and support the different roles that the governing body and the local boards have in the Council structure.

The Local Government Commission is announcing its final determination on the numbers and boundaries of local boards, and board members later this morning.

There are currently over 300 council-owned entities with some form of corporate or business-like structure, spread across the existing eight councils in Auckland.

The Government has asked the ATA to review and rationalise the council-owned entities prior to 1 November 2010, and to develop proposals for a consolidated structure for the new Auckland Council.

The proposals need to meet certain criteria before the Government will agree to them. They need to:

* address inconsistencies in service delivery methods across the existing local authorities to achieve a consistent approach for the new Auckland Council; and

* eliminate multiple CCOs with the same purpose, to provide the Auckland Council with a consolidation of the entities.

The Government has already approved three CCOs for Auckland - these are Auckland Transport, Watercare Services Limited and the Waterfront Development Agency.

We expect that the stocktake and review of council-owned entities that the ATA is undertaking will result in the establishment of a small number of new CCOs, primarily based on the rationalisation of like activities that presently operate independently from local authorities through CCOs, trusts or business units.

Any of the existing 300 council entities that are not affected by the new CCO structure will simply transfer, as is, to the Auckland Council on 1 November 2010.

The CCO structure, once fully developed by the ATA and approved by the Government, will remain in place from 1 November 2010 until the new Auckland Council has completed consultation with Aucklanders on any proposed changes to the entities structure.

The Government is looking for effectiveness and efficiency in service delivery while also providing for the Auckland Council to remain democratically accountable for the delivery of those services.

The ATA has recently released discussion documents on local boards and CCOs and has invited feedback on their thinking to date.

The Auckland Council will collect rates on the basis set by existing councils until 1 July 2012. After this, the Council will implement a unified rating system. The Council will retain the current flexibility set under the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002 to decide on the mix of several categories of rates it considers most appropriate for the region.

Decisions on rating policy will be based on the Council's long-term plan, and consultation with residents. As Minister of Local Government I am strongly committed to ensuring there is genuine consultation with ratepayers about the rates they pay and to keeping rates at a level that is sustainable for communities and businesses.

The Council will have a mechanism to manage any significant changes in rating liability, during the three-year period starting on 1 July 2012 and ending 30 June 2015.

Tenders and similar processes now under way with existing councils will continue, unless there is a clear reason to change in the light of the Auckland Council's proposals. The ATA will be working with councils to ensure tenders and similar processes support the new structure and the anticipated needs of the whole region.

Where a council has given a formal commitment to a community or individual, this commitment will continue to be enforceable under the new structures.

Where a commitment is not of a type enforceable by law, the Council will be accountable to its communities for acting in a responsible and honourable way.

The Council will be responsible for contracting services through competitive tendering processes. I expect that a range of contractors will provide services for the new Auckland Council and the people of Auckland.

I have every confidence in the ability of New Zealand based contractors to be competitive and innovative in this environment.

While I appreciate there will be uncertainty for some stakeholders through the transition period, the potential benefits of more cohesive and effective local government in Auckland to New Zealand businesses and residents alike are great.

Finally I would like to acknowledge the great work being done by Mark Ford and the Auckland Transition Agency. Their professionalism and commitment is fantastic.

There is much that my Government colleagues and I are doing to improve Auckland governance, and make Auckland a greater place to do business. We are committed to making Auckland a truly great city to live and work in.

Thank you again for the opportunity to speak to you this morning about this important issue.

I am happy to hear your comments and take any questions.

ENDS

Local Botany MP Hon Pansy Wong and Associate Education Minister Hon Heather Roy today met with local Primary and Secondary school principals as part of the Government’s review of Special Education in New Zealand.

The open and frank consultation was part of a nationwide review of our country’s special education services to ensure all New Zealand students gain the education, resources and skills they need to reach their full potential.

Mrs Wong - who is also the Associate Minister for Disability Issues - says the meetings held at Willowbank Primary School and Sancta Maria College were an important step in voicing the local schools’ concerns, issues and ideas about how to best ensure children requiring special education are given the schooling they deserve.

"When I visit our schools, Special Education is often discussed and as the local MP I was glad that our education providers had an opportunity to raise the issue directly with Minister Roy," Mrs Wong says.

"Ensuring that all children have the skills they need for the future is essential and it is something our Botany community feels very strongly about and our Botany school principals did our community proud," she says.

"They not only gave Minister Roy a no-holds-barred account of what is needed to look after children with special education needs, but they also provided thoughtful insight into how we can ensure these students get a good quality education.

A variety of issues were raised at the meetings, including; funding, evaluation assessment, transition within and between education providers, and a whole of government approach to Special Education.

Mrs Roy - who has the delegation of Special Needs under her Associate Education portfolio - says the Botany school principals had provided her with some valuable advice and insight which would be used as part of the Government’s review of Special Education in New Zealand.

"All students - including those with disabilities - have aspirations and rights, which means that everyone should have the same opportunities to participate and to succeed at school," she says.

"While many parts of the education system work very well to support students with special education needs, there is still more to do including working on attitudes. I believe we can do better and that is why I am undertaking this review.

"Whatever changes may come from the review, I want parents to have choices. I want schools and the dedicated people who are part of special education to work together in the most effective and efficient ways possible," Mrs Roy says.

Consultation is ongoing and the Government’s review of Special Education in New Zealand is open to submissions from the public. Both Ministers are urging the Botany community to make submissions and to provide feedback to the review.

"I urge the Botany community to stand up and tell us what they think about the current Special Education system by visiting the Ministry of Education website for a copy of the discussion document and to provide their feedback before Friday March 19 2010," Mrs Wong says.

For more information about the Special Education review and access to the discussion document, visit

http://www.minedu.govt.nz/theMinistry/Consultation/ReviewOfSpecialEducat...

Transparency and accountability is a key feature of council-controlled organisations. Last week, the Auckland Transition Agency released its proposals for council-controlled organisations under the new Auckland Council.

Contrary to what some have suggested, this is not a new structure. We have plenty of them already - in fact, too many.

That is why the Auckland Transition Agency was asked to review and rationalise these existing wholly owned entities.

There are currently over 300 council-owned or council-funded entities with some form of corporate or business-like structure, spread over the existing eight councils in Auckland.

The Government has already approved three such organisations - Watercare Services, Auckland Transport and the Waterfront Development Agency.

To use transport as an example, this means one agency - Auckland Transport - will replace the nine separate existing transport entities across the city.

The result will be an agency equipped to provide the focus and continuity in decision-making needed to deliver a transport network that supports Auckland's growth and economic success.

This streamlining and simplification is the whole point behind the super city - we are working to improve governance, vision, planning and service delivery.

For too long, Auckland has suffered from a duplication of councils, plans and processes. Even when the regions' councils agreed on an overall vision and way forward, they couldn't agree on implementation of that plan and service delivery to Aucklanders.

That is why we decided to have one council, one mayor, one regional plan and efficient and cost-effective service delivery through, in part, council-controlled organisations.

Much of the interest and discussion of them has focused on those that will be responsible for the waterfront and transport. It is important to be clear about the accountability arrangements that will apply to all these organisations.

The new Auckland Council-controlled organisations will be no different to current ones in their relationship with the council, and they are accountable to the community through the council.

It is the council that sets the objectives and accounts to ratepayers for the performance these organisations. The model includes strong accountability mechanisms between the council and the council-controlled bodies, including an agreed statement of intent with council that will be made public.

There will be regular reporting to the council, audited by the Auditor-General.

The organisations will be required to give effect to Auckland Council plans and they will be monitored by the Auckland Council governance and monitoring unit.

The Auckland Council will appoint board members and have the power to remove them.

The Government expects all these controlled organisations to establish and foster a meaningful relationship with the new local boards for the Auckland region.

In addition to the council's influence, local boards will influence the organisations' activities through local board plans, input into statements of intent and oversight of agreed service delivery levels.

The new Auckland Transport organisation will focus on delivering integrated transport services and functions across the region.

The public will have a say on transport matters through consultation on the transport strategy, funding allocations, the prioritisation of projects through the regional programme and local board plans.

Local boards will feed local priorities into the funding process through local board plans, and must also be consulted on the Regional Land Transport Programme.

Auckland Transport will essentially be a duplication of the NZ Transport Agency, which operates at national level.

While the Government (and in Auckland's case, the council) has oversight and sets priorities, the transport agency is responsible for delivering on those priorities.

In Auckland, the Government and the current local authorities together provide about $1.5 billion a year for Auckland transport.

It is essential that spending is managed effectively and efficiently by a dedicated agency overseen by the Auckland Council with directors who have a specific mandate to deliver on council expectations.

Consultation on the implementation of transport activities will also occur under the Resource Management Act and other regulatory requirements that will impose their disciplines on Auckland Transport, as well as giving process rights to those affected by an activity.

Having one Auckland transport body will provide the focus and continuity in decision-making needed to deliver a transport network that supports Auckland's growth and economic success.

The Waterfront Development Agency has also drawn much comment. Its establishment will provide much needed leadership for revitalising Auckland's CBD waterfront.

It will have no extraordinary powers and no more powers than those that already apply to existing council-controlled organisations through the Local Government Act 2002.

One of the agency's first tasks will be to review and update the vision and plan for the waterfront, working with key stakeholders, and seeking public input.

The Royal Commission report noted that such arms-length agencies are now international best practice.

Around the world, similar agencies have transformed their waterfronts into outstanding places, making a major contribution to the economic, social, cultural and environmental wellbeing of those cities. These structures work.

Auckland's controlled organisations will have rigorous accountability checks and monitoring. There will undoubtedly be intense media scrutiny of them and that is only right. Aucklanders will know more about the performance its local government and organisations than ever before.

The Government is totally committed to improving Auckland's governance and service delivery in a transparent and accountable way. We are confident these proposals will make Auckland an even greater city in which to live, play and work.

* Rodney Hide is Minister of Local Government and MP for Epsom. Steven Joyce is Minister of Transport.

Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou, katoa.

Wellington Central MP - Grant Robertson
Wellington City Council Representative - Rob Goulden
Deputy Chief of Army - Brigadier Tim Keating
Commandant, New Zealand Cadet Forces - Wing Commander Guy Bendall
President of the Wellington Cadet Centre Trust - Anne McLellan
Unit Commander, Wellington City Cadet Unit - Lieutenant Paul Greenaway
Visiting dignitaries
NZDF and NZCF representatives, and especially parents, whanau and cadets of the Wellington City Cadet Unit.

Thank you for the invitation to this re-opening ceremony. It’s always a great pleasure to attend NZCF events and tonight is particularly special because the re-opening of a unit represents growth in one of the best investments that the Government can make in our young people.

Developing good citizens hasn't changed in thousands of years - it requires leadership by example from parents, whanau and the wider community. That begins with our responsibility to arm our children with the courage and confidence to resist the less desirable pressures they face and to march to the beat of their own drum.

Here, tonight, is a group of Kiwi families who, with support from both the Defence Force and the wider Wellington community, are doing just that. One of my sons was a cadet and I know just how hard it is for all of you to meet your unit training commitments. I know that, for many parents, the logistics of getting family members to their chosen extra-curricular activities, week after week, is easier said than done.

Long before I became involved in politics, I noted with dismay the considerable resources directed in an ad hoc manner at programmes that are loosely referred to as being for ‘youth at risk’. I believe that one of the greatest risks to youth is actually the pervasive use of that term.

I suspect that mums and dads here tonight, like me, may recall aspects of their own high school years as being ‘at-risk activities’. However, while hundreds of millions of dollars have been poured into providing ‘ambulances at the bottom of the cliff’, very little has been put into resourcing the vast majority of teenagers, like those on parade tonight, who are doing OK on their own. This sends teenagers and parents alike all the wrong signals.

The New Zealand Cadet Force is an organisation that I am proud to be the Minister for. We have a long history of developing young men and women as leaders. As life has become more challenging for teenagers, the NZCF has adapted in order to maintain its goal of providing youth development and leadership training with a service flavour. I congratulate the Defence Force staff, Cadet Force officers, instructors and unit support committees both past and present for their role in achieving this continued relevance.

The New Zealand Cadet Corps has a long history in the city. The original Wellington City Cadet Unit was formed from the renaming in 1994 of the longstanding Rongotai College Cadet Unit. I have no doubt that the decision to place this unit in recess in 2004 was a tough one. However, like our local football team and my own Army unit, you have risen, like a phoenix, from the ashes of the old unit to march on bolder and stronger. All the cadets here tonight, whatever unit you come from, can take this on board as an important life lesson.

There is an old Africa proverb : "It takes a village to raise a child". That is still true today and cadet units could not thrive without the ongoing contribution of the Unit Support Committee made up of parents, families and supporters. The help of many other organisations, ranging from the city council, community groups like the RSA, local businesses, charitable trusts and more is essential in providing the resources needed to keep a unit operating. To you all, I offer my thanks on behalf of a grateful nation.

The fact that we now have the Sea Cadet Corps, New Zealand Cadet Corps and Air Training Corps all parading in this fantastic new facility is a great achievement and is a model for how the NZCF can develop around the country.

To the cadets here tonight - the calibre of young Kiwis, like you, that I meet on parades, camps and courses never fails to impress me. It fills me with confidence that we have a generation of teenagers, led by great families, preparing themselves to meet the challenges of succeeding in the world that they will inherit. I hope that, in time, more commentators will choose to focus on the achievements of your generation rather than the actions of the few who cast a shadow on what I believe is a talented, inspiring group of young New Zealanders.

You are all part of something special. You have chosen the path less travelled. It is one of choice and personal responsibility. It is a path that will enable you to serve your community and to put the needs of others above your own. No matter how long you remain part of the Cadet Force family, you will be challenged. You will grow as individuals, you will hone your skills as a team player, you will learn to pass on your knowledge to others. You have chosen the path of leadership. Well done to each one of you.

Hold your heads high, be proud and stand up for what you believe in.

Kia Kaha

Tertiary Education Reforms Long Overdue
Like thousands of other parents around the country I've delivered my university aged children to their respective universities in the past couple of weeks. With 'O Week' over for another year, and everyone settling in to new halls of residence or flats, the academic year is well underway. Students beginning or returning to tertiary education have done so with a warning from the Government to take their studies seriously, or risk losing their student loan.

New Zealand makes a significant investment into ensuring that students are able to access tertiary education - 41.5 percent of the tertiary education budget goes into student loans and allowances, compared to the average 17.6 percent spent by other nations in the OECD.

This investment has seen the number of students at universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, wananga and Private Training Establishments skyrocket. Ministry of Education figures show that the number of 'Domestic' students - New Zealand citizens, permanent residents or refugees - enrolled in tertiary education grew more than 380,000 in just 10 years, from around 57,000 in 1998 to 439,867 in 2008.

The Government, however, has identified "increasingly urgent problems" within the sector and hinted at looming reforms. One of these problems is that of performance. According to media reports, only half the country's domestic students who began a bachelor's degree in 2004 actually completed their studies within five years. Another problem identified is that many courses - especially those below degree level - display similarly high dropout rates or do not provide students with the skills they need to gain paid employment.

It is, of course, taxpayers' money that funds the government component of tertiary education. This means that the Government has an obligation to ensure it gets value for the investment put in. With many courses not delivering on expectations, and some students not achieving adequately, this is clearly not happening.

Indications of how these problems will be addressed were outlined in the Government's Tertiary Education Strategy 2010-15, released at the end of last year. Each university is funded by the Government for a specific number of students. The Strategy made it clear that there is no extra money to go round - while universities will be able to take more students, they will not be funded for them. 'Extras' will have to pay full fees, rather than the current approximate 30 percent contribution from the State. The Strategy also states that funding will be linked to performance and there was something of a media furore at the beginning to the year around this issue.

In my opinion these moves not only make sense - they are long overdue. For instance: while the majority of students are hard-working and diligent, there are those who don't reach the required standard to pass their course (for whatever reason) or who remain in tertiary education for many years rather than entering the workforce.

New Zealand is not alone in this debate. A government-commissioned review of post-graduate education is currently underway in the UK. Recent commentary around who should and shouldn't be able to provide UK post-graduate courses - some, for example, are calling for the funding of PhDs to be focussed on research-intensive institutions - has been criticised by opponents as trying to engineer a 'two-tier system' of tertiary education. Like here, the debate revolves around performance and value for taxpayer investment.

Here in New Zealand, Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce has made it clear that the details of the looming reforms are yet to be worked out. But the Government has already indicated that a first step to creating greater efficiency within our tertiary education institutions will be to look into students' academic performance when they apply for student loans and/or allowances. By targeting students in this way, the Government is attempting to ensure value for money of the investment of taxpayers' generosity.

Some universities have claimed that they will have to turn thousands of students away due to under-performance, because of under-funding by Government. My response to that is: "how fair is it that tertiary providers have, for some time, allowed failing students to stay on?" Failing individual papers, perhaps, but entire courses?

Like schools, tertiary education providers should be striving for excellence. If students are failing, it could be for a number of reasons - for example: academic thresholds for entry may be too low, some students may not be capable of achieving the necessary grades, or courses may not be well taught. Whatever the reason, the issue of performance standards needs to be addressed. It would seem obvious that tertiary institutions have an ethical obligation to assess students' ability and provide quality education. If they are not meeting this ethical obligation why should the taxpayer foot the bill?

Ultimately, the Government seeks to ensure that more New Zealanders are achieving at higher levels of tertiary education - a goal that cannot be achieved without taking positive action to create better outcomes for students through quality, relevant courses.

This approach, coupled with ensuring that Government funding is directed towards those who will utilise it most appropriately, will benefit taxpayers and society in general as the job market will ultimately benefit from people with relevant and appropriate skills.

Lest We Forget - The (So-Called) Girls War (March 5 1830)
In 1830 at the Bay of Islands an incident led to Nga Puhi expeditions against the southern iwi. Known as the 'Girls War', it all began when Captain WD Brind of a whaling vessel anchored off Kororareka (later Russell) took two Maori girls as wives. He tired of them after a while and took two other, younger girls - sisters - and discarded the first pair.

Soon afterwards the four girls were bathing on the beach at Kororareka, and began fighting amongst themselves while their mothers looked on. The mother of the first two girls rushed into the water and nearly drowned the other two.

This relatively minor incident led to an exchange of threats between the girls' iwi. Northern Nga Puhi (under the leadership of Ururoa) clashed with southern Nga Puhi (led by Kiwikiwi) on March 5, 1830. The following day an accidental discharge of a musket left a woman of the invading party dead and fighting erupted in which many were killed and wounded. Missionaries Samuel Marsden and Henry Williams became involved as intermediaries, trying to avert conflict, and played a role in the peace negotiations that left Kororareka in the control of northern Nga Puhi. Control of the town continued to be contested over the next seven years.

ENDS

The latest report from police reviewing the impact of the anti-smacking law only highlights how flawed this legislation is, with 86 percent of all families investigated - for smacking or minor acts of physical discipline – receiving a warning only, ACT New Zealand MP John Boscawen said today.

"Instead of focusing on the real causes of child abuse, valuable police resources have been tied up investigating and reporting on the anti-smacking law; meanwhile child abuse rates have continued to soar," Mr Boscawen said.

"Instead of continuing to waste police resources over the next three years investigating and issuing reports on a law which has had no impact on child abuse, the Government should change it and give law-abiding parents the certainty that they asked for.

"When talking to Michael Laws last year Prime Minister John Key admitted that the law ‘basically says that you can’t smack your kids’. This problem could be easily fixed by adopting my private members Bill which would amend the law.

"Police resources would no longer be wasted and law-abiding parents would have certainty - which is all they have ever asked for," Mr Boscawen said.

ENDS

If Labour is so concerned that an increase in tax will hurt low income families – as demonstrated by Labour’s ‘axe the tax bus’ against a 2.5 percent increase in GST – then why isn’t Phil Goff prepared to stand against the ETS tax and campaign for it to be scrapped, ACT New Zealand ETS Spokesman John Boscawen said today.

"Low income families will be hit hard when the ETS tax causes electricity and petrol prices to rise by 5 percent on July 1 this year. However, unlike National’s proposed increase in GST, there will be no compensation to low income earners for this new ETS tax," Mr Boscawen said.

"Not only will the new ETS tax increase the price of electricity and petrol, but it will see the costs of all goods rise as businesses raise their prices to cover the extra costs.

"It was Labour that first introduced this new tax, and if National had not amended it, on Jan 1 this year all kiwi families would have been facing a 10 percent increase in their power bills. It seems very hypocritical that Labour was happy to see a tax of 10 percent introduced on electricity, but are now fighting against a 2.5 percent increase in GST.

"The ETS tax will put pressure on many low income families already struggling to pay their bills. If Goff really cares about low income families then this is the tax that Labour should be fighting to axe," Mr Boscawen said.

ENDS

The claims by students’ associations yesterday that my Voluntary Student Membership Bill is going to decimate membership and cripple services merely highlights how poor the current services provided to students must be, ACT New Zealand VSM Spokesman Sir Roger Douglas said today.

"The only logical reason for the students’ associations’ concern must be that the services they currently provide have so little value, they know that students will not spend money on them once they are no longer forced to do so," Sir Roger said.

"Any organisation that can deliver services their customers want, at the right price, will have no trouble attracting business. If students’ associations really do provide such services - as they claim –then they should have nothing to worry about.

"The real tragedy here is that all students’ are being forced to pay for the ‘Save Our Services’ campaign, regardless of whether they actually support compulsory student membership.

"This misuse of funds is exactly the reason why students should be able to decide for themselves whether they want to be a paid up member of a students’ association or not," Sir Roger said.

ENDS