9. Hon BILL ENGLISH (National—Clutha-Southland) Link to this
to the Minister with responsibility for Auckland Issues
Does she stand by her statement in the House on 15 June 2006 when she said that “This Government is extremely busy on working for Auckland”; if not, why not?
Hon JUDITH TIZARD (Minister with responsibility for Auckland Issues) Link to this
The member has truncated my actual statement. What I said was that this Government is extremely busy on working for Auckland and is starting to deliver infrastructure that will make Auckland internationally sustainable. I stand by my comment.
Is it the case that she has the second-highest ministerial bill for domestic flights because she goes everywhere except Auckland; and why does the Government expect support—[ Interruption] I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. Yesterday you made a ruling that one sentence was an interjection, but continuous talking during a question was barracking and was out of order.
Madam SPEAKERNo, I did not make that ruling, Mr English. I said that there can be interjections. Barracking is when the person asking or answering the questions cannot be heard. I ask members to give Mr English a fair go to ask his question.
Is it the case that the Minister has the second-highest ministerial bill for domestic flights because she flies everywhere except Auckland; and how does the Labour Government expect support in the provinces for spending of taxpayers’ money on Auckland projects such as the stadium, when she visits the provinces so often?
Hon JUDITH TIZARD Link to this
I am not sure how the member for Clutha-Southland, who lives in Wellington, expects an Auckland member to get home other than by flying. But I am also the Minister of Consumer Affairs, I am Associate Minister for Commerce with responsibility for intellectual property, I am Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, I am Associate Minister of Transport, and I spend a lot of time visiting many communities around New Zealand talking about all of those issues, including how important Auckland and its economic well-being are for the whole of New Zealand.
Keith LockeWhat consideration has the Government given to temporary seating for the Rugby World Cup games in the Eden Park and North Harbour proposals, particularly as the cheaper temporary seating option is increasingly common overseas; and will the Minister be attending the public meeting concerning the stadium being organised by myself and Rodney Hide this Sunday, 2 o’clock at the Aotea Centre?
Hon JUDITH TIZARD Link to this
I am not the Minister for the Rugby World Cup. As a local member of Parliament I have a great deal of interest but I will not be attending that meeting as I have other commitments on Sunday. I say to that member that the Government has appointed Trevor Mallard as Minister for the Rugby World Cup. He has had a look at a whole lot of options, which were assessed against the same criteria, including the likely cost, the sources of funding, the potential for profitability, access to public transport, hotels, restaurants, and other amenities, planning and Resource Management Act issues, technical issues, and governance arrangements. Through this process all possibilities have been assessed and I am sure temporary seating has been assessed. Fundamentally it comes down to a choice as to whether the final is in Auckland or in Christchurch. It is up to Auckland to decide whether it wants a stadium. This Government will work with every city in New Zealand to make the Rugby World Cup a success.
H V Ross Robertson Link to this
Can the Minister outline some of the issues the Government is working on for Greater Auckland?
Hon JUDITH TIZARD Link to this
Getting back to the initial question, I would be delighted to. We are spending in excess of $7.3 billion on Auckland roads and public transport projects over the next 10 years. We are diversifying Auckland’s power supply. The Energy Commission will make a draft decision by Christmas. We are strengthening our energy supply. Mighty River Power is supplying an extra 40 megawatts of power to Auckland from next month. Genesis E3P will have an extra 380 megawatts going to Auckland around April. We are making housing more affordable through a range of initiatives. We are working with Auckland local authorities to make governance and funding more sustainable. We have a range of projects, and it is fascinating that the Opposition’s only concern is that I work hard across the whole of New Zealand.
Is it correct that the Minister told Radio New Zealand that she would refuse the radio interview about Auckland stadium proposals because she did not want to be shouted at, and why does she think she would be shouted at by the polite people on Radio New Zealand?
Hon JUDITH TIZARD Link to this
I note that the debate so far, particularly as conducted on Radio New Zealand and other places, has had rather more heat than light.
John KeyIf, as Minister with responsibility for Auckland Issues, she has not taken the lead role on the siting of the stadium in Auckland, and if she has not taken the lead role on the proposed local government reforms in Auckland, could she tell the House what issues she thinks are significant enough for her, as Minister with responsibility for Auckland Issues, to actually take the lead role on?
Hon JUDITH TIZARD Link to this
I take a great deal of pride in the fact that the whole of this Government has recognised that Auckland matters to New Zealand, and Auckland’s efficiency and effectiveness matters to New Zealand’s economy as a whole. I am very proud of the fact that a number of Ministers are regularly in Auckland, unlike a number of that member’s colleagues. I just think that—
Hon JUDITH TIZARD Link to this
Well, Trevor Mallard is there today, and we do not have to double up, because nobody in the National Party is doing anything for Auckland.
Does the Minister agree with the comments made by her colleague the Hon Trevor Mallard when he said that Aucklanders lack vision, and does he think the Minister was actually referring to her?
Hon JUDITH TIZARD Link to this
I do not think that Trevor Mallard thinks that Aucklanders lack vision. I can understand that he is a little frustrated, like many of us, when the reporting of any debate in Auckland is seen as Auckland being unable to make a decision. Auckland has a third of New Zealand’s population, and about one-sixth of New Zealand’s land area. We naturally have a range of views, and we in this Government are giving Auckland plenty of time to debate a range of important issues, including the siting of the Rugby World Cup stadium.
Rodney HideIn her busy schedule, on what dates has the Minister responsible for Auckland Issues been consulting Aucklanders about the stadium on the waterfront option, and has she had any success, particularly given that the former mayor and Governor-General Dame Cath Tizard has come out publicly against the waterfront option as being a very bad idea for Auckland?
Hon JUDITH TIZARD Link to this
Given that the Government’s preferred option came out on 10 November and I was in the UK until 13 November, I have not had a great—[ Interruption]
Some members will not be with us for the rest of question time today, if they continue not to allow the Minister to be heard.
Hon JUDITH TIZARD Link to this
I have talked to an enormous number of Aucklanders about the opportunities that the Rugby World Cup provides, including attending all of the sessions of the Metro programme, which that member obviously knows nothing about; and the START programme in Auckland, which has looked at the opportunities. All I can say is that I do not need a global positioning satellite to find my electorate—unlike that member.
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. I asked about the dates on which the Minister with responsibility for Auckland Issues had consulted Aucklanders about the stadium. She started off with an answer that I was enjoying enormously. Then my colleagues in the National Party barracked her, and you intervened quite correctly, as Speaker, to allow the Minister to finish her answer. Unfortunately, she shifted tack, because she was explaining that she had been in the UK when the decision had been announced, and I do not think had had any opportunity—
Please be seated. The member’s point is that the Minister did not address the question. I listened very carefully, and you are right; it was difficult to hear what the answer was. The Minister did address the question. She does not have to address it in a way that satisfies the member. But she did address a very general question.
I am sorry; I have ruled on that, Mr Hide. If it is a new point of order, you are perfectly entitled.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. My suggestion is that if we could just find out—because I am sure this was going to be the next point—what date the Minister got back from the UK.