Estimates Debate — Vote Local Government

I want to speak to page 797 of the Estimates regarding local government. I would first of all just draw the Committee’s attention to the fact that this Minister in the chair, Mark Burton, goes around talking about all the wonderful things the Labour Government has done for local government. Well, there are a couple of things that we do have to acknowledge.

💬 Chris Auchinvole: What were they?

Let me give members just one. This year the Government has increased the rates rebate from $50 million to $70 million, which is very helpful for people on low incomes and fixed incomes. What the Minister never ever acknowledges, however, is the reason we need rates rebates to help people on low and fixed incomes. It is that this Government is actually increasing rates. It is causing rates increases across the country because it keeps shovelling legislation on to local government with no accompanying funding. So the Government is causing cost increases across this country for rates and ratepayers, and then it goes along and says that it is wonderful because it is shovelling this bucket of money back at ratepayers. It is money that the Government has already taken out of taxes and rates. But I will acknowledge that, because the Minister will stand up and tell members about that.

He will also tell members about the subsidies the Government is giving for sewerage and for the new water standards. It has put in $150 million for water standards—that is over the next 10 years; $15 million a year—but local government authorities tell us that they will have to spend $800 million just to try to reach the standards put in by this Government. What interests me is that no one has yet told me how many people have died from drinking the water at Ōwaka, for example.

💬 Jacqui Dean: How many have?

Well, there are not any, actually, but we got these new fancy standards that will cost lots of money and lots of rates. But this Minister will go around saying that the Government is putting in the money for the water subsidy and for sewerage. It is never enough, and it is causing huge costs for local government.

What is really interesting is that local government has issues around infrastructure. It is estimated we will spend $60 billion on infrastructure in this country over the next 10 years, and $30 billion of that will be from local government. Half will be from central government and half from local government. Do members know that local government authorities have told this Minister that they can put in probably $9 billion, so there is a $21 billion shortfall?

The Minister went to the local government conference on Monday and Tuesday, and do members know what he spoke about? Dog control! He was worried there were a few issues around dog control. He never mentioned the issue of infrastructure. He talked a bit about water supply, but he said that the problem was a couple of issues around dog control. It was the main focus of the Minister’s address. Why did he not talk about the infrastructural problems? Why did he not talk about the compliance costs that local government authorities are having? Why did he not talk about the impost that this Government is putting on local government in resource management, for example? Why did he not talk about the impost that the out-of-control Department of Building and Housing is putting on, which is causing so much cost to be put on to local government through its building regulations that the whole building industry is becoming dysfunctional? Why did he not talk about those things? I am starting to wonder whether it is because the Minister does not know.

Let me tell the Committee this about the building industry. The compliance costs and bureaucracy are increasing in local government, because it has to match what central government does. The bureaucrats in the department in 1999 numbered about 30, and now they number over 300. The number of bureaucrats in local government has risen from 1999, when there were 30,000, and it has now gone up to over 40,000. The figure has grown by 25 percent, and the reason is that this Government keeps putting more and more compliance costs and regulations on to local government, and local government has to match. It puts up big departments like the Department of Building and Housing. I tell the Committee that, quite honestly, someone needs to build something and put this department in it, because, seriously, the whole industry is becoming dysfunctional. This department has now got to the stage, I tell Mr Minister, where the building industry is starting to become more and more dysfunctional.

Do members know that if they are ordinary citizens and they want to go and apply for building permits, they cannot do it now? The normal layperson is not capable of filling out a building application. He or she has to go and get a consultant to fill out the building permit, because it is so complicated. This department is meant to be making sure there are no more leaky homes. Would members not think that we would have the materials that go into homes certified? Not under this Government!

Vote agreed to.

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