1 July 2009
Media release

Twyford’s Bill to protect Auckland’s public assets drawn

Labour's Auckland Issues spokesperson Phil Twyford has introduced a Bill into Parliament to protect Auckland community assets from privatisation by requiring the new Auckland super city to hold a referendum if it wants to sell them.

“No one trusts Rodney Hide and his cronies to keep Auckland community assets in public hands so my Member’s Bill, which was drawn from the ballot today, will put any decision to sell community assets firmly into the hands of Aucklanders.

“Aucklanders are worried that assets such as water, the ports, transport and many others, which ratepayers have built up over generations, are now under threat from the Government’s changes to Auckland governance,” Phil Twyford said.

“The Local Government (Protection of Auckland Assets) Amendment Bill would require the Auckland Council to hold a referendum if significant asset sales are being considered. An appropriate threshold for the value of an asset that would trigger a referendum will be developed through the select committee process in consultation with Aucklanders.

“But the Bill would outlaw the sale of a range of assets including parks, swimming pools, libraries and public housing - other than when a sale might be part of the normal day-to-day portfolio management and has been subject to the normal consultation,” says Phil Twyford.

“Many Aucklanders fear the super city is a prelude to privatisation. These fears have been fueled by Rodney Hide’s proposed reforms of the Local Government Act which seek to reduce council activities to core services.

“Mr Hide’s Cabinet paper proposing reform of the Local Government Act explicitly raises concerns about the “relevance and usefulness” of current public consultation requirements on the sale of council assets.

“I call on Rodney Hide and his Act colleagues to support this Bill because it’s entirely consistent with their support for referenda in local government. Mr Hide wants councils to hold referenda on any ‘significant and irreversible’ decisions. If selling our community assets is not significant and irreversible, I don’t know what is.”

ENDS

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