Judith Collins on Protected Transactions

Around about now, Parliament is going to debate the Kaipara District Council Validation Bill. If you don't know what all that's about, I suggest you look at this posting....

And in a few weeks time, the High Court is going to consider Mangawhai Ratepayers and Residents application for a judicial review of various Kaipara District Council decisions that have landed the residents and ratepayers somewhat in the poo.

One of the issues that has arisen relates to "protected transactions". It appears that Kaipara District Council took out bank loans without consulting the ratepayers. But it might be lawful to do that. Who knows?

I wanted to explore what Parliament intended when it put that provision into the Local Government Act in 2002. Here is a quote from Hansard. Makes sobering reading today....

JUDITH COLLINS (NZ National---Clevedon): I want to refer to some of the clauses in this part, and ask the Minister in the chair, Damien O'Connor, to look at clause 95A, ``Protected transactions''. If he looks at that, then flicks back to the heading of Part 5, he will find that the part is about ``Planning,''---and, listen to this---``decision-making, and accountability''. Well, I found lots of planning, lots of consulting, a bit of decision making, but, guess what, no accountability.

Clause 91 defines ``protected transaction'' as being ``any deed, agreement, right, or obligation,'' etc. Basically, it is anything to do with borrowing money. It is also about the conveyance or transfer of property. Effectively, it is about buying or selling property, and it is about borrowing. We should remember ``borrowing''. Despite the word ``accountability'' in the heading to the part---and it is not even ``responsible accountability''; it is just ``accountability''---clause 95A states: ``Every protected transaction entered into, or purportedly entered into, by or on behalf of a local authority is valid and enforceable despite---(a) the local authority failing to comply with any provision of this Act in any respect;''.

Sandra Goudie: That's unreal.

JUDITH COLLINS: It is absolutely unreal. It is Harry Potter stuff. It is flying-through-the-air stuff.

Sandra Goudie: I'm going to purport.

JUDITH COLLINS: Yes, purport! Any person---

Ron Mark: It looks like an Anglia.

JUDITH COLLINS: It definitely looks like an Anglia. Despite all the rhetoric about accountability, despite the claim that this legislation allows councils to empower local communities, it actually states that it does not really matter, if one works at the council, because the council can do anything it likes, really. Not only that, but there is no liability! So where is the accountability? There is none. This is fraudulent legislation. The only people who are accountable are we poor people who have to pay the rates, and in this bill the Government, with the help of the United Future party, is giving, carte blanche, to councils---I must say, to its shame---to do whatever they like. And, guess what, they do not even have to follow the rules set out in this legislation.

What do you make of that?