Foster-Bell Paul: Wellington Town Belt Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeFoster-Bell Paul: Wellington Town Belt Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 16 March 2016. Volume:712;Page:9835. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]PAUL FOSTER-BELL (National):Tēnā koe e Te Mana Whakawā Tuarua. Tēnā koutoukatoa e ngā mema o Te Whare. In rising to take a brief call on the Wellington Town Belt Bill in the second reading debate I think I need to be gracious and congratulate the local member Grant Robertson on getting this bill into the House and for progressing this piece of local legislation. I used to think Grant and I agreed on one thingonly and that is that we both wanted David Cunliffe to lose the last election. But now we have found a second thing which is that the Wellington town belt is an important asset and amenity for the people of this city and it does need to be protected within a modernised regime.I wonder whether the ordinary person in the street will go through the details of the bill. In fact I am almost certain that the vast majority of Wellington’s citizens will not. But as other members have pointed out it is exceptional that over 30 submitters—20 of whom asked to submit in person—took the time to make their views known on what is a fairly technical piece of legislation. I do think we need to ask the question in this House about what the ordinary person the average person would make of the provisions and how sensible they are. I am not going to use Lord Denning’s “the ordinary man on the Clapham omnibus”; I think we can find a more modern version of this test. Let us call this the ordinary person—let us use the name “Alistair” for instance. So Alistair is an enlightened person. He enjoys walking through the greenery of the town belt. He is a fit person—a lot of Wellingtonians are getting themselves a bit fitter. I try to walk up the hills a little bit to work off some of that weight. Alistair is a fit person but he is an enlightened man. He values the environment but he is also pragmatic and sensible.He will want to ensure that for instance the provisions of the Public Works Act 1981 do continue to apply so that if the transport situation becomes untenable—as it has become in the Basin Reserve where we have now over 100 percent close to 110 percent capacity on that particular crucial arterial route out of our capital city to the airport. If that becomes such a major issue that the Government is obligated to act under the Public Works Act to put through a transport corridor I think Alistair—the enlightened man the ordinary man in the street—would look at that and say that is something that is sensible. The amendment that was put through in the Local Government and Environment Committee and agreed to by the majority is that the Public Works Act 1981 continues to apply in full force to this precious area that we do want to protect. I think that is a sensible and pragmatic move. We heard evidence in the committee including from the local lines company that this was important. It is important in a city that is prone to earthquakes that we maintain for instance the ability to rig temporary emergency power lines through the town belt to plug in the hospital in Newtown and to keep a critical emergency service operating in the event of a catastrophe of the sort that we have seen recently in Christchurch. That was a pragmatic sensible measure that I am sure Alistair would approve of.One part of the bill that I think is of particular interest is actually the preamble which contains whakatauki—a Māori saying: tumutumu parea rākau parea whānui te ara ki a Tāne [ward off post and weapon so that the expansive path of mankind is opened up]. This is unusual I think in the vast majority of non - Treaty settlement-related legislation that we have that kind of whakatauki containedin the bill. We also acknowledge the mana whenua of this area—those who inhabited it before the colonial settlers arrived.I noted that the member who resumed her seat before I stood up Megan Woods referred to the 19th century principles and policies that prevailed in the formation of the town belt. Some might argue that those 19th century policies are still evident in the Labour Party’s trade position for instance and other economic development policies that it has been promulgating. But this is a bill where it is not appropriate to take political pot shots. I mean I come back to welcoming it to congratulating the local member and to adding my voice to those of others who have welcomed a piece of legislation that will continue to safeguard such a precious amenity going forward for the next 150 years and more. I commend this bill to the House.