Hayes John: Environment Canterbury (Democracy Restoration) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Hayes John: Environment Canterbury (Democracy Restoration) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 04 April 2012. Volume:679;Page:1714. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
JOHN HAYES (National—Wairarapa) 
: 
 It is a pleasure to rise and speak on this bill the Environment Canterbury (Democracy Restoration) Amendment Bill. I would just like to say that there is a very high threshold that has to apply before a Government will intervene as Helen Clark did I recall in Auckland and as I think David Cunliffe did 3 or 4 years ago in Central Hawke’s Bay. So there is plenty of precedent for what the National Government did in this matter. 
 There is a connection back into my electorate in the Wairarapa because one of our companies in Masterton was operating for some years in an arrangement with a wholly owned subsidiary of Environment Canterbury. It was a company called Target Pest and it was wholly owned by Environment Canterbury—by the local authority. It went into receivership owing more than $2 million. The chief executive of Environment Canterbury had made it clear in writing to the people who suffered the problem of their $2 million loss that in fact because this was a local government - owned entity its bills would be paid by the Government. So although there was concern on the part of people owed money by Target Pest they were led to believe—wrongly I might add—by the officials employed by Environment Canterbury that their debt would be settled. It was not.  
One of my constituents has lost his house he has lost his beach house and in the last 4 or 5 months he has lost his whole business because of the activities of the irresponsible management of the Environment Canterbury council ably led by Sir Kerry Burke. Some members of this House may recall that I was so furious about this problem that I asked for the Government to remove his knighthood. Certainly he should have given it back because his stewardship of that arrangement was absolutely outrageous. Not one of the creditors has had a cent back of that $2 million—not one. So I absolutely believe that the Government’s intervention in the affairs of Environment Canterbury was appropriate and the Government’s intervention was backed at that point by the mayors of the 10 local councils.  
Aware of this problem in Canterbury and the Wairarapa connection I am particularly delighted that Dame Margaret Bazley was appointed to sort this issue out because she is I think without a doubt New Zealand’s greatest living most competent public servant. She is certainly very very highly respected and is a brilliant problem solver. She brings huge experience across a wide variety of management roles in government. She has specialist skills and she is particularly good on organisational and change management. She has also got a huge history of working with Maori communities at whanau hapu and iwi level. As well as that we have also got David Caygill Helen Clark’s first deputy leader involved in the management of the council arrangements. I would like the House to note that for 20 years Environment Canterbury could not produce a water plan. Dame Margaret had one on the table in 12 months. I think that the people of Canterbury are being particularly well served by the present arrangement.  
If you look at the game playing that is going on in the Wellington region with various mayors and heads of regional councils all jockeying for position to come out top of the pile in some sort of council reorganisation I think the people of Canterbury are far better served by this arrangement than by what this bill proposes which is a return to democracy where a bunch of local people are going to be arguing with each other to be the chief factotums. What we need in Canterbury at the moment is strong stable leadership in the wake of the earthquake to move that part of New Zealand on. Thank you.