Smith Nick: Urgent Debates — Child Youth and Family Services Department—Merger with  Ministry of Social Development Whangamata Marina—Minister’s Intervention 
Smith Nick: Urgent Debates — Child Youth and Family Services Department—Merger with  Ministry of Social Development Whangamata Marina—Minister’s Intervention 
[Volume:629;Page:1724] 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH (National—Nelson) 
: 
 I move  
That the House take note of a matter of urgent public importance 
. What occurred last Tuesday when Chris Carter overruled the decisions of the Thames-Coromandel District Council and the Waikato Regional Council an agreement signed by the Department of Conservation and a decision of the Principal Environment Court Judge was an outrage. Every New Zealander in this country should be concerned about and up in arms at that dictatorial decision which brings the whole process of resource decision-making in this country into disrepute. It is a sign of the dictatorial arrogant Government which National wants to bring to account this afternoon. 
The resource consent for the Whangamata marina was lodged back in 1994. The application was considered after public notification and the hearing of submissions by the Thames-Coromandel District Council and the Waikato Regional Council and both those bodies—those locally elected bodies—gave approval for the marina. In 1998 the Department of Conservation negotiated an agreement that was signed by Mr Greg Martin the regional conservator with the Whangamata Marina Society. After 7 years of machinations and 27 days of hearings the Environment Court concluded that the project was sound and met the requirements of the Act and in October 2005 it gave approval for it. What is it about Chris Carter and this Labour Government that means they believe they have the right to overturn the local council the regional council their own department and the Environment Court? What sort of arrogance now pervades the Beehive that means the Government can ride roughshod over our courts and our democratically elected councils? 
Just prior to the election the Minister said to the Local Government New Zealand conference that Labour believes in local people making local decisions. Why for goodness’ sake did he say that prior to the election but afterwards ride roughshod over them? It is also interesting to note that the Prime Minister said to the Local Government New Zealand conference in Christchurch last year that Labour believes in local people making local decisions. Her word too has been broken with this appalling decision. But the issue is not just with regard to the councils. It is even more serious in respect of the courts. This decision was not made by some lowly official within the Environment Court; it was a decision of the Principal Environment Court Judge—the top judge in New Zealand in respect of environmental issues. What sort of mickey mouse outfit do we have in this country when we cannot have confidence in the decisions of New Zealand’s highest court? 
When we asked the Minister in the House this afternoon how many days of submissions and how many days of evidence he had heard to match the 27 days that the Environment Court had heard on this matter he told the House he had received some emails. Then the Minister had the gall to say that the majority of people in Whangamata oppose the marina. What evidence does he have of that? My colleague Sandra Goudie pointed out that it was not a survey. The  
Waikato Times 
 had phoned every single household in Whangamata and found that 66 percent of people supported the marina and 20 percent were opposed to it. So we demand to know from the Minister this afternoon where the evidence is to back up his claim that the Whangamata people oppose the marina. 
To give the House some idea of the political machinations that have gone on behind the scenes—the sort of manipulation that Chris Carter and his Labour mates will do in order to override proper process—I will read out to members what was written in an email. Bob Harvey—a former president of the Labour Party—stated that he had “confirmed that the Minister has the balls to stop the marina going ahead.” That was 3 days before the Minister said that he had made his decision. The email goes on to state: “He has asked for support from those that will back him. Please drop Chris a line”—members should listen to this—“so he can say the majority of people who contacted him will support his decision.” That is an appalling manipulation. That is the sort of thing that has gone on in the background in order to override 27 days of hearings in the Environment Court. 
Resource consent decisions are too important to be left to some sort of popularity contest. They should be based on evidence and robust judicial processes. If the Minister wanted to uphold the process there were other perfectly legal options for him to pursue. I asked him in the House this afternoon why he did not use the very specific power in section 119 of the Resource Management Act to refer the case back to the Environment Court. The Act states that the Minister of Conservation if he or she is concerned that all issues have not been taken into account can do just that. Chris Carter chose not to use that power. Why? Because this was a political decision to play to Labour’s Green and Maori mates—it had nothing to do with good resource management and nothing to do with the law. Furthermore of course the Minister had the power to appeal the decision to the High Court but he did not choose to do that either. 
If we look back over the 9 years that National administered the Act we will find that not once despite hundreds of applications did any National Minister overturn a decision of the Environment Court. We can imagine the uproar if a National Minister had overturned a resource consent that had been approved by the Environment Court—Labour members would have been protesting and rioting. But when Labour does just that somehow it is justified. The truth is that Chris Carter has abused his powers. He has got it awfully wrong; he should resign. He would be far better as the Minister of Conservation in Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe Government. 
It is not my intention to canvass all of the issues that were properly considered before the Environment Court. But I draw attention to three particular facts that the court noted. The first is that Chris Carter would have us believe that the whole estuary is to be taken up by the marina although it actually takes up 4 hectares of the 440 hectares or less than 1 percent. The second is that the Minister said he made his decision on the basis that the salt marsh was extra significant. Well that is not what the Environment Court found. In fact Chris Carter’s own department stated in its report that the salt marsh was not of great significance that it was significantly deteriorating and that it would recommend that a better investment in the protection of salt marshes would be rehabilitation with money from the marina society for one of the salt marshes further north. The third point I note is that the Minister has somehow pretended that the marina is a threat to the surfies who enjoy Whangamata Beach. Yet the official report of the Waikato Regional Council makes it plain that there is no risk; in fact it notes that the marina would increase the tidal flows and increase the security of the beach and the harbour. 
What really worries me about this issue are the underlying currents that go with the Minister’s decision. This is part of the Government hating success. It does not like people who work hard save their money buy a boat buy a yacht and are able to enjoy that which is special to New Zealand. This decision is a sick part of the tall-poppy syndrome that this Government represents: it does not like people who use marinas and it does not like people who have boats. 
I also say that this decision is part of a culture where Maori and iwi have used the process to lobby the Minister behind the scenes rather than going through the proper process of the courts. I say to members on the Government side of the House that if iwi had a concern the proper place to express that concern was before the courts. It is an absolute disgrace frankly that it took 13 years for this resource consent to be processed. What sort of country is it that when 200-odd genuine boaties want to improve the facilities in their community it takes 13 years to get a resource consent? Do the Minister and the other Government members believe 13 years is a reasonable timetable to make a decision in? What do they say about the $1.3 million that that community group has had to try to invest in order to bring about an improvement in its community? 
I draw attention to the public meeting that was held in Whangamata on Saturday. The Government was invited to attend it. There are 50 Labour MPs but not one of them had the courage to front up to those 380 people and explain the decision of their Minister. An absolutely unanimous vote of no confidence was passed in that Minister. The people of Whangamata call on this Parliament to uphold the decision of the Environment Court and they call on this Parliament to remove the power that can be abused by Ministers like Chris Carter. 
We on the Opposition side of the House say the Resource Management Act is in desperate need of reform. We tabled a substantial reform bill way back in 1999 arising from the Owen McShane review which recommended that the ministerial veto be abolished. We say again today that it should go and that National will repeal it at the first opportunity in order to stop Ministers like Chris Carter abusing their powers. 
This decision goes to the heart of the integrity of good government. Do we have respect in our courts? Do we trust our locally elected councils—the regional councils—to have the right process for dealing with those sorts of decisions or are we to have a cheap process where Chris Carter and a few of his political mates like Bob Harvey can override 13 years of proper robust judicial process? National says that Chris Carter has abused his powers. National says that the Resource Management Act must be reformed. National says that the Labour Party owes an apology to the people of Whangamata who have beavered away for years to try to improve the facilities in their community. And National says that we must have respect for the proper process of the Environment Court and not have Ministers ride roughshod over that. 
We have a national coastal plan. We have regional coastal plans. The Minister has the power to approve both of those plans. The Minister has extensive powers to appeal decisions that the courts have made concerning decisions that affect him. But the Minister should not have the right to be able to do what he did last Tuesday. I call on every member of the House to stand up for integrity in Government to stand up for proper process to stand up for some integrity in resource decision-making and to overturn the decision of Chris Carter who abused his powers last Tuesday.