Cunliffe David: Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Bill — Third Reading 
Cunliffe David: Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:646;Page:15292] 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Minister of Health) 
: 
 Over Easter I camped with my wife and two sons at Karamatura near Huia in the Waitakere Ranges. We tramped up the Karamatura Valley and we explored the dunes and rock pools of Whatipu. As the sun set over the ranges on that beautiful weekend I could almost feel the bush breathing a sigh of relief that its permanent protection was imminent. The people of Waitakere have been working for this day for 30 years and I acknowledge the presence in the House of the Rt Hon Jonathan Hunt who was one of the founders of the movement to get this bill here today. So along with my colleague and friend Lynne Pillay it is with deep aroha and humility that we are here to recognise the work of all those who have gone before us. 
This legislation represents the deeply held desire by the vast majority of Aucklanders to enhance the protection of our unique Waitakere Ranges and I acknowledge immediately the key role of the bill’s sponsor Lynne Pillay MP for Waitakere who has worked tirelessly to guide this bill through local consultation select committee consideration and the House. I also recognise west Auckland colleagues the Rt Hon Helen Clark former Minister of Conservation Chris Carter and our friend Darien Fenton MP whose support has been critical to bringing this bill forward. Together we have heard the clarion call for the protection of the ranges because the environmental forces throughout the Auckland region—not just the west—have long been calling for it. That has been my experience since my first campaign in 1999. 
Extensive consultation with the public and four local authorities shows that around 80 percent of Auckland’s population supports stronger protection for the Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area. This bill therefore carries with it the mandate of the citizens and councillors of Waitakere City Council Rodney District Council and the Auckland Regional Council. It responds to a clear and consistent local voice saying that the permanence of legislation is necessary to address the concerns. It is a united voice to Parliament from Auckland’s local and regional government. 
The central issue this bill seeks to resolve is that of the cumulative effects of subdivision and development and the need to provide long-term certainty. What makes the Waitakere Ranges unique is not just its combination of biodiversity and geography interlinked with the Manukau Harbour and west coast environments but its proximity to a major and rapidly growing urban area. As a result of Auckland’s growth there will always be extreme commercial pressure to subdivide and develop land around the city fringe. This reduces population density and makes infrastructure services more difficult to provide but crucially it means there will always be money in knocking down the trees in the first paddock past the fence between the city and the bush. There is a legitimate sound and deeply held public interest in addressing and arresting this long-term trend. Dealing with it on an individual consent basis without appropriate guidance at a framework level can never solve that problem. Indeed it risks an unfair burden being placed arbitrarily on individual consents. 
The bill is a solution to a complex conflict between the short-term and legitimate demands of property owners and the long-term call by residents and others to protect an iconic resource. There is a long history to the issue. Waitakere leaders and locals have been seeking greater certainty for decades. For example in 1995 the then conservative Waitakere City Council’s district plan proposed to lift the 1 hectare subdivision limit and to promote the Little Muddy Creek study to remove protections from the Titirangi and Laingholm areas. Fortunately the measures were not passed but that episode did underline the need for permanent protection. 
This bill therefore recognises the national regional and local importance of the Waitakere ranges and the foothills area and promotes the protection and enhancement of its historic features for present and future generations. As was formerly stated by the former Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment it prevents “death by a thousand cuts” or in technical terms those incremental effects. To assist the development of the legislation I travelled to the UK as a guest of the British Government to study its national park system. In the light of that I am pleased that this bill allows us to achieve what has kept the British moorland pristine for centuries—adequate protection that also provides for human habitation and public access within the boundaries of the area. The result for local landowners is undeniably an increase in the amenity and financial value of their land. A house in Britain inside a park boundary is easily 30 percent more valuable than a similar property outside. 
Importantly this bill fits within the Resource Management Act’s procedures and structures and does not violate Resource Management Act processes. Itensures that existing property rights are consistent with the Resource Management Act. This was a select committee issue that has been worked hard on and I recognise the work of the Hon David Benson-Pope the then Minister for the Environment in this regard. The select committee report also recommended changes to the clause on local area plans. The committee considered proposals to ensure that legitimate infrastructure changes could take place within the area covered by the bill. The interaction between this bill and local government legislation has been made more specific. The bill requires local authorities to comply with the requirements of section 77(1) of the Local Government Act. I acknowledge two Ministers of Local Government the Hon Mark Burton and the Hon Nanaia Mahuta and their officials for their contribution to this aspect of the bill. The Auckland Regional Council will be required to prepare adopt and maintain a plan for the integrated management of the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park. The select committee recommended that this be reviewed every 10 years. 
I recognise the kaitiaki of this area—Te Kawerau-a-Maki and Ngati Whatua—whose support for this bill is a foundation of its passage. I recognise the leadership of Waitakere City’s mayor Bob Harvey of deputy mayor Penny Hulse who is with us today and of councillors Greg Presland Denise Yates Judy Lawley and others who have steadfastly supported this bill. I recognise regional councillors Sandra Coney and Paul Walbran and councillor Christine Rose now of the Auckland Regional Council but formerly of Rodney District Council. I recognise another kaumatua Jack Colmar and John Edgar chairman of the Waitakere Ranges Protection Society; Bruce and Trixie Harvey Kath Dewar and their colleagues at the society; Dr Peter Maddison and Ken Catt of the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society; Tim O’Shea of the Henderson Valley Residents and Ratepayers Association; the late Ian Henderson and his wife June and Sue Hagen of the Titirangi Residents and Ratepayers Association; Hinne Hettema and Wayne McKenzie of the Laingholm and District Citizens Association—all of those champions who have given their best to ensure the long-term future of these precious ranges. 
I thank the parties supporting the bill all of our Labour colleagues the Hon Jim Anderton’s Progressive party the Greens who have been rock-solid the Maori Party and yes Taito Phillip Field. I want to recognise the work of the officials of sponsoring councils and especially Graeme Campbell and his team at Waitakere City who have brilliantly coordinated the support. You know Dr Seuss had a famous character called theLorax the spirit of the Truffula Trees. I think there is a little bit of the Lorax in all of these fine people and I salute them. 
This is a moderate bill that employs the processes of the Resource Management Act. It requires that any future change to a district plan be undertaken in harmony with the objectives and purposes of the legislation. Nobody will lose any rights to have a consent considered; nobody will lose a single extant property right. Not a single subdivision currently approved will be voided but we will overcome the problem of incremental effects. This bill provides a historic opportunity to put in place a Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area that will provide certainty for planning purposes preserve lifestyles for residents and protect the integrity of the landscape and the ecosystem. I feel safe in the knowledge that the passage of this bill means that long after I retire from politics I will be able to fish and tramp in the Waitakere Ranges. I will also know that all of the effort that has gone into this bill and a little of my time in Parliament will not have been wasted.