Lees-Galloway Iain: Palmerston North Showgrounds Act Repeal Bill — Third Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Lees-Galloway Iain: Palmerston North Showgrounds Act Repeal Bill — Third Reading 
[Sitting date: 18 November 2009. Volume:659;Page:7789. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY (Labour—Palmerston North) 
: 
 I move  
That the Palmerston North Showgrounds Act Repeal Bill be now read a third time 
. This bill has received broad support in its progress through the House and because of that broad support the Business Committee has seen fit to circumvent the Committee stage and go directly to the third reading. I thank the Business Committee for that decision which assists in getting the bill through the House. The bill is both on the face of it and in fact fairly technical and non-controversial but that is not to say it has been without some question and some controversy. I will address that issue in a moment. 
Just to go through the basics of what this bill is about I say firstly it provides for the transfer of the management and control of the land that comprises the Palmerston North Showgrounds from the Palmerston North Showgrounds Board of Control to the Palmerston North City Council. Secondly it allows for the dissolution of the Palmerston North Showgrounds Board of Control. Thirdly it repeals the Palmerston North Showgrounds Act 1974. This bill has basically come about because the organisers of the local A and P show no longer wish to use the Palmerston North Showgrounds. Indeed for some time they have not been using the showgrounds for that purpose. The A and P show has shifted over to Feilding and is now hosted at Manfeild Park and the organisers do a fantastic job of running it there. The Palmerston North Showgrounds are used for a whole host of other reasons. They are effectively being managed by the Palmerston North City Council and this bill simply certifies that position and brings it into law. 
There was one question mark over this bill and it has been sitting over it right from the start. It was initially raised and has been raised repeatedly by the Maori Party and is the question of Ngati Kauwhata’s Treaty claim and their concern that by passing this legislation the land comprising Palmerston North Showgrounds would become inaccessible and more difficult for them to make a claim on through the Treaty settlements process. 
I know this question taxed the Local Government and Environment Committee. The committee took it very seriously and looked very closely to see whether Ngati Kauwhata’s concerns were valid and there was anything that could be done to relieve their concerns. I know from the former chair of the committee Steve Chadwick that the committee took it very seriously and looked for some solutions. I know that the current select committee in this term chaired ably by Mr Auchinvole who is sitting across the House from me this afternoon also took the submission from Ngati Kauwhata very seriously. But the committee came to the conclusion that this change does not essentially make any change to the status of the land and therefore Ngati Kauwhata’s claim is in no way damaged. It does not really change the situation for them at all. Although I note that the Maori Party continues to voice Ngati Kauwhata’s concerns I hope that it will see that the select committee’s decision is appropriate and that Ngati Kauwhata will be able to continue in their Treaty claim process and get what they are seeking out of that. 
That is probably the most important point that needs to be addressed in relation to this bill. But it is worth noting something else that is going on relating to the Palmerston North Showgrounds. The showgrounds host all sorts of activities. Just this morning I was at a diabetes expo. People like the primary health organisations and non-governmental organisations that are involved in diabetes prevention were there offering their services and advice to people. We have basketball and volleyball facilities there. A number of concerts are hosted there. The Robertson Holden International Speedway is hosted there and that brings people from all across the North Island to Palmerston North on a regular basis. So the showgrounds serve an inordinate number of purposes but probably the best-known use and the one that the Palmerston North and Manawatu communities engage with the most involves our local provincial rugby team the Manawatu Turbos which has its home ground at Arena Manawatu the showgrounds. And there is— 
Hon Lianne Dalziel 
: I’m afraid I’m from another district. 
IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY 
: I have a colleague sitting next to me who says she is afraid she is from another district. 
Hon Member 
: She’s got only one eye. 
IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY 
: She does not have her eyepatch on today but that is OK. There are provinces in the country other than Canterbury I say to Ms Dalziel and I will talk about what is happening in my province: the fight to keep the Manawatu Turbos in the top division. 
Unfortunately for reasons that are lost on us in Palmerston North the New Zealand Rugby Union is looking at axing a number of teams and it seems as though our team is on the chopping block. I think we have been putting up a pretty sound argument against that. I will go into that briefly if I may with the indulgence of the House. One of the main concerns of the New Zealand Rugby Union has been about the financial stability of a number of unions and it is worth pointing out that the Manawatu Rugby Union is projected to be back in the black by the end of this year and forecasts healthy surpluses in the years to come. In fact the Manawatu Rugby Union has never been bailed out by the New Zealand Rugby Union and that is something that not all provinces can attest to. The Manawatu Rugby Union is proud of that and the New Zealand Rugby Union should note that. The second point is that weakening the game in the provinces weakens the game of rugby right across the country. The provinces are the grassroots for our All Blacks. They are where young people get their grounding in the game. If we do damage to the provincial rugby competition then we will do damage to rugby in our nation. 
We get great numbers coming along to the rugby; usually around 10000 people come along to watch our team. There is huge support for the Manawatu Turbos. It is common for around 10 percent of the local population to turn up for games. I do not think that even Christchurch can claim it has a higher percentage than that one. I think Wellington is quite good at getting people along to its games but Auckland certainly could not claim to get anything like that percentage. 
Hon Member 
: We’ve got other things to do. 
IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY 
: Sorry what was that? The member has other things to do? Well that member lost a football team because he could not get along to— 
Hon Darren Hughes 
: To Wellington. 
IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY 
: Yes to Wellington. I will come back to that football team in a minute actually. 
The proposed new division one—the lower division—really does mean huge losses for the teams that will be dropped down because we will see the sponsors walk away. We will see our great players go. At least three Manawatu Turbos players have really shone this year and they have caught the attention of the Hurricanes’ selectors. I know that others are potentially in the draft to go to other Super 14 teams as well. We will lose those players. 
Paul Quinn 
: What’s this got to do with the bill? 
IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY 
: It has everything to do with the bill because this happens at the Palmerston North Showgrounds I say to Mr Quinn. It is of serious concern to our community that we will lose our local players. 
Do members know what might just happen? The New Zealand Rugby Union needs to pay attention to this. Not so long ago our national football team had a sensational win: they got themselves to the World Cup. I can see a lot of youngsters getting interested in football. We have a sensational football team in Palmerston North as well: YoungHeart Manawatu. It is one of the powerhouses of the competition. I can see a lot of young people shifting away from rugby and paying more attention to football. Indeed the Phoenix—that Wellington football team—is coming up to play its first home game outside of Wellington at the Palmerston North Showgrounds on 12 December. It will be playing against Sydney FC. 
Hon Darren Hughes 
: Will the member be there? 
IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY 
: The member will be there. I think the message to the New Zealand Rugby Union is loud and clear. It needs to pay attention to the detriment and damage that it is doing to provincial rugby by making it clear that the union wants to axe the Manawatu Turbos from the competition. We have put a huge effort into getting our team into the right shape so that it can stay in there. Over $300000 has been raised to get the team into that position. That is an important point which I think needs to be made. 
Coming back to the bill I say in conclusion that I thank the parties who are supporting the bill. I thank the select committee and the chairs of the select committee for the work that they have done. I also thank the Palmerston North City Council and Ngati Kauwhata for their submissions and for taking the time to submit to the select committee. It is a great pleasure to see this bill in its final stage in the House.