Maharey Steve: Palmerston North Showgrounds Act Repeal Bill — First Reading 
Maharey Steve: Palmerston North Showgrounds Act Repeal Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:648;Page:17147] 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Labour—Palmerston North) 
: 
 I move  
That the Palmerston North Showgrounds Act Repeal Bill be now read a first time. 
 It is a privilege always as the members who have been speaking over the past 5 or 6 hours—or it felt a bit like that—on the Bishop Suter Art Gallery Governance Restructuring Bill have reflected to come to the House and raise issues about one’s own local area. I notice that even people who are not of the local area and who have never been to the Suter Gallery—people who have wafted through Nelson on only the odd occasion—felt that it was very important to rise and lend their support to it. 
Sitting suspended from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: Thank you Madam Assistant Speaker for these precious moments. Before the dinner break the masses of people who were in the House were listening somewhat stoically to a very long debate about the Suter Gallery in Nelson. I was commenting in the few seconds I had before the dinner break that one of the privileges of being a member of Parliament is to be able to present a bill on a local issue in the House. It is a chance to talk about something that matters to one’s local constituents and on top of that to say a few things about the area one comes from. I noted that a large number of people on the National Party side of the House seem to have a very close affinity with Nelson. Some people who had not even been there felt they should get up and talk for a full 10 minutes on how deeply they felt about the Suter Gallery. Mr Power and I who feel equally powerfully about our own regions will probably take at least that amount of time to work our way through this bill. 
I will take a second to put this bill in context. If one has been to Palmerston North in the Manawatu one will know that a large arena complex sits in the middle of one of the finest cities ever to be put together in this nation. If one was to watch a Hurricanes game—if the Hurricanes would ever deign to go to Palmerston North to play a game though; I think they have been there twice— 
Simon Power 
: The first Super 12 game. 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: The first Super 12 game was held there. I can remember sitting in the stands—Mr Power was probably somewhere in the stands too—and looking across the verdant green field that is Arena 1 and across the wonderful tree-lined city called Palmerston North towards the absolutely gorgeous sun-kissed and wind-caressed hills called the Tararuas. It was a vision. If members of the House are wondering how to spend a weekend I suggest to them that they could do worse than to come and watch a game at Arena 1 in Palmerston North. 
Attached to that arena are a series of other arenas that make up I believe—and no doubt Ms Dyson being a proud Cantabrian will tell me if I am wrong—the largest under-cover sports facility in the country. 
Simon Power 
: That’s right. 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: Mr Power who is an independent person—he comes from the Rangitikei not the Manawatu—has told us that I am exactly right. The complex is the largest indoor under-cover facility in New Zealand and possibly even further afield. If one wants to hold a conference—and I know that the Greens and the Maori Party hold very large conferences—that is the place to do so. If one wishes to come to Palmerston North then those grounds can hold any number of delegates. 
We have in front of us the Palmerston North Showgrounds Act Repeal Bill 2008. It is very modest simple legislation. It does three things. The “Bill 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 …” which historically is the body that has largely nominated the people on the showgrounds board. Secondly the bill allows for the dissolution of the Palmerston North Showgrounds Board of Control—because the control has gone to the city council—and thirdly it repeals the Palmerston North Showgrounds Act 1974. 
The 1974 Act brought into being a partnership between the Palmerston North City Council and the Manawatu and West Coast Agricultural and Pastoral Association known fondly around our area as the A and P association. The bill allows for the showgrounds to be managed by the Palmerston North City Council. The council taking the place of the board of control that I talked of earlier will use the grounds as a recreation reserve and manage them properly for the benefit of the city. The 1974 Act resulted from a deed of agreement between the parties under which the city council was to develop and improve the showgrounds and make them available to the A and P association for its show. [ 
Interruption 
] Mr Hawkins says he wants to know a little more about that. As a keen inner-city person he probably does not go very often to shows like A and P shows. If he did have a chance to go he would find that a kaleidoscope—a smorgasbord really—of enjoyments are put on for the benefit of people in the region. The A and P show consists of a large number of agricultural shows. There is a lot of woodchopping and livestock is judged on site. As a young child a thrill I often enjoyed was to go on all the rides eat candy floss and do those kinds of things. 
Chris Tremain 
: You still love it don’t you? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: I still love it. I still go there each year for my waffle cone. 
What has changed is that the A and P show has on the whole become more run down over the years. In a sense it is in the wrong place. Palmerston North is the wrong place for it in this day and age. Palmerston North used to be a major place for agricultural shows; actually Feilding is now a much better place. That is in Mr Simon Power’s neck of the woods. There is a very large and suitable area called Manfeild Park where large shows can be held. The A and P show will shift across to that other fine area Feilding which has won the award for being the most well-kept and prettiest town I do not know how many times— 
Simon Power 
: Thirteen. 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: Feilding has won the competition 13 times. It is a great place for the show to go and that will leave the showgrounds to be used appropriately under the control of the city council. 
The A and P association has made it very clear that it no longer wants to manage the showgrounds. It has spent many years thinking this through. It wants to transfer its rights assets and liabilities to the city council so that the council can look after the showgrounds. That is all that is happening and that is why the parties involved are comfortable with this bill. The bill does nothing other than to suit the wishes of the A and P association which does not want to manage the showgrounds any more and wants someone else to look after them. Under the 1974 Act the A and P association has to look after the showgrounds but it does not want to; it wants to move its show somewhere else. 
The rest of the bill deals with the dissolving of the board and makes sure that that is dealt with legally. It protects the interests of the parties it clarifies any taxation consequences and as I said before it repeals the Palmerston North Showgrounds Act. 
I thank the House very much for expediting the passage this bill. I thank the people from Cooper Rapley who are the lawyers for the Palmerston North City Council. This is another piece of good work from them. They have enabled the bill to move smoothly through to this stage. I look forward to a short but hopefully supportive debate on this issue. 
I close by saying that people can attend fantastic shows in wonderful amenities not only in Palmerston North in the middle of the Manawatu but also as I pass over to my friend and colleague Mr Simon Power in the wider Rangitikei area as well—in particular in Feilding. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Marian Hobbs) 
: Just before you take your seat could you indicate which select committee this bill will go to. 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: It will go to the Local Government and Environment Committee.