Gallagher Martin: Kerikeri National Trust Bill — Second Reading 
Gallagher Martin: Kerikeri National Trust Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:639;Page:9874] 
MARTIN GALLAGHER (Labour—Hamilton West) 
: 
 First of all I commend the previous speaker John Carter for being a very long-serving member representing the far north. I am also aware that my very good colleague Shane Jones will take a call and I accept he will be far far more authoritative than me in terms of his deep and profound understanding and appreciation of the unique and iconic area of the Kerikeri Basin. I acknowledge also Hone Harawira in that context. 
I speak primarily as a member of the Local Government and Environment Committee. Unfortunately Steve Chadwick the chair cannot be here tonight. She would very much like to have made a contribution with regard to consideration of this bill and to state very clearly for the record the fact that although at the end of the debate this bill is likely to be voted down that in no way detracts from its purpose. What it does say is that as we understand it in the select committee and in terms of the advice we have received history essentially has moved on. 
For the benefit of those who are listening to this debate I would certainly make the point that this bill has been a member’s bill that has survived several Parliaments. It is in the name of John Carter the previous speaker who is the local member for the general seat in that area. As I have already acknowledged Hone Harawira is the other member of Parliament for that locality. The bill’s purpose is to consolidate the heritage and scenic assets of the Kerikeri Basin and to establish a Kerikeri National Trust to manage and promote the area. Obviously the consolidation and preservation of the heritage and scenic assets of the Kerikeri Basin remain crucially important to us as a nation but that preservation process is going down a different path from that provided for in the bill. 
The bill was introduced in the forty-fourth Parliament way back in 1995 and was referred to the then Internal Affairs and Local Government Committee which received and heard submissions on it. The Department of Conservation among others provided advice to the committee. It considered that although there was general support for the bill’s intention to provide for integrated planning and the coordinated management of the heritage values of the Kerikeri Basin the provisions relating to the establishment of the Kerikeri National Trust were at the time somewhat controversial. The department believed that the bill would need to be substantially redrafted to achieve its intent. That was obviously all before people such as me came on to the select committee. Unlike the previous speaker and other members of the House who will make a contribution on this bill I certainly do not have a close and intimate understanding of the unique history behind this bill. 
I note that in 2001 this Labour-led Government agreed to fund a planning process to ensure a more sustainable future for the Kororipo - Kerikeri Basin. Its objective was to produce a long-term plan to protect the cultural heritage environment and resources of the basin and to serve as a guide for its future well-being enhancement and prosperity. I also note that the purpose and content of the resulting plan have much in common with the intention of the bill which was retained by the committee at the time as a possible legislative vehicle in support of the plan. I understand that the sustainable development plan is in the process of publication and is subject to consultations with iwi. The potential for the bill to offer legal support for the plan has consequently diminished. That was our understanding on the committee and that is contained in our report. Indeed amending the bill for that purpose would require substantial redrafting. 
As I pointed out before the bill has been before select committees for more than 11 years. In the light of that the committee has recommended that the bill not proceed. But let me state very clearly on the public record that the issue of the preservation of the Kerikeri Basin is of critical and crucial national importance. John Carter made reference to what were some appalling development plans. Indeed I remember way way back as a young person seeing a hideous proposal that the Stone Store would be surrounded by imitation colonial houses—a sort of housing development. That was but one of them at the time. I am very thankful and grateful that those plans which were motivated purely by money and private interests never thank goodness came to pass. There are other parts of New Zealand that sadly have not been as fortunate as the Kerikeri Basin has been. We are very lucky actually that over many years the community of the far north—and I say this as a New Zealander who is domiciled in the Waikato—has had a collective vision and has collectively understood absolutely the iconic historic heritage that exists in the Bay of Islands - far north area of which the Kerikeri Basin is a very very important component. 
On a very personal note I say that I am typical of many Kiwis of my age. In 1958 when I was 6 years old mum and dad took me camping in the Bay of Islands area. One of my first abiding memories of Kerikeri was visiting the amazing Stone Store as we knew it then. I do remember it; it flashes up in my memory as something I experienced as a 6-year-old. It is one of my memories because it was a very important unique and significant building. That was imparted to me as a 6-year-old. As I said that was back in 1958 during the term of the great second Labour Government under the great leadership and premiership of Sir Walter Nash. If there is any sense of a degree of privilege and pride it is that I as a 55-year-old now stand in Parliament and talk about this amazingly iconic building in an amazingly iconic area. 
In acknowledging John Carter as the member in charge of this bill we also acknowledge the international significance of this part of the world in terms of visitors. So not only do we want to preserve the Kerikeri Basin for us as New Zealanders; we also wish to make sure that we preserve it for the benefit of international visitors. It is in my view a world heritage area both in terms of our Maori history—it was settled by Maori hundreds and hundreds of years ago—and our more recent European settlement. In the spirit of non-partisanship I want to acknowledge John Carter again and to commend him for his work. As I understand it this is a good example of a good local member over many years supporting a bill in consultation with local people. 
I do not come from the far north so I do not have an intimate understanding of the communities in that area. I am from the Waikato so of course I do not have the intimate understanding of the far north that other members of Parliament may have. But my observation looking on from afar in another region is that a whole lot of people are working together in a very very constructive way. I just make the point that the outcome of that constructive process of working together will be of huge benefit not just to this generation—and I know I am stating the obvious but I think it is important to do so—but to future mokopuna grandchildren great-grandchild etc. This basin is one of the jewels in the crown of Aotearoa New Zealand. Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker.