Tizard Judith: Historic Places Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
Tizard Judith: Historic Places Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:632;Page:3919] 
Hon JUDITH TIZARD (Associate Minister for Arts Culture and Heritage) 
: 
 I move  
That the Historic Places Amendment Bill be now read a third time 
. Since its establishment in 1954 the New Zealand Historic Places Trust has functioned under the Historic Places Act to promote the identification protection and preservation of the historical and cultural heritage of New Zealand. The trust has played a central role in advocating for heritage values and educating New Zealanders about avenues available for the preservation of heritage sites and buildings. 
The trust’s efforts in keeping New Zealand’s heritage alive and encouraging others to do so has I think been widely valued and recognised. Today’s climate is one in which the importance of remembering the past is recognised both by Government and by growing numbers of New Zealanders. As people we have moved beyond the bottom-line focus of the 1990s and into an era in which we recognise that our country is not well served if heritage values are constantly overridden by the interests of commercial imperatives. 
We know there is a balance to be struck between progress and conservation. We have recognised too that in a climate of globalisation we need now more than ever to assert our own New Zealand identity that both enhances our experience of living in this country and helps us present a strong and unique face to the world. New Zealand’s heritage is a foundation of that national identity and in recognition of the importance of our heritage the Government has produced a comprehensive package of funding and legislative change aimed at strengthening provisions to protect our legacy from the past. This has included amendment to the Resource Management Act of 1991 to strengthen local authority responsibility for historic heritage management; the introduction of the Protected Objects Amendment Bill currently before Parliament which addresses shortcomings in the Antiquities Act of 1975 and safeguards New Zealand and international cultural heritage objects; the establishment of the National Heritage Preservation Incentive Fund; and the best-practice  
Policy for Government Departments’ Management of Historic Heritage 
 document. 
We have continued support for regional museums through the capital construction projects fund and we have increased operating funding for Te Papa. We have also funded the hugely significant Kerikeri heritage bypass the road around the Stone Store and the Kemp House and we have also funded a series of baseline increases for the Historic Places Trust over successive years to enable it to implement its statutory responsibilities. Indeed in the last Budget the trust was given a further $12.8 million over the next 4 years. Combined with earlier increases the trust’s annual funding from Government has risen to $10.4 million in 2006-07 from $3.7 million in 1999-2000. 
The Government’s significant funding contribution to the trust is reflected in our decision to make the trust an autonomous Crown entity under the Crown Entities Act. The Crown entity structure formalises the accountability relationship between the trust and the Government. It better reflects the trust’s status as a statutory organisation with delegated regulatory powers that have an impact on private property rights. 
The Historic Places Amendment Bill that we are passing today is a key component of the Government’s programme of changes in the heritage sector. Protection of our historic places requires a strong and effective agency at the national level an agency with an overview of historic heritage management issues. The New Zealand Historic Places Trust does a most valuable job in fulfilling its responsibilities as defined by the legislation at present. In reviewing and amending the Historic Places Act the Government looks to strengthen what is already in place and to enhance the trust’s ability to carry out its existing role and regulatory responsibilities. 
In summary the bill enhances the trust’s governance arrangements by reducing the size of the board from 11 to nine members and by increasing the number of Government appointees from three to six while retaining the three elected members who are elected by members of the Historic Places Trust regionally around New Zealand. The legislation introduces an enhanced notification and submissions regime for affected parties and clarifies sections of the Act that are unclear or difficult to administer. 
The changes to the make-up of the board will ensure balance of expertise and along with the trust’s new Crown entity status will strengthen its accountability to Government. This is appropriate and necessary given the significantly increased funding from Government as a proportion of the trust’s overall budget and the important bearing the trust’s regulatory responsibilities have on private property rights. The trust’s key role in the well-being of New Zealand’s historic heritage is also recognised through this legislation. The changes do not however impinge in any way on the freedom of the trust to carry out its functions at arm’s length from Government. 
The purpose of the other major provisions in the bill—the enhanced notifications and submissions regime—is to provide for greater transparency and accountability and for more involvement by affected parties in the process of registering historic places wahi tapu historic areas and wahi tapu areas. 
The Government has been pleased to see the positive response overall from the heritage community to the intent and the spirit of this bill. Certainly there has been a sense that the tenor of the bill is supported by the community that recognises and respects the invaluable service that members of the trust and the trust as a whole have provided to New Zealanders during its long history. I am confident that the provisions of the bill will enhance the ability of the Historic Places Trust to perform its role as New Zealand’s key national heritage organisation. 
I thank all of the members of the trust particularly the board members and the members of the Maori Heritage Council who have done so much towards developing and promoting this legislation. I look forward to seeing the trust strengthened by the significant extra funding and with the appropriate legislative framework positioned to be able to continue to assist in the protection and management of New Zealand’s heritage into the future for the well-being of all New Zealanders. I commend the progress of this bill to the House.