Dean Jacqui: Mount Maunganui Borough Reclamation and Empowering Act Repeal Bill — Third Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Dean Jacqui: Mount Maunganui Borough Reclamation and Empowering Act Repeal Bill — Third Reading 
[Sitting date: 07 November 2012. Volume:685;Page:6379. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
JACQUI DEAN (National—Waitaki) 
: 
 I also rise as do other members in this House to support the third reading of the Mount Maunganui Borough Reclamation and Empowering Act Repeal Bill. I want to also congratulate the local member the Maori Party MP for Waiariki Te Ururoa Flavell on bringing this bill to the House. 
Previous speakers have noted how in previous years local infrastructure particularly sewerage works have been sited on what is now recognised as being pretty fragile and special parts of New Zealand. In my own area of the South Island when I am flying into places like Queenstown or turning the corner into Moeraki and I go past a waste-water treatment or a sewerage treatment settling ponds site I think oh gosh if we had thought about it a little harder some time ago we might have sited these facilities somewhere that was not a place that is so special to the local community and in this case to the local iwi. 
National does support this bill at its third reading and I also want to recognise Nicky Wagner the chair of the Local Government and Environment Committee and indeed all the members of that committee for working in a collegial fashion on this bill. The bill in fact made good sense. The committee made only one small change and that was to insert a sunset clause into it so that we do not have such a statute left hanging around on the statute book. That was the only change we made. 
We received very few submissions but we did receive a joint submission from Nga Potiki and the Tauranga City Council. In their submission in which they give background and context to the bill they finally said to the committee the reasons to support the bill. So I think it is worth going back to them for their reasons as to why they support and promote this bill. Nga Potiki-a-Tamapahore Trust and the Tauranga City Council support the Mount Maunganui Borough Reclamation and Empowering Act Repeal Bill in its current form. They support it and they told us why they support it. It was for several reasons. First of all—quite a prosaic reason I guess—the Tauranga City Council has no intention to further reclaim land in Te Tahuna o Rangataua. 
Secondly the repeal of the bill will provide some vindication and I think that is a very important point that has been raised by a number of speakers throughout the passage of this bill. It will provide some satisfaction I hope and vindication for the position taken by those Nga Potiki kaumatua and other members of the community who protested against the original Act from the point of view that this land to them was a pretty special place.  
Although it was needed by the Mount Maunganui Borough Council of the day and it was taken by the borough council of the day it was land that was very special to them for all sorts of reasons. It was taken because it was needed and now of course these many years later not all of that land—some 73.5 hectares—was transferred under the original Act. The council reclaimed approximately only 23.5 hectares of that land. So the authority to reclaim the balance of the area—what would that be; some 40-something hectares—was revoked by subsequent legislation.  
That happened in 1991 so the principal Act therefore has no legal effect. It has become redundant and therefore this repeal bill is before us. In repealing that original Act I think the local iwi and council can effectively put some of the past behind them and as other members in this House have noted can now have the opportunity to work cooperatively in the future.  
The third reason which this joint submission does note is that the repeal of the bill will help to heal past conflicts and strengthen an already positive relationship between Nga Potiki and the Tauranga City Council. How can this House argue with that? It is a good bill it enjoys the support of the House and I commend its passing at its third reading.