Mark RonHon RON MARK (Minister of Defence): Thank you Mr Speaker. Well there's nothing worse than a speaker getting up and rotary hoeing the same paddock over and over again thinking that they're adding quality to the debate. Less is often more and I mean to take my call with such a reminder firmly implanted in my head.I do want to make a couple of acknowledgments as we progress this first reading. I do want to acknowledge Gerry Brownlee. Gerry being the Minister at the time holding the seat at a very difficult time in Canterbury's history came under a lot of flak and lot of pressure from a lot of people. I know because my whanaunga were all from down there. I want to acknowledge Dan Gordon the Mayor of Waimakariri who is sitting up there in my old patch and an old friend of mine being a local who lived in Rangiora for some time and lived in Christchurch on and off for about 30 years. My children and the bulk of my grandchildren are still living there. I acknowledge my local MP Matt Doocey for the time that we were down there.Christchurch went through some very difficult times as we all know and there were some difficult decisions to be made by the Government of the day. It needs to be acknowledged that the cross-party team that was utilised by Mr Brownlee at the time to put together the legislation to aid and assist Christchurch did a good job. In our part from New Zealand First Denis O'Rourke played a role in that and I want to acknowledge Denis.Putting together a multi-entity agency as a mechanism to assist and expedite the regeneration and redevelopment of Christchurch was clearly a smart move. We all know how frustratingly slow developments construction can be when subjected to the rigours of the Resource Management Act in its current form. We all know how devastated Christchurch was at the time and that quite simply the legislation in place was not going to cut it given the urgency that was required. So I just want to say that.This is the first reading. I congratulate the Minister Megan Woods for bringing this legislation forward. I look forward—despite everything that's happened it's always been known that the Christchurch leadership the duly elected people of Christchurch would eventually take over responsibility for completing the job. There is still yet much to do. When I go down to Christchurch and I drive around I sometimes struggle to recognise exactly where I am because landmarks are gone and there's a lot of vacant land—Hon Gerry Brownlee: It's just age.Hon RON MARK: Sorry? It's age—ha ha! How unkind of you Gerry. I do despair when I see—as Gerry Brownlee has stated in his speech—the number of buildings that are still boarded up the amount of graffiti.I do chuckle and I've actually started photographing it for all the rural-based members of Parliament here. I've started photographing city pollution so I can show it to the rural folk who are getting hammered and slammed so much by townies who want to chastise our farmers for contributing to dirty streams and all the rest of this stuff. Sometimes folk in the city need to have a good quiet look at what they're doing to their environment. Nothing stands out more than the graffiti and the pollution inside of cities.These are big challenges that the duly elected representatives of Christchurch and the wider territorial authorities are going to have to deal with. But it is their responsibility and this legislation is a step back towards full democracy and putting the responsibility where it lays and so it should be.So with that I would just say that on behalf New Zealand First we support the legislation and congratulate all parties involved thus far for the progress that has been made in Christchurch and Canterbury. Kia ora koutou.