Doocey Matt: Greater Christchurch Regeneration Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeDoocey Matt: Greater Christchurch Regeneration Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 22 October 2015. Volume:709;Page:7528. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MATT DOOCEY (National—Waimakariri): It is an honour and a privilege to rise and speak at the first reading of the Greater Christchurch Regeneration Bill a bill I wholeheartedly support. As a very proud born and bred Cantabrian I am looking forward to its transition through the legislative process to the Local Government and Environment Committee a select committee that is full of very energetic and able Cantabrians from all sides of the House who will be working very closely to ensure the quality of this piece of legislation. Can I say that for me I think this personally will be the most important bill that I speak on this year in the House—important for me and for all people of Greater Christchurch and Canterbury.As I have always said I am a very proud one-eyed Cantabrian. I remember growing up in Christchurch in the old days when Belfast was out of town. It was a day trip and you would go over the Styx Mill Bridge. But now after the earthquakes Greater Christchurch has been redrawn and we have seen great urban movement to towns in my electorate like Rangiora and Kaiapoi. It is great that we are moving from recovery into regeneration because many young people growing up in Christchurch like myself decided to go away and go on their OE and a lot of the reasons I left Christchurch to go on my OE and see a bit of the world were the reasons that actually drew me back to Christchurch and Canterbury.It is a small town in the bottom of the world and when you go out and see other countries and you expand your world view you see how competitive the world is out there—but you see how fantastic vibrant and dynamic other cities are.I am passionate that through this regeneration bill we are going to be supporting Christchurch to be vibrant and dynamic and to be the best new small city in the world. I must say at this stage though talking about the future and aspirations like that—I must acknowledge that we are in a very difficult stage.International research around psychological and social recovery shows that years 3 to 7 post-disaster can be still problematic for some. I would urge any who still need help or Cantabrians who know anyone—their friends or family—who still need help to come and see their local MP. We are here to help and support and advocate on your behalf.If I focus on this bill and around the purpose the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act will expire in April 2016 and we are moving from recovery into regeneration. I know from my own background—coming from a background in mental health and working in a model of recovery for a long time—it is about moving people through and transitioning them into a better quality of life. That is something I will be touching on in my call today how this regeneration bill is about moving through the stages and transitioning the people of Canterbury from recovery into regeneration. It is a new legal framework to support the regeneration of Greater Christchurch over the next 5 years.The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act was probably a bit wider geographically than this bill which is looking at Greater Christchurch. I have a unique view on this with my electorate covering part of Christchurch City and north Christchurch. There are residents of Christchurch City Council as well as residents of the Waimakariri District Council which covers towns like Rangiora and Kaiapoi. The Greater Christchurch region will cover those towns and around Fernside as well.What we need to do is make sure we maintain the momentum because what we are doing is rebuilding the city regenerating it. Not only do we want to protect the past but if I look at the definition in the bill—I did write it down somewhere—around regeneration it is described as restoration and urban renewal and development. For me it is not only about restoring the past and protecting our history—as you know Christchurch was deemed the most English city outside England—but it is also thinking about what the city will be used for in 20 or 30 years’ time. My daughter when she grows up—what type of city do we want for her in the future? That is what we are talking about.I just want to acknowledge that earthquake recovery and regeneration is one of the top four priorities of this Government and we are committed to the people of Canterbury. But when you look at this bill and the top five priority issues for the next 5 to 10 years that this bill will cover it will be about revitalising central Christchurch maintaining economic performance improving people’s well-being—and I would just like to acknowledge the work of the Associate Minister for Earthquake Recovery Nicky Wagner around her psychosocial performance plan—repairing and replacing housing and repairing and replacing infrastructure and facilities.I just want to acknowledge New Zealanders who have supported Cantabrians who have stayed beside them and continued to support them. We have heard and talked about great stories like the Student Volunteer Army which came into a town in my electorate Kaiapoi straight after the earthquakes. But it is also about acknowledging Cantabrians who have got back up on their feet. In a region like Canterbury—we talk about the Christchurch earthquakes but they were actually the Canterbury earthquakes.They were hard hit in the first earthquake—we lost about a thousand houses—and they have got back up on their feet and it is great to see Kaiapoi doing so well.I just want to acknowledge the role of this Government which has supported Cantabrians and especially the earthquake recovery Minister. I say this not out of arrogance or complacency—now we sit on our hands—but the reason we won the party vote in the last election in Canterbury was that we put up a framework of policies that people believed in. We showed leadership we made decisions and we took action. And that is what people want. This Greater Christchurch Regeneration Bill continues that momentum it continues that leadership it continues that decision making and it continues that action to support the best new city in the world being rebuilt.When we look at regeneration there are some really good examples out there. Waimakariri is a fantastic example of getting on and regenerating its towns. We have opened the Ruataniwha Kaiapoi Civic Centre this year the Rangiora Town Hall the Oxford Town Hall and the Ashley Bridge. We have got the health hub in Rangiora opening up in a few weeks and retail precincts and that is because we are investing into the local economy. But I must say for Christchurch specifically in the central business district a large part of which this Regenerate Christchurchentity will look at around anchor projects—they have had a lot more complexity to deal with. It is quite right that the focus will now be more constrained to the central business district around things like anchor projects. That is what I spoke about before when we look at what cities operate around around the world—vibrancy and dynamism.What we need is to ensure that over the next 5 or 10 years we implement and develop the anchor projects—the Metro Sports Facility the convention centre—that will be an economic catalyst for the city bringing better jobs and better incomes and of course a stadium. We are very parochial in Canterbury. If you look at our Super 12 and Super 15 history we are the best rugby region in the world and we need a stadium that represents that. If you look at the Rugby World Cup at the moment with the Cardiff stadium of 80000 people coming in to watch a game—it energises a city. It is these anchor projects that we need to ensure that we guarantee and we move forward to make sure that the city is regenerated for the next generation as well.Overall I wholeheartedly support this bill. I look forward to following it through the legislative process and I commend it to the House. Thank you.