Wagner Nicky: Greater Christchurch Regeneration Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeWagner Nicky: Greater Christchurch Regeneration Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 31 March 2016. Volume:712;Page:10104. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon NICKY WAGNER (Associate Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery): I too am very pleased to speak at this third reading of the Greater Christchurch Regeneration Bill. I am particularly pleased because this House has given this bill unanimous support. I think that is because there has been so much thought so much technical advice so many public submissions so much select committee energy and so much cross-party discussion to make this bill fit for purpose. I am also pleased that the House unanimously supported Supplementary Order Paper 159 put out in the name of Minister Brownlee and the amendments in the names of Dr Megan Woods and Denis O’Rourke. Mr Brownlee’s of course was the result of significant cross-party discussion and it has added real value to the bill. Dr Megan Woods’ amendment enshrines the protection of Hagley Park. Hagley Park of course is close to the hearts of all Christchurch people so that is appreciated. Denis O’Rourke’s amendment has added to the compensation and clarified that so that added value too. Denis thank you very much.This bill is designed to deliver the step change that we are all looking for—the step change from recovery to regeneration. Over the last 5 years we have been through the emergency response we have moved on to rebuild and replacement—but those are all reactive things. We are now looking for proactive leadership in our city to regenerate for urban development and urban renewal with a focus on betterment. I think that we need to make sure that we take every opportunity to make our city and its environment a better place—a better place socially a better place culturally a better place environmentally and a better place economically.The bill is also about working together as we move on from this 5-year recovery phase towards local control local leadership and local decision-making. It is about working towards a new business-as-usual as in 2021. I say “a new business-as-usual” because I do not think that Christchurch will ever be the same again. We are totally committed to new ways of thinking new ways of working and increased innovation and collaboration. But of course regeneration does not stop when the legislation expires in 2021. Regeneration is ongoing and hopefully will be ongoing for ever. In 2021 Regenerate Christchurch will become a council-controlled organisation. It will be back in local leadership.Over the last 5 years there has been an enormous amount achieved and much of it in a very innovative way. New organisations and methods of making things happen have really been introduced. I think they say that necessity is the mother of invention and if that is the case certainly Christchurch has been very inventive. I just want to give three examples of that innovation and the way that we are thinking differently.Christchurch people are very supportive of “SCIRT”. “SCIRT” is the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team Mr Deputy Speaker.Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: I have got you—thank you.Hon NICKY WAGNER: They appreciate that over 90 percent of the horizontal infrastructure in Christchurch has been rebuilt in the city by the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team. But many are unaware of the unique framework that the team provides. It is a collaboration of five contractors and it has become a very successful model that has been recognised internationally as best practice and it is now being implemented in other parts of the world in response to disasters.Similarly “EPIC” which is the Enterprise Precinct and Innovation Campus is a cooperative enterprise as well. That provides shared office space and mentoring support. That has allowed over 20 IT and high-tech companies to cohabit in the same areas and it provides opportunities for those businesses to deliver synergies between them and new ways of growing those businesses and creating jobs. It is a very exciting new project in Christchurch. And finally in the creative sector Gap Filler Greening the Rubble and the Ministry of Awesome are all fabulous new creative solutions that have been developed by the people of Christchurch to do something different in our city and they are new collaborative ways of working.This new governance structure that the bill delivers is all about collaboration as well and the purpose of the bill is to enable a very focused and expedient planning process towards the regeneration of our city. It recognises the local leadership of the councils—Environment Canterbury the Christchurch City Council the Selwyn District Council the Waimakariri District Council Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu—and also Regenerate Christchurch and empowers each of those to make decisions. It also provides for more community input into those decisions and into the development of regeneration plans.Regenerate Christchurch as the Minister explained is the new entity created by the bill and it is a seven-member board jointly appointed by the Christchurch City Council and the Crown with one member nominated by Ngāi Tahu. It will be the vehicle to drive this new collaboration and regeneration and to transit the city back to business-as-usual within those 5 years. But I think the challenge for all of us is to support this structure this collaborative structure and to put aside any petty politics that we have to discard any patch protection and to swallow up any individual organisational focus and have one ultimate test for all decision making. That test should be: is this good for the people of Christchurch? Is this good for the future of our city and its environments? I believe that we can answer these questions positively. If our decisions are evidence based and solutions focused I think we will get the right outcomes going forward.This bill is an empowering framework. It underpins that step change that we are all looking for and I think it is a framework that can inspire and encourage Christchurch people to get out there to engage and to actively work to create the city that we want. I think it is very clear—the city that we want. We want it to be safe. We want it to be beautiful. We want it to be people-friendly vibrant and sustainable. We want it to be a place full of opportunity a place that attracts all generations so that there is somewhere for all of us to live to work and to play.I really look forward to working with everybody in this House the stakeholders the new organisations and the communities—all the communities—that make up Greater Christchurch as we embrace this next stage of our journey and our city regenerates for the future. Thank you.