Simpson Scott: Environment Canterbury (Transitional Governance Arrangements) Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeSimpson Scott: Environment Canterbury (Transitional Governance Arrangements) Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 13 October 2015. Volume:709;Page:7127. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]SCOTT SIMPSON (National—Coromandel): As chairman of the Local Government and Environment Committee it gives me enormous pleasure to actually speak to the first reading of the Environment Canterbury (Transitional Governance Arrangements) Bill in the name of the Minister for the Environment the Hon Nick Smith.The answers to many of the questions that the previous member Dr Megan Woods has been asking about this bill actually lie in the title of the bill. It is a transitional governance arrangement—a transitional governance arrangement for the people of Canterbury. It is moving the people of Canterbury from what was back in 2008—in fact prior to 2008 at the tail end of the last Labour Government’s administration—a state of complete dysfunctionality in terms of where the governance of Environment Canterbury was for Canterbury.That was prior to the earthquakes in Canterbury which came following that dysfunctionality. It just beggars belief to think that the situation that existed prior to this Government taking the leadership action that was required to sort out the governance issues in Canterbury on this important matter—if that had not occurred and then we had had the earthquakes as I say it just beggars belief to think about what the consequences might have been.So I would ask this of the member who has just resumed her seat: why is it that the Labour Party does not want to listen to the local mayors? Why is it that the Labour Party does not want to take notice of what the local government leaders in Canterbury are saying? There are 10 mayors in the Canterbury region and of that 10 six of them support this legislation. Six of them support this transitional governance arrangement that will take us through to the 2019 elections.Of those who are not in that group of six local mayors who support this legislation one of them wanted to keep all the commissioners and wanted to keep the status quo that we have currently and that is clearly not going to happen. One of them wanted to elect straight away a new return to democracy—just one wanted to go back to the process that the Labour Party is calling for. Two of them were agnostic or did not actually express a view. So when you analyse the support across the 10 local government bodies in the Canterbury region six of the 10 support this legislation.The question I have for the Labour Party is: why is it listening to just one of those local government organisations in Canterbury? Before the central government stepped into this mess that was Environment Canterbury there was absolute evidence of severe underperformance in the Canterbury region. The previous Government actually I am told considered taking steps but deferred the opportunity to do so in the run-up to the 2008 election. That Government actually abrogated its responsibility to take a leadership role and do something about what was painfully obviously a huge problem in Canterbury.It was not until after this Government was elected in 2008 that action was taken to appoint the commissioners. I want to express my thanks and praise for the work that the commissioners have done in turning what was an absolute dog’s breakfast and a mess into something that is now well along the way to being best practice and something that I think Canterbury and all New Zealanders can be proud of.The main provisions of this bill really seek to establish a continued timely development of a robust clear and effective framework for the management of fresh water in the Canterbury region. Nothing could be more important than that allocation of water to Canterbury people or indeed to all New Zealanders because so much of New Zealand’s natural water resource is sourced from the Canterbury region.Environment Canterbury has actually made huge progress in developing the comprehensive water plan that is required in supporting the earthquake recovery programme. To go now to this transitional stage which will take us from 2016 through to the local government elections in 2019—this bill seeks to achieve that and I think that that will be something that will be met with support from across the Canterbury region and probably great support from around the rest of the country.I am very much looking forward to hearing submissions from Cantabrians at the select committee. I am looking forward to the process. I know that it will be vigorously debated but it needs to be debated on the basis of fact and knowledge and certainty rather than hyperbole and exaggeration which is the sort of thing that we see from Opposition members who are determined to dance on the head of a pin in order to oppose for the sake of opposition. This is a bill that I think has merit. I am looking forward to debating and discussing it at the select committee and I commend its first reading to the House.