SpeechASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Poto Williams): Members the House has resumed. Members before the dinner break we were on the New Plymouth District Council (Perpetual Investment Fund) Bill and I understand we are up to call No. 7.SORAYA PEKE-MASON (Labour): Tēnā koe e te Mana Whakawā. I am pleased to take a call on the New Plymouth District Council (Perpetual Investment Fund) Bill. Firstly I too would like to commend my colleague Glen Bennett MP for his sponsorship of this bill. New Plymouth sits in the Te Tai Hauāuru electorate where I am based as a list MP. While I live at Rātana and was raised in Whanganui I have strong ties to Taranaki through my whakapapa whenua and where close whānau still live.You know over the years I have heard some pretty mean things about the New Plymouth District Council but what I want to do is I want to take this opportunity of acknowledging the great work of the former mayor Andrew Judd who calls himself a recovering racist—more importantly though the wonderful work he has done supporting Māori wards bringing to light the depth of racism. I have heard the calls of many ratepayers over the years who simply could not pay their rates while I served in local government. This bill can go some way towards supplementing those rates that they struggle to pay and benefiting the communities in the New Plymouth region.Clearly something needed to be done to ensure the Perpetual Investment Fund's (PIF's) original intent of being a sustainable fund to annually subsidise the general rate is achieved—its original intent. It is sad to see the loss of some $113 million in value over five years. I'm grateful for local government long-term planning process for it was after this process the council landed with this bill. In 2021 council officers during their long-term process reported on introducing a local bill based on benefits to those living in the current district boundary those providing legislative protection to its capital base and benefits back to the community in perpetuity. I want to acknowledge the work of the council officers. They work hard they work diligently and are passionate about what they do. Sometimes they are not recognised for the contribution that they make to our communities and to local government.Due diligence was exercised and alternative options were considered including doing nothing which was not an option as it would not achieve the legislative protection on the capital base. Council has also considered other local legislation including the New Plymouth District Council (Waitara Lands) Act 2018. Community consultation closed on 17 June 2022 with 52 written submissions received. I extend a thankyou to all those in the communities who have made their submissions to this process. I have seen and know personally the effort and sometimes the anxiety that goes into making those submissions particularly from our flaxroots people.I want to acknowledge the New Plymouth District Council's efforts and their submissions in particular. The Bill ensures the PIF continues to benefit our community". How do they do this? By setting an annual release to be used to subsidise general rates. In 2022-23 the release was some $10.4 million therefore reducing the total rates required by around 8 percent—8 percent; that's huge—a saving of some $163 per year per ratepayer significance in savings. The release enables council to provide a level of service higher than what they could afford through rates."The [bill] acts as a key cornerstone for our financial position providing 'halo' benefits."—as another part of the New Plymouth District Council's submission—"It means [that] Council has financial assets larger than … external borrowings reducing the costs of borrowing and"—as mentioned by my colleague Glen Bennett—supports a "AA+/Stable/A1+ credit rating." This is significant.It also "embeds the lessons of history while being flexible for the future". What does this mean? It means the council of the day must be satisfied the flexibility of the fund achieves a better outcome for the wellbeing of both current and future communities. We are all about the future and the future generations. We are making decisions that impact on them. This is important. This is important to me. It also means it cannot be used to simply keep rates down to gain political advantage "ensuring … it can be accessed following a significant natural disaster or other unexpected event."—and I do not need to emphasise that any more than the current environment if you look at it that we live in today.To avoid any further losses it is important to ensure the real value of the capital must be protected and that any reduction be considered under justifiable situations. It is to that end that I want to emphasise a submission from New Plymouth Perpetual Investment Fund Guardians Ltd. They support "the intention of the bill to provide statutory provisions to ensure the real capital value of the fund is maintained"—it must be maintained and/or increased—"and … ensure [it] continues to be used for the … New Plymouth District community in perpetuity".Of particular relevance to this it is outlined in clause 8 where it provides that investment decisions are to be made independently of elected members'—really important—conflicts of interests and their interests. The clause provides additional assurance on the independence of New Plymouth Guardians to manage the PIF in the best interests of New Plymouth District Council. The case in point here is it provides that investment decisions are to be made independently of elected members.As per processes a recommendation was received from the Governance and Administration Committee recommending the bill be passed. This bill will help grow communities; it will help reach their dreams and aspirations so it's a big congratulations to everyone involved in bringing this bill to the House. Well done again to my colleague MP Glen Bennett. Well done for sponsoring the bill. Lastly absolute heartfelt congratulations to the ratepayers of the New Plymouth District Council. I commend this bill to the House."