Smith Nick: Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Bill — Procedure Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Smith Nick: Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Bill — Procedure Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:657;Page:6184] 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for the Environment) 
: 
 I want to respond to a couple of the points that have been raised by Nanaia Mahuta in the Committee stage of the Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Bill. Firstly regarding the issue of the Minister of Conservation’s veto or capacity to overrule the decision of an Environment Court I put to the Chamber this scenario. Let us say that we had an application that was heard before the Environment Court. The local iwi come along and say that the application will have an adverse effect on their pipi beds the Environment Court says that they are right and it turns down the application. In this scenario let us say that the Minister of Conservation was my good colleague Chris Auchinvole and he said “No I’m a keen fisherman and I’m going to overrule the Environment Court. I’m going to let it go ahead.” He would be the very first member to scream foul. I say to the member opposite that that is what the law says. 
My challenge to the members on my left is this: why do they not trust the Environment Court? There is no other part of the Resource Management Act where Ministers make decisions on individual consents and members on this side of the House say that we trust the Environment Court. The sorts of issues that the member has raised should be properly dealt with in that court. 
Hon Nanaia Mahuta 
: I raise a point of order Mr Chairperson. Will the Minister take a question? 
The CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy) 
: That is not a point of order. You cannot interject like that. 
Hon Nanaia Mahuta 
: I seek leave for the Minister to take a question. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy) 
: No you cannot do that. It is a debating point. The member can interject but if the member who is speaking does not respond then that is the end of asking the member to take a question. 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH 
: I have a very simple question for members of the Labour Party. Why do they not trust the Environment Court? It is a very simple question. We trust the Environment Court in respect of hydro developments major transmission projects and huge roading projects so why would Parliament take a different view and not trust our Environment Court judges to make proper decisions without political interference in the area of the coast? 
The second point the member raised was that this bill was all about developers. In fact Russel Norman went one step further. He said that this bill is an attack on the voluntary and community spirit of communities all over New Zealand. Let me give member a very practical example of why members on this side of the House support this bill. I have a letter here from Mr Peter Grant. He is the treasurer and a life member of the Mercury Bay Tennis Club—one of those rampant developers! Do members know what that awful tennis club wanted to do? It wanted to build a volley wall for its community. To apply for a 2-metre high volley wall at the Mercury Bay Tennis Club—and I have a photo of it that I would be happy to table—it lodged a consent with the Thames-Coromandel District Council and the council said the club had to have a resource consent. Do members know how long that took? This application was lodged in July last year. How long do members think it took for the Mercury Bay Tennis Club—one of those rampant developers out there—to get consent to build a volley wall for the children of Mercury Bay and Whitianga? The club lodged its application on 11 July and it finally got consent on 17 February. But there is a byline. Do members know how much it cost the Mercury Bay Tennis Club to get a resource consent for a volley wall in Whitianga? It cost $2200 to build but the cost of getting the resource consent was $2564. Is Mr Norman telling me that that is a voluntary and community group that is being attacked in this bill? I say to that member that that is the sort of bureaucracy that is driving ordinary New Zealanders mad. 
Communities and members want to do the right thing. They want to make a positive difference for their communities and members on this side of the House are saying that it is examples like that that show why we need this bill and why we need to take a practical view of how we deal with resource consents.