Carter Chris: Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Bill — In Committee 
Carter Chris: Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:645;Page:14868] 
Hon CHRIS CARTER (Minister of Education) 
: 
 I rise with great pride to support the Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Bill. I feel well qualified to comment on the bill because I think I am correct in saying that I am the longest-serving constituent MP in the House from west Auckland. I am a proud westie. I owned a property in the Waitakere Ranges for many years. In 1983 my partner and I bought 10 acres on Bethells Road right in the heart of the area we are seeking to protect and 3 years later we bought a larger block of 28 acres. We lived there for many years and in recent times we moved into Te Atatu south. So I see this from a local resident’s point of view as a proud westie and a person passionate about west Auckland and about protecting our unique natural environment in west Auckland and as a former Minister of Conservation. For 5 years I was privileged and lucky enough to serve as Minister of Conservation for New Zealand. Just recently about 3½ months ago my portfolio was changed to education. During my time as the Minister of Conservation this legislation was drafted by my colleague Lynne Pillay who is in the chair tonight. She is also a proud westie who lives in Titirangi and is passionate about this legislation as is our friend and fellow colleague David Cunliffe. 
Part 3 which we are discussing now is about accountability around local authorities monitoring heritage areas. There could be no more important heritage area for west Aucklanders than our iconic Waitakere Ranges. They are ranges that have seen great land-use change. When European settlers arrived in New Zealand the Waitakere Ranges were clothed in some of the greatest kauri trees that grew anywhere in New Zealand. Te Henga Valley where I had a farm for many years had what were recorded as the largest kauris ever found in concentration in New Zealand. These were ripped out by the early settlers. True they were seeking to create a new life. True they were dedicated to their families and used the timber for building and for farming. They did not realise what they were doing to the natural environment. Luckily through the foresight of some of the early administrations in Auckland the Auckland Regional Council now administers a large area of parkland. I say to Gordon Copeland that by far the greatest area of the Waitakere Ranges is an Auckland Regional Council park and thank goodness that it is now protected. But nibbling away at the edges there is still inappropriate land use taking place. 
This bill is about protecting that heritage area. Mayor Bob Harvey and his team particularly our former deputy mayor Caroline Stone and our current deputy mayor Penny Hulse and others on the council have been fantastic in pushing for this legislation. Like Lynne David and I they are passionate about protecting the ranges. Graham Campbell and his team of officials at Waitakere City have done a great job in making sure that this legislation not only achieves its aim which is to elevate the status of the Waitakere Ranges and to give them greater protection but also gives reassurance to landowners in the Waitakere Ranges—the people whom Gordon Copeland was just making reference to—which I believe the bill does. 
This bill does not take away property rights. When I was privileged to hold the job of Minister of Conservation I visited many heritage areas outside New Zealand in the UK and elsewhere. What happens to property in those heritage areas is that it becomes more valuable because it has a greater status and a greater protection on it. People want to live there. I say to landowners in the Waitakere Ranges that this bill will actually increase their land values. Sure they will not be able to carry out any inappropriate subdivisions and nor should they be able to but the value of their land will be increased by this legislation. It will elevate the whole status of the ranges themselves and make them an even more special place. 
You know the Waitakere Ranges Protection Society—John Edgar and his team—has done a fantastic job. It polled Auckland and over 75 percent of Aucklanders wanted this bill including well over 80 percent of the residents of Waitakere City. It is a great bill and I thank Lynne Pillay for the excellent work she has done in protecting a unique place in our city.