King Colin: Franklin District Council (Contribution to Funding of Museums) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
King Colin: Franklin District Council (Contribution to Funding of Museums) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:652;Page:1672] 
COLIN KING (National—Kaikoura) 
: 
 I speak in support of the Franklin District Council (Contribution to Funding of Museums) Amendment Bill. The merits of this bill have been well and truly canvassed. I want to focus on where we have found ourselves subsequent to the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002. Prior to that Act the Valuer-General made sure that the allocation of rates payable from people who lived in those parts of the Franklin District Council area or the Waikato Regional Council area was at an appropriate rate. However subsequent to the 2002 Act the position of Valuer-General was done away with and the two museums interpreted the situation in such a way that those within the Franklin District Council area should pay. That is what we are talking about. 
This bill has two parts. The first pertains to an amendment to the Auckland War Memorial Museum Act 1996 and the second is an amendment to the Museum of Transport and Technology Act 2000. When we dwell on it we see that those two museums have Acts governing them. That indicates the iconic nature of those museums. As we have just heard from the co-leader of the Maori Party Pita Sharples these are iconic institutions of New Zealand. However that does not permit them to leverage funds out of a region in a way that is not justifiable. That is why we have this bill. 
It is quite interesting that the two Acts being amended are of a similar structure. How will it mechanically work? When we look at clause 7 “Interpretation” we see that in its appropriate alphabetical order we will have the word “district” included. Under “Interpretation” in the original Acts we have interpretations of “Annual plan” “Board” “Contributing authorities” “Director” “Electoral College” “Establishment day” “Financial year” “Museums” and “Society”. All of those things are laid out according to their definition and their interpretation. In between “Director” and “Electoral College” the bill inserts the word “district” and gives it a definition. That definition will then apply to that particular part of the Franklin District Council area. 
It should work very well. It is in no way a slight on the two museums in question. Being a trustee of a museum myself I say that a very important part of a museum’s work and its value is to ensure that it has a robust business plan and that it can budget to fund itself. We have a lot of museums in New Zealand and we are beginning to value the contribution they make to our society and culture. Certainly it is the way we celebrate the past while we look to the future. This bill is addressing an anomaly that has arisen and I believe it is well-thought-through. It is indicative that from time to time—with the configuration of New Zealand tied up as it is by regional councils and suchlike—there can be an overlap and the sort of problem outlined in the bill happens. 
It gives me great pleasure to support my colleague Dr Hutchison to get this bill well and truly on its way. I take great heart that members on the other side of the House see the wisdom of this bill and that they will work to progress it speedily through the House. Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker.