O'Connor Damien: Environment Canterbury (Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
O'Connor Damien: Environment Canterbury (Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 26 February 2013. Volume:687;Page:8229. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon DAMIEN O’CONNOR (Labour—West Coast - Tasman) 
: 
 I am very pleased to take a call in this debate on the Environment Canterbury (Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management) Amendment Bill as the representative for West Coast - Tasman. We are very conscious of the health and well-being of our visitors “over the hill” as we say there in Canterbury and we are of course alarmed at what is happening here in the Committee. 
 I will focus on the three clauses here. The one word I go to following on from my colleague Mr Williams is “temporary” which is something that we assume means “for a short period of time”. The concern we have is that we have heard many assurances given originally from the Minister Nick Smith. You cannot trust much of what he says on most things I have to say but particularly in this area where he has proven in black and white in this House time and time again to the public of Canterbury to the public of the West Coast to everyone that he was not going to allow the continuation of something. It was in his words temporary but indeed by anyone else’s definition it would not be. 
The word “temporary” means “briefly” “impermanent” “not permanently” “transitionally”. The issue is that by anyone’s definition this is not temporary. It is 6 years by my colleague’s assessment—if we can trust that. How can we trust this piece of legislation when we are given assurances from the mouth of Nick Smith—from the horse’s mouth? He gave us assurances but in fact a court of law has said in respect of that Minister—or member as he was—that you cannot trust what comes from his mouth. 
This piece of legislation initiated by him with assurances given by him is in the Committee and the Government expects us—myself as MP for West Coast - Tasman the good people of Canterbury and the MPs from Canterbury and the South Island—to trust the Government. “Oh this is temporary!” he said. Well clauses 1 2 and 3 deal with the title the commencement and the amendment to the principal Act and in respect of temporary commissioners and improved water management we do not know whether in fact these are permanent appointments that will just be rolled on. Dare I say the outcome of the next election might determine whether the title of this bill is indeed accurate or whether it is as misleading as the assurances given by the Minister Nick Smith at the time. 
So we have an obligation here as representatives in the South Island as Her Majesty’s Opposition to challenge the Government for indeed putting through legislation and putting through a title that is misleading or could be misleading. So once again it comes back to this—and we have raised it dare I say time and time again in speeches in the Chamber: how can we trust this Government? Up and down the country local government and territorial local authorities—the Minister of Local Government will have spoken to them. He will be getting it in the ear I am sure as he goes around trying to patch up the mess left by the Hon Nick Smith. He will be trying to patch it up and trying to build some confidence back. 
There is indeed a collaboration of South Island mayors and territorial local authorities because they know they have to lobby the Government to get a fair deal to get even temporary relief from some of the pressures from central government and the fact that the Government is now going to say: “You’re not going to be able to put up rates but you are going to have to do this and this and this and we will not allow you to do any social programmes in your community.” I have got people jumping up and down now because Tasman District Council is pulling back on social programmes. The Government is saying quite clearly “that is what you have to do” and indeed it does not know where this Government is going with local government reform. 
The title of this bill saying “temporary commissioners for Canterbury” in my view—in my cynical view my suspicious view—is misleading because the Government intends after the next election to push through and appoint more commissioners up and down this country wherever territorial local authorities dare question the Government’s objectives.