Williams Andrew: National War Memorial Park (Pukeahu) Empowering Bill — Second Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Williams Andrew: National War Memorial Park (Pukeahu) Empowering Bill — Second Reading 
[Sitting date: 25 September 2012. Volume:684;Page:5579. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
ANDREW WILLIAMS (NZ First) 
: 
 I rise to take a call on behalf of New Zealand First in support of the National War Memorial Park (Pukeahu) Empowering Bill. This National War Memorial Park to be here in our capital city is a very fitting memorial and a milestone to mark the 100th anniversary of Gallipoli and of World War I. It will be a very fitting memorial park to note the 100000 soldiers men and women who went off to World War I—18000 of whom died and 40000 of whom were wounded. Further than that it will also commemorate the more than 300000 New Zealanders who in the last century have served this country in many theatres of war. This will be a very fitting National War Memorial. 
Many of our other cities in New Zealand do have significant war memorial parks. Auckland in particular has the Auckland Domain a very large park with the Cenotaph and the Auckland War Memorial Museum in its centre. It is a very fitting substantial place for commemoration and for ceremonies to do with our ones lost at war. This park will not be of quite the same scale as the Auckland one but it will still be a very significant park with views out over Wellington Harbour. More important it will provide the necessary ambience green belt and park-like atmosphere to link the National War Memorial the Hall of Memories the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior and the Carillon. At present State Highway 1 is a very very busy road that goes past these places of national importance. I have attended a number of ceremonies there over the years and it is not at all pleasant with such a large volume of traffic going by this very important national place of commemoration that it is not in a more quiet and fitting place. This park will provide that place and will provide what any capital city should have: a place of substance and of note. 
It is very very noteworthy that the Australian Government as part of the 100th commemorations is including a $5 million donation to the park to provide also an Australian memorial here. Again it is wonderful that our Anzac friends are participating to commemorate this new addition to New Zealand. Likewise of course New Zealand in the past put up the Australia - New Zealand Memorial in Canberra and in just the last few years also the New Zealand Memorial in Hyde Park in London. Similarly it is very wonderful and a great gesture of the Australian Government to do likewise here in what will be our National War Memorial Park. 
The project itself is $12 million for the park and its development. However the vast bulk of the cost of $75 million is for the underpass and undergrounding of State Highway 1 to go under this area of Wellington so that the park is maintained without that busy busy highway. It is somewhat disturbing that in 2007 $11 million was originally allocated for the park and this project was under way under the former Labour Government with support from New Zealand First. However in 2009 most disappointingly the National Government axed the funding for the National War Memorial Park and put the whole project on ice. Again it was very disappointing to hear that that was perhaps attributable to differences in personal feelings towards the former Prime Minister rather than to what was in the interests of the nation and the people of New Zealand. It is a shame that petty politics became involved in what should have been a project of national significance. 
However the National Government has chosen to get it back on track this year. Unfortunately now it has to be done under urgency so it is probably going to be in a situation of having to be pressure-cooked through to get done in time for the 2015 Anzac Day commemorations of the 100th centenary of World War I. However I am sure that because of the goodwill on the part of all parties—apart from the Green Party which is not supporting this bill—to get this done it will be achieved. Likewise it has the support of the Wellington City Council the New Zealand Transport Agency and all the other various other agencies. It is most important that everyone does cooperate so that this can be done in a very timely manner. 
 This country owes a great debt to all those who died in the service of this country. This Chamber commemorates many of those battles and the names of many of those great battles and theatres of war are on the walls of this Chamber. Likewise New Zealand moving into the next 100 years will have a fitting National War Memorial Park in Wellington when this project is completed. New Zealand First is very much in support of that and of honouring all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for this country.