Logie Jan: Christian Churches New Zealand Property Trust Board Empowering Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeLogie Jan: Christian Churches New Zealand Property Trust Board Empowering Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 06 April 2016. Volume:712;Page:10273. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]JAN LOGIE (Green): I am pleased to rise and take a short call—I do not think I will feel compelled to take the full 10 minutes—on the third reading of this bill. I have listened with some interest to the history and the stories that have been told in the House tonight and it is always nice when the House is in agreement on a bill and there is a sense of working together to solve problems. It is a novelty and it is a pleasant one.Christian Churches New Zealand began in Nelson in 1844—so I am adding my piece of history to everyone else’s—and a Church was opened the following year in Auckland and my understanding is that the movement grew significantly through the 19th century until the point where we now have 44 progressive Churches around the country. The Minister sponsoring this bill Minister Smith has spoken positively of the role of the Church in his community in Nelson and we also heard from the Hon Chester Borrows this evening about his upbringing noting that it works with youth and families providing very real and much-needed support as well as opportunity for spiritual enlargement or enlightenment as we have just heard now.The bill is a private bill that was introduced last year by the Hon Dr Nick Smith. It enables the repeal of the Associated Churches of Christ Church Property Act of 1929 enabling the dissolution of the Associated Churches of Christ Church Extension and Property Trust Board which means it will be able to transfer all the property powers and legal obligations of that trust board to a new charitable trust which is now called the Christian Churches New Zealand Property Trust Board. This bill gives that trust the legal power to do that and it will also deliver a more modern governance structure and give it more flexibility in how it uses its resources and delivers on its mission.I think it is important to acknowledge that Christian Churches New Zealand from a decision at its conference in 2013 asked Parliament to introduce this legislation and make these changes to enable it to be more flexible on the use of its property or the proceeds from the sale of that property because the existing Act on our statute book from 1929 gives an impression that the trust is restricted in the use of the money or proceeds from the sale of property only towards other property and the Churches want to be able to use it for other charitable Christian purposes. The Churches have met every year since 1905 in this country and continue to have annual conferences. It was at that conference that the Churches and the owners of these properties thoroughly debated and supported the changes that have now been through the Government Administration Committee process and are in front of the House.I personally do not really understand the historical context that required legislation to govern Church activity. I always thought you know rather baldly I guess that there was a separation between Church and State and that the business of a Church had no place in this House. But that was how things were done back then. There was legislation governing a whole range of organisations including some of our Churches. So that requires this Parliament to introduce legislation to repeal those Acts or to amend them which is what we are doing here. In my view it is not our job to make comment on the wishes of the Church. Our job is purely to consider the quality of the legislation and how it might interact with other legislation or in practice not to make comment on the intent or the delivery of the Church role. That is its business and it is not appropriate in my view for us to be commenting on that.Through the select committee process there were as has been mentioned only two submissions and there was not a huge amount of detailed discussion or dispute through the select committee process. I guess the most gnarly issue was about whether there should be a sunset clause to this bill to take the Act off the statute book all together and the decision was to not do that because there may well be people who have left provisions in their will to leave money or property indeed to the Church as it was known previously in the legislation and if a sunset clause were introduced that might mean that that money or property ended up in trust and not going towards the Church. That would defeat the purpose and again would not be something that Parliament or the Church would have intended. So the bill is as it is without that sunset clause and the Green Party is very happy to support it because it reflects the intention of the Churches and their desire to move forward. Thank you.