Muller Todd: Arts Centre of Christchurch Trust Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMuller Todd: Arts Centre of Christchurch Trust Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 01 April 2015. Volume:704;Page:2822. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]TODD MULLER (National—Bay of Plenty): It is with great pleasure that I stand and speak this afternoon on the Arts Centre of Christchurch Trust Bill. Can I perhaps start where the honourable member Ruth Dyson also began by acknowledging you Mr Assistant Speaker Mallard and your guidance of this House. You might not recall it but I have followed your political career with interest and indeed was involved in one of your earlier political meetings in Hamilton when I was a student.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Trevor Mallard): Primary school student?TODD MULLER: No not a primary school student.Phil Twyford: You don’t look old enough.TODD MULLER: Exactly. It was at Waikato University. We went to a march against your then Government and turned our backs whilst you were talking and chanted rude things. If I ever knew that one day you would be the Assistant Speaker and I would have to defer to your judgment I am sure I would have possibly yelled louder. It was very good to—Chris Hipkins: There are many of us still coming to grips with that idea.TODD MULLER: I am sure.Phil Twyford: It’s a difficult journey.TODD MULLER: It is a difficult journey.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Trevor Mallard): And I think the member will now get on with his speech rather than bring me into the debate.TODD MULLER: I take your guidance Mr Assistant Speaker. I do want to acknowledge the Hon Nicky Wagner. I think she clearly articulated her own passion for this project very well when she spoke earlier and as people have said and as members have said she has guided this through the process to date.I also do want to add my voice to the chorus of approval that we have heard from the other side for the chair of the Local Government and Environment Committee Mr Scott Simpson. I can only echo that. He is a tremendous chair and a tremendous local MP but in particular he has shown real flair and élan in respect of the way he is approaching his chairmanship of this committee. It allowed us of course to spend a good time as a select committee reflecting on the issues that were in front of us in respect of the Arts Centre of Christchurch Trust Bill.There has already been some commentary in respect of the extraordinary day we had in Christchurch a couple of months ago. The select committee obviously went down to hear the various submitters give their perspectives on this bill and as has been noted we then spent some time actually going and having a look at the Arts Centre precinct itself. I was hugely touched by that and moved by that experience. I had been there in a previous life actually. In fact I was feeling slightly concerned when I heard Megan Woods talk about all of her entertaining times at the Dux de Lux because I have had a few times there myself as part of a visiting University of Waikato sports team and I was wondering whether she might have even been at that bar at the very same time. I cannot recall it but perhaps that did occur. But it was a fantastic place then and obviously it is on quite an extraordinary journey of recovery.The other point that has been made here this afternoon that I do want to acknowledge is the extraordinary passion that the local people of Christchurch express when they talk about the Arts Centre and the opportunity that is in front of the city to rebuild. I guess I reflect as a local MP from the Bay of Plenty that obviously we do not have anything like that in Tauranga. We have more natural icons. Mount Maunganui—Mauao—is an example. I recall when that was devastated by fire a few years ago the incredible emotional reaction that occurred in our local community. I guess I can put that in only a small way to that same reaction. The people of Christchurch are hugely passionate about what it represents which is the heart of the city and they are ensuring that that heritage value is protected and rebuilt.As we have heard earlier from Scott Simpson our chair this is quite an investment that is being undertaken here. It is 7 years’ effort and $300 million of expenditure and I do want to acknowledge Jen Crawford the chair and André Lovatt the chief executive officer for their tireless commitment to work for the vision of rebuilding what is clearly an extraordinary cultural heart. Their passion for and commitment to this is quite extraordinary.As you walk around that site—speaking as somebody who is not from the area—you see the acute attention to detail. Every single one of those crumbled stone pieces is documented it is put on a particular pallet it is protected with wrap and it is waiting for its opportunity to be either rebuilt or used as an example so that a copy of it can be rebuilt by the incredibly talented people who are there.It was interesting to have just four submitters attending. I had thought that perhaps something with this degree of community interest in it might well have had more but it was clear that the submitters spoke in large alignment with each other and they certainly had a fair amount of support from the wider community.I think it is a great bill to support. It is very good to see bills like this come to this Chamber with cross-party support. It is sensible legislation and there is an opportunity to progress something that is going to work for the community of Canterbury.I do want to take a moment to reflect on one of the amendments that is required under this change and that is a move from a stakeholder-representative board to a skill-based board. I think that is laudable. I think it is absolutely appropriate to be considered. I think it was very appropriate that the community ensured that that change had broad stakeholder support and I note that the University of Canterbury the Christchurch City Council Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga the Christchurch Civic Trust and Papatipu Rūnanga of Canterbury are examples of the stakeholders that have been consulted.I think it is very important though that that engagement with the stakeholders does not cease here. Clearly there is now a significant power and influence that will be passed to this new trust governance group. It is appropriate that a different mix of skills is required to be able to take it forward for the next 10 15 20 or 30 years. But that trust board must never forget from whence it has come in terms of the broad community stakeholder engagement and the representation on the trust to date and in terms of what is important to have still influencing the perspectives of that new skills-based board.I do hope that the nominations that come forward for that board are appropriately global in scope. I have no experience in arts council governance but I have had some experience in governance and senior management in previous roles before entering here. We always I think have a bias to be very local at times parochial regional and at best national only in terms of the perspectives we bring to the table. For me it is really important that the skill sets that are sought to represent the community and this trust board are as global as possible because as we heard from some of the submitters if you have an objective to be able to promote not only the acknowledgment of good heritage and phenomenal art and culture but also education you need to make sure that the most modern approaches of engaging with communities and making them feel part of their history are adopted. Sometimes those best practices do not necessarily come from within. You need to have more global representatives sitting around the table.I do think it was very positive that the change agreed was that we would have the conservation plan available at annual general meetings. I thought it was slightly surprising but perhaps reflective of a more representative governance model that that conservation plan had not been reviewed for a number of years. I think the idea now of having that available at every annual general meeting is going to drive a more frequent refreshment of that plan. I think it is in many ways the soul if you like of the Arts Centre of Christchurch Trust to ensure that that continues to be available to the public that it is updated as necessary and that stakeholder engagement is part of it. I think it is very important that this legislation does lock those objectives into legislation. It provides as the member Scott Simpson said a security and stability for the community going forward.This is a really positive bill. It reflects a wide community endeavour. It is a very very expensive community endeavour but I am very sure that at the end of this when we finally get through to the third reading and we have the approval of this House we will have a platform provided for the community of Canterbury that will see it into the future. Thank you.