Finlayson Christopher: Local Government (Auckland Transitional Provisions) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeFinlayson Christopher: Local Government (Auckland Transitional Provisions) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading[Sitting date: 17 November 2015. Volume:710;Page:8266. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Attorney-General): on behalf of theMinister for the Environment: I move That the Local Government (Auckland Transitional Provisions) Amendment Bill be now read a second time. The Local Government (Auckland Transitional Provisions) Act established the streamlined plan-making process including an independent hearings panel to hear submissions on the proposed plan. This is intended to result in faster delivery of a high-quality operative Auckland Unitary Plan. The Auckland Unitary Plan is critical to achieving the city’s proposed growth targets as well as planning land use critical infrastructure and housing supply.To recap briefly the purpose of the bill is to provide more flexibility to the Auckland Unitary Plan Independent Hearings Panel to help ensure that it can deliver its recommendations on the proposed Auckland Unitary Plan to the Auckland Council by the statutory deadline of 22 July 2016. The panel has made good progress. However hearings on site-specific matters which are of high public interest due to their impact on individual property rights are due to begin in January 2016. The panel has indicated that the expected increase in workload as a result of these hearings poses a risk to meeting the statutory deadline.It is critical that the hearings panel is able to continue its good progress and make recommendations to the council by the deadline. In order to achieve this the bill has three main components. First the bill reduces the quorum required for hearings sessions from three members to two members. Secondly it is going to allow an increase in the possible number of appointed hearings panel members from seven to 10 excluding the chair. Thirdly the bill will enable the hearings panel to make its recommendations on the proposed Auckland Unitary Plan in stages after hearings are completed on a particular topic rather than in one final report.To support these policy changes additional amendments are required. First the bill creates a requirement for the Minister for the Environment and the Minister of Conservation to consult with the Auckland Council the independent Māori Statutory Board and the chairperson of the hearings panel prior to appointing additional or replacement hearings panel members. Secondly the bill clarifies that the hearings panel may hold hearings sessions concurrently and that an additional chair may be appointed for the purposes of chairing a hearings session when the chair is unavailable due to their chairing a concurrent hearings session. The bill validates any hearings sessions that were held concurrently prior to this clarification being made. Finally the bill validates 28 February 2014 as the closing date for submissions on the proposed Auckland Unitary Plan.I should also say that there is a minor and technical amendment required to fix an error in the drafting of the principal Act relating to the procedural requirements—Chris Hipkins: Wouldn’t have happened if this Minister had drafted it.Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON: —for the filing of appeals on questions of law with the High Court. What was that?Chris Hipkins: Never would’ve happened if you’d drafted it.Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON: Well that is very kind of the member to say so. It would never happen in Wellington either because nothing ever happens in Wellington in terms of local government reform.Chris Hipkins: His chances in Rongotai aren’t looking any better now.Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON: Well that is a remarkably perceptive insight by the member from Rimutaka at 11.35 tonight.I want to reiterate that the first Auckland Unitary Plan is of national importance and the success of the submissions and hearings process is critical as it could set a precedent for similar planning approaches throughout the country; probably not in Wellington. I commend this bill to the House.