King Colin: Environment Canterbury (Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management) Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee 
King Colin: Environment Canterbury (Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management) Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee 
[Volume:661;Page:9944] 
COLIN KING (National—Kaikoura) 
: 
 It is a privilege to be speaking on the Environment Canterbury(Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management) Bill. I speak from the point of view of the Kaikoura District Council and the Hurunui District Council and we applaud greatly the actions of the Minister Nick Smith. We are sick and tired of seeing the procrastination that has occurred over the last 20 years with no traction ever being gained. Canterbury should be thankful that the best people in this country are prepared to put their hands up and sort out the problems that Canterbury could not fix. In actual fact as a person who lived originally in North Canterbury and now dwells in Marlborough I can say that Canterbury could not organise a party in AMI Stadium. It has behaved like a dysfunctional family and the time wasting that has gone on is appalling. All the evidence points towards a dysfunctional Environment Canterbury and action needs to be taken. 
When we talk about Environment Canterbury we are talking about a massive amount of land from the Waitaki to the Takahanga straight up in Marlborough and it affects an enormous amount of water. It has an ability to contribute to the economy in a way that one cannot even imagine. It has been likened as we saw on television tonight to having the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand every year. New Zealand cannot afford to miss out on the opportunity. We hear the Opposition members on the other side of the House ranting and raving about their democratic rights being taken away. That happened only because of the dysfunctionality that has occurred. We need only look at the blog sites to see the conduct of some of the councillors on Environment Canterbury and the way they leak like a sieve—their collective responsibility did not happen. This bill will take us forward. It sits comfortably inside the theme of a brighter future for all New Zealanders. It is a leadership style that has been lacking under the previous Government and it has taken the Creech report to bring that to the fore. It is great to see the Minister for the Environment taking the appropriate action. 
The bill itself certainly puts in some structures. This correction which is long overdue has to be implemented speedily so that elections can take place by 2013. That is not an easy task to address but when we think of the candidates who have been put forward like Dame Margaret Bazley I think we are going for the very very top of ability and that should be wonderful. 
I conclude what I want to say by noting that the Hurunui district has for a long time had its long-term council community plan and in that it had a vision for the way it would manage the water in its region. That was completely stymied by the present system and it is good to see in the explanatory note of the bill that the bill “ensures that appropriate regard is given to the most recently expressed aspirations of the local community as reflected in the vision and principles of the Canterbury Water Management Strategy”. 
This bill is long overdue. We can appreciate why Labour never achieved anything; it never had the passion and the will and it has become very clear that to get anything over the line especially when we are looking at water and the Canterbury Water Management Strategy it takes 90 percent of the effort to get that last 10 percent. I am delighted that we have this bill. It is long overdue. There is so much we could say about it but it is important that we get it into law. So from that point of view I have great pleasure in supporting this bill at its first reading.