Goldsmith Paul: Environment Canterbury (Democracy Restoration) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Goldsmith Paul: Environment Canterbury (Democracy Restoration) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 04 April 2012. Volume:679;Page:1713. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) 
: 
 I rise to speak against this bill the Environment Canterbury (Democracy Restoration) Amendment Bill I am sorry to say. The threshold for intervention in the affairs of local government is necessarily very high and very rare. It is considered only at times of serious failure and mismanagement and that indeed is what we had with Environment Canterbury over 19 years not successfully coming up with a water plan. Canterbury’s 10 mayors—it is worth remembering 10 mayors and councils were unanimous in their support for the findings of the review group. The Government intervened because the council had failed to effectively manage Canterbury’s fresh water which is a crucial resource. Let us not forget that. It did not have a fully operative regional planning and policy framework in place for resource management and that resulted in an ad hoc and unsatisfactory arrangement for managing fresh water. There was an enormous and unprecedented gap between what needed to be done to effectively manage Canterbury’s fresh water and Environment Canterbury’s ability to do so.  
It was on that basis that the Government made this rather unusual step to move as we did and put in those three commissioners. Dame Margaret Bazley is arguably New Zealand’s most respected public servant and problem solver and she has shown over the last year the wealth of experience in management and governance that she has in large organisations. David Caygill is of course an ex-colleague of members on the other side of the House. David Bedford is the chair of Enterprise North Canterbury. What progress they have made over the course of a year! It has been astonishing. The people of Canterbury had been let down by Environment Canterbury and now after just 1 year the commissioners have put a plan in place. We are very proud as the National Government to have been able to take action and to deliver on a promise to fast track a water plan for Canterbury.  
The completion of the Canterbury natural resources regional plan last year was a major step forward for Canterbury meaning that it now has an operational water plan. It is all the more important after the devastating earthquakes that we had that we have a guide in place that will help Canterbury’s economic recovery by developing the region’s natural resources while protecting our natural environment. The plan covers as we have seen water quality and quantity the beds and margins of lakes rivers and wetlands groundwater and soil conservation. It involves different trade-offs between the environment and development. It will be refined in a way that is responsive to the zone committees’ work under the Canterbury Water Management Strategy.  
Calling for an election now as this bill indicates would simply be going back to the beginning again. If regional elections had been the answer Canterbury would not have had a water problem such as it had for so long. So National tackled a dysfunctional regional council and completed a resource plan. I am very pleased that we have also adopted a good clean-up plan for Te Waihora / Lake Ellesmere and that we have advanced the work on the water management strategy.  
Just briefly I can update the House on progress on that Canterbury Water Management Strategy. It is well advanced with all 10 zone committees and the regional committee appointed. All implementation programmes are either developed or have been received by the regional council and relevant territorial authorities and are out for consultation. Seven zones have issued their draft reports for consultation. Some of the earlier programmes are now being actioned. Finally the collaborative model of the 10 zone committees and the regional committee has proven to be very effective.  
I oppose this bill. We think the approach that has been taken by National to rein in what was a dysfunctional council and put in commissioners has worked very effectively and will continue to do so for the interim period. Thank you.