Woods Megan: Environment Canterbury (Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Woods Megan: Environment Canterbury (Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
[Sitting date: 13 February 2013. Volume:687;Page:7821. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Dr MEGAN WOODS (Labour—Wigram) 
: 
 I find it to be a shameful day to be standing in this House as we move another step closer towards robbing Cantabrians of their democratic rights. I do not think it is something that anybody in this House should be proud of. I am a proud Cantabrian and it saddens me that I am standing in a Parliament that is willing to infringe my democratic rights the democratic rights of the people whom I represent and the democratic rights of the people whom I share a province with. 
Until 2010 I guess like many people I took for granted my right to vote. I do not any longer. I believed that in this country we believed in notions such as having no taxation without representation. I believed that if we were not happy with what elected members were doing there was one way to change that and that was through a ballot box. But I no longer believe this because I have lived through watching the democratic rights of myself my constituents and my fellow Cantabrians being systematically robbed over the last 3 years. 
I want to acknowledge Eugenie Sage a member of this House who was an elected member of the sacked council in 2010. I also want to acknowledge a former member of that regional council the chair of the Local Government and Environment Committee Nicky Wagner who unfortunately is overseeing this process of stripping Cantabrians of their elected rights. 
For National members to stand opposite us and take their paltry calls where they will not even defend something as fundamental as taking away democratic rights and glibly claim that Cantabrians support this is simply wrong. I can tell you that Cantabrians do not support this legislation. Ninety of the 95 submissions to the select committee opposed this legislation the Environment Canterbury (Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management) Amendment Bill. Submitter after submitter appeared before us. Colleagues who have spoken before me have gone through some of those submissions and I will come back to some of them. 
The Christchurch  
Press 
 on 5 November last year—5 November of course being Guy Fawkes Day and a reasonably apt day to be talking about democracy and what happens to Parliaments that try to rob their citizens of that—attacked the decisions that this Government was making in terms of the rights of Cantabrians and their rights to vote and the backtrack of this Government on those rights. Let us not forget that when Nick Smith as the Minister of Local Government originally took away Cantabrians’ rights to vote he assured us that we would have our right to vote back for the local body elections in 2013. Do we? No we do not. 
As my colleague Clayton Cosgrove has suggested Nicky Wagner as the member for Christchurch Central throughout this year is going to have to defend that decision to the people of Christchurch Central. She is going to have to defend the fact that she has chaired a select committee that is taking away the rights of the people of Christchurch and the people of Canterbury to vote. She will have to tell us why it is that Nick Smith originally stood up and said: “whatever the circumstances the next regional council elections in Canterbury will take place no later than those scheduled for late 2013.” Well that is not to be the case and Ms Wagner owes the people of Christchurch Central the people of Christchurch and the people of Canterbury an explanation for that. 
The Christchurch  
Press 
 in that editorial was moved to say that the fact that it was having to get information about this through the Official Information Act process was “another example of a post-quake arrogance that has crept into the way some of our Cabinet ministers are operating. The public of Canterbury should not have to go through Official Information Act channels to get Adams and Carter to tell them what is going on in their own region. As with Finance Minister Bill English’s extraordinary comments about the Christchurch City Council’s finances it is another example of being told something but given no evidence to back it up.” 
This is what the people of Christchurch and the people of Canterbury are feeling. They are feeling that this is a Government that is riding roughshod over their rights. It has taken away their right to vote. It has not listened to what they want for education in their communities. We await the Minister of Education’s announcements on Monday the 18th with great hope actually that the Minister will have listened to the schools and the communities and the teachers and the students about what they see as the best results for education in their communities. 
We heard from the Law Society that this legislation is a mistake and that it should not proceed. We heard from the human rights commissioner about how bad this legislation is in terms of the rights of the people of Canterbury. This was truly shocking to sit through and listen to. When hearings were held in Christchurch tempers flared. The committee had to stop because Cantabrians who came to put in their submissions got so angered about what this Government is doing to their democratic rights. So for members to sit opposite and pretend that Cantabrians support this is simply hiding from the reality. 
We have heard a great deal of what august bodies feel about this legislation but there is one submission that I want to enter into the  
Hansard  
and spend some time on. It is a submission from James Adams who is 14 years old lives in my electorate and attends Hillmorton High School. I found this a very moving submission to read. I was also very saddened that a 14-year-old growing up in the electorate that I represent has had to put these words on a piece of paper. He wrote in his submission: “When we think of the concept [of] democracy we tend to think about elections casting votes and the funny orange man. Yet that’s not all there is to a democracy. There must be independent courts so that if citizens feel abused or unhappy about something there’s a proper process to go through to sort things out. The people in the democracy must not be afraid to speak out and they must be able to use the media to share their opinions. The leaders have a role in consulting with the people to find out what they want between elections. Sometimes it’s more useful to define something by its opposite or what it isn’t. Democracy isn’t where a small group of people grab all the power and do what they like with it.” Well I am very sorry to have to tell James as his local member of Parliament that this is exactly what the Government that is elected in this country is doing to the people of Canterbury and it is simply not good enough. 
James carries on in his submission: “Basically this bill refuses Cantabrians the right to vote in regional council elections. It removes our right to take legislation to the environment court. In general this bill allows the Government to grab all the power and do what they like with it.” But James does not finish there. James has a very good understanding of what this Government is doing to his city his future and his rights as a citizen of that city and this country. James carries on: “I believe that this legislation shows is a lack of trust. The Government doesn’t seem to trust Cantabrians in case the council which we elect does not have the same agenda as the Government’s. The Government does not trust Cantabrians to make decisions about Canterbury.” Well James you are spot on. This is a Government that does not trust Cantabrians to make decisions about Canterbury. 
But James does say: “Well the people of Canterbury will soon have no trust in the Government if they continue to deceive the public … I am appalled at this unprecedented dismissal of democracy in Canterbury. If we are to rise to the challenge that the earthquakes pose if we are to manage our water fairly for the benefit of all then we will need leadership at Ecan that is constructive strong fair and most importantly democratic.” 
I am proud to represent this young man and the family the school and the community that have produced him. I hope that members opposite listen to this. I hope that members opposite will trust Cantabrians to make decisions about Canterbury. I hope that James can one day have faith that a Government is not there just to grab power for itself but to adhere to basic democratic principles. And I have great hope for James that that will be the case. We hear all kinds of lamenting of the lack of engagement of young people in politics. Well here is a young man in my electorate whom I want listened to who understands what democracy is— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch) 
: I am sorry to interrupt the honourable member her time has expired.