Dunne Peter: Game Animal Council Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeDunne Peter: Game Animal Council Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 19 November 2013. Volume:695;Page:14911. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon PETER DUNNE (Leader—United Future): Thank you to the member who has just resumed her seat Moana Mackey. I want to just acknowledge at the beginning of my contribution that this debate has been I think on the whole a very constructive one. There have been points of disagreement but largely they have been handled in a constructive way and I acknowledge that from all members. As the member intimated for me this is the end of a fairly long journey. It began before the 2005 election. In the 2005 confidence and supply agreement with the Labour Government United Future secured the establishment of the game animal review panel which was chaired by the Hon Margaret Austin and ended up recommending the establishment of the Game Animal Council. When the National Party came to power in 2008 we included in our confidence and supply agreement the provision to establish a special committee to pick up those recommendations and develop the council. In our 2011 agreement this legislation was concluded. So to finally be at the point where the bill is about to receive its third reading is the end of a remarkably long journey.A number of people have been involved along the way and I want to acknowledge immediately the worth of their contributions. I have already mentioned the Hon Margaret Austin who has been steadfast. I know from a message received from her this morning that she is extremely excited that her work is finally coming to its conclusion today. I want to acknowledge the work of Garry Ottmann and the members of the Game Animal Council Establishment Committee for a job extremely well done over a long period of time. I want to acknowledge the officials whose hearts have not always been in this bill but who have worked constructively to make sure that it was the best it could be and the Local Government and Environment Committee for the consideration that it gave as well.But there is one unsung hero of this bill whom I want to mention. His name is Hayden Cox. He was my ministerial assistant for a number of years and he worked on this piece of legislation as a labour of love for a very long time. I know that Hayden will be an extremely happy young man today to see that his work his dream his perseverance and his sheer determination have paid off in the passage of this bill. He will be joined in that pantheon of people to be acknowledged by Tim McCarthy and Bill O’Leary of the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association and in an earlier time Alec McIver and a number of other recreational interests around New Zealand. This is very much their day.I want to deal with one point that dominated the Committee of the whole House’s consideration of the bill and that I think is largely—with the greatest of respect to members opposite—a red herring. That is the matter that the previous speaker was referring to about the expansion of the ambit of the council by way of Supplementary Order Paper 395 which was passed by the Committee of the whole House. Let merepeat what I said at that point: when this bill was introduced for reason of issues related to the protection of property rights it related only to the conservation estate and obviously by definition that limited its scope to apply only to recreational hunters as they are the major users of the conservation estate in that regard. Once the bill had passed through the select committee there were strong representations made by a number of other groups with interests in land management tourism and hunting in its broader forms that they should now be brought under the ambit of this legislation not the least reason for which was the fact that the levy mechanism placed on trophies that the bill introduces would affect them as well.As the Associate Minister of Conversation at the time I received those submissions and I must confess to the House that I was at first a little sceptical. It did sound a little bit like johnny-come-latelys once the bill had been passed. I said to them: “If you come back to me with a document signed by all of the people who you claim support the inclusion of a wider definition I will be prepared to take the matter forward.” They did and the Supplementary Order Paper reflects that. I do not see that as sinister. I do not see that as changing the scope of the bill. In fact it broadens it. It makes it a much more inclusive platform. It makes the council I think a much more credible body. I note and I said this during the Committee of the whole House that Mr Ottmann has given a message this morning that the changes proposed are utterly consistent with the recommendations of the establishment committee. If one looks at the provisions of the bill regarding the membership of the council there is a specific statement there about recreational hunting. I do not accept although I understand why it has been made the criticism that we heard during the Committee of the whole House.One other point that has aroused some attention—and if I hear the Green Party correctly it has mainly been their point—is that the hitherto overarching role of the Department of Conservation in the management in this area is being diminished by the establishment of this council which will have its own responsibilities. I respect that we have a difference of opinion on this. I actually think that devolution is a good thing because you will have more stakeholders involved in the decision-making process greater commitment and the value that they espouse—of wanting to conserve a resource so that they can use the resource—can be given greater effect through this proposition.I am very happy today. I am very pleased to see this council come to fruition. I have great confidence in the future that lies ahead. I suspect actually from the tone of some of the debate opposite that members opposite are also quietly confident that this council will be successful. It is an important day for the hunting sector in New Zealand—recreational hunters as well as other hunters. It is an important day for all of those who value our outdoor heritage and their ability to have a say in its management and their ability to contribute to future policy developments. Congratulations to all who were involved in bringing the bill to this stage. I am very happy to let the debate proceed and for the vote to take place in due course.