Clark David: Waitaki District Council Reserves and Other Land Empowering Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Clark David: Waitaki District Council Reserves and Other Land Empowering Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 13 June 2012. Volume:680;Page:2948. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Dr DAVID CLARK (Labour—Dunedin North) 
: 
 I think the member who has just taken his seat Nick Smith has demonstrated clearly that he has not been following the debate so far. Many of the points he accused us of not covering were covered very eloquently by my colleague Phil Twyford earlier in the debate. I shall come further to the matter of asset sales which he raised as I continue.  
This issue of Forrester Heights is an issue of concern for many locals and that is why we in the Labour Party are keeping a close eye on it. The question of whether it is properly reserve land or endowment land is a live question as my colleague the Hon David Parker alluded to earlier. The Waitaki ratepayers and concerned citizens and various other folks in the community there want to make sure that the right decisions are made and who can blame them? We have asked for local democracy and this is local democracy in action. There are many locals in Oamaru who believe that in the 19th century the land was made a reserve for all time—that sheep grazed on it that it was there as a reserve and that it was not endowment land. We will hear this debated at the select committee—and Labour will support the bill’s referral to the select committee to hear this bill debated—because it is a live issue. It is contentious in the local community.  
There is an ongoing dispute about whether or not an error occurred—it is not even completely clear that an error occurred—and about whether or not this land should therefore fall under the Reserves Act. Those people who are upset say that the council has refused to provide evidence of the error the Crown allegedly made. If this is true it is of concern indeed. This should be a transparent process and I have little doubt that it will be a transparent process once it gets to the select committee but these are contentious issues.  
It is also alleged that the council granted itself a consent without a full public consenting process. Again locals are niggly about this. They feel that again they deserve full transparency in these processes and they question whether consenting done in this way is lawful. So there are some in the community who suggest it may be advisable that an independent commissioner be appointed to examine the council’s granting of consents to itself. These kinds of suggestions show the strength of feeling in the community and that is why we should have this full debate at the select committee.  
We understand that Ngai Tahu supports this changing of the status of the land to clarify it as endowment land if indeed that is the right thing to do but it is also true that Waitaha have concerns about this land. Those concerns are yet to be aired and they will I am sure also be aired in the select committee.  
We know the history of the bill or some members have alluded to it. The changes in this piece of legislation were previously contained in the Reserves and Other Lands Disposal Bill which currently languishes at No. 29 on the Order Paper. It is not progressing. But the select committee process should progress this matter and bring it to a fruitful conclusion.  
I would encourage the select committee to consider going down to Oamaru and seeing the fine sights down there— 
Jacqui Dean 
: Oh wonderful idea.  
Dr DAVID CLARK 
: —visiting the local opera house and I am sure the local member will make the committee members feel at home. It is a fabulous part of the country and when Labour took the Waitaki River plan legislation through the select committee process it made absolutely sure that the select committee went down to Oamaru— 
Phil Twyford 
: There was a very good MP then.  
Dr DAVID CLARK 
: —there was a good MP locally then the Hon David Parker—because Labour believes in having good local consultation. I would encourage the select committee to follow that model to get down and speak to the people in Oamaru and to make sure that all those local views are taken into consideration.  
On the matter of asset sales as we close Dr Nick Smith mentioned asset sales. Well there is feeling about these assets. There is concern that there is a potential here to privatise things that should not be privatised. We think that sunlight will be a great disinfectant here. These things should be examined. They should be looked at. Members of the local community—those I have spoken to—are indeed concerned about asset sales and I would encourage them to get down to Dunedin this coming Saturday to the march that will leave the dental school at 11 a.m. to express their discontent with the Government which wants to sell the assets. But in Oamaru if the select committee comes down they will have their say on this issue as well.