Lees-Galloway Iain: Hamilton City Council (Parana Park) Land Vesting Bill — In Committee 
Lees-Galloway Iain: Hamilton City Council (Parana Park) Land Vesting Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:670;Page:17102] 
IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY (Labour—Palmerston North) 
: 
 I appreciate the opportunity to take a call but I have to say I am surprised I did not see any of the Government members on their feet seeking to take a call particularly the Hon Tau Henare who has made such a lot of noise from the other side of the Chamber. He has wanted to hear all of the different perspectives. He wanted to hear the Maori perspective. He could have got up on his feet and given us his perspective but he preferred not to—I will take that glass of water if the member wants to bring it over. He has nothing to say but he will bring me a glass of water; he is a gentleman and I thank him very much. 
Clause 5 as my colleague Sue Moroney has said is somewhat like the purpose clause: it really gets to the heart of what the Hamilton City Council (Parana Park) Land Vesting Bill is about. It puts to rest once and for all the last will and testament of George Parr. But that is not to say by any stretch of the imagination that this legislation would in any way upset Mr Parr or annoy Mr Parr because it is a continuation of his legacy. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: How can you upset him? How’s that possible? 
IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY 
: Mr Tau Henare has asked how that is possible. I said that it would not. If George Parr were still with us today he would not be upset by this legislation because he unlike this Government—unlike those members on that side of the Chamber who are making so much noise— 
Hon Members 
: Had a plan. 
IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY 
: That is exactly right; George Parr had a plan. He wanted to see New Zealand going forward. He had a plan for the economy in New Zealand and he had a plan for New Zealand society as well because he was a visionary. Economically he wanted to see passenger rail services between Hamilton and Auckland. I would love to know when he was advocating for that but I bet it was around the turn of the 20th century. Here we are in the 21st century and the National Government still does not want to see that plan go ahead because it has no plan for the economy in New Zealand. 
Mr Parr also wanted to see the water from the Waikato River being linked to Waiuku. Waiuku actually is the town where I grew up. It would have been very useful if Waiuku had had that link for a water supply from the Waikato River back when George Parr was advocating for it. There was a man with a plan. There was some vision—the kind of vision that sadly is absolutely lacking from the members opposite who are barracking and making so much noise on the Government benches tonight. 
George Parr did not just have a plan for the economy; he had a plan for his society as well. He wanted to give back to his community. He was a man who was interested in his community which is why he gave the land in Parana Park back to the community—so that it was a public asset that the public would be able to enjoy. It was not to be hocked off to some foreign investment company; it was there for the public of Hamilton to enjoy. 
Not only was that the case but George Parr had an interest in children’s health and well-being because he set up a children’s convalescent home at Parana Park. There was a man who wanted to see good things happening in his community. He did not want to see front-line health services cut. No he did not. He wanted to put a children’s convalescent home in the park. Mr Bennett is indicating that I need to get back to the legislation but I tell him that this has everything to do with the bill because this is what George Parr wanted to see happen. We are changing the use of the land that George Parr gave back to the community so we need to talk about what George Parr wanted to see happen. He was a man who wanted to see good-quality front-line health services for his community. 
George Parr was not out of touch with ordinary Kiwis in the way that this Government is. This Government is completely out of touch. He wanted to support ordinary Kiwis who were struggling to make ends meet and he did that by providing an asset that everybody was able to use. Would this Government do that? No way—no way! That is not the way this Government operates. Its members would not have touched that with a bargepole because this Government is not working for us. It is not working for normal New Zealanders; it is working for its mates and foreign interests—the people it would have sold this land to if it had had the chance. That is what this Government is about and George Parr would not have wanted to touch that with a bargepole. He would not have had a bar of it. 
George Parr was a man who wanted to see his success as a Waikato farmer shared with the community and that is why he vested this land in his community and handed it over to the Hamilton City Council. This legislation solidifies that. It makes sure that George Parr’s legacy will be respected and honoured by the people of Hamilton.