Fenton Darien: Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeFenton Darien: Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 13 May 2014. Volume:698;Page:17778. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]DARIEN FENTON (Labour): I am very pleased to take a call in the third reading of the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Bill. I have followed this bill with some interest even though I was not on the Local Government and Environment Committee. That is because I think that most Kiwis and most people who live in this land believe that heritage is about our collective cultural memory. It is important to us all and it affects us all in different ways. It has been interesting to hear the contributions from members of the select committee. Overall from what I can see I think the committee did quite a good job.I understand the concerns about the local committees being abolished. I can understand that because I have been involved with local committees that have worked very hard to try to save something they see as part of their heritage whether it be in a small town or a suburb and so on. I hope that this bill does not mean that we will see the end of that kind of organisation where people gather and rally round to mark something that actually means something to them—their history their ancestors their whānau and so on.The only criticism I have with the select committee is that the bill was introduced before the 2011 election. It has taken some time. It is good to see it back in the House. Some listeners may be wondering why we are doing this 2 days before the Budget and why it is so important so I thought I would just try to expand a little bit about what the bill does and what it actually means to the places that I know in Auckland where I live. The purpose of the bill is “to promote the identification protection preservation and conservation of the historical and cultural heritage of New Zealand.” So I went looking for what that actually means. We have all been aware of battles over buildings and seen the destruction of buildings and the sad state of affairs in Christchurch where so many heritage buildings have been lost and where we have seen things torn down when they should not have been.There is quite a long list of New Zealand Historic Places Trust category I listings in the Auckland region. Other people I am sure can follow and look around and see what there is in their region. I have to say that there is a large number of churches. I suppose that that is to do with our colonial history whenPākehāpeople came to New Zealand and decided that they had to have churches everywhere and try to convert the natives. Some of those churches are indeed very very beautiful.We in Auckland are all familiar with the Auckland Civic Theatre for example. That is a magnificent piece of artwork. I always get a thrill going into that theatre. I remember as a child going in and seeing the Wurlitzer organ that it used to have in there which would come up before the movie started. The theatre has a great history in our city not only of movies but also as a place where people could go to dance and go to balls. Another one that I picked out is a place called Kinder House which is in Parnell. Kinder House was built by one of the early settlers. It is a stone building and it is quite beautiful. It is in Parnell. Why it is important to me is that it has a lot of artworks and books in it from the period of the time. Kinder House is also important to me because I have a partner who is an antiquarian book collector.Clare Curran: As well.DARIEN FENTON: As well. He is also a jazz collector. He is an antiquarian book collector and he was part of a group called Slightly Foxed (But Otherwise Fine) after the famous Ronald Searle bookSlightly Foxed But Still Desirable. This group collected antiquarian books and it used to meet at Kinder House. It still does I think but my partner has gone on to other things like jazz and music. It was a wonderful experience particularly for my young son to be in a historic building surrounded by art and booksand people who valued books and who put them within the context of heritage in many ways. So Kinder House is special to me.I also want to mention Alberton which is also a special place for all of us. It is a beautiful old building in Auckland and is famous for being the home of suffragettes so it is very special.Carol Beaumont: That is right—a very strong women’s history.DARIEN FENTON: It has a strong women’s history and certainly women I know in the Labour Party often recollect that history and meet there to celebrate it particularly around Women’s Suffrage Day.But there are also some interesting places. Our heritage is not just about beautiful buildings. When you cross the harbour bridge you see this big old orange building. That is the Chelsea sugar refinery. That has been there for quite a long time and has a wonderful history actually of people who performed the work and who should be celebrated for the work they do—and those who still actually work there. There is a wonderful poem from James K Baxter that came out of that place. The story is that James K Baxter went to work at the Chelsea sugar refinery and got the sack after not being there for very long. He wrote a rather unrefined poem to express his disgruntlement which if you bear with me I shall read:I had the job of hosing downThe hoick and sludge and gritFor the sweet grains of sugar dustThat had been lost in it …For all the sugar in the landGoes through that dismal dumpAnd all the drains run through the worksInto a filthy sump …Is that not quite wonderful? That is called the “Ballad of the Stonegut Sugar Works”. A copy of that is actually in the Chelsea sugar refinery library and the Birkenhead Library on the North Shore where I worked.There are some wonderful parts of our history in places where we like to visit and play. I am thinking here of North Head. If you have never been to North Head in Auckland I recommend that you do because it is a collection of artefacts from our war history. I think that is very very appropriate in this centenary year. It goes right back indeed to the 1800s when we thought there was going to be a Russian invasion so there were tunnels built. Remember the story about a plane being underneath North Head—a plane that was built by one of the very very early aviators—and it was hidden in one of the tunnels under North Head? People looked for it and put little things down to see whether they could see into it. But what it is now is a place of memories. It is a place that reminds us that we have been engaged in many wars in this country. We have been under threat in the past—in the First World War and the Second World War. It is a wonderful place to visit. It is a little old volcano on the tip of Devonport. It is a wonderful place to walk and play and I have spent many a wonderful time with my children and my family at North Head.I was also interested to see that the Northern Club is a historic place in Auckland. Why does the Northern Club ring a bell? Why does that ring a bell? OK we had something happen in the Northern Club quite recently as I recall. I am not going to lower the tone of this debate by referring to it but I found it very interesting that the Northern Club is there as well.There are many other places I could name but I know I am running out of time. What I want to say is what I said at the beginning. It is not just about buildings that arebeautiful and old it is also about our collective cultural history. And that can be an industrial site. It can be a place where people worked. It can be the Auckland waterfront which has managed to continue to keep the remnants of the work—the fishing boats and the rust and the red of the buildings—in a beautiful way. It can obviously be a beautiful piece of land that means something to us. It can bewāhi tapu. It can be a battle site from the many many wars that we saw in the early part of our history.I am really pleased to support this bill. I think it is an important bill albeit 2 days before the Budget. I am pleased that we are actually getting it through. I take on board the concerns that people have expressed about some of the changes but I do not believe for a minute that New Zealanders will stop fighting for our history and stop wanting to remember it and wanting to fight at a local level and a national level. So I am really pleased to have had the chance to speak on this bill.