Fenton Darien: Hamilton City Council (Parana Park) Land Vesting Bill — In Committee 
Fenton Darien: Hamilton City Council (Parana Park) Land Vesting Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:670;Page:17089] 
DARIEN FENTON (Labour) 
: 
 Thank you for that clarification Mr Chairperson. We will certainly be careful about our contributions in the next little while. I am happy to take a call on clause 2 “Commencement” of the Hamilton City Council (Parana Park) Land Vesting Bill 2010 which states: “This Act comes into force on the day after the date on which it receives the Royal assent.” We have had a very interesting dissertation from my colleague Chris Hipkins about how this works. What we are really talking about here is the Governor-General who is the representative of the Queen in New Zealand. Right now we are going into a transition so it could be either the current Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand who has been an excellent Governor-General and has done a wonderful job as everybody in this Chamber agrees or it could be the newly announced Governor-General Jerry Mateparae who is also a wonderful choice. There is cross-party support for that choice and there are a lot of things to recommend that appointment. I want to recall quickly if I may— 
The CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy) 
: The member should come back on track. 
DARIEN FENTON 
: If I could just recall quickly in relation to commencement dates that my first year in Parliament was when we welcomed the then new Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand and I am now looking forward to welcoming the next Governor-General. 
If we are talking about the commencement date I agree with my colleague Iain Lees-Galloway that we want to see this come through as quickly as we can. 
Tim Macindoe 
: So why are you doing this? 
DARIEN FENTON 
: A lot of important dates for our country are ahead of us. The member has talked about those dates in relation to Parana Park. In this debate we have heard about what Parana Park delivers and what it is used for in Hamilton. Parana Park is used for things like a very important memorial service on Anzac Day. This year we have a very interesting situation around the commencement date and whether it will occur before Anzac Day. This year we have a coinciding situation with Anzac Day and Easter Monday and that is an issue. While I am talking about holidays may I say that I believe that the commencement date will come after the memorial service next Friday and the Opposition will support a public holiday for that. Other things are coming up too and whether they will come up before the commencement date is another question. 
Workers Memorial Day is 28 April. Opposition members may not have heard of this day but it is a very important day in New Zealand’s history and on the New Zealand calendar. It is when we recognise all the workers who have been killed or injured in their jobs. I suggest that 28 April this year will be a significant day not only in Christchurch and at Pike River but right across the country. I understand that there has been a request from unions in Hamilton to have a space across the river for Workers Memorial Day. I suggest that before the commencement date of this bill that might be something that could be considered so that we show our respect for the people who when going about their business—their jobs—are killed and injured. Unfortunately those numbers are increasing every year. As I said this year will be significant and I think members opposite should show their respect because 28 April this year will be a significant day. It will be a significant day in Hamilton Auckland Christchurch and on the West Coast. Right throughout the country there will be recognition— 
Simon Bridges 
: What’s that got to do with Parana Park? 
DARIEN FENTON 
: It has an awful lot to do with the commencement date. 
David Shearer 
: It’s celebrated in Parana Park. 
DARIEN FENTON 
: Yes that is right. 
Of course other things could happen either before or after the commencement date. There is the Rugby World Cup. Forgive me but I am not sure whether— 
Sue Moroney 
: It won’t be at Parana Park. 
DARIEN FENTON 
: It will not be at Parana Park but there must be something in Hamilton surely so people who are enjoying the Rugby World Cup will be able to take their children along to Parana Park and enjoy its wonderful— 
Jo Goodhew 
: I raise a point of order Mr Chairperson. I ask for some clarification from you about just how narrow you wanted the debate on the commencement date to be. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy) 
: Quite a bit narrower than it currently is. 
DARIEN FENTON 
: Of course there are other important dates. As we are talking about the commencement date we have the election date on 26 November this year. That is a very very important date. Will the commencement date be before or after the election? No one knows because of that clause.