Tirikatene Rino: Southland District Council (Stewart Island/Rakiura Visitor Levy) Empowering Bill — Second Reading 
Tirikatene Rino: Southland District Council (Stewart Island/Rakiura Visitor Levy) Empowering Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:677;Page:709] 
RINO TIRIKATENE (Labour—Te Tai Tonga) 
: 
 I rise and I am very proud to speak in support of the second reading of the Southland District Council (Stewart Island/Rakiura Visitor Levy) Empowering Bill. I am also very proud to stand as the other local member for Rakiura with Stewart Island / Rakiura coming within the boundary of the massive electorate of Te Tai Tonga. I also acknowledge the member sponsoring this bill the member for Invercargill Eric Roy for his work in leading this bill to this stage. There has been quite a long whakapapa to this bill. As the other speakers have mentioned it has taken decades. But referring just to the bill itself— 
Hon Tau Henare 
: What’s it called again? 
RINO TIRIKATENE 
:—it came through to its first reading. It is the Southland District Council (Stewart Island/Rakiura Visitor Levy) Empowering Bill. The bill itself came through for its introduction on 26 May 2010 and then on 16 June 2010 it had its first reading. It has had some 20 months with the Local Government and Environment Committee and with the drafting with officials so it definitely has had a lot of attention put to its provisions.  
Sitting suspended from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. 
RINO TIRIKATENE 
: Tena koe Mr Assistant Speaker Robertson. Tena koutou e nga mema o te Whare. Picking up from where we left off the Southland District Council (Stewart Island/Rakiura Visitor Levy) Empowering Bill has had a long gestation period. There have been 20 months between its first reading and now coming back for its second reading. I have not been obviously a member of the Local Government and Environment Committee which was considering the bill but I understand having read through the bill as it has been amended that there has been considerable time and considerable amendments made to the bill. In spite of the length of time it has taken I do believe that the bill as it now appears has been improved. Definitely there are some very good elegant solutions put in place in the drafting of the legislation. 
To get to the crux of what the bill does it enables the Southland District Council to set visitor levies for and collect them from passengers travelling to Stewart Island / Rakiura. The visitor levy will be used to enhance services facilities and amenities provided for such people. Obviously this is a unique situation that has led to the introduction of this bill and it is really based around the unique situation of the Stewart Island / Rakiura community. There are only 200 ratepayers in the district and I think the total population is just a little over 420 so it is a very small population and rating base yet there is a growing demand and a growing tourism industry in such a beautiful place which has seen an increase of I believe over 30000 visitors annually to Rakiura. Also there has been a substantial increase in cruise ship visitors to the island. So in light of all of that it is impractical to demand that such a small ratepaying base provide all the amenities with such a high visitor population. So this bill provides a fair mechanism whereby the council can levy a reasonable levy. I understand there has been discussion that it will not be more than $5 or around that vicinity. So it is a small charge but it will mean the collection of additional funds that can go directly into the community to enhance and look after the amenities services and facilities for all of the visitors to the island.  
There were concerns raised I understand at the first reading around the fact that this could set a precedent for other tourist spots to follow. That has been addressed in this bill through making it a very specific focus that it specifically relates to the Southland District Council and specifically to Stewart Island / Rakiura. It does not have any wider implications and it is in recognition of the unique aspects and the issues that Rakiura faces as I have just mentioned previously. However as the local member who shares the Chatham Islands with the Hon Annette King I am aware that there are similar small communities that do face similar issues. They are not exactly the same as Stewart Island / Rakiura but the Chatham Islands is a very small community. It only has a very small rating base and it has a growing tourism industry. I know that there is a lot of emphasis being put on the Chatham Islanders to grow their tourism industry. The unique wildlife and birdlife and the beautiful scenery that is on both the Chatham Islands and Rakiura are world renowned. That will be one matter that I will be discussing with my colleague Annette King when we have further conversations with our constituents on the Chatham Islands and the Chatham Islands Council because in a way this bill is a model for a very unique situation and a unique community such as the Chatham Islands.  
This bill is a local solution to meet the growing infrastructure needs of Stewart Island / Rakiura and I have acknowledged the local member whom I share Rakiura with Eric Roy for being in charge of this bill. As I mentioned the bill has been substantially redrafted. Just looking through the pages practically the whole bill from its first reading has been overhauled to how it appears now in its amended form. It has been for the better. If I just go through a few of the clauses I particularly note clause 3 the purpose clause which has been very much refined in terms of the purpose of the bill. It says that “The purpose of the Act is to provide a mechanism for the Council to set and collect levies and obtain revenue from passengers travelling to Stewart Island/Rakiura”. It is fine tuned and very much hones in on the purpose of the bill when it becomes an Act. 
Also regarding the definition of “visitor” there has been a lot of thought that has gone into the drafting of this definition. It covers only visitors who are those persons who travel to or from the island whether for a single day or for any continuous period less than 21 days by any transport vessel. But there are a number of exclusions to the definition of “visitor”: ratepayers residents dependants of ratepayers and beneficiaries of the Rakiura Maori Land Trust. I would like to acknowledge the addition of the exclusion of the traditional landowners the Maori landowners of the Rakiura Maori Land Trust which is the second-biggest landowner on Rakiura. It is also well drafted to exclude the persons involved in carriage and transportation and long-term visitors of course. A good addition has been the omission of children those under 18 from the definition of visitor.  
All of those positive changes and really productive and very good drafting that have gone on as a result of all of the select committee’s review and amendments are to be commended and I look forward to speaking again when it gets to the Committee stage of the bill. Kia ora tatou. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Can I advise the member that under Speaker’s ruling 25/2 you must call. I cannot anticipate what you are going to say.