Adams Amy: Urgent Debates — Schools Canterbury—Proposed Closures and Mergers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Adams Amy: Urgent Debates — Schools Canterbury—Proposed Closures and Mergers 
[Sitting date: 18 September 2012. Volume:684;Page:5294. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon AMY ADAMS (Minister for the Environment) 
: 
 I am pleased that we have had the chance to have this debate in the House today actually because for one I am getting heartily tired of all the misinformation scaremongering and drivel coming from stirrers in the Opposition parties and certain other interest groups in this sector. Like my colleague who has just resumed her seat Kate Wilkinson it is pretty hard to sit in this House and hear speaker after speaker from the Opposition benches who do not come from Canterbury and who are not living with the situation stand up and frankly patronise the people of Canterbury and those of us who are working very hard to try not only to repair and rebuild what we have but also to take the opportunity that this horrible horrible set of circumstances has given us and promise the people of Canterbury not just to put back what we had but to build something far far better. 
The earthquakes changed our lives and they changed our landscape. There is no question about that. We all know that the difficulties did not end with the Portaloos the liquefaction and the demolition. These difficulties are real we are living them every day and they will continue while we go through this rebuild period. But the one thing that we hold on to—the one thing that makes this bearable for us in Canterbury—is that we have a vision of a city that we are going to get from this process. We are going to have the best small city in the world as Minister Brownlee has told us. The people of Selwyn and Waimakariri who share in the future of Christchurch City know that and the people of Christchurch know that. The opportunity for us now is to take this terrible tragedy that has happened to us and build from it and to offer our citizens the chance not just to go back to what we had but to build something far far better. That is what my colleague Minister Parata has been working at ever since she took the portfolio and before her Minister Tolley.  
I have sat in numerous meetings where I have heard Opposition members and stakeholder groups complain that it was all taking too long and that what our community wants is answers. So what did Ms Parata and Minister Brownlee announce last week? Well first and foremost they announced a billion-dollar investment into education in Canterbury—a billion-dollar investment. They announced that 173 of the 215 schools could get on with some certainty. Let us not forget that. I have had a number of emails from principals in my electorate thanking us for that. One principal emailed me last week and said he wanted to pass on his thanks. He said it was a landmark day for his school and his community and that finally getting word that the rebuild would be happening in the immediate future was truly amazing; it was unbelievable. Another has emailed me to say that the news that the school was going to be repaired was received with great relief and celebration.  
I am not saying this to diminish the difficulties for the 20-odd schools that are in a period of uncertainty. I do not want to diminish that for a minute. I know those communities will find this very tough to work through and we are going to be helping them every step of the way. But let us remember that these are proposals. They are proposals. At some point you have to come up with a set of ideas you have to talk to the community about them and if the community thinks there is a better way of dealing with the challenges we face then of course we will listen to that. 
Let us reflect on a couple of things in this. As well as the 173 schools that have had their futures confirmed 40 of them can get on with fast-track rebuilding projects and 23 school pools will be repaired in time for the summer season. We have got two brand new schools immediately green-lighted—one in Pegasus and one in Rolleston—and we have a major expansion green-lighted straight away in Halswell. In my own community I know the schools of Greenpark of Burnham of Yaldhurst of Duvauchelle of Okains Bay and of Le Bons Bay do face change although I acknowledge that Le Bons Bay School has actually requested that change so we have to accept that. To hear— 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: Burnham? 
Hon AMY ADAMS 
: —I said Burnham Mr Cosgrove if you were listening—speakers in this House suggest that it should be limited to only schools that have had massive earthquake damage is simply wrong. These schools face earthquake damage they face population loss they face earthquake strengthening they face leaky building issues and they face some of them other education challenges. We have to look at all of these matters before we spend a considerable investment of taxpayers’ money and make sure that we are spending it for the best future for the children of New Zealand. That is not going back and repairing old schools in communities with populations that are dropping. It is saying: what is the best thing that we can do for our children? Here is a proposal. We want those communities to come and talk to us. 
I congratulate Minister Parata. I note that not one speaker in this House who has criticised her has come up with any better way that something of this magnitude and this challenge could have been handled.