Tizard Judith: Auckland Domain (Auckland Tennis) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Tizard Judith: Auckland Domain (Auckland Tennis) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:643;Page:13308] 
Hon JUDITH TIZARD (Labour—Auckland Central) 
: 
 I move  
That the Auckland Domain (Auckland Tennis) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. 
 It is my pleasure as MP for Auckland Central to move this bill at the request of the Auckland City Council. The Auckland Domain (Auckland Tennis) Amendment Bill is a local bill that seeks to amend the Auckland Domain Act 1987. The Auckland Domain Act relates to the control management and use of the Auckland Domain. Under the Act Auckland City is able to lease certain parts of the Auckland Domain. The purpose of the bill before us is to amend that Act as it relates to the power of Auckland City to lease an area of the Auckland Domain to the Auckland Lawn Tennis Association Inc. 
In particular the bill seeks to update the reference to that body from Auckland Lawn Tennis Association Inc. to Auckland Tennis Inc.—as it is now known. It will also extend the term of lease that the Auckland City Council can grant Auckland Tennis from 21 years to 50 years. The bill will allow Auckland Tennis with the consent of the Auckland City Council to sublease that land and it will amend the legal description of the land that may be leased to Auckland Tennis to reflect the land it currently occupies. 
I would like to bring to the House’s attention the fact that as we go through each amendment to the Auckland Domain Act that we have seen in the last 10 or 15 years we have had to amend the boundaries each time because they are inaccurately described. So I recommend that the Local Government and Environment Committee look very carefully at that matter. As required by the Standing Orders at the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be considered by the Local Government and Environment Committee. 
Auckland Tennis is proposing to redevelop the facility it currently leases from the Auckland City Council. In order to proceed with that development Auckland Tennis requires the certainty provided by a lease term of 50 years rather than the current 21 years. Auckland Tennis also needs the ability to sublease the land to the proposed redeveloper as any sublease must be with the consent of and on terms acceptable to the Auckland City Council. 
After soccer and Formula One motor racing tennis has the third-highest annual spectator count of any sport worldwide. Of those three major global sports tennis is the only one that New Zealand hosts every year at the elite level. It is also one of the most popular sports amongst New Zealanders with over half a million New Zealanders actively playing tennis in the last year. Tennis NZ has coaching facilities as the headquarters of tennis across the Auckland region but the standout event is that every year in the first 2 weeks of January it hosts the ASB Classic WTA Tour women’s tournament and the ATP Heineken Open men’s tournament. These two major events are hosted at the ASB Tennis Centre in the Auckland Domain run by Auckland Tennis. To remain in this lucrative and important worldwide tennis circuit and retain these two events both these tournaments must meet circuit standards which are assessed and reported on each year. These standards include player facilities media facilities and spectator facilities. The facilities of a stadium that hosts tournaments are therefore extremely important. 
The only stadium that can host these tournaments in New Zealand is the present ASB Tennis Centre and the last major upgrade of the stadium took place 20 years ago when Auckland Tennis through its voluntary organisations and committee raised over $2.5 million. Although incremental improvements are made each year it is now important to significantly upgrade the stadium to maintain the international competitiveness of the tournaments. Auckland Tennis is not in a position to be able to fund the multimillion-dollar upgrade that will be required and therefore looked to find an investor that would make the project possible. It has found such an investor who will fund the upgrade in return for being able to operate part of the facility outside the international event dates. 
The reason for the proposed amendments to the current site lease terms for Auckland Tennis is to enable the stadium upgrade to proceed and thus to protect the hosting by New Zealand of two of the few remaining world sporting events that take place annually in New Zealand. No taxpayer or ratepayer money has gone into the capital development of the stadium which has been entirely developed through the efforts of Auckland Tennis and its many volunteers and users. Auckland Tennis will use the income it receives from the investor to upgrade the facilities currently enjoyed most of the year by the Auckland region and the Auckland public as well as by people from the rest of New Zealand. 
Auckland City Council has consulted all interested people on this bill which include other lessees of the Auckland Domain and the area tangata whenua Transit New Zealand in relation to roading the relevant Government departments and many other groups with an interest in matters relating to the Auckland Domain. I also note that Auckland City is facing an enormous increase in its resident population in the central business district and the proposal by Auckland Tennis will provide much better active and passive sporting facilities and open space for those people. The Auckland Domain is of course an absolute jewel in Auckland’s recreational crown. 
Under the bill there will be no automatic right for Auckland Tennis to be granted a lease and the granting of such a lease will be subject to the Auckland City Council’s leasing policy and any conditions that it will put on any lease. In addition the terms and conditions of any sublease by Auckland Tennis to the proposed developer will also be subject to the approval of the Auckland City Council and in both cases the council will undertake full consultation—as it has told me—before making any decision on any proposed lease or indeed sublease. 
This bill will establish a framework for significant investment in Auckland and in New Zealand’s sporting infrastructure because it is necessary to ensure that we can continue to host major tennis matches in Auckland and in New Zealand. It is I believe a major addition to the sporting infrastructure of New Zealand and of Auckland. It gives me great pleasure to commend this bill to the House. I thank all of those who have been consulted and I give the assurance that this bill will be sent to the Local Government and Environment Committee for positive consideration. Thank you.