Palmerston North Showgrounds Act Repeal Bill — Second Reading 
Palmerston North Showgrounds Act Repeal Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:657;Page:6813] 
Palmerston North Showgrounds Act Repeal Bill 
Second Reading 
IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY (Labour—Palmerston North) 
: 
 I move  
That the Palmerston North Showgrounds Act Repeal Bill be now read a second time 
. It gives me a lot of pleasure to pick up the baton on this legislation from my predecessor the Hon Steve Maharey who did a lot of work in bringing this bill to the House and seeing it through to the select committee. It is a piece of legislation that Mr Maharey described as a modest bill. I prefer to think of it as efficient. There are not too many things that are modest that come out of Palmerston North. A cursory glance at the list of my predecessors would attest to that I should think. 
Of course Palmerston North has very much to be immodest about. There is Massey University which has campuses—everywhere it seems these days—in Mr Power’s electorate and in Palmerston North as well; Centrepoint theatre one of the few working professional theatres in a provincial city; a standard of living that I am quite sure is unsurpassed by any other city in New Zealand; and the glorious sight of the sun rising over the Tararua Ranges as the blades of the wind farm turbines whirl below. One of the showpieces in Palmerston North is of course the showgrounds which are also known as Arena Manawatu. On the weekend just gone I was at Arena Manawatu with about 8500 other people from the Manawatu and Palmerston North watching the Manawatu Turbos who sadly went down to Northland. The Turbos have had their most successful season so far by quite some stretch and they have been doing very well. Sadly the team did not quite make it against Northland last weekend but it is heading over to Hawke’s Bay to take on the Magpies next weekend and I look forward to heading over to Napier to watch that match. 
From the first reading of this bill I note that Chris Tremain compared the mood of the House on this bill to the mood of Manawatu and Hawke’s Bay rugby. It was interesting that so many National Party members who were in Opposition at the time chose to speak on this bill. I do not know what it was about Palmerston North that day that those members were so keen to recount their affinity with it. Perhaps today given the amount of time we have on our hands many of the Government members might decide to get up and say something about this bill as it might look slightly odd if the House rises as early as this today given that we will be back late tomorrow night. 
 The bill essentially does three things. Firstly it provides for the transfer of the management and control of the land that comprises the Palmerston North Showgrounds from the Palmerston North Showgrounds Board of Control to the Palmerston North City Council. Secondly it allows for the dissolution of the Palmerston North Showgrounds Board of Control. Thirdly it repeals the Palmerston North Showgrounds Act 1974. The Act enabled the Manawatu and West Coast Agricultural and Pastoral Association to dispose of the showgrounds to the Palmerston North City Council as a recreation reserve and constituted the Palmerston North Showgrounds Board of Control for the management and control of the land as a recreation reserve. The 1974 Act resulted from a deed of agreement between the parties under which the city council would develop and improve the showgrounds and they would be available to the A and P society to be used as showgrounds on a number of days each year. The A and P society no longer requires the use of the showgrounds seeing as the A and P show has headed over to Feilding. The board of control now wishes to dissolve and transfer its rights assets and liabilities to the city council. 
The bill went to the Local Government and Environment Committee which returned it with no amendments. I thank the members and chair of the committee for their work. One issue that was raised—and I note that Te Ururoa Flavell raised the issue in the first reading of the bill—was the status of the land in relation to Ngati Kauwhata’s Treaty claims in the Palmerston North area. It is great to see the chair of the committee in the Chamber this afternoon. I am very pleased to see that the select committee has come to the conclusion that the transfer of the land will have no bearing whatsoever on the claim. Essentially the land as it is at the moment would be inaccessible to such a claim. That will continue to be the case. Hopefully that will satisfy Ngati Kauwhata in their concerns and allow us to push ahead with this as I said very efficient small bill to tidy up some loose ends. 
I know that a number of staff at the Palmerston North City Council will be very pleased to see the bill progressing. They will have to think of a new first thing to say to me when they see me in Palmerston North rather than asking how far the bill is getting through. It is a very great pleasure to see it moving on. I certainly commend the bill to the House. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Rick Barker) 
: I call the member for Rangitikei the Hon Simon Power. 
Hon SIMON POWER (Minister of Justice) 
: 
 Thank you Mr Speaker for that nice addition to my introduction. I appreciate my electorate being recognised from time to time. In the old days members were recognised only by their electorate name. Would it not be interesting to go back to those days? 
The Palmerston North Showgrounds Act Repeal Bill as Iain Lees-Galloway the MP for Palmerston North has indicated is a bill that has merit and should be progressed quickly and swiftly through the House. I am advised by the senior Government whip that so meritorious is the legislation that we will not be delaying its passage in any way shape or form following my contribution today. We are keen to see the matter moving. I give a slight nod in the direction of Mr Lees-Galloway’s predecessor the Hon Steve Maharey whom I spent many hours with in this House debating a variety of legislation. This bill is one of those pieces of legislation on which we agreed. If members check  
Hansard 
 and the first reading debate of the bill they will find that both the Hon Steve Maharey and I had only very short contributions to make in respect of the bill largely because it was one of the rare occasions when we agreed on legislation in such a concerted way. 
Iain Lees-Galloway 
: I’m sure there were plenty of times where that happened. 
Hon SIMON POWER 
: It is true that we agreed on many other things—in fact most things—but when it came to legislation this place being what it is that was not always the case in the House. Now that Mr Lees-Galloway has seen the necessity to lift the bill in the way it deserves and to pursue its passage through the House he can be assured of the Government’s support on the matter and on making some real progress today. 
I recall as a young lad in the Palmerston North area spending some time at the showgrounds either playing rugby or in latter years refereeing rugby. I spent time at what was from time to time the A and P show. The show has fluctuated in its capacity to draw numbers over the years but it is fair to say that it remains a crowd favourite when it is in town. 
The legalities surrounding this bill are pretty straightforward. Mr Lees-Galloway has outlined them. He has also quite rightly in my view addressed the matters that were raised in respect of Ngati Kauwhata’s concerns about the bill at its first reading. In fact if my memory serves me I think the Green Party may have voted against the bill at its first reading. 
Dr Kennedy Graham 
: No. 
Hon SIMON POWER 
: It did not. Well it certainly indicated that it was concerned about that particular issue. On that basis I am sure that the Green Party like members on this side of the House will be pleased that the issue has been resolved. 
Some of the most exciting things that are going on around the Palmerston North area include those at the Palmerston North Showgrounds but I cannot let the opportunity pass without saying that Manfeild Park which is being developed in the Feilding area will prove to be a very big drawcard for many of the events that would have historically found themselves at the Palmerston North Showgrounds. I am sure that members on the other side of the House will agree with this because although they are not usually fans of competition in this context I think they will agree that competition is a good thing. The important thing for those who are not familiar with that territory to realise is that the capacity for the wider region what we would broadly describe as the Manawatu-Rangitikei catchment to draw people to the region through high-class facilities such as the showgrounds and Manfeild Park can be only for the betterment of the entire region.  
I think Mr Lees-Galloway has gone some small way today to filling the very big shoes left by Steve Maharey and this bill is one of the ways he can show he is up to the task that his predecessor left for him to complete. The National Party and the Government will support the Palmerston North Showgrounds Act Repeal Bill. It is a bill that I too have had some discussion with Palmerston North City Council employees about from time to time. We are pleased to support the bill at its second reading. 
Hon STEVE CHADWICK (Labour) 
: 
 I am pleased to take a very short call on the Palmerston North Showgrounds Act Repeal Bill because I chaired the Local Government and Environment Committee when the bill first came to us. Although we may think that these sorts of bills that come to a select committee are small and very tidy and just sort out issues in a region or district on behalf of a council the bill raised some concern when it first came before us and we sent it back to the Palmerston North City Council. Not all of us at the select committee were comfortable because we were concerned about overlapping Treaty claims and we could not be given any assurance at the select committee that there was no outstanding Treaty claim over this piece of land. 
It is very appropriate that Te Ururoa Flavell raised those concerns because often we take it for granted that all the work has been done by the authority that is sponsoring a local bill and sometimes that work is not undertaken to the level of our expectation as parliamentarians. We are not there to be default judge and jury on decisions that are made in a region or district. That was the point of concern originally. Of course we on this side of the House are not against competition but the A and P shows were usually for competitions for sponge cakes sand saucers and horse riding. As the previous speaker Simon Power said we would love to see the speedway and racing cars at Manfeild Park too but the bill is about sorting out land used by the Manawatu and West Coast Agricultural and Pastoral Association and vesting it back to the Palmerston North City Council. 
It is a very simple bill. Now that we are happy about the arrangements for what could have been outstanding claims Labour is very happy to support the bill today. It is wonderful that Iain Lees-Galloway has carried on the tradition started by Steve Maharey the previous MP for Palmerston North. Steve Maharey taught him everything he knows and Iain Lees-Galloway will have a long career in the House as a good Labour member for the good electorate of Palmerston North. In fact Mr Lees-Galloway should have worn his “I love Palmy” badge because we in Labour all love Palmy. We are delighted to be in the Chamber today to support the bill for Palmerston North. Having the bill in the House a day before urgency is a rather interesting House management issue. Tomorrow we will be debating in urgency until 10 o’clock at night but tonight we will run out of work. That is most peculiar and awkward House management. It could have been entirely avoided had the Leader of the House managed urgency and not had members sitting in the Chamber 3 weeks in a row in and out of urgency with knee-jerk reactions to major legislation. We are delighted to be debating and supporting the bill today. 
Dr KENNEDY GRAHAM (Green) 
: 
 Without wishing to draw the proceedings of the House to a close earlier than even my predecessor has intimated I simply advise the House that the Green Party supports the Palmerston North Showgrounds Act Repeal Bill which proposes to transfer the management and control of the Palmerston North Showgrounds from the Palmerston North Showgrounds Board of Control to the Palmerston North City Council. We wish the promoters of the bill well. Thank you. 
RAHUI KATENE (Maori Party—Te Tai Tonga) 
: 
 There was a 50 percent chance that Ngati Kauwhata would be heard heeded and respected in respect of the Palmerston North Showgrounds Act Repeal Bill. After all only two submissions were received by the Local Government and Environment Committee: one supported and one opposed the legislation. So the probability was high that the sun would shine on Ngati Kauwhata. Such high stakes were inevitably helped by the compelling evidence provided in their submission. I will take a rather unusual step of repeating a key statement from their submission for the benefit of the House. Ngati Kauwhata said that they “must continue in our responsibilities as tangata whenua to protect the land and natural resources of our district. To do this we must object to and make others aware of the stealth that the Crown and their Agents Local Government will use to keep Ngati Kauwhata marginalised from their lands and in poor health to forever keep them dependent on the Crown as beneficiaries and therefore to be slandered by those who seek power within the Crown’s structures.” 
Those are strong words that underline the passion and the responsibility Ngati Kauwhata uphold in protecting their history and preserving their heritage. Ngati Kauwhata stand by the contention that they did not sell interests in the Te Ahu-turanga Block. Ngati Kauwhata instead believe that the land was taken by stealth and by devious purchasing practices by the Crown and its agents. Ngati Kauwhata claim that the land is part of the Te Ahu-turanga Block taken from them by proclamation and is subject to two Waitangi Tribunal claims: Wai 784 and Wai 972. There is another new claim Wai 1461 regarding the Rangitikei-Manawatu Block. It is a conjoint claim between Ngati Kauwhata Ngati Raukawa and all of Nga Iwi o Te Reureu. 
This history of Treaty injustices and contemporary breaches was heard by the select committee but it chose a different history. It opted to favour the history presented by the Palmerston North City Council. The council supports the bill on the grounds that the relevant land and most of the other assets are already owned by it and that effectively it has managed the showgrounds over the last 2 years. The committee was privy to the expert advice of public health champion Ngati Kauwhata member and Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Maori and Pasifika) of Massey University Professor Mason Durie. His analysis included the conclusion that a lack of access to tribal land must be woven into explanations of the chronic poor health status of Maori. 
Ngati Kauwhata were not asking for the world. They just wanted to be part of the overall governance and part of the process of managing the land that was taken from them. They humbly requested that the bill be delayed until they were able to determine the status of the land in respect of ownership and the implications of the Treaty claims over it. In considering the views of Ngati Kauwhata the select committee determined that any Waitangi Tribunal investigation can have no effect on the land in question given its status as private land. 
With all due respect I suggest that the select committee is not the appropriate body to make such pronouncements. If Ngati Kauwhata believe they have the right to at least have the land in question considered as part of their claim then that is something for the Waitangi Tribunal to investigate consider and determine not the select committee. When the Government purchased the Te Ahu-turanga Block from Rangitane in 1864 it noted that there was some dispute at the time about ownership between Rangitane and neighbouring iwi. Now 145 years later this bill could have been an excellent opportunity to face a dispute in the light of day once and for all. Instead the select committee chose to ignore the dispute to ignore the strongly held views of Ngati Kauwhata and to affect the transfer of the management and control of the land of the showgrounds from the board to the Palmerston North City Council. 
The showgrounds will now be fully managed and controlled by the council as a recreation site. The council’s submission to the select committee did not discuss any consultation that it may or may not have had with local iwi including Ngati Kauwhata. Although it appears that this legislation is not a problematic change for Rangitane it is utterly evident that there are longstanding and outstanding issues for Ngati Kauwhata. The Maori Party believes that we cannot make any progress on the bill while the dispute is still manifest. We oppose this bill. 
A party vote was called for on the question  
That the Palmerston North Showgrounds Act Repeal Bill be now read a second time. 
Ayes 117 
New Zealand National 58; New Zealand Labour 43; Green Party 9; ACT New Zealand 5; Progressive 1; United Future 1. 
Noes 5 
Maori Party 5. 
Bill read a second time.