Simpson ScottHon SCOTT SIMPSON (National—Coromandel): Thank you Mr Speaker. It's a rare thing for me to say in this House it's a pleasure to follow the deputy chair of the Environment Committee but on this occasion I am because I think she's very neatly and concisely outlined the broad detail of this piece of legislation. It's because on this side of the House we believe in the principle of limited government it's because on this side of the House we believe it's about individual freedoms and choice it's because on this side of the House we believe in competitive enterprise and it's because we believe in sustainable development and strong families and communities that we have accepted the invitation that came from the environment Minister David Parker and the housing Minister Megan Woods to engage with the Government on a piece of legislation that will be quite instrumental in years to come in solving what has been a decades-old housing emergency—some call it a crisis. Whatever you like to label it it's a real issue for many many New Zealanders who simply haven't been able to have an opportunity to buy their own home in some of our largest cities.So this is a piece of legislation that cuts red tape as others have indicated. What it really does in terms of National Party principles is that it frees up the rights of property owners existing property owners to release the capital in that property which they own. Now previously and under current settings that has largely been the preserve of professional developers. In order to build large properties with a higher density in our urban environments actually you've needed a very large bank account the support of probably independent funders and equity providers and then you've had to have the fortitude of doing battle with the existing Resource Management Act (RMA)—its rules its complicated processes and regulations—and then on top of that the myriad of planning and consulting and council interactions that have limited so much of the building development that has been needed in our cities. So freeing up that ability for mum and dad investors in property who already own a property to now develop further on their existing property I think is a good thing. I think that speaks very much to National Party base core principles. Back in January of this year when the National Party leader Judith Collins wrote to the Prime Minister and offered bipartisan support that was an initial very good step because essentially what this bill does is it's very close—it's almost identical in fact—to policy matters that we campaigned on in the last election. Judith Collins wrote to the Prime Minister didn't initially get a reply and then when a reply came it was vaguely dismissive and we thought well that's just politics. We had not forgotten about it but we had certainly continued to move on. And then it came as something of a welcome surprise to receive letters from the Minister of Housing and the Minister for the Environment to myself and to our housing spokesperson Nicola Willis. That was an offer to work collegially on some of the aspects that they had in their minds for some of the issues that are in this bill and to use much of what was in our policy and also a member's bill that Judith Collins had put into the ballot. So that was sort of the genesis of how it how it arose. Now many people listening and maybe watching on television will think that this is quite unusual for the National Party and the Labour Party to be working collectively and collaboratively. But I want to assure members of the House and those that might be listening that actually sometimes very good things can happen when party politics is put to one side and a greater good is recognised and a need for positive change. I'm sitting next to a colleague who had quite a bit to do with the zero carbon legislation Todd Muller and I was involved in that process as well. We saw there a situation where the greater good for future generations will be achieved by collaboration cross-party support and I absolutely am convinced that in years to come in generations to come this piece of legislation will achieve results for people of my children's generation and my grandchildren's generation that simply would not be possible if this legislation did not proceed through the House. So we are supporting it on this side and we do so with a degree of pride and enthusiasm because we've felt for a very long period of time that the answer to much of New Zealand's housing emergency lies actually in our own backyards. That if we can get a greater density of building and homeownership in some of the larger sections in our metropolitan areas well then that's a good thing because this piece of legislation is going to give people choice about design and style and size that they previously haven't been able to achieve simply because of the red tape that's imposed by the RMA. We saw the portent of this actually in the aftermath of the Canterbury earthquakes in Christchurch where very similar enabling legislation was passed at that time for an urgent need that was a crisis—Canterbury and Christchurch needed new homes built quickly. So the kernel of this model of fast tracking and removal of red tape—actually the genesis of it was back then. And then subsequently my former colleague the Hon Dr Nick Smith tried on a number of occasions to achieve the same kind of result. Now regrettably he wasn't able to secure cross-party support in the way that has occurred with this piece of legislation. But that actually is a shame because we could have I think achieved some of the outcomes years ago—well probably at least a decade ago—had that cross-party support been available then.If our largest urban cities are to become modern future-focused outward-looking cities then they by definition need to become cities that have dwellings that provide for a greater population density. I think that's a good thing and I particularly like the aspect of this legislation that enables tier 2 councils to engage positively with this process should they wish. Now there's not a degree of compulsion but should they wish—and there will be tier 2 councils who I'm sure will want to take up the options and the flexibility that this piece of legislation will provide. Again I think that is a good thing.So as the Minister has indicated there are essentially two elements to this piece of legislation. They focus on the process on the removal of the red tape cutting through it streamlining the RMA process. While the broader larger resource management structural reform is going on as a separate piece of work this legislation allows progress to be made while that other work is under way and I think that again is a good thing. The second pillar of the legislation relates to density where tier 1 councils will be given an opportunity to still protect heritage areas still protect boundaries still protect environmental still protect a whole range of issues but the basic premise is that this is a right to build. As a firm believer in property-owning democracies I think that's to be lauded and to be congratulated. I think that the options for change for desirable new dwellings of different shapes forms and sizes will be something that will enhance the fabric of our large cities and even the tier 2 councils. Natural light protections will be maintained environmental protections will be maintained boundary protections will be maintained height protections will be maintained land coverage protections will be maintained and that flexibility to build something attractive and desirable but at a fair and reasonable price without the costs and overheads of mind-bogglingly expensive red tape compliance will help us achieve those results. I'm looking forward to the select committee process. I'm looking forward to hearing from a range of stakeholders who so far have been I think overwhelmingly supportive of this collaborative approach that I think will achieve terrific outcomes for not just the generation that is next behind us but for generations yet to come. So I welcome the first reading of this piece of legislation and look forward to it making progress through the House.