Korako NukNUK KORAKO (National): Tēnā koe e Te Mana Whakawā. It is a great honour for me to speak on this bill the Environment Canterbury (Democracy Restoration) Amendment Bill at the first reading. I speak on this bill as a Cantabrian and as a member of Ngāi Tahu whānui. What we want to see is our regional council operating as well as it can for the good of all Cantabrians. So I also speak as someone as I said with a Ngāi Tahu background who is keen to see tangata whenua being involved in environmental management and decision making in our rohe. I welcome the opportunity to address the Parliament on a matter that I know is of such importance to the Canterbury region and also to Ngāi Tahu whānui.Some time ago I was accused of bringing to this House a member's bill that was a so-called waste of time. My bill was small its effects minor and it was entirely appropriate that the Government supported its inclusion in a Statutes Amendment Bill. In fact I think that bill took less of my time than it did of those Labour members opposite who spent their own time and the House's time making a fuss about a measure that they ultimately supported. But today in this bill we have an absolute waste of time: we have a bill that amends a piece of legislation that is no longer in force. Leaving aside for a moment the absolute shambles that this bill is I would still like to do Megan Woods the courtesy of looking at what she was actually trying to achieve.The Environment Canterbury (Democracy Restoration) Amendment Bill has a single-minded purpose which is to overturn existing governance in the Canterbury region. The result should it pass into law would be a return to the status quo prior to the appointment of the commissioners in 2010. New governance arrangements for the regional council were put in place to address two primary issues: freshwater management and the relationship with Ngāi Tahu.Status quo governance was failing in the areas that I know to be fundamental to the well-being of all Cantabrians and are at the heart of what matters to my whānau. At present we have a majority of elected regional councillors who won their seats through a democratic process of local body elections in October. At the table with these elected councillors are commissioners who have served Canterbury over the last two terms and two appointed iwi representatives. These arrangements were the result of the Environment Canterbury (Transitional Governance Arrangements) Act 2016. The key to that piece of legislation is the word transitional". My colleagues here in Government recognise the need to provide continuity for freshwater management programmes under way and for active partnership with Ngāi Tahu to be maintained at the governance level.Although the call for a full return to democracy has an intellectual appeal the reality is that there has been an enormous amount of progress in those key areas of freshwater management and the Ngāi Tahu relationship with councils over the last 6 years. There has been an incredible development in that relationship. What we have with the transitional arrangements is an opportunity to embed those gains for the long term. Overturning current arrangements in a rapid knee-jerk reaction has the potential to undo all of that good work and also the council leadership over these years since it was acknowledged that status quo council governance was really failing. Importantly the Ngāi Tahu relationship with Environment Canterbury had been woeful prior to the appointment of the commissioners. When looking at that too we now have—since the arrival of the commissioners and moving forward to what we have today—Environment Canterbury in a real place of strength.Right now council and iwi together are focused on working in partnership to help Kaikōura and North Canterbury recover from the recent devastating earthquake sequences. Working together can happen with relative ease as a result of strong lines of communication and habits that have been built over the last 6 years. The governance level down through the regional council structure was also a major part in that. Now is the wrong time to overturn that governance arrangement in Canterbury. We have 3 years of transitional—of transitional—legislation during which time all of those interested in Canterbury Regional Council governance can work towards ensuring we do not lose what has been gained over those last 6 years.Understanding that earthquake recovery takes time and having stable leadership and governance over the next 3 years will be of great benefit to the people of Kaikōura and also North Canterbury. We are fortunate to have the existing council in place with those elements of continuity in experience at this time. I know that for Ngāi Tahu whānui in Kaikōura—this is a particular relief for them as they tackle the innumerable challenges that link back to the resource management function of the regional council. Challenges of this magnitude require strong stable leadership and that is what we currently have in place at Environment Canterbury. With the mix of a majority of elected councillors alongside seasonal commissioners and iwi representatives—Hon Ruth Dyson: Seasonal commissioners?NUK KORAKO: Seasoned—seasoned. I am glad you picked that up because that was actually for you; that is why it was for me to attest to that.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): Order! Not me.NUK KORAKO: This is a local government central government and iwi working together which is what this side of the House is about. The bill is framed around the premise of a loss of democracy in Canterbury. Making that assertion ignores the fact that the transitional arrangements for Canterbury are a local government central government and iwi partnership arrangement. It ignores the fact that the people of Canterbury made their choice in the last general election—in the last general election—if you have forgotten that. In Selwyn Ilam Waitaki Waimakariri Rangitata Kaikōura and Christchurch Central—these communities voted for National. They voted for National to continue on with the programmes in place within the region. That includes the Government commitment to stable effective governance arrangements in Canterbury. That recognises the importance of the relationship with Ngāi Tahu which this bill wants to throw out the window.What I can do here is to really just go back and say that what has been in place since the end of this council—when you had so many mayors come to Wellington and wanting to see the back end of it; commissioners were brought in—after 6 years we are at a place of strength. So this bill here is a waste of time and I hope that Megan Woods' colleagues are happy with her taking up that time on members' day ahead of more worthy bills that they and members on our side of the House have in the ballot. This bill is a shambles and National will not support it. Kia ora rā."