Duncan Helen: Wellington City Empowering and Amendment Bill — Second Reading Procedure Third Reading 
Duncan Helen: Wellington City Empowering and Amendment Bill — Second Reading Procedure Third Reading 
[Volume:615;Page:11115] 
HELEN DUNCAN (Labour) 
: 
 This bill has the purpose of repealing section 13(2) of the Wellington City Empowering and Amendment Act 1929. The history of this particular land is a bit lost in the mists of antiquity as so often happens with bills that relate to local councils. We have instances of this in the House from time to time. Although they might seem a little trivial to those of us who are not directly affected by or caught up in the provisions of them they are as other speakers have said particularly important for the people who are affected by them. 
This particular piece of land has restrictions on it that have forced the Wellington City Council into the position where it is not able to make the best use of the land. This amendment bill will allow the city council to exercise its own judgment about what happens to the land. In 1929 the Wellington City Empowering and Amendment Act prohibited the council from alienating the land by selling it. All that it was allowed to do was to lease the land. That Act actually gives no indication why it was enacted and the council’s archives do not offer any explanation either. So we are left in the position of having only to guess at what motivated the legislature at the time. 
The history of the land is linked to another piece of land which adjoins the borough of Pahiatua—the Mangahao endowment. That land was vested in the council as an endowment for municipal purposes. In 1924 the Wellington City Mangahao Endowment Sale Empowering Act allowed the council to sell that piece of land provided that the proceeds of the sale were used to purchase land as an endowment. In 1929 when the council was considering the sale of the Willis Street land in order to use the proceeds for street-widening purposes it passed legislation that allowed the proceeds from one endowment sale to be used for street-widening purposes but the Willis Street property had to be retained as an endowment for municipal purposes. 
Why the restrictions are there is a bit confused and muddled. At this time it is up to the House to remove that confusion and those restrictions so that the Wellington City Council can use its own judgment about what is the best way that the land can be used. We want to remove the statutory barriers to the council being able to consider the land in the same manner as it does its other properties. 
The Wellington City Council owns several other properties that are situated adjacent to the land in question. It needs to be able to consider them all in a parcel so that it can make sensible decisions about how to dispose of them or use them. There have been some difficulties with the tenants in the properties because there are a lot of community groups there but the council has done its best to ensure that those community groups are catered for and can be rehoused in suitable premises that enable them to carry out their functions. It has provided assistance in finding suitable alternative accommodation. We commend the council for this proactive approach in helping these community groups and we urge it to keep working with the current tenants to make sure that these difficulties are smoothed away. 
The select committee sought clarification from the council on provisions relating to the status of the property as endowment land and the council assured the committee that it would undertake any sale process for the land in accordance with the relevant legislative provisions for the sale of endowment land. The council has no intention of doing anything except to make the best possible use of the land in terms of its long-term community plan. 
The committee was also keen to ensure that there were no Treaty of Waitangi issues associated with the land. The departmental advisers assured it that the land in question is not specifically mentioned in any of their databases or registered as wahi tapu a site of significance or a historic or archaeological site. The Wellington Tenths Trust was also consulted and it acknowledged that the contents of the bill do not give rise to matters that would lead to any further litigation under the Waitangi Tribunal. 
It is important that this House recognises the right of the Wellington City Council to determine the future of this land and its best use for the purposes of the citizens of Wellington. The Government is pleased to support this bill and commends it to the House. 
Bill read a second time.