Watts SimonSIMON WATTS (National—North Shore): Jeez I must say listening to the previous member Anahila Kanongata'a-Suisuiki that I really do wish I was on the Environment Committee. It sounds like it was a remarkable place to be and it's always good to hear a lot of passion and energy in the House.I rise on behalf of National to speak on the Resource Management (Enabling Housing Supply and Other Matters) Amendment Bill at its second reading. National supports this bill.I do want to acknowledge—and as I said I wasn't on the select committee but what I've heard from my colleagues is consistent—that Eugenie Sage as chair was respectful and thoughtful throughout and I think those were the two words that have resonated on this side of the House in terms of this. This was a challenging bill under the time line in which the committee was faced and the way in which she conducted herself in that role was well appreciated from our team. I also want to acknowledge the Hon Scott Simpson and our deputy leader Nicola Willis for their contribution in terms of that process. It has not often I must say in my short time in this House that we have been part of a process that is bipartisan and I think that that has been acknowledged by a number of speakers here already.I also want to acknowledge on behalf of our team the officials at the Parliamentary Counsel Office for their significant contribution. It's referred to in the fact of the long hours that the select committee put into this but I think it would be fair to say as it often is the case with the officials that we have supporting us in our roles that it probably would have been twice if not three times the amount of time that went on in the background in order to contribute to this bill and that is appreciated as well.There was a significant number of amendments that have obviously been put in following that select committee process. As the member of Parliament for North Shore I obviously had a large number of comments and feedback in regards to this bill after the first reading. I know a number of members from my community and many communities across Auckland contributed throughout that select committee process. I think what we have seen as a result of those amendments is the select committee process doing what it's meant to do and that is to listen and take on board the feedback of our local communities and people from around the country: experts iwi and hapū developers and those in the commercial sector and of course our local government. All of that feedback has been taken on board very diligently by the select committee and as a result we have got nearly 50 points of amendment that will be coming through on a Supplementary Order Paper at the committee of the whole House stage which is good to hear.Look I must say looking at some of the feedback there were significant concerns raised in terms of the short time frame and we acknowledge that this was a reduced time frame from what we would normally expect in the select committee process which probably prevented the usual scrutiny. But as I've said the committee did work very hard on that. There were 183 oral submissions and 966 submissions overall and over 1000 documents of correspondence that was—as was referred to—from a number of community groups and individuals.I also want to acknowledge local government across our country in terms of their contribution to this process. Obviously in my home city of Auckland Auckland Council made two actual submissions as part of that process. I think their feedback was constructive and concise. It was absolutely I know from the committee's perspective taken on board and you can see a number of the amendments that have resulted follow on from that feedback process.The key elements that have changed we've talked about but primarily we've seen changes in regards to higher design standards. I think that was something that was quite significant in the submission made by Auckland Council in particular. There are more concessions for councils in regards to qualifying matters the protection or exclusion of already existing heritage zones—which obviously is very important in my home electorate; particularly in Devonport—environmental concerns and other factors as well. The changes also amend in regards to height to boundary and the other elements that we've talked around such as sunlight etc. This also I think reflects that this is really trying to achieve a higher quality of outcome in terms of what we're doing and again that reflects some of the feedback made by submitters and in particular Auckland Council. Lastly around the district plan changes that's the fourth element in which we've seen some significant amendments within this bill and it is something that will carry us forward.A significant proportion of the feedback that I had was from young people within my community of the North Shore. These are young people who are struggling to afford to buy their first home they are struggling to find a home to rent and they are hopeful in terms of being able to participate in the homeownership process as have many generations before them but the reality is that this is a significant challenge. It's a significant challenge that has faced our country for a period of time and I think while there is no silver bullet in terms of solutions the ability for both sides of this House to work together to put in place actions that will make and support this process and support the futures of our young people in particular is I think a good thing.There was a recent survey undertaken in terms of the New Zealand Issues Monitor in October. It referred to the fact that over half of Kiwis in this country rank housing affordability as the No. 1 issue that they face. Sixty percent of those people were women and I think that also acknowledges the importance of this process and that it is the No. 1 issue for people who live in Auckland.I think that is pretty much what I wanted to leave and cover off this evening. Again thank you very much to the select committee for your contribution. I'm looking forward to seeing this bill proceed through this House.