Dean Jacqui: Eden Park Trust Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Dean Jacqui: Eden Park Trust Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:653;Page:2572] 
JACQUI DEAN (National—Waitaki) 
: 
 That was an entirely forgettable contribution from an entirely forgettable member. In fact I do not even recall that member’s name. But that is not surprising because the contribution was not worthy of the Eden Park Trust Amendment Bill. It came as a complete surprise to me at the end of that forgettable member’s dissertation to discover that in fact Labour is supporting this bill. That speech was hardly an indication of that so if that is the way that the Labour caucus members are going to behave from now on we just have to wonder do we not about how they will perform in the future. 
This is a good bill. It is a bill introduced by the Hon Murray McCully and I will dignify this bill with a decent speech on it and some good debate on the topic unlike the previous member who rambled through some sort of strange Labour Party speech that was a mystery to me anyway. Most important I think the bill was excellently supported by my friend and colleague Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga who is also from Auckland. The bill amends the Eden Park Trust Act 1955 which established the Eden Park Trust Board. Invested in that trust is the property that is Eden Park. It is a condition of an agreement that Eden Park is to hold the Rugby World Cup final in 2011. That is of course exciting for Auckland and for New Zealand but in order for that to happen Eden Park needs to be upgraded in order to hold a capacity of 60000 people. This is a significant event for New Zealand and a significant event for Auckland so Eden Park needs to be ready for it and so does the legislative framework that supports that. It is a shame that the previous speaker did not really touch on these important issues; he was too busy being a Labour member. But there you are! 
In 2007 the Crown entered into an agreement with the Eden Park Trust Board that it would underwrite $190 million for the redevelopment of Eden Park. Of course the Government’s proviso was that changes were to be made to make the park’s trust board and management structure more representative of the public and more representative of the whole region. Because the trust had been created by statute of necessity therefore it can be changed only by statute. So the purpose of this bill is to amend the Eden Park Trust Act of 1955 and to introduce the new Eden Park Trust deed which is a much more representative trust arrangement that will allow us to meet our obligations relating to the 2011 Rugby World Cup final. The other purpose of the bill is to empower the Governor-General by Order in Council to amend the schedule containing the trust deed to give effect to any validly made amendment to the trust deed. 
The bill will facilitate the creation of a redeveloped stadium with a capacity of 60000 people which is exciting news for Auckland and I do hope that that number of tickets will be sold for the Rugby World Cup final. This bill implements an agreement between the Crown the existing Eden Park Trust Board the Auckland Cricket Association and also the Auckland Rugby Football Union. The new structure will ensure recognition of the interests and rights of the beneficiaries of the trust the public’s ownership interest in the park and the community’s interest in using and benefiting from the park. The redevelopment of Eden Park is to be completed by October 2010 in time for the Rugby World Cup in 2011. It will provide many benefits. Some of those are regional; some of those provide recreational benefits. There will also be local community benefits arising from this redevelopment but perhaps more significantly today the benefits are to the Rugby World Cup to be held in 2011. The Rugby World Cup is of course one of the world’s premier sports events. The spotlight will be on New Zealand and New Zealand sport. 
On that basis I commend this bill to the House. 
Debate interrupted.