Twyford Phil: Resource Management Reform Bill — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeTwyford Phil: Resource Management Reform Bill — In Committee[Sitting date: 31 July 2013. Volume:692;Page:12188. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]PHIL TWYFORD (Labour—TeAtatū):I want to make some comments about one element in this bill and I am talking about the provisions in the Resource Management Reform Bill that relate to the Auckland Unitary Plan which is a large part of this bill.Hon Amy Adams: No that’s Part 2.PHIL TWYFORD: Are we not allowed to talk about Part 2?Hon Amy Adams: We’re not on Part 2. We’re on Part 1.PHIL TWYFORD: Ah—we are on Part 1. OK I am going to talk about trees. I am going to talk about the tree provisions in this bill and I want to pick up where my west Auckland colleague David Cunliffe left off. He made the case very clearly that trees are very very important to the people of west Auckland. The Waitakere Ranges are often referred to as the lungs of Auckland and it seems that about every 18 months or so this National Government brings legislation to the House that puts the Waitakere Ranges at threat. There have been a number of examples. In fact currently there are two bits of legislation before this Parliament that pose a threat to the Waitakere Ranges. One of these is the Resource Management Reform Bill which is just the latest salvo in a long-running battle between the National Government and the Environment Court and the people of Auckland. National is doing its best to take away the ability of local territorial authorities in Auckland to use tree protection measures to protect Auckland’s urban forest.The other bill that is currently before the House is the Housing Accords and Special Housing Areas Bill which interestingly overrides the provisions of the Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Act which currently in law is supreme and all other local and district plans have to be subject to that Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Act. Well unfortunately the way the housing accords legislation has been drafted special housing areas have to only “take into account” enactments like the Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Act. It is a shame that this Government does not place more value on Auckland’s urban forest. This bill is really the latest attempt to wrap up the territorial authorities in so much red tape so much extra expense that they simply cannot effectively protect the urban forest of Auckland.It is not only the Waitakere Ranges out in west Auckland. Actually thepōhutukawa-fringed coastal suburbs of the North Shore and east Auckland are affected by this measure as well. There are many sections around those coastal fringes where developers have come in over the last couple of years and bowledpōhutukawa trees—just cleared them in order to provide a better view or to make more empty space on the section. That is the outcome that the National members would like to see because they value individual property rights over every other thing of value. Actually that is probably the underlying ethos of this bill. It is about swinging the pendulum in favour of development away from protecting the environment—House resumed.The Chairperson reported the Appropriations (2013/14 Estimates) Bill without amendment and progress on the Resource Management Reform Bill.Report adopted.