Jones Dail: Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Bill — In Committee 
Jones Dail: Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:675;Page:14456] 
DAIL JONES (NZ First) 
: 
 I do want to speak to the amendments especially given the quizzical look I am getting from the Minister for Building and Construction which I also got earlier on. Quite clearly in the ranges area we own the land as the people of Auckland and the ranges area is protected. So I am talking about the extra piece of land in the foothills: privately owned land. 
If people live in the foothills how do they go about getting additions to their houses garages and patios as the case may be? Clause 9 states that the objectives of establishing and maintaining the heritage area are—and I am trying to be brief as well—“(f) to ensure that any subdivision or development in the area of itself or in respect of its cumulative effect”—that is how it adds on to everything else that is there already—“(i) is of an appropriate character scale and intensity; and (ii) does not adversely affect the heritage features; and (iii) does not contribute to urban sprawl:”. Inevitably as soon as one builds something on to an existing property one is contributing to urban sprawl. That is the very definition of urban sprawl. But what is the meaning of the word “development”? Is the addition of a garage a patio or two bedrooms a development? I looked up  
The Concise Oxford Dictionary 
 and if one looks at the meaning of the word “development” one sees it is a fact event or happening especially one that changes a situation. And that is what an addition to a house a patio or whatever else the proposal may be is: it changes a situation. So a thing as simple as that is caught by this legislation. 
What happens next? 
Hon Shane Jones 
: He’s only been here 1 day and we have to put up with this. 
DAIL JONES 
: I say to Mr Shane Jones the Minister for Building and Construction—if only he would listen to me—that he should go to clause 12 and note what the simple homeowner in the Waitakere City area will have to do. Clause 12(1) states: “A local authority may reject a request in whole or in part if the request is inconsistent with the purpose of this Act or the objectives.” Well how do we know it is inconsistent? But clause 12(2) states: “To assist the local authority in deciding whether to act under subsection (1) the person making the request must explain how it is consistent with the purpose of this Act and the objectives.” But what does “consistent” mean? Clause 12(3) states: “For the purposes of this section an explanation under subsection (2) must be—(a) treated as if it were information required under clause 22 of Schedule 1 of the Resource Management Act 1991; and (b) supplied to the local authority in accordance with that clause.” 
So what does the poor bloke or the husband and wife who have been living in the Waitakere Ranges for 15 years and who have a couple of kids and a third one on the way do? Mum might want to come and live with them. Gran might want to come and live with them. They might want to do a home extension for grandma but they have to make a request to the council and explain how the addition of a granny flat or how helping out their children in a growing family are consistent with the purposes of this legislation. 
For heaven’s sake that would cost people another $5000 at the very least. They would have to get a consultant to explain how they can get their addition. At the end of the day the consultant’s and lawyer’s fees will cost more than the addition would ever have cost. Such people will give away the idea of the addition altogether and will live in cramped housing conditions in the Waitakere heritage area because no one will buy their place. Who would want to buy it? A lot of the homes in that area are quite old; I am talking about homes that are 50 80 or 100 years old. Who will buy a place that cannot be altered or extended? That is what will happen to people who live in the foothills area. 
We are looking at homes in Sunde Road from Oratia going through Swanson and around and up to the Goldies Bush area. The main areas are Green Bay Oratia Henderson Valley Swanson and Waitakere village. If people live in the area leading up to the actual Waitakere Ranges park itself they are in big trouble if this bill is passed. At a time when we need to care more about housing needs and do more for housing we will restrict even alterations to existing houses. Those people love the area and they want to stay in it. Their mothers fathers and grandfathers have lived and/or worked in the area since the 1830s 1840s and 1850s. They are the real tangata whenua because they have been there for all that time. What will happen to them? Because of this legislation those people will not be permitted to stay there. They will have to try to sell their house to someone who has only a small family and move out of the heritage area. 
This bill is opposed by New Zealand First. It should never be passed.