Simpson ScottSCOTT SIMPSON (National—Coromandel): It is with some trepidation I guess that I rise to speak on this bill because it is a bill that has come to the House completely unnecessarily. We are occupying the time of the House on a bill that is actually not necessary and has been completely overtaken by the effective efficient and very good work that has been done by this Government in this area.Back in 2010 Environment Canterbury (ECan) was entirely dysfunctional—entirely dysfunctional—by any and all measures. So a set of commissioners was installed. Then in 2011 the new keen enthusiastic member for Wigram Megan Woods was elected to what was once a safe Labour red stronghold and what has become under her candidacy a marginal seat one at risk next year. This member came into the House and did as she is required to do by the instructions of her party and her whip. She put a bill in the members' ballot. And there she did. She put a bill in the ballot and then promptly forgot about it. She forgot about it and left it there. Subsequent to that of course back in 2016—earlier this year—this efficient and effective Government made really good changes to improve the transition of ECan back to full democratic election at the next local government elections. Then the member having forgotten that her bill was in the ballot it was drawn from the ballot. Nobody in this Parliament got a bigger surprise than the member for Wigram when the bill that she had completely forgotten about was drawn from the ballot.I cannot believe what her face might have looked like when the news arrived that the bill had been drawn because the bill had been completely overtaken by events that this Government had done. So what to do now?" was the great issue for the member. The member's problem was that because her member's bill was completely superfluous and no longer required she had to prepare the hastily drawn up Supplementary Order Paper 251 to ensure that the member's bill that she had put in the ballot when she was first elected as the new bright shiny bouncy member for Wigram—in the marginal seat of Wigram. She has had to do a very quick change around and try to double back to put it into some kind of context that makes it vaguely—barely marginally—relevant to the legislation that this Government has put forward in terms of transitioning ECan back to a full democratic process.This bill is an embarrassment to the Labour Party. It is an embarrassment to the member who showed so much potential when she was first elected—so much potential; potential that has actually not lived up to fulfilment. If the member had been more in tune with what was going on in this Parliament in terms of the legislation that was before it and had not forgotten about her member's bill in the ballot and then suddenly realised it had been drawn out she would have probably just completely withdrawn it. That would have been the appropriate sensible thing to do. But no this House is now occupying valuable time addressing a bill that is completely irrelevant no longer required and is actually so backward-looking in its view that one must really begin to doubt why we are here at all.This bill is one that is out of touch. The member is trying to amend an Act that has already been adequately replaced by the hard-working members on the Government side. I am disappointed. I thought that the member had greater potential than to allow this bill to proceed to go forward. I thought the member came to this Parliament to be proactive to make a positive contribution and to look forward rather than to spend the time of Parliament trying to drive while looking through the rear-vision mirrors. This is not a good bill. It is a bill that the Government will oppose. It is a bill that is not required and is not necessary. It is a bill that is wasting the time of our Parliament. I hope that this bill will be soundly and positively rejected by the Parliament on its first reading. I do not commend it to the House."