Doocey Matt: Christian Churches New Zealand Property Trust Board Empowering Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeDoocey Matt: Christian Churches New Zealand Property Trust Board Empowering Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 02 March 2016. Volume:711;Page:9327. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MATT DOOCEY (National—Waimakariri): It is an honour and pleasure to rise and speak in support of the second reading of the Christian Churches New Zealand Property Trust Board Empowering Bill. Just to pick up where Peeni Henare the last member left off I am hoping that we are not sounding like we are giving sermons but rather debating and talking to the issues at hand. There are probably several members who could claim to know what it is like to do the work of God but it is great to stand here in support of a worthy cause.I just want to acknowledge that I have not been involved in the select committee process having not been a member on the Government Administration Committee. But first I would just like to acknowledge the Hon Dr Nick Smith for the private bill that he has brought here and also the Hon Ruth Dyson as the chairperson and a fellow Canterbury MP who has done well in shepherding this bill through the legislative process. There are also a couple of other select committee members I would like to acknowledge for their hard work Brett Hudson and Sarah Dowie. Obviously they are two strong MPs from the class of 2014 who are doing some great work on the Government Administration Committee.I have had a look at this bill and for me really the bill is about change and it is facilitating that change for this organisation Christian Churches New Zealand. Actually there are a few background points I want to put on record. It is no surprise that this Church seems to take the lead in change. When you look at the background of this Church it is pretty much a globalised network—it operates in about 185 countries. When you trace back its history in the UK and the United States it was very much around the Enlightenment period. And when you think about what the Enlightenment period was it was a movement where people moved away from the control and the conformity of religion and moved to a more rationally based outlook on life around science. We all know of the astronomer and scientist Copernicus at that time who proved that Earth was not the centre of the universe; it was the sun and Earth moved around it. Why that is important to this bill is that if Christian Churches can trace their history to the Enlightenment period it shows their ability to move through different phases and to change.That is what Christian Churches have identified in this bill—that the current legislation the current structure of the board is now needing a change to drive it forward. I thought that was very important—it is predominantly based on change. What we know with this organisation as it focuses possibly less on bricks and mortar is it moves out to its outreach approach and supports people in the communities that it serves. I suppose being brought up somewhat in the Christian faith I know and understand the ambition as well of getting out and serving the people. I think it is only right that we are supporting this legislation to go through and help Christian Churches.It is also interesting when you look at the history of Christian Churches in New Zealand coming over here about the Treaty of Waitangi time. I noticed—being a Christchurch-based MP—it said they arrived and set up around 1870 in Christchurch. It is great to hear the stories about the rich tapestry of history that the Christian Churches brought to a city like Christchurch—I mean it has been claimed to be the most English city outside of England. A few days ago in my electorate of Waimakariri I went to the Woodend-Pegasus Anglican Church—it was the induction of a new vicar. When you stand in that church you take in the art and the tapestry and the culture of those organisations that have been around for a very long time and also appreciate the people who have been in that church and the sense of community—the sense of wanting to go out and make a difference in other people’s lives.I think that is probably why the MPs around this House can relate to this bill because it is about an organisation that wants to make a change in people’s lives. We can see that the legislation contained a provision defining the trusts upon which the board was to hold real estate and personal property vested in it. That is very much the crux of this legislation and the bill.We know that in the select committee process there were only two submissions and one of those submissions was made by Christian Churches itself—the Associated Churches of Christ Church Extension and Property Trust Board. What that trust went on to do was a bit of a cost-benefit analysis looking at different options of how it would like to move in a board structure. It looked at retaining the status quo and it said in its submission: “The board concluded that the constraints imposed by the 1929 Act were significant and the benefits of increased and more flexible powers in respect of the use of the funds both capital and income well outweighed any costs of seeking to change.” I suppose that comes back to the point around change We are moving away from the bricks and mortar and understanding how Christian Churches can best use their resources to serve the communities they are in because when you look at the range of locations where they are there are quite a number. I did notice that they are not in the Waimakariri the third-fastest growing electorate in the third-biggest district in the South Island so I would urge Christian Churches that that would be a place of growth to come to as well.When you look at the option 2 the trust board provided around a new property trust board it explored the options for the select committee there and I think this is why it was helpful for the select committee to understand how it had landed with the proposed bill. Finally it landed on option 3 around the charitable trust. It went on to say: “A more modern charitable trust concept was considered to provide the best vehicle for the trust board to be able to operate efficiently and meaningfully in 2015 and beyond.”I will just follow on from Mr O’Rourke who as a Canterbury-based MP referenced the earthquakes. We see the parallels in this change of legislation to reflect the needs of Christian Churches just like as the city of Christchurch—the change in the legislation as well to support it to grow but ultimately to go out and connect with the people whom the organisation is trying to support and make a difference in their lives. We see that whether it be health care services or social care services but in the case of Christian Churches it is around pastoral services and how they can go out and capture those resources because currently under the old legislation which this new legislation will repeal and amend it allows for the resources to be spent only on real estate. With this new bill it will allow Christian Churches and the board to then make decisions not only on real estate but on how they can allocate their resources according to the needs of the communities they are serving.One thing I just wanted to finish on was the acknowledgment of what Christian Churches have done not only in New Zealand. I noticed in their background notes that they have churches over in Zimbabwe and the support that they have given over in Third World countries I think needs to be acknowledged as well. Overall I think it is fair to say by the support around the House that this bill is well supported. It is a well-intended bill that ultimately is about change and what we are doing here is supporting a traditional historic organisation like Christian Churches and allowing it to think forward about how best to serve its needs and those of its parishioners. It is great that Parliament and this Chamber and all MPs around this House are able to facilitate that and support it. I commend this private bill in its second reading to the House.