Tremain Chris: Environment Canterbury (Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Tremain Chris: Environment Canterbury (Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 19 February 2013. Volume:687;Page:7988. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
It all started with Nick Smith. Nick Smith made a solemn promise to the people of Canterbury. He said this: “whatever the circumstances the next regional council elections in Canterbury will take place no later than those scheduled for late 2013.”—October 2013. He is a man who was in Cabinet who had to leave Cabinet because of some shonky behaviour and who is now back in Cabinet so I suppose we should not be surprised that he broke his word. But he gave his solemn promise to the people of Canterbury and what is so sad and what makes me angry is that they believed him. They actually believed him and thought: “Yes this’ll happen. Nick Smith has said it.” Well he got the rumpty-dumpty and off he went and in the Government brought—what is his name—David Carter. He was less than memorable—less than memorable I have to say—in his role— 
Hon Chris Tremain 
: He’s the Speaker. 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: —as Minister of Local Government. I know he is going to be an extremely good Speaker—when it comes to questions I do want him to look this way—but when it came to being the Minister of Local Government did he a Cantabrian born and bred—the Carter family I believe have lived in the Canterbury area for generations—listen to the people of Canterbury? Did he honour the words of Nick Smith the previous Minister? No he did not. He did not even blink and he carried on with this bill.  
And then we come to the hapless new Minister of Local Government a member who already faces all sorts of problems in his own area. I think he is under serious threat from Stuart Nash who does not want an amalgamation of local authorities in Napier and Hastings. The local member now the Minister of Local Government wants a major amalgamation. I suppose he would support an election for them but why does he not support an election for the people of Canterbury? So I say to the Minister: “You’re a terrible disappointment Minister because you had the opportunity—you had the opportunity Minister”—[ 
Interruption 
] I keep saying “Minister” Mr Chairman. I am talking to the Minister. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch) 
: You said “you”.  
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: Yes “You Minister”. You had the opportunity Minister to have made a difference. You had the opportunity to say: “Stop this bill. We made promises. We said there would be elections to Environment Canterbury in 2013.”  
I think one of the most powerful submissions I heard on the Local Government and Environment Committee though was from the Human Rights Commission. In came Mr Rutherford. I have to say I was not really expecting any great strokes. I thought he would come in with a quiet little submission. After all he has been appointed by this Government and it must have some expectations from him. He came in with a very strong submission. He submitted that “In effect the current proposal means the Government would be in breach of its international obligations and its commitment …” and that it needed to have an election. Here is the Chief Human Rights Commissioner saying that the Government would be in breach and that it was against basic human rights not to have an election.  
And now we have got the new member returned to the House today Mr Aaron Gilmore. I thought I would bring him into the debate because he knows a lot about a little. He was a member who used to be in Christchurch. Actually he shifted up to Lyall Bay Rongotai thinking there might be a little opening for him there. However he is now whizzing back to Christchurch. I want to see him get up and speak in support of the people of Canterbury because he said he wants to represent Canterbury people again. I read that. He said he wants to represent Canterbury people again. I want to see him get up on his hind legs and say to the people that they deserve the opportunity to have a democratic vote in 2013. I want to make this commitment in this House: if we were in Government there would be a vote in 2013 and when we are in Government in 2014 they will not wait until 2016 for a vote. 
John Hayes 
: You won’t be Government in 2014. 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: Oh yes we will Mr Hayes. I will tell you something Mr John Hayes: you will be roundly beaten in the Wairarapa. There has never been a more unpopular member in the Wairarapa than that member. He is chirping away but it will not be for long. There will be a reprieve for us because he will not be here after the next election. We will have an election for Environment Canterbury after we become the Government.  
The hidden agenda of this whole debate is all about the Government wanting to delay elections to give the farmers irrigation which is more important than people and a democratic vote. But also it plans to have a major amalgamation of local authorities in the Canterbury area. That is why the election is being delayed—nothing to do with the competency and ability of people in Canterbury to be able to run Environment Canterbury and to elect good people to the Environment Canterbury council. There is every ability to be able do that. There were very good people on that council and I would like to acknowledge Eugenie Sage who was one of those members and a person who worked incredibly hard. But they were all told that they were hopeless that the council needed to be changed but that there would be a vote when things came right. Well things have come right in Canterbury. You cannot go on blaming it on the earthquake for ever. That is what this Government is doing.  
This is a very important bill we are debating tonight. It goes to the fundamental issue of the country we live in and that is democracy—the democratic right of people to choose their elected representatives to make decisions on their behalf—and this Government is riding roughshod over the people of Canterbury. It is not good enough. We will restore their right to vote when we are in Government in the very near future.