Brownlee Gerry: Rugby World Cup 2011 (Empowering) Bill — First Reading 
Brownlee Gerry: Rugby World Cup 2011 (Empowering) Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:664;Page:11920] 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE (Acting Minister for the Rugby World Cup) 
: 
 I move  
That the Rugby World Cup 2011 (Empowering) Bill be now read a first time. 
 At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be considered by the Government Administration Committee and that the committee report finally to the House on or before 23 August 2010. The bill is temporary legislation intended to enable the consent and regulatory approvals necessary for the smooth running of activities related to the Rugby World Cup and the facilities that will support that event. It will help to ensure that New Zealand can meet its hospitality and hosting requirements and can take full advantage of the opportunities that hosting this event will produce. 
The bill has three main parts. First it covers the establishment of a Rugby World Cup Authority to consider and determine applications for approvals and declarations of permitted activities or facilities under an expedited process. Second it makes provision for urgent declarations of permitted Rugby World Cup activities or facilities to be made by Order in Council and for urgent approvals to be granted during the tournament for matters reasonably necessary for the proper conduct of the Rugby World Cup. It also establishes a Rugby World Cup liquor licensing regime that will allow the Rugby World Cup Authority to grant the temporary liquor licences necessary for the unique hospitality requirements of this event. 
The bill is necessary because the approval process under existing legislation is not sufficient to cater for the extraordinary requirements that this event will present. The Rugby World Cup is one of the largest sporting events in the world and it will be the largest event ever staged in New Zealand. The 2011 tournament is expected to attract a television audience of close to 4 billion people and to draw at least 85000 international visitors to New Zealand over a 6-week period in September and October of 2011. 
The hosting requirements for an event of this scale present significant infrastructural challenges. Time-critical temporary Rugby World Cup activities and facilities will require a wide range of consents licences and regulatory approvals that existing processes are not suited to address. This is because of the long time frames currently needed for some approval processes the risk of capacity constraints arising within some consenting authorities and the likelihood that urgent approvals may be needed to resolve unforeseen circumstances during the tournament itself. 
Several options have been considered for addressing consents and regulatory approvals in relation to this event. The options considered included amending district plans or local by-laws and making amendments to the Major Events Management Act 2007 to include provision for a streamlined consent process for every event that is declared a major event. However after considering these options together with legislative precedents both in New Zealand and overseas the option of a stand-alone bill specific to the Rugby World Cup was preferred. A Rugby World Cup - specific bill also limits any adverse impacts to those that are unavoidable for the successful hosting of this event. 
The bill is time-bound and will cease to have effect shortly after the conclusion of the Rugby World Cup. There is precedent for legislation of this nature in the America’s Cup (Planning) Act 1989 which was enacted to address consenting requirements for the development of Auckland’s Viaduct Basin for the possible defence of an America’s Cup at that time. Another example is the Local Government (Millennium Events) Amendment Act 1999 which temporarily amended the Local Government Act 1974 in order to enable local authorities to apply to central government for amendments to district plans to accommodate millennium events. There are also examples from overseas—notably the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act 2006 and the Commonwealth Games Arrangements Act 2001 which was enacted for the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games. 
Concerns may be expressed that the mechanisms in this bill contain limited rights to public participation in a consenting process limited rights of appeal and temporary replacement of other existing legislation. I believe that those concerns are outweighed by the benefits that the bill will provide by ensuring that approvals for Rugby World Cup activities and facilities can be dealt with in a nationally consistent manner without unnecessary cost or delay. It is also possible that certain activities approved by the authority may impose temporary costs on some people and/or the environment. By and large they would be temporary and in the form of elevated noise levels diminished amenity values and increased traffic congestion associated with permitted Rugby World Cup activities all of which should be expected with an event of this nature. In hearing applications for temporary approvals the Rugby World Cup Authority will be expected to weigh the costs and benefits of proposed actions according to the same principles as would be applied normally though in a shortened time frame and having particular regard for the need to ensure the proper conduct of the event. 
In certain cases where urgent consent is required appeal rights are curtailed in order that urgent consents for critical tournament infrastructure can be granted. This could be perceived by some as a restriction of their rights to be heard on consent issues. The concern is I think offset by the economic and national interest benefits of ensuring that hosting opportunities are maximised and the international expectations of New Zealand are met as well as preserving and enhancing our reputation as a future major events destination. It is important however that the proposed legislation does not unfairly curtail rights to public participation in the consenting process or the ability of businesses and individuals to express their views on the impacts of proposals. I believe that the bill strikes a balance between the need to ensure the Rugby World Cup can deliver optimum benefit to New Zealanders and to our New Zealand communities and the needs and expectations of those affected by temporary infrastructure and arrangements that may be required. The fixed tournament time frame requires that the bill strikes a balance between participation principles and expediting processes to achieve the necessary outcomes. The bill presents the best effort to get a balance between those competing interests. 
I will now address the three main parts of the bill. First it empowers the Rugby World Cup Authority to be established as the consenting body to consider applications for regulatory approvals for activities facilities etc. that are reasonably necessary for the proper conduct of the Rugby World Cup. These might include for example resource consents for temporary structures like marquees that may be required around Rugby World Cup hospitality close to venues. These provisions will mean that the Rugby World Cup Authority will be able to declare that classes of facilities or activities are permitted for the Ruby World Cup and will not be subject to further approval requirements. Applications for declarations of permitted activities or facilities are subject to tight criteria which will ensure that the declarations are granted only for matters that relate to the Rugby World Cup. 
The other parts of this bill that are the most important are the parts that contain two mechanisms for urgent Rugby World Cup approval of facilities a power for the Governor-General to make regulations so prescribing and a power for the Minister for the Rugby World Cup to grant temporary or urgent approvals for such activities. Those powers are constrained by the fact that there needs to be representation to the Minister or the Governor-General from the Rugby World Cup Authority and a Minister must consider the authority’s recommendations also and consult with the Minister for Economic Development—a very cooperative Minister in this regard—and the Minister for the Environment. On the issue of liquor licensing the bill establishes temporary arrangements; people should not be concerned about that. One of the primary objectives is to make sure that issues around public health and safety are to the fore and that harm minimisation is well considered. 
This will be one of the great events for New Zealand. It was heralded when the previous Government assisted the Rugby Union in securing the opportunity to run the Rugby World Cup as it was seen as being of great potential value to New Zealand. The current Government concurs with that view. We look forward to the passage of this bill tonight in a spirit that says that we want New Zealand to make the very best of the opportunities that this event could present to us.