Williams Poto: Greater Christchurch Regeneration Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeWilliams Poto: Greater Christchurch Regeneration Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 17 March 2016. Volume:712;Page:9893. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]POTO WILLIAMS (Labour—Christchurch East): I must admit that when I reviewed my notes for my first reading speech on this bill I was less generous than I am going to be in this contribution. Before the bill had gone through the process that we have heard talked about in this House this afternoon I had some concerns about whether it was fit for purpose for the people of the area that I represent. My concerns were about the Minister’s powers particularly those to acquire and dispose of land at whatever price he could determine. I was also concerned that the public were by and large excluded from many of the discussions on the facilities and the future use of particular areas in which they would have a significant interest.But I have to say that the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery has listened to the people of Canterbury and has engaged in a process that has garnered widespread support across the House. It is not entirely perfect but it has gone a long way to ensuring that the interests of the people of Canterbury have been reflected in the legislation and more important in the Supplementary Order Paper that will come to this House during the Committee stage.I really want to focus my contribution on what this means for the people of Christchurch East. I have to say that during the passage of the last few years the people of the electorate of Christchurch East have been very vocal about what they would like to see within the residential red zone which sits largely within the boundaries of the Christchurch East electorate. There have been processes and opportunities for the community to engage with and I want to mention one in particular which happened 18 months ago and that is the EVO::SPACE project. That was an IT-driven consultation process for people to actually tell us—those who would be making decisions about the future of their particular area—what they would like to see done with the residential red zone an extensive area that actually covers some of the most beautiful parts of Christchurch particularly with the Avon River flowing through it.There were some fantastic ideas from treetop cafes and ideas from the Eden Project through to camellia and rhododendron groves and on to things like Barkerton Park—a place to go and let your dog run free. That process was about giving the people of the area—who actually have a vested interest whether they continue to live there or whether they have had to leave the area and leave behind a significant part of their emotional attachment to the area—an opportunity to feel like they could contribute to the future of that particular area.When we are considering plans for the use of the residential red zone I would ask that our ability to communicate well with the community and give it an opportunity to have input into that process is significant because it was not as the Hon Ruth Dyson has expressed it just about the loss of land. There were people who lived there. There were families who grew there. On some of the properties there were heritage trees that had been there for over 125 years. There were people who have significant history attached to the area. So these people have a vested interest in ensuring that their views and their hearts and souls go into any future development.I just want to finish my contribution by saying that I agree with Mojo Mathers that there have been opportunities missed here—particularly around accessibility—but also around ensuring that facilities are not taken out of the area before replacements can be put in. Here I want to talk particularly about the Burwood Birthing Unit which has been lost to the east of Christchurch because of what happened on Valentine’s Day only a few weeks ago—the 5.7 quake—and also the Central New Brighton School pool which is a huge loss to our community as we do not have a pool in the area.I do want to say that this has been a very positive process and along with my colleagues I commend the bill to the House.