Dean JacquiPart 2 Process for obtaining authorisation to transfer schemeHon JACQUI DEAN (National—Waitaki): Madam Chair thank you very much. I'm referring to the detail of the process now—which of course is really the whole point of this bill—and the fact that an ownership transfer needs to occur from the Gore District Council to the Otama Rural Water Supply Scheme. Part 2 clauses 5 through to 9 really just go into the nuts and bolts and we are confident that the Otama Rural Water Scheme Committee has indeed complied with the requirements as set out in this bill. There has been a referendum held and from memory didn't it have something like—the member in charge of the bill might recall—pretty much 100 percent agreement.Mark Patterson: 76.Hon JACQUI DEAN: It was 76 OK thank you; 76—close enough. It had 76 percent agreement that the transfer of ownership should take place which I think is a pretty good result—a pretty good ringing endorsement of the Otama community work in this rural water scheme.So there was a referendum it was conducted—and also the requirements which are set out in this bill will be followed as well. There needs to be a plan obviously. We've had quite a large discussion about what constitutes the assets which will now form part of the plan and while it might have seemed a bit of a dry old discussion in fact it does matter because the assets of the scheme to be transferred and the liability that goes with it—and it will be considerable liability as time goes on in terms of renewals and upgrades and so forth—need to be absolutely clear. That was canvassed quite widely by the member in charge and also by Brett Hudson. That will form part of the transfer plan.The plan will contain the following in clause 9: (a) a plan of the scheme;"—that'll be by way of a map—"(b) a description of the land or property that is serviced by the scheme"—again very important because while there is above-ground infrastructure and in-ground infrastructure in terms of ownership it needs to be very clear upon the transfer of the ownership just what is council-owned infrastructure if indeed there is any and what is scheme infrastructure—"(c) [any] further details of any … scheme assets including specifying any permits or rights of any kind"—so that would be resource consents easements and those sorts of things in respect of the scheme assets.Just while I'm on those resource consents and easements there is nothing like a dispute over an easement to cause an awful lot of trouble and expense to the person who owns or claims to own the easement and the person who owns the land. It is vitally important that this part of the transfer is clear is transparent so that there can be no doubt and no dispute because the granting of an easement conveys a claim over that land by the person to whom an easement has been granted. On the other hand you have a landowner who feels that they have title to that land and if the terms of the easement aren't adhered to there can arise a great sense of grievance. This is a small community and the likelihood I would like to think is very small but none the less this is one of those instances where a shake of the hand is never going to be enough. The intention of this needs to be very very clear. So that also is part of the transfer plan.And "(e) any rules in the regional plan relating to the scheme."—again a very critical component of the scheme because those rules in the regional plan will transfer with the ownership of the water scheme as will any responsibilities to do with any future regulation that might come in to do with the management of drinking-water schemes in the future. That is a given and it's absolutely inherent in the nature of the legislative framework. So I've just picked out very briefly the transfer plan and I know there are a number of colleagues who will pick out other aspects of Part 2."