Tizard Judith: Historic Places Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Tizard Judith: Historic Places Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:631;Page:2944] 
Hon JUDITH TIZARD (Associate Minister for Arts Culture and Heritage) 
: 
 I move  
That the Historic Places Amendment Bill be now read a second time 
. Our heritage has an important role to play in our present and future lives. It helps us to understand who we are in terms of our passage from the events of the past to the society of today. It contributes to our identity as a distinctive and diverse nation in a global environment. The Government is committed to ensuring that the places treasures and stories of our past are preserved and that future generations have access to our unique heritage. 
Although the protection of New Zealand’s heritage is largely the responsibility of communities and local authorities there is also a need for strong leadership at the national level. The New Zealand Historic Places Trust has a long and successful track record in promoting the identification protection and conservation of the historical and cultural heritage of New Zealand. The Government values the role of the Historic Places Trust and the role it has played within the existing legislation and notes that demands on the trust’s services have been increasing massively over recent years. 
The trust formerly a statutory body and a non-Crown entity has been established as an autonomous Crown entity through the Crown Entities Act which was passed in 2004. The new structure that is proposed in this legislation ensures that robust accountability procedures and obligations to act prudently in financial management are maintained—for example through the requirement to prepare and report against a statement of intent. The Historic Places Amendment Bill amends the Historic Places Act 1993. It is designed to strengthen the trust’s governance arrangements and consolidate its position as the national body with responsibility for historic heritage issues. The bill does not alter the purpose role or regulatory responsibilities of the trust. Rather than reinventing the wheel the Government has focused on strengthening what is already in place. 
The trust and relevant Government departments were consulted on all proposals incorporated into the bill. In addition consultation on a position paper that was issued in May 2003 was undertaken with local authorities nearly 50 iwi authorities rununga Maori organisations relevant heritage organisations and a range of national bodies that have an interest in historic heritage issues. As a result of that consultation on the position paper 33 submissions were received. It was encouraging that all policy proposals were supported by a significant majority of those submissions. The bill was first read in September 2004 and was referred to the Government Administration Committee. The committee received eight written submissions from interested groups and individuals and heard three of those submissions orally. 
I turn to specific measures that are addressed in the bill. One of the bill’s primary purposes is to reduce the number of trust board members from 11 to nine and to increase the number of Crown appointees from three to six. The provision for three board members to be elected by the trust’s voluntary members is retained. I am aware that the committee’s minority report opposes the increase in Crown appointments. The Government is satisfied however that those measures are appropriate given the Government’s considerable interests in the trust and the importance of the trust’s regulatory responsibilities. Reducing the number of board members will enhance the efficiency of decision making and align the board with statutory organisations of a similar size. Increasing the proportion of Crown appointees will enable appointments to be informed by a better overview of the board’s needs while retaining the valuable input of the board’s elected members. It is expected that the overall effect of the change will be to achieve a greater range of skills and experience in the make-up of the board and to ensure that it is well positioned to fulfil its core functions. 
I note that increasing the proportion of Crown appointees does not in any way compromise the trust’s free and non-political operation. Consequential amendments to the Historic Places Act in the Crown Entities Act state that the Minister may not direct the trust in respect of heritage matters thereby ensuring that the trust will continue to perform its functions independently. 
The bill also addresses the process for compilation of the trust’s register of historical and cultural heritage. The Historic Places Act as it stands requires the trust to notify proposals to register historic and wahi tapu places but does not require notification of proposals to register historic and wahi tapu areas; nor is the trust required to invite submissions on proposals for any part of the register. It is the trust’s practice to publicly notify and invite submissions on all registration proposals. The idea that this practice should be laid down in legislation rather than be reliant on the trust’s policy was one of the recommendations of an independent review of the trust’s processes which was commissioned by the trust and carried out by former Environment Court judge Professor Peter Skelton. Hence the bill includes the requirement for the trust to publicly notify and invite submissions on all registration proposals thus ensuring that those affected by any registration continue to have their views taken into consideration. 
The bill also includes a range of amendments to clarify or adjust certain sections of the Act. These amendments aim to align the Act with other legislation rectify inconsistencies improve the effectiveness of some sections and clarify aspects of the trust’s archaeological authority processes. The bill for example makes it explicit that the term “historic place” can include all historic structures in a group of associated historic buildings. 
After consideration of all submissions the committee has recommended a small number of amendments to the bill as it was introduced to the House last September and the Government concurs with those recommendations. The main amendment relates to section 31(3)(b) in clause 11 and section 32(3)(b) in clause 12. The committee has recommended that written notice of proposals for registration of historic areas and wahi tapu areas need be given only to people whose names and places of residence or business are available to the trust or to the local council. That is in response to a concern expressed by the trust that obtaining the names and addresses of all owners and persons with a registered interest may be impossible especially given that any affected Maori land could have thousands of owners. The other change relates to clause 16. The committee has recommended that the time allowed for the trust to undertake a review of registration be reduced from 2 years to 1 year providing for greater efficiency as well as certainty for property owners. 
A number of issues arose during the process of considering the bill that did not result in recommendations for change but are worthy of note. The first of those relates to the requirements for Maori expertise on the trust board. The bill requires that at least three board members be appointed with regard to their knowledge of Te Ao Maori or a Maori worldview and tikanga Maori Maori protocol and culture. That replaces the provision in the Historic Places Act 1993 that three members of the board must be of Maori ethnicity and is consistent with similar provisions in other recent legislation. The trust presented oral and written submissions expressing its preference that the existing provision that requires at least three people of Maori ethnicity to be on the board be maintained. The trust considers that provision important to ensure credibility and understanding of issues relating to New Zealand’s Maori heritage. The committee did not recommend an amendment however on the principle that appointments should be made on the basis of skills knowledge and experience rather than ethnicity. The Government supports the committee’s view and is confident that the skills and knowledge specified ensure that the trust can effectively perform its role with regard to Maori heritage. 
The trust also pointed out that as a result of its new status as a Crown entity there will no longer be specific provision for a permanent deputy chairperson on the board. Currently the principal Act provides for the trust board to elect its own deputy chair but that provision was repealed by the Crown Entities Act. The position of deputy chair has always been an important one as only three positions are able to exercise some of the statutory delegations in the principal Act. This issue has now been addressed not through a requirement for the responsible Minister to appoint a permanent deputy chair but through consequential amendments to the principal Act and the Crown Entities Act. Those enable the relevant statutory delegations to be exercised by any one of the ministerially appointed members of the trust board. 
The final issue is one raised in the committee’s minority report and relates to the definition of wahi tapu which the report suggests is too broad to be meaningful. There is however no proposal in the bill to amend the definition of wahi tapu as the Government considers the definition in the principal Act to be adequate and the trust has shown it can work effectively within that definition. 
I acknowledge the time and well-considered comments of all those who made submissions. I am also appreciative of the hard work of the members of the Government Administration Committee in considering submissions and fine-tuning the wording of the bill. I also pay my respects to staff of the Ministry for Culture and Heritage who have worked long and hard on this bill along with the staff and members of the trust. The Government believes that this bill with the amendments I have noted will provide a firm foundation for the trust’s continuing operation and I commend the process of this bill through the House.