Chadwick Steve: Hamilton City Council (Parana Park) Land Vesting Bill — In Committee 
Chadwick Steve: Hamilton City Council (Parana Park) Land Vesting Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:670;Page:17100] 
Hon STEVE CHADWICK (Labour) 
: 
 Mr Chair I will be relevant to Parana Park that is for sure and relevant to the Local Government and Environment Committee members who considered this bill as part of the due process of examining any law that comes before the select committee. 
I will talk about clause 4 the purpose clause of the Hamilton City Council (Parana Park) Land Vesting Bill. My colleagues speaking previously have touched on whether the park should be a historic reserve or a recreation reserve. As the spokesperson for heritage on this side of the House I say Labour values the historical aspects of telling our stories as New Zealanders. I agree with what the Waikato Tree Trust and those from the Historic Places Trust told the select committee—on the day this bill was debated I was subbed on to the select committee. 
I think that when we are looking to the future how we look back on our past is of incredible significance. I think it is an opportunity lost that we are now calling this area a recreation reserve. I do not know what a passive recreation reserve is—it sounds like a legacy from the now-closed convalescent home that was on Parana Park. There is an incredible history to this piece of land going back to its confiscation from Tainui. That event is not commemorated in any way on this piece of land and I think that is something the people of Tainui will go to the council over. It would have been even better if the council had reserved seats for Maori members as the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (Maori Constituency Empowering) Act 2001 allows. Tainui will say that part of their history as Tainui needs to be recorded on this land. We have lost an opportunity here. 
We have lost an opportunity to have this land designated as a historic reserve—as a reserve that would have commemorated the great history of the past. Actually the opportunity foregone by Hamilton City Council is really interesting because George Parr himself was the son of a Mayor of Hamilton. It sounds like he was a great fellow in the past life of Hamilton as a member of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce. This guy George Parr advocated for issues that are still being advocated today. The sponsor in the chair David Bennett needs to pick up on that. George Parr was looking to connect the Waikato River with Waiuku by means of a canal. That is a great idea for an electorate MP and I am sure that my colleague Sue Moroney will pick up that bit of legacy that bit of history that should have been commemorated in this land being designated a historic reserve in clause 4. What a pity that that has not happened! The other issue George Parr was a great advocate for—and let us remember our history here and tell our stories for goodness’ sake—was for a train service from Kawhia and Raglan to Hamilton. I think a visionary like Sue Moroney who has advocated for the rail link with Auckland will certainly pick up what needs to be done about rail links in the greater Waikato in memory of George Parr. 
There are all sorts of pockets of history related to this bit of land from the confiscation onwards. Another rather charming piece of history that could be lost is a little stone bridge there that spans Gibbons Creek. It connects Parana Park with the memorial park. That bridge was built at the expense of Annie MacPherson who died in 1928. 
How beautiful it would have been if this bill had designated this land as a historic reserve rather than a recreation reserve under clause 4. Historic reserve status would not have precluded passive recreation—that would have been an enabling component—but would have been a great way for the people of the Waikato and of Hamilton City to tell their history which is a history that has been built with the people of Tainui. So I think it is an opportunity lost. I understand that the purpose clause repeals the Hamilton City (Parana Park) Empowering Act and vests it—