Pillay Lynne: Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Bill — In Committee 
Pillay Lynne: Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:675;Page:14425] 
LYNNE PILLAY (Labour—Waitakere) 
: 
 It is a pleasure to stand and speak in support of this bill. I note that the previous speaker acknowledged the Waitakere City Council but I think it is important that we acknowledge the other two councils the Auckland Regional Council and the Rodney District Council. I congratulate them on their vision on the extraordinary consultation and community involvement they carried out in support of this bill and on their ongoing support and energy which has brought this bill before the House. I also acknowledge the Local Government and Environment Committee led by Steve Chadwick and the constructive recommendations made by the majority of that committee which has brought this bill forward and recommended that it proceed before the Committee today. 
I will speak very briefly about the comments made by Nick Smith because personally I found them quite offensive. I would never dream of insulting the Committee by my Maori pronunciation but I would like to give the translation of the words in the bill. The preamble states: “Listen all of the assembled tribes to this talk of olden times this land is a fish. The person who fished it up was Maui. I will remain here on it indeed until I die:”. That was a Waitakere chief at the Kohimarama conference in 1860. It is acknowledging feeling passion and—even back in 1860—the desire to keep Waitakere and those beautiful ranges as they are and as they should be. 
My good friend David Cunliffe acknowledged all those people who came before us—I think three decades ago—and really worked hard and attempted to get a bill such as this before the House. It was not successful. I will not talk too much to that; I will wait for the third and final reading stage. But I really want to acknowledge that this bill was supported by many. Dail Jones entered the House and hit the ground running slightly losing the plot but being enthusiastic nonetheless. 
In terms of Aucklanders I agree with him in one place; Aucklanders own the regional park through grants and amazing goodwill. The Waitakere Ranges Regional Park is something we hold with great pride. I completely and utterly agree with Dail Jones on that. It is quite mischievous to suggest that the Waitakere Ranges should be a national park and certainly it is a red herring before this House. But I do not agree with Mr Jones that overwhelmingly Aucklanders do not support the heritage area. 
I will talk very briefly about the name of this bill. David Cunliffe and I along with many regional counsellors and officials plus iwi representatives were on the committee a working party that looked at this bill and really worked towards drawing it up initially. We decided not to call it a park because of the perception that a park is something that is publicly owned. That is why it is called a heritage area. Every single consultation and poll taken with the people of Auckland and outside Auckland overwhelmingly supported the principle of having a heritage area. 
Paula Bennett 
: What was the question? 
LYNNE PILLAY 
: The member keeps asking what the question was. The question was whether they wanted more protection for the heritage area. The mistake that happened is that unfortunately the likes of poor old Nick Smith rode in one day and decided there were a lot of votes in opposing the bill not taking into account what many of the residents and ratepayers groups wanted or what the three regional councils wanted after their consultation. He completely overrode that. Basically I am very proud to stand and speak in support of this bill. I do not agree with Paula Bennett that it has split the community. Misinformation splits the community. When people had the appropriate and real information they supported it.