King Annette: National War Memorial Park (Pukeahu) Empowering Bill — Second Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
King Annette: National War Memorial Park (Pukeahu) Empowering Bill — Second Reading 
[Sitting date: 25 September 2012. Volume:684;Page:5574. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Labour—Rongotai) 
: 
 Labour as we have already heard from Grant Robertson wholeheartedly supports the National War Memorial Park (Pukeahu) Empowering Bill. I think it was unfortunate however that the Hon Chris Finlayson went straight into criticism of the 2008 proposal. It is unfortunate because he really just could not help himself. He could not recognise that there is a broad consensus for this bill and I would have to say that I will never forget his comments to a former Mayor of Wellington after the 2008 election that he was not going to progress Helen Clark’s project and she was not going to get any credit for this. That in fact was what it was about in terms of this delay. 
I think it is most unfortunate there has been now a 4-year delay and that we need this legislation to be able to ensure that the park is in place for 2015 so that it can be opened for Anzac Day 2015 for the 100th commemoration of Gallipoli. But we will support this bill because it is important. It is important to all New Zealanders. The recognition is certainly important to our servicemen and servicewomen—a place where you can go and acknowledge the sacrifice made by men and women not just at Gallipoli but in the many conflicts that New Zealand has been involved in. 
I want to pay a tribute to the Rt Hon Helen Clark because it was her vision. I do not think I have met another member of Parliament who has driven harder to acknowledge commemorate and respect the soldiers and service people of New Zealand. She had a passion that came out of her own family background. She had great-uncles and family members who had served in war and lost their lives. This passion came through in many of the decisions that were made by Cabinet between 2000 and 2008. One of those decisions which has led to the decision to have the National War Memorial where it is placed was the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior. Many of us will remember the day 10 November 2004 when the New Zealand Defence Force brought home the Unknown Warrior. There was a welcoming ceremony at Parliament and the Unknown Warrior was honoured with campaign medals from two world wars an Operational Service Medal and the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services Association’s highest award the Badge in Gold. 
 About 10000 New Zealanders queued to pay their respects to the Unknown Warrior lying in state here at Parliament. Then the following day on Armistice Day after a memorial service at the cathedral of St Paul the Unknown Warrior was accorded a full military funeral procession through Wellington to the final interment ceremony at the National War Memorial. It is estimated that around 100000 New Zealanders lined the streets that day to honour the Unknown Warrior who was taken to a place that is now to become our National War Memorial Park. 
That is fitting. Many countries have such places where people can go and remember and now we will have one in April 2015. It does mean because of the delay that we are having to use legislation. It does mean that we have legislation that has as part of it the use of Order in Council and that is not always ideal. There is also always some resistance and feelings of it being not quite right to have to use Order in Council and I understand those who feel uneasy. But I would say to them that I think the changes that are being made will ensure that there are safeguards put in place so that the use of that Order in Council will be done sparingly and that it will be done only as a last resort. I would urge all parties in this House to join together to support this legislation so that those who are listening to this debate and those who look to us to give leadership when it comes to those who have made sacrifices for this country can see that we are a united Parliament in wanting to honour them. 
I think that we can take comfort from the changes that were made that were suggested by Labour and secured at the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee. As you heard from Grant Robertson the changes mean that the Order in Council can be used only as a last resort. Every other thing must be considered. All other reasonable and practical ways must be considered and looked at before an Order in Council is used. There is also a requirement which I think is a very sensible one that any decisions made by the review panel have to be reported to Parliament every 6 months. They have extended the consideration of Orders in Council to 12 sitting days. So I think with those changes it has given some security to those who were worried about the use of Order in Council. Let us get over that and look to how we can make this work. 
One of the ways it will work well is by extending the role of the body that is deciding and the formation of a community forum I think is a really great idea. You see too often in this place we seem to think that we know best that we know how things should work and that we have the knowledge at our fingertips. But from my experience over the years I have found that often the best ideas and the best solutions come from the community itself—those who live in that community experience what is happening in that community. A community forum that can come together and say “This is how we think it should be going this is how it should be designed this is what it will mean to us and this is what the impact will be.” is I think a very very sound idea indeed. 
I gather it is to meet four times a year and there is some thought that this should be more often than four times. Maybe initially it could be more often than four times a year. Perhaps there would be a need for it to meet every month to begin with. We should not restrict how often it meets in a tight time frame and straitjacket but rely on what needs to be done and what discussions need to be held. 
This is a bill that is going to when it is passed allow for this park to proceed with speed. There is a lot of work to be done but if I was going to make any criticism apart from the criticism I have already made it is that I do think that the Ministry of Transport ought to rethink what happens beyond the park because its planning for the road beyond the underground tunnelling of Buckle Street is a dog’s breakfast. We are going to end up with a road which someone has called a “circus road”—I think it is actually a “rollercoaster road” where we go up and down and up and down—because the thinking beyond Buckle Street leading up to the tunnel has not been thought through by the New Zealand Transport Agency which is working with the Ministry for Culture and Heritage. We ought not to have a flyover around the Basin Reserve. I would rather that we wait and get it right than rush ahead with a flyover that I think will actually detract from the memorial park. 
That is something the Government needs to think about. Do not be driven by the agenda of the New Zealand Transport Agency and some need to have roads of national significance in place. Think about this park what we are trying to do here what we are trying to commemorate and the significance of it. Think about the road beyond it if it is going to detract from it. It is certainly going to detract from a transport and flow of traffic solution that goes into my electorate through the Mount Victoria tunnel. They will be able to get to the Mount Victoria tunnel very fast through a flyover only to reach a tunnel that goes just one way for each line of traffic. 
So I support this bill. Labour supports this bill as we have done from the time of its introduction. We have supported and assisted to make sure that it is passed and that this park can proceed and be ready for April 2015.