Wagner Nicky: Christ’s College (Canterbury) Amendment Bill — In Committee Procedure Third Reading 
Wagner Nicky: Christ’s College (Canterbury) Amendment Bill — In Committee Procedure Third Reading 
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NICKY WAGNER (National) 
: 
 I move  
That the Christ’s College (Canterbury) Amendment Bill be now read a third time 
. This amendment bill amends the 1910 Christ’s College (Canterbury) Act to authorise the governing body of the college to apply property in certain circumstances to the benefit of the college as long as it is for a charitable purpose even though the property is not applied to the original purpose for which it was given to the college. Established in 1856 Christ’s College is one of New Zealand’s oldest schools. Over the years the college has received numerous bequests from various donors; many bequests are small. The college holds these funds in trusts to be applied for a specific purpose but often the original purposes have now become redundant are difficult to implement or the property generates too little or too much money for the purpose. Presently if the funds cannot be used for the stated purposes they remain in the school’s accounts and despite the best intentions and desires of the donors can do nothing to benefit the school or the students. This problem of trusts is a common problem for long-established organisations and legislation has been passed by Parliament on several occasions to deal with the issue. The most recent was the Methodist Church of New Zealand Trusts Act 2009. 
I particularly thank the members of the Government Administration Committee and its chair the Hon David Parker for intelligently and methodically working their way through this bill and dealing with issues quickly and efficiently. The select committee recommended that the bill with amendments should proceed which was good news for the board of governors of Christ’s College as it faced the clean-up of the 4 September earthquake. Several of the college’s neo-Gothic buildings were damaged although all those that had been strengthened to 67 percent of the building code were unscathed. We people from Christchurch understand how important earthquake strengthening is and the percentage of strengthening. We discussed the earthquake damage at the second reading and tonight I will update the House on the progress of restoration and rebuilding at the school. 
According to the bursar of Christ’s College Colin Sweetman the repairs are progressing well. The college has been fully operational since the beginning of the third term and all the cosmetic work has been completed in the classrooms and the day and boarding houses. Work is now progressing on the exterior repairs to chimneys and gable-ends as recommended by the engineers. Repairs to chimneys and gable-ends being stone will inevitably take some time and require skilled workmanship. The college is also addressing the earthquake strengthening of the Cranmer Centre which is in the historic buildings that once belonged to Christchurch Girls’ High School and are now used by Christ’s College. It is working with both the council and the Historic Places Trust to restore this complex of buildings. Other strengthening and refurbishment work in the college is now out for tender and it plans to start that work immediately after the college finishes for the year. It will be a big job and the college will be extremely busy for probably the next 6 to 12 months but everything is under way to ensure that its wonderful neo-Gothic buildings—an important part of the architectural history of Christchurch—can be used and enjoyed for many years to come. 
The select committee found that the amendment bill was generally consistent with the law relating to charitable trusts but suggested some improvements. It suggested that the bill use the wording from the Charitable Trusts Act 1957 which has an established body of case law supporting it to avoid ambiguity. It also suggested the inclusion of a clause that would allow the governing body to use excess income from trusts for other purposes which again is consistent with the Charitable Trusts Act. The committee wanted to make sure that the term “for the benefit of the College” was not interpreted too widely. The funds can be used only for charitable purposes so to remove doubt the committee included a clause to spell that out. The select committee and the Christ’s College board of governors have worked well together on this legislation and have done an excellent job reshaping the bill. The board of governors has always made it clear that it wishes to meet the objects of the trusts as closely as possible and that its approach to any variation of purpose would be as sympathetic to and consistent with the original as possible. It also assured the select committee that before exercising this power it will complete a detailed review of each of the trusts to ensure that the original purposes cannot continue to be fully met. 
This is good legislation. It gives the college more flexibility but it also safeguards the management of those trusts and will ensure that the school and the students will receive benefits from those donations made over the past years in the most appropriate way. During the debate on the 1910 Act which we are now amending the Hon Mr Jones said in the House that he hoped that the gentlemen entrusted with the charge of those endowments would realise the responsibility that rested on them. Well 100 years on we can see that Parliament’s trust has been well rewarded. The gentlemen of the board have governed prudently and well and the college has prospered. In 2010 the warden of the school is the Bishop of Christchurch the Rt Rev Victoria Matthews and the chairperson of the board is Mrs Mary Ross. Under their leadership I believe that the board of governors both male and female will set the college on the right path for the next 100 years. Thank you.