Reti Shane: Christian Churches New Zealand Property Trust Board Empowering Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeReti Shane: Christian Churches New Zealand Property Trust Board Empowering Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 12 August 2015. Volume:707;Page:5729. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Dr SHANE RETI (National—Whangarei): It is a pleasure to talk to the Christian Churches New Zealand Property Trust Board Empowering Bill 2015. Fundamentally as has been said this is a bill that empowers the transfer of property from an old board to a new board. I thought it might be kind of interesting to maybe look at the first property that the church acquired to give a bit of background to that and then bring it forward into modern days.On 2 March 1844 the first Churches of Christ preacher in Wellington came from Scotland—Thomas Jackson actually—and his first converts were Thomas Butler James Barton Thomas Magarey Charles Nichol and wife John Batt and wife George Taylor whom I will come back to and John Griffiths. In 1844 they had no trained ministry; they were all lay people. In fact they followed the British churches’ formula if you like which had lay people preaching. So they ministered their faith using borrowed periodicals. Why I mention George Taylor is that it was very fortuitous that when he came from Yorkshire he brought a whole lot of British periodicals with him. Subsequently the congregation reached out to James Wallis in Nottingham and Alexander Campbell in the USA who regularly sent theological periodicals for the burgeoning faith to use. A few years later in an economic depression the church actually discontinued and then it recommenced in 1879 with a total of 13 members. As you will see over the next 50 years it actually got to a maximum of 4900 but I will come to that.In 1883 here is the church’s first building its first property now Hocton hall. The land was donated and it paid £350. So here is one of the properties that are being transferred from the old board to the new board Hocton hall. After that the church had rapid membership growth. In fact no more than 2 or 3 years later it had 25 churches and 1238 members and had engaged a full-time evangelist Edward Lewis. If we could jump 50 years if you like I said the church’s highest membership was actually in 1938 when it had 4962 members in New Zealand. That brings us through to today when as it openly states its membership is declining a bit and may be around about 1800. But I would like to look at some of the achievements of the Churches of Christ as it was known as then. Of course now it is the Christian Churches New Zealand. The name was changed in 2012.If we look at some of the achievements of this organisation—firstly it was represented at the first World Convention of Churches of Christ in 1930. Secondly in 1955 the Churches of Christ became members of the Joint Standing Committee on Church Union. That had been set up by the congregational Methodist Presbyterian and Anglican churches. Thirdly in 1940 it was a foundation member of the National Council of Churches in New Zealand and the World Council of Churches. Fourthly it has had members who have been associates and the general secretary of the National Council of Churches and one of its members was an executive director of the Christian World Service. Finally some of its members have also been chaplains and exhibited leadership in a number of groups including the Bible Society and the Leprosy Mission. In fact it contributed some of the early missionaries to Southern Rhodesia in the late 1800s which was you know a really good mission.If we look today as has been commented the initial property was in the names of the elders of the congregations. Well clearly that did not work in a modern world. In 1924 at a Dunedin conference the church formed a board and all the property has since been authorised and held by the Churches of Christ under the Associated Churches of Christ Property Act 1929. That brings us to 2013 when the church reconfigured and formed a new entity and a new structure was formed. It is that structure that entity that this Act authorises.This bill vests property appropriately. It also says there is no breach in fiduciary duty from old to new. It also says there is no cancelling of existing contractual arrangements and I think importantly and practically there is no requirement for retrospective name corrections on any existing instruments. So I think this organisation has had a fine history and foundation in Nelson. I think it has contributed to New Zealand and around the world. I have no hesitation in recommending this bill to the House. Thank you.