Parker DavidAMERICA'S CUP ROAD STOPPING BILLSecond ReadingHon DAVID PARKER (Minister for Economic Development): I move That the America's Cup Road Stopping Bill be now read a second time.The purpose of the bill is to support the construction of the facilities for the 36th America's Cup in Auckland by permanently stopping a portion of Brigham Street on Wynyard Point. Hosting the America's Cup has the potential to bring economic social and other benefits to New Zealand. The economic benefits obviously include the people coming to visit and the other participating teams coming and spending money in the country. They also include technology development as New Zealand stays at the forefront of these yachting technologies. Benefits to Auckland include the revitalising of Auckland waterfront and benefits to wider New Zealand include not just the wider economic benefits of perhaps some increased tourism but also celebration of the world-leading success of the America's Cup team led by Grant Dalton.Stopping a portion of Brigham Street enables the construction and operation of syndicate bases on Wynyard Point so that the yachts can be launched from that point into the adjacent harbour during the America's Cup. This has reduced by 16000 square metres the reclamation into the harbour that would otherwise have occurred which is the equivalent of forty 400 square metre sections. It was also cheaper than other options.From the point of view of the Prime Minister Mayor Goff and myself as Minister for the Environment we were keen to minimise further reclamations into the harbour. It's interesting when one reflects on the history of that area that the harbour used to extend at that point all of the way back across Victoria Park to Victoria Street. That's a lot of land that's been reclaimed through the years and early proposals here—given that the land that had previously been reclaimed has been built upon—were to reclaim more land. The Government was of the view that that was not a desirable outcome and that we have to stop reclamation sometime and so we explored other options including clearing off some of the tank farms on Wynyard Point. That's what's going to happen but in order for that former land of the tank farms and some adjacent car parking areas to be used for America's Cup spaces in practice a portion of Brigham Street adjacent to it has to be stopped. This doesn't restrict public access to the rest of Wynyard Point because there is another road line that services that and links up also with the portion of Brigham Street that is not being closed.The legislation is being pursued because the normal road-stopping processes under the Local Government Act 1974 and the Public Works Act 1981 wouldn't have been able to have been implemented in the required time frame needed to enable the construction of the bases. The bill has been considered by the Environment Committee which received three submissions on the bill. All three were supportive of the bill as well as making some suggestions for amendments to the bill. The three changes made to the bill at select committee are first to disapply section 40 of the Public Works Act to the road that is stopped or to that portion of the road that is stopped for so long as Auckland Council owns the land. Under usual road-stopping processes outside of this bill under the Public Works Act section 40 would be disapplied in this way for the territorial authority. Therefore disapplying section 40 on this occasion aligns the bill more closely with usual road-stopping processes and outcomes.The second change is to clarify that the 36th America's Cup is a public work for the purposes of the bill. This is to ensure that section 40 of the Public Works Act which relates to offer-back of land is not triggered by the use of the stopped road for the America's Cup. The third change is to insert a traditional clause to clarify that relevant clauses will continue to apply after the bill itself self-repeals after 12 months. That means that the bill doesn't clutter up the statute book in the future but the effect of the bill continues. These changes will ensure the bill is effective in its purpose of stopping the road to allow construction for the America's Cup to begin. It also enables the greater Wynyard - Hobson location to be achieved and of course that was a negotiated outcome of negotiations between central and local government as well as Emirates Team New Zealand.I believe that the location is one that all New Zealanders will be able to be proud of. It is a lower cost than others and as I've said it has a smaller intrusion into the harbour and sees clearing off of the tank farm that occupies part of the site at the moment. There are also provisions that are being sought by the Crown that enable the continued open nature of this site so that a future America's Cup or some other equivalent event in the future can be held on that open site and that we don't have to go through this palaver again to create open space on the Auckland waterfront for these sorts of events.It is a narrow bill with limited impacts. It will ensure that this portion of Brigham Street can be stopped in a timely manner. Can I thank everyone who submitted on the bill the select committee and other parties in this Parliament for their consideration of the bill and express my thanks to them for their cooperation and confidence that the construction will thereafter be able to get under way. They're in the middle of consent processes at the moment in the Environment Court and I'm not prejudging them but as soon as they are completed—assuming they get their consent—this will mean that they're not delayed further by Public Works Act complications.