Woods Megan: Environment Canterbury (Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Woods Megan: Environment Canterbury (Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 19 February 2013. Volume:687;Page:8000. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Dr MEGAN WOODS (Labour—Wigram) 
: 
 I am very happy to take a call on the Environment Canterbury (Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management) Amendment Bill and to speak to Part 1 of this bill. In particular I want to speak to the extension of the date that this bill is putting into place. I want to dwell on some of the comments and the arguments that we have heard from members opposite tonight because they actually disturb me. They probably disturb me as much as the Law Society was disturbed at the breach of law that this piece of legislation was bringing to the people of Canterbury. I hurried back here tonight to speak on this bill after being at a rally for Christchurch schools where I can report to members opposite the Minister and members from Christchurch there is far from satisfaction and this is all embedded.  
I want to take people back to 19 September last year 2012 when the people of Christchurch gathered to show their dissatisfaction with the extension of the rolling over of the Environment Canterbury elections from 2013 to 2016. What did they do? They gathered at the Bridge of Remembrance and they had a very clear message. They did not want their vote taken away. They did not want their schools taken. In fact they were asking for democracy all round. This was a very special day when they gathered to ask for this—this of course being Women’s Suffrage Day a day when Christchurch can rightly be proud of its heritage in being a crucible of democracy in this country.  
What did we have going on from the Government the people who ironically are elected to represent us? It had the taking away of our votes. For the people of Christchurch this is galling. It is galling that their votes have been taken away. It is galling that their schools are being closed. It is galling they are not being listened to and it is galling that they are being run roughshod over by this Government. When people gather in Christchurch at these rallies for democracy which seem to happen at a regular pace there are chants that go up—and they are reported in  
The Press 
—with people saying: “What do we want? Democracy. When do we want it? Now.” This is happening— 
Hon Ruth Dyson 
: Oh no don’t they say 2016? 
Dr MEGAN WOODS 
: No they do not say 2016. They say they want it now. Labour is proud that we have given an undertaking that when we are elected in 2014 to be the Government we will reinstate elections. It shocks me as a member of Parliament that I have to stand here and talk about reinstating elections in this country. It just beggars belief.  
What have we heard from Jacqui Dean? Jacqui Dean talked about people coming to the Local Government and Environment Committee who were jacked up by various political parties to come and wail at the select committee. The arrogance shown by this member pretty much sums up why it is that tempers have boiled over at the select committee. This is the way the people of Canterbury who came to tell the select committee that they did object to their votes being taken away and they did object to their democratic rights being taken away are now described in this House the House of Representatives of New Zealanders—as coming to have a wail to the select committee. This is up there with Gerry Brownlee describing the people of Christchurch as carpers and moaners and telling them that they are just buggerising around on Facebook. This is unacceptable and shows no respect for the people of Canterbury. It shows no respect for the people of Christchurch. This is a Government that shows absolutely no respect for the people of Christchurch.  
At one of these rallies for democracy I had the pleasure of meeting two of my constituents who were objecting to the extension of this date from 2013 to 2016. This was a very special couple of constituents whom I met. In fact it was a couple in their mid-80s. They live in Riccarton and this was the first time in their entire lives that they had ever been on a protest. It was the first time in their lives that they had actually sought to you know actually make clear to a Government their view that they did not like what was going on but they were so affronted that their right to vote was being taken away from them by a Government that was elected in this country. The fact that people in their mid-80s are having to take to the street to talk about their—