Wagner Nicky: Greater Christchurch Regeneration Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeWagner Nicky: Greater Christchurch Regeneration Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 17 March 2016. Volume:712;Page:9882. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon NICKY WAGNER (Associate Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery): It is my pleasure too to support this Greater Christchurch Regeneration Bill. There is absolutely no doubt that we all agree that Christchurch has come a long way since 4 September 2010. It has been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster but we are still learning how to reorganise our lives how to manage our emotions and how to cope with grief—cope with grief for the people whom we have lost for the homes that have been destroyed and for the communities that are changed. But together we have all survived that emergency phase. We are managing the recovery and now it is our turn to look forward to regeneration.The phases all morph into each other as our lives and circumstances change and as each of our individual futures evolve at different speeds. But 5 years on is the time to focus on the future and embrace regeneration as the road back to business as usual: local leadership local management and local control.Regeneration is a much bigger and more exciting concept than recovery. It is about building back better. It is about urban renewal and development restoration revitalisation and enhancement. It is our opportunity to improve the environmental the economic the social and the cultural well-being of our city and its surroundings. I think we all know where we want to end up. I think the submitters in the Share an Idea campaign made it very clear. We want to live in a leafy people-friendly vibrant city; a place where all generations want to come to live to work and to play; a city that focuses on community well-being; a city that we can be proud of; and a city that we can all enjoy. I believe we are well on our way towards that.I just want to make a note about the bill. The references to environmental social and cultural well-being have been elevated to the purpose clause of the bill to highlight their importance. Many submitters thought that “regeneration” did not include environmental well-being. Well it does and I am really pleased that the Local Government and Environment Committee has recommended that it should be moved to become more visible.The Greater Christchurch Regeneration Bill and its Supplementary Order Paper will provide a framework within which we can all work together to get the best possible outcomes for our city and Greater Christchurch. The strategic partners which are the four councils—the Christchurch City Council the Selwyn District Council the Waimakariri District Council and Environment Canterbury—work with central government and Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu and we have all got roles to play to deliver on this outcome and to prepare local organisations to take over and continue the work in the future. This bill has only a 5-year term but regeneration and urban renewal will continue well past 2021. In fact it should be continual and ongoing so post-2021 Regenerate Christchurch will become a new council-controlled organisation. It is crucial that we get this bill right because it is an exciting opportunity for greater Christchurch.I want to thank everybody who has been involved with creating the bill: the drafters the submitters the select committee and particularly all those members who have worked with Minister Brownlee to make sure that this bill will support the collaborative process that we all need to embrace as we go forward.The bill specifically recognises local leadership through our councils and through Ngāi Tahu and provides each organisation with a role in the decision making under the Act. It requires community input to decisions into the development of regeneration plans and the decisions on the exercise of powers under clause 42. I think the bill represents an important milestone and allows for that much-discussed step change move—the move from recovery to regeneration and from the Crown being in the driver’s seat towards a progressive handover to local leaders.Submitters were really keen that the community be fully included and have a strong voice in future decisions. The Government agrees and the bill provides many opportunities for public input. The key is to develop a vision that will bring local people together and allow regeneration to happen quickly and efficiently. Engagement in the development of regeneration plans will be particularly important and the bill requires proponents at the early outline plan stage to set out the opportunities for public engagement and how that will be undertaken. Regenerate Christchurch also has a statutory role to engage with communities stakeholders and decision makers to achieve the purpose of supporting a vibrant thriving and engaged Christchurch.As I have already noted public engagement on regeneration plans was a key issue for submitters. I want to emphasise that the consultation provisions in this bill are a minimum. The Government expects local leaders to identify a range of public and stakeholder engagement opportunities for the issues covered by the draft plan. We want them to be creative. We want people to be excited and motivated by the possibilities for our city.The St Valentine’s Day earthquake last month reminded us of just what it was like 5 years ago but it also emphasised how far we have come since that time. It gave me real confidence seeing how our new homes and new buildings stood up so well and any damage—damage from rockfall cliff crumble or mass movement—happened only where we expected it to happen which was behind the barricades. There is no doubt that Canterbury will continue to be a shaky place. We know that our geography is constantly changing but I think we can all be assured that our geotechnical experts have got a really good handle on how earthquakes work in our region and I think most of us have learnt a lot about that too.We also know that there is still more work to be done to complete the final recovery work and before we move completely into regeneration and on to business as usual. So I support the continuation of the lands and works powers to finish the implementation of the Christchurch Central Recovery Plan and the final very difficult and complex demolition that has got to be carried out on the Port Hills.I believe the bill that is reported back from the select committee and its Supplementary Order Paper will provide that step change that we all seek. It will support a really exciting journey from recovery to regeneration and from regeneration to the new local business-as-usual. Along the way many doors will open. I think it is really important for the inhabitants of Greater Christchurch that we can embrace the new ideas the new opportunities and the new ways of working. I think that it is our challenge and our responsibility to make really good decisions—good decisions for those who have gone before us and good decisions for those who will come after us. I commend the bill to the House.