Simpson Scott: Wellington Town Belt Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeSimpson Scott: Wellington Town Belt Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 04 May 2016. Volume:713;Page:10772. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]SCOTT SIMPSON (National—Coromandel): As chairman of the Local Government and Environment Committee which has considered this bill through the select committee process I want to place on record my pleasure in supporting this third reading of the bill and to confirm that it is the Government’s intention to support the bill as we have done at the first and second readings. The member who has just resumed his seat Grant Robertson the local member for Wellington Central is I think rightly proud of today’s situation in terms of bringing this bill which has taken so long but is so worthwhile to fruition. I would like to join with him and others in congratulating Her Worship the Mayor of Wellington Celia Wade-Brown her councillors and her dedicated and professional staff members who have helped guide this bill before it came to Parliament. They did an incredible amount of work prior to it being presented to the House. I also want to acknowledge and thank as did Mr Robertson those many many people past and present Wellingtonians who have over the years supported the original intent of the trust deed in terms of protecting and enhancing the Wellington town belt as the wonderful green natural environmental asset that it is in an otherwise urban environment.I am fortunate to come from a part of the country—the Coromandel—where we take access to our bush and our natural environment almost for granted and where we have easy and regular access to beautiful pristine walks and beaches and environmental jewels that are literally on our back doorstep every day of the week. That is not necessarily the case in many urban environments around our country or indeed around the world so this Wellington town belt has absolutely become something of a jewel in the crown of the Wellington urban landscape. It is a very unique and historic horseshoe-shaped area of open space around Wellington’s inner city. When the concept of the urban belt was first developed and first mooted 170-odd years ago how far-sighted were those original people? No matter their primary objective the fact that they had the foresight and the wisdom to set aside an area of land as large as it was and is today for the benefit of the citizens of and visitors to Wellington I think shows considerable foresight and is something that they could be very grateful for and proud of today as we consider this bill.The town belt provides a beautiful scenic backdrop to Wellington’s urban environment. It offers obvious and natural recreational opportunities for tens of thousands of people every year and on a daily basis I am one who when I am in Wellington takes an opportunity to walk in the early morning through the Wellington Botanic Garden which forms part of the Wellington town belt. As a mere visitor to Wellington I too get an opportunity to enjoy what has been and remains today a beautiful environmental attribute for the city.Its genesis was back in 1839 when as Mr Robertson said the secretary of the New Zealand Company one John Ward gave instructions to set aside a belt of land not to be built upon around what was then the relatively small township of Wellington. The intention was to create a green and open space to improve the health and well-being of citizens. Those are worthy attributes and ones that we still aspire to. After the New Zealand Company’s land passed to the Crown the Governor of New Zealand at the time gazetted the belt of land as reserve in 1841. The land was again further transferred in 1865 from the Crown to the then superintendent of the province of Wellington and it became known at that stage as the Crown Grant. It has often been referred to in history books and writings as the Crown Grant in days since.It was when in 1873 the trust deed was originally created that the mayor and councillors of Wellington became the trustee for the town belt. Wellington City Council is trustee of the town belt today and it acts on behalf of the inhabitants and citizens of Wellington. The council is of course a guardian and manager as well of the town belt and so it falls to the council to ensure that on a day-to-day basis the town belt is maintained and enhanced that suitable provisions are made to ensure that public access is available that maintenance occurs and that correct planting arbour work tree pruning and all those sorts of things that go with managing an area like this take place.By the time this bill came to Parliament for its first reading a very significant amount of work had been done by staff and supporters of the town belt at Wellington City Council. It was some years of careful development and stewardship by council staff and councillors that shepherded the piece of legislation that was brought to us into a form that was presentable to Parliament. That process started with the approval of the creation of guiding principles back in mid-2011. That process formed the basis of what we now understand and know as the Wellington Town Belt Management Plan and then the development of the drafting instructions took place in 2013. Final council approval for this bill took place in February 2015 and then it was presented to the House by Grant Robertson later that year. During this process Wellington City Council received feedback from over 300 individuals and organisations each of them with an interest with a stake with a—Paul Foster-Bell: How many?SCOTT SIMPSON: Over 300 individuals and organisations Mr Foster-Bell. Each of those individuals and organisations had a passionate interest in the town belt and its well-being and its future maintenance. They were all concerned that the integrity of the original trust deed should be maintained but that a modern usable manageable context should be provided by this legislation in order that for the next 100 years or whatever the management and operation of the town belt could be easily understood could be easily guided and could be sorted in a way that did not create the confusion and sometimes concern amongst citizens and indeed council staff that the current arrangements have done.Wellington City Council’s obligations and power as trustee stem today—until this piece of legislation is passed later this afternoon—from a range of sources. Those sources include the original Town Belt Deed of 1873 the Reserves Act and also a number of even older statutes than the Reserves Act. The relationship between many of those sources of trust authority are actually complex they are detailed and in some cases they are not clear or certain in terms of what the intent is. So it has been difficult for council staff and members of the public to actually interpret some of those original source documents and those source powers that have been designated to council. This piece of legislation tidies all of that up. This piece of legislation makes the future management the future day-to-day operation of the town belt and its future benefits to all Wellingtonians and visitors far easier to understand a lot simpler and far more meaningful in today’s legislative and practical context.The bill also enables land to be added to the existing town belt. I want to just reinforce the point that as soon as this bill passes a further 120 hectares will be added to the existing 390 hectares. That represents a very significant piece of land and it is going to be a hugely significant benefit to future generations. The council has in this new piece of legislation a single easily understood easily interpreted reference point for how it is able to manage and look after the affairs of the town belt for the future. The Wellington Town Belt Management Plan will give the public stakeholders and council staff the tools they need to ensure that the foresight of the deed’s original authors are maintained and enhanced for future generations.The Local Government and Environment Committee received 31 submissions and we heard from 21 submitters each of them passionate and vigorous. I think the process has been a very good one. I am delighted to be able to stand on behalf of the Government and commend this third reading of the bill to the House.