Hawke’s Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Society Empowering Bill

on behalf of the Hon Meka Whaitiri (Ikaroa-Rāwhiti): I move, That the Hawke’s Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Society Empowering Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Governance and Administration Committee to consider the bill. At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be reported to the House by 11 April 2023.

I am presenting this on behalf of my colleague Meka Whaitiri, who is attending her son’s graduation. This is her speech.

This is a simple and practical piece of legislation which will enable the Hawke’s Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Association to sell its interests in the Tomoana Showgrounds without being required to invest the money from the sale in the purchase of other land. The society has entered into an unconditional agreement to sell the showgrounds to Hastings District Council under arrangements which will give the grounds reserve status, ensuring it is protected for the community. The council also has plans to prepare a reserve management plan and, with the community, to determine how the showgrounds are looked after and create opportunities for events in the years to come.

Importantly, this will still allow the society 10 days of annual fee use of the showgrounds in perpetuity, which means it can continue to host four key regional events: the annual Hawke’s Bay A & P show, horticultural field days, the Hawke’s Bay Wine Awards, and the Primary Sector Awards, which celebrate the region’s food and fibre industries.

I grew up in Whakatū, a short drive from the Tomoana Showgrounds, and can remember attending field days and the A & P show when I was younger. Only a few weeks ago, I was there at the Hawke’s Bay anniversary day, along with colleagues Stuart Nash and myself—Anna Lorck—enjoying the latest edition of the Hawke’s Bay show and chatting with locals. These are crucial events for the local economy, great fun for families, and the key thing is it will not change under this bill.

The reason the bill is needed is because currently the provisions of the Agricultural and Pastoral Societies Act 1908 require the Hawke’s Bay A & P Society to invest the money received from the sale of land in purchasing other land suitable for the purchasers of the society. The Act controls how the sales must be handled and what can be done with the proceeds, but this may not be the best financial use for the society. The society is seeking to change these requirements as it considers they prevent it from achieving optimal profit in the short and long term, whether that be through term deposit, investment, land purchase, or other means.

Amending the bill will allow the society to achieve optimal profit to continue promoting its primary sector to a wide audience, facilitating events, acknowledging local history and heritage, developing educational programmes, awarding scholarships, and helping its sector and region to continue to develop, grow, and prosper. To achieve the purpose of allowing the society to apply the money received from the sale of land towards the purposes that are consistent with the objectives of the society, the bill treats certain provisions of the Agricultural and Pastoral Societies Act 1908, the Agricultural and Pastoral Societies Amendment Act 1912, and the Agricultural and Pastoral Societies Amendment Act 1920 as never having applied to the society.

If the land was sold, the society must apply the money received from the sale towards the purposes that are consistent with the objects of the society. It is important to note that under the agreements of their sale to the Hastings District Council, the society is still able to host all their key events at Tomoana Showgrounds. They do not need to purchase additional land to do so.

As mentioned in my opening remarks, the Hawke’s Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Association Empowering Bill is a simple and practical piece of legislation that would allow the society to sell its interests in Tomoana Showgrounds without being required to invest the money from the sale in the purchase of other land, and it will ensure these fantastic events will continue at the Hawke’s Bay Showgrounds. It is preferable that this bill is passed in time for the settlement of the sale on 31 March 2023. But in light of the tight time frames at hand, there is some flexibility with both the Hawke’s Bay A & P Society and the Hastings District Council, who are two parties to the sale.

As mentioned earlier, the intention of Meka Whaitiri is for the bill to spend four months in select committee and she has spoken with the chair and deputy chair of the Governance and Administration Committee, who are happy to take this bill on board.

I can assure members that this bill has strong community support. Hastings District Council, which is purchasing the showgrounds, have written a letter of support, as has Waipatu Marae. Society members voted in favour of the sale. I am also grateful for the interest and support of the member for Taranaki - King Country, Barbara Kuriger. The society has also fulfilled all of its requirements under Appendix C, including advertising notices of the proposed bill in local newspapers in Hawke’s Bay and each of the other cities in Aotearoa, being Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin.

It might also be helpful for members to know that this is not the first time a bill of this kind has gone through the House. The Southland Agricultural and Pastoral Association Empowering Bill was passed in 2006, which empowered the association to sell its fee simple and lease interests in the Invercargill Showgrounds and any other land it may require, without having to apply the money received from the sale to purchase other land suitable for the purposes of the society, as required by the Agricultural and Pastoral Societies Act 1908. On that occasion, there was less than five weeks between the bill’s first reading in the House and its passing a third reading. I note my colleague the Hon Damien O’Connor was amongst those to speak in support of that bill during the House debate some 16 years ago.

This bill enables a sensible and practical outcome for the Hawke’s Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Society and means our region will be able to continue celebrating and promoting the successes of our local food and fibre sector. It is supported by the local community and I look forward to the House expediting this bill at its earliest opportunity. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

The question is that the motion be agreed to.

This debate is interrupted until after the dinner break at 7 p.m., when I will resume the Chair. Ka kite anō.

Sitting suspended from 5.58 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I’m pleased to open this debate on behalf of the National Party. For those of you who have just tuned in, this is the Hawke’s Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Society Empowering Bill in the first reading. It is a private bill that is very much focused on the showgrounds in Hawke’s Bay, and it is in the name of the Hon Meka Whaitiri. This is a piece of legislation that National will, of course, be supporting.

I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to spend a reasonable amount of time in the Hawke’s Bay over the last couple of years, and attending, actually, the A & P show recently just reminds us how important these A & P societies are, but also how different times are from the original legislation, or the legislation that currently guides the sale and use of any proceeds, because it goes back to 1908. So, of course, the activity of the society is very different, and what we don’t want to see is the proceeds of the agreed sale of the 42.8 hectares—or under agreement, I should say, to the Hastings District Council; that’s an unconditional sale—being restricted so it can only be used for another land purchase, as that doesn’t make sense in this day and age. Instead, the society need to have the opportunity to use those proceeds for other purposes that mean the society is able to function, and function well, in the modern environment.

Of course, part of the legislation or the agreement would protect 10 days of use of the land for the A & P society for four very significant shows—of course, the annual A & P show, which I was fortunate to take leader Christopher Luxon to recently, and I think it’s always fantastic to see that our rural communities are in very strong heart. Of course, I saw parliamentary colleagues from across the House. Everybody recognises how fundamental A & P societies are and how important those major agricultural events are to our communities. Actually, I look at other parts of New Zealand where they have disappeared, so it is really important that we are able to do our bit through legislation to enable them, and this is absolutely enabling legislation.

I just want to backtrack through some of the history to make sure that those listening to this debate understand there is widespread agreement to this piece of legislation. When the Hastings District Council first proposed this arrangement, ahead of the $7.5 million unconditional purchase price, they did go out to the community, and 93 percent of the submitters were supportive. So, yes, this piece of legislation will go through a full select committee process. I’d encourage anyone who has a view—for, against, or indifferent—to submit. That’s a really important way of the community being satisfied that it is with their wishes. The member who led off the first reading on behalf of the Hon Meka Whaitiri did indicate that it would be a shorter report back, but it is not a truncated process in terms of triggering certain procedures. So we are anticipating there’ll be submissions, but because the Hastings District Council have already done a significant amount of consultation with 93 percent in support, I don’t expect that there’ll be much contention as it works its way through the select committee process.

National members will, of course, be supportive of progressing this legislation, just as we did with the most similar example to this in Southland back in 2006. There was a similar piece of legislation back then that was in the name of National MP Eric Roy, the Southland Agricultural and Pastoral Association Empowering Bill. This is mirroring it very, very closely. National members don’t have any concerns about it. We want to make sure that the proceeds of the sale are able to be used more flexibly for the society to make sure that the advantages—and they can proceed with ensuring that the purposes and objectives of the society are met without the constraint that the proceeds have to mean purchasing land.

Of course, the land that is going to be transferred into the ownership of the Hastings District Council, the 40 hectares, will be then converted into a reserve and managed like every other council reserve under a reserves management plan. Of course, the community will be consulted on that. The other party that will be involved with that will be the Waipatu Marae, and they have, of course, written supporting letters in support of this legislation, which is really important. So the letters of support that accompany this bill are from the society themselves, from the Hastings District Council, and from Waipatu Marae, as I said.

So National’s very happy to support this legislation to enable the society to fulfil its purposes and functions, but recognise in this day and age it doesn’t need the land holding that it has currently and it can use the proceeds for other purposes. So I’m pleased to support this bill and indicate National’s support in its first reading.

The question is that the motion be agreed to.

It’s a pleasure to take a call on the Hawke’s Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Society Empowering Bill. Can I first of all acknowledge my colleagues who hail from the region; the sponsor of the bill, the Hon Meka Whaitiri; and also my colleagues Anna Lorck and Stuart Nash, who I know will have a lot of interest in this bill.

As previous members have talked about, the bill is a private bill taken on behalf of the Hawkes Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Society (A & P society), and it specifically allows the society to use the proceeds of the sale of land for purposes that are in line with the objects of the society and its charitable status. There has been a lot of history around this particular piece of land. Having spoken briefly to my colleague Anna Lorck about this, there was a proposal at one point for the land to be sold for housing, but there was some pushback from the community about that because it is land that has the ability to be very productive. That is an issue that has actually cropped up around the country, including in my own electorate, where housing has been built on productive land—

Dr Duncan Webb: What’s your electorate?

RACHEL BOYACK: My electorate of Nelson. So in the suburb of Richmond, there has been a lot of housing built on productive land, and it’s challenging at times when it’s difficult to acquire the amount of land that we do need for housing. One of the things this Government has done is put legislation in place to ensure that that is done in a much more careful way to ensure we protect the land.

One of the things I really like about this bill on reading about it is that the council has agreed a sale and purchase agreement with the society, and the land can continue to be used by the A & P Society for the purpose of events and running its show. We all know the importance of—well, certainly those of us who are in provincial and rural and regional parts of New Zealand understand the importance of A & P shows for bringing people together. We’ve finally been able to hold ours in Nelson recently. Unfortunately, we had a bit of rain on the second day, but it was very wonderful to be able to have everyone back together. The shows do a significant amount in promoting the work of our rural communities in allowing people who live in the towns and cities nearby who interact with those communities to be able to work together and learn about each other. I always really enjoy going to our local show.

So I was very pleased to see that the council will, as part of this agreement—and it will, I’m sure, be referenced in this bill—allow the possibility for the A & P society to continue to run their shows, because it obviously wouldn’t be good for that to not continue in the mighty Hawke’s Bay region.

One of the reasons why this bill is needed is, as previous speakers have mentioned, that the current arrangements would require the A & P society to have to purchase land, and that actually doesn’t help the society to achieve the objectives of selling the land in the first place. I think this is a very practical solution to bring this bill to the Parliament so that the A & P society can actually move forward, can receive the funds from the sale, and can actually then invest it in ensuring that it can continue to achieve its objectives for the community. And I think that that is a very wise and practical suggestion. And, actually, just a shout-out to Mark Cameron from the ACT Party, who came to the Nelson A & P show—just to give you a shout-out, it was good to see you there.

But what I’m really pleased about as well is that this bill will come to the select committee I sit on: the Governance and Administration Committee. And I know there has been, I think, a few members from around the House who are disappointed I didn’t send my bill to the mighty Governance and Administration Committee, but this bill will be going to our committee. It does look like the council and the society have done a significant amount of work leading up to the bill. And I think that whenever we do see private and local bills coming forward, it is always really helpful when that work has gone on ahead; it makes the work of the select committee far more straightforward in terms of hearing submitters. So I do encourage people to submit to us. We’ll be very interested to hear submissions from people. This is an excellent piece of work. I do commend my colleague Meka Whaitiri for bringing this bill to the House and I look forward to seeing it progress. I commend this bill to the House.

Tēnā koe, Madam Speaker. Tēnā koutou e te Whare. The Green Party is supporting this bill.

Previous speakers have explained very clearly what the bill does. The Hawke’s Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Society (A & P society), owns showgrounds. They want to be able to sell the property without being required to acquire other land, so this bill makes a lot of sense. Obviously, this provision goes way, way back, and it does limit some of the activities that the society is able to invest in in order to achieve the objectives that are set out as a charitable society.

The objectives to promote agricultural, pastoral, horticulture, viticulture, forestry resources through its various channels are not too dissimilar to the objectives that sit alongside the Green Party’s agriculture and rural affairs policy. Very similar points—probably with the Green Party having a slightly bigger focus on environmental protection and regenerative practice, but still very much aligned.

The showgrounds are to be sold to the Hastings District Council, so will stay in public ownership designated as a reserve to be managed by a trust with representatives of the A & P society, the council and the nearby marae, which is obviously an excellent outcome—but only if this bill passes. It sounds like it’s not going to have any difficulty passing.

So, yep. There’s not that much more to say about it. The Green Party supports the bill.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I wasn’t quite prepared for the Green Party to take such a short call on this bill.

This is a great bill. Honestly, it’s great to see our colleague the Hon Meka Whaitiri bring such a good bill. Today, we’re debating the content of this bill, which is just, I think, a very simple change to the legislation that governs the Hawke’s Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Society. It’s just making sure that once they sell their piece of land—right now, they don’t have to reinvest the money, and I’ll speak a little bit more on that further on into my speech.

I know that when this bill first came to this House—actually, before it arrived at this House—the Hon Meka Whaitiri, along with her colleagues in the Hawke’s Bay Region, Anna Lorck and the Hon Stuart Nash, had done a lot of work in that region in terms of getting support, getting it to where it is, and making sure that everyone in the Hawke’s Bay region is happy and satisfied with the current arrangements.

I started today’s contribution—and I think three is the lucky number for me today—thinking that this would be an afternoon and evening of themes around governance. I think this is probably another one where we’re looking at the funds of a sale of a piece of land—this time, the Hawke’s Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Society’s piece of land, namely the Tomoana Showgrounds—and the proceeds of that and how that could actually be better used to fulfil the purpose for which the Hawke’s Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Society has been established, and how it fulfils its vision and mission statement, which is, I think—I had read somewhere—is it to bring town and rural together?

Hon Member: Town and country.

NAISI CHEN: Town and country. Sorry—town and country, I had read that somewhere in my notes, and I think that’s a great mission statement to have. I think for those of us who have grown up in urban areas, events such as A & P shows, such as Fieldays, which I have just been to over the last week, have actually been really, really interesting and formative, and for me, as an MP as well, allowed me to gain that actual full understanding of what is really the foundation and a really strong pillar of our New Zealand economy. I’m sure that Hawke’s Bay Agriculture and Pastoral Society does exactly that.

We’ve talked about, even in the last bill that had come to the House, investing in different types of financial instruments, different ways of investing, whether it’s with shares or it’s with other ways—that, actually, there are better ways than just investing in land, I guess, more productive ways than just investing in land, to make sure that the Hawke’s Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Society actually gets the benefit of the cash and the equity they had realised from selling their land and making sure that that cash and equity actually is put and injected into their day-to-day running, into their business, into making sure that they actually can deliver the projects that they want to for their members, for their local community, and for New Zealanders in general as well.

So I love how we’ve talked about having that long-term perspective in terms of that financial planning. This bill will just empower and enable them just to do exactly that in terms of making sure they have the freedom to plan according to the market conditions, according to the market price of land at the current time, and also relative price to other things such as I’ve mentioned, shares and bonds and all of the other financial instruments, which they can perhaps get a better income or get a better dividend from, but also things that will help them to weather storms as well. We all know that the market goes up and it goes down. So if we’re ever faced with another—God forbid—financial crisis, like the global financial crisis we saw earlier on, then at least they would have a diverse investment portfolio to actually help them get through.

But what I’m also really pleased to see is that they’ve negotiated the use of the showgrounds, even after selling it. I think there must have been some really smart negotiations in the process, so I commend them for that result as well. As we’ve already traversed, this will come to another great select committee—

Hon Michael Woodhouse: That’s right.

NAISI CHEN: —yes; I see my good colleague the Hon Michael Woodhouse over there—the Governance and Administration Committee. We do look forward to shepherding this bill through the process, and we do look forward to hearing some submissions—show and tell, please. We’d love to see some of the products that you guys offer as well.

So, on that note, I commend this bill to the House.

Thank you, Madam Speaker—

Chris Bishop: This will be a cracker.

MARK CAMERON: I’m sure it will be! Thank you very much. As you well know, I’m a farmer, and I absolutely love going to A & P shows. I have been going to them for almost 30 years—absolutely love them. It’s all things rural, and it’s all things rural community—and the A & P shows that I have been to just this year alone speak to this very reality. I’ve been to the Hawke’s Bay—the Napier—A & P show, I’ve been to the Waimate North A & P show, Manawatū, and the list goes on. This is so rural New Zealand; this is a really cool story and it’s a great piece of legislation. It speaks to the Hawke’s Bay region having certainty about not only the history but taking their A & P further by virtue of this legislation, and how the legal framework will give them certainty in terms of the liquidation of the land—but equally, the continuation of the use of the land for A & P shows.

This is an integral part of what we do in rural New Zealand—it brings communities together. And there are a couple of anecdotes I just wanted to share with the House, because it’s been well canvassed this evening about the importance of this legislation to give the community certainty. The A & P society, it says, will retain ownership of the Tomoana Showgrounds until 31 March 2023. From 1 April 2023 on, 40 hectares of the Tomoana Showgrounds will move to the Hastings District Council. Still great outcomes—the land gets sold, but the use has been well articulated, for that 10-day period can speak to all things rural and the coming together—the previous speaker, Naisi Chen, spoke on it—the coming together of rural and urban New Zealand at an A & P show.

Some of the other anecdotes that were shared about how this would actually give the community—and this was well encapsulated by the Hastings mayor, Sandra Hazlehurst. She says, “truly fantastic for our community”. All things community; what a wonderful, quick summation of the certainty that this piece of legislation will give to the community. The council will immediately start the process and have the showgrounds vested as a reserve. A great outcome for iwi, for community, and for the continuation of the A & P. The 40 hectares will move over to the Hastings District Council—good outcomes for everyone.

I know there’s a propensity for politicians to pontificate for the sake of hearing their own voice, and I certainly won’t. This is a great piece of legislation. We absolutely support this and look forward to the Governance and Administration Committee reconciling the small amount of controversy that it may bring; although I don’t think it will do. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. It’s a pleasure to stand and take a call on this private bill. I think perhaps—I haven’t double-checked this—it’s possibly the first private bill that I have had the pleasure of speaking on in this House.

Chris Bishop: Oh, the first of many.

CAMILLA BELICH: Perhaps. Anyway, I found this matter particularly interesting as someone who doesn’t live in Hawke’s Bay, and I wanted to pay tribute to Meka Whaitiri, the member who has brought this bill to the House, and also to Anna Lorck, who introduced the bill today. We also have other members in our caucus with connections to Hawke’s Bay: Stuart Nash, who’s the member for Napier, which is also in Hawke’s Bay; and Shanan Halbert is also a son of Hawke’s Bay, now living in Northcote.

This is a very interesting piece of legislation, and I thought I would go through exactly how I have understood that it works, for the benefit of anyone watching at home. As I understand it, this bill will allow the Hawke’s Bay A & P Society to sell the Tomoana Showgrounds. Now, the Tomoana Showgrounds—I have actually been to the Tomoana Showgrounds many times, mainly to attend the very, very good farmers markets that they have at the Tomoana Showgrounds. I do believe I heard a previous speaker state that they were one of the largest farmers markets in New Zealand. They’re certainly very, very good for bringing town and country together, which, as my colleague Naisi Chen has said, is one of the objectives of the Hawke’s Bay A & P Society, which is the subject of this bill. The other things that they have at the Tomoana Showgrounds are the Fiesta of Lights and, interestingly, the Land Rover Horse of the Year competition.

Now, it’s my understanding that these excellent community activities will continue once this land is sold to the Hastings District Council, and I think that the sale is due to go through on 31 March next year. It’s kind of a win-win situation, really. The council gets to allow the Hawke’s Bay A & P Society to continue with its good work and the events that it holds, including the very popular show that they do, the first of which I understand was in 1863, some years after the society was first established in 1858. That is 164 years ago, so it’s certainly a responsible society, which I think this House can trust with the ability to sell their own land and invest the money that they’ll gain from the sale of that land into responsible endeavours.

Now, this bill does allow, as I said, the sale of land. It is subject to some conditions. The conditions are outlined in Part 2 of the bill, in clause 5(2), and you can see those listed out there. Obviously, it has to be advantageous to the society, two-thirds of the members have to agree to the sale, and they have to have a general meeting with sufficient notice as well.

But that is not all: once the sale has gone through, the money then has to be—as with most other societies—used for the purposes and objectives of that society, and you might ask and wonder what the purposes and objectives of the Hawke’s Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Society are. I did google this prior to coming to the House, and I can inform the House that the Hawke’s Bay A & P Society is paving the way for initiatives and forward thinking in the rural sector. They have several objectives: to advance the primary sector, promote growth, celebrate excellence, provide educational opportunities, highlight careers across the primary sector, and honour the heritage and continue the legacy of the foundation members.

So I think that this bill, as I’ve said, seems to be a win-win situation. The wonderful showgrounds that we have there in Hastings can continue to be used. The money can go to these excellent causes, which I have just read out, of a very well-thought-of society that has very, very positive and community-minded objectives. So I commend this bill to the House.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. It is a great privilege to rise as a member of the House who lives in a rural community to support the Hawke’s Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Society Empowering Bill.

As we’ve already heard, this is an enabling bill that will support the Hawke’s Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Society to remain flexible, nimble, and responsive—and progressive, which is why it’s been around for more than 150 years.

We’ve heard about the intent of the society to bring town and country together—a very wonderful ambition that hasn’t changed in 150 years. But time has moved on and the ability of the society to succeed in its endeavours it believes, of course, is hampered by the fact that until, hopefully, this bill gets passed, they will be able to do other things with their capital assets.

I have yet to take up Anna Lorck’s generous invitation to attend the prestigious event that is the Hawke’s Bay show. I will obviously have to do it soon, but—maybe it’s because I’ve been very satisfied what happens down the road from my place in Stratford. I suspect there may be a little bit more rain at ours, but I know from our magnificent Stratford Agricultural and Pastoral Society show that this is an event where deals are made, townies get educated, rural living and the rural economy is celebrated, and there is a little bit of joy—and that makes me happy.

I’ve heard that they have 30,000 visitors to the show and we know what happens—the same things as the A & P shows around the country: we get to educate those townies. I can remember queuing up for tickets a while ago in Stratford and somebody was going—they must have come from New Plymouth; you know, the big smoke—“The A & P. What does the A & P stand for?” “Oh, it stands for agriculture and produce.” So, you know, luckily we got to correct them on that one.

Hon Michael Woodhouse: Pastoral!

ANGELA ROBERTS: I know that, but they didn’t. So there was a good learning opportunity there for the townies.

It’s a great chance to go and kick some tractor tires and watch the kids having conversations with their dads about whether or not they’re allowed to buy a new tractor—especially interesting when they do live in town.

We know that there’s fantastic livestock events and equestrian events, and it is a place where we grow world-class livestock and shearers and wood choppers—and actually world champion livestock and shearers and wood choppers. Just need to do a little shout-out to our world champion timber man, the wonderful Jack Jordan, who attended Stratford High School—just saying—and a brilliant young leader internationally. I spent many years watching that young man chop wood at the Stratford show.

So we know it’s a magnificent event around the country, and it’s great to know that the Hawke’s Bay A & P Society will be able to continue with that work. The A & P show, of course, is all about fun as well. And fun is a serious thing.

So there’s the Ferris wheel; I’m sure that they have the equivalent of McDonald’s farm—the petting zoo—over in Hawke’s Bay, but there is nothing quite like sitting around on the hay bales and making sure that your toddlers learn to gently pick up a chick without squishing it. And again, educating our own children and the townies. But having fun is really important for our rural communities, because it helps us to connect with each other and it’s so good for our wellbeing.

It’s a really important occasion for us to come together and to feel really good about the places that we live in, and remind the rest of the country that rural New Zealand is such an important part of our economy and a really important community to support.

This bill will enable the very progressive society in Hawke’s Bay to continue with their innovations such as scholarships and things that will support innovation and investment. It’s a really exciting bill, it’s a simple bill, and it’s wonderful to see something so sensible and practical passing through this House that does something very real to support our rural communities around the country. We know it’s happened before, and it will happen again if necessary, and it is because of this that I commend the bill to the House.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. It’s my pleasure to add a small contribution in support of the Hawke’s Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Society Empowering Bill. I say to Angela Roberts, if she wants to go to the Hastings A & P show, don’t wait till 2024 if she wants to be there as a Labour MP. So I think Anna Lorck should extend the invitation with all haste.

Now, I have now got over the crushing disappointment of the Thomas Cawthron Trust Amendment Bill not going to the Governance and Administration Committee, the best and most collegial committee of all of them, with due deference to my colleagues, and I have every confidence that the Governance and Administration Committee will discharge its duties well on this bill.

I love getting a little bit of the history of how some of these pieces of land are vested, and I was interested to learn that this was actually initially owned by Robert Wellwood, who was Hastings’ first mayor. The land around what is being considered here was actually a boiling down plant—which is a rendering plant—a railway siding, and a number of other things. When the railway siding went in the railway authority gave it the name of Karamū, but local iwi decided that they didn’t like that name, good old Ngāti Kahungunu I would expect, and a week later they took that sign down and put the sign Tomoana up, after which the Hawke’s Bay Herald reported that the board intimated as much to passengers that it would be Karamū but “the board remained for some days when the Māoris took it down and put up another name bearing the name of Tomoana. And Tomoana it remains.”

So there’s a fascinating sort of local history of this, and there’s a real provenance around a lot of our A & P show land which for very good reason cannot be divested without a legislative oversight. But that said, this is a good thing to do, the proceeds will remain with the trust for the discharging of similar benefits, and I know the Governance and Administration Committee will do a good job. I commend the bill.

Kia ora, Madam Speaker, thank you. There is only one original agricultural and pastoral society, and it’s the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association, which held its first meeting in 1852 in Hagley Park, right at the heart of Christchurch Central. However, I will not hold that against the Hawke’s Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Society, who needs a hand to get around what is, it must be said if you look at the Agricultural and Pastoral Societies Act of 1908, a relatively arcane piece of legislation. It may well be that in the next term or the term after that the Labour Government will have a look at updating that legislation to make it a little bit more amenable to the kind of innovative things that the Hawke’s Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Society are looking to do in this empowering bill.

It’s a funny thing that agricultural and pastoral societies are, in fact, incorporated not by registration but by incorporation by Order in Council by the Governor-General. So it’s a somewhat different arrangement. And to find the constitution of the association, we need to go actually to the Gazette to find its incorporating documents there.

But this is a sensible piece of legislation because section 7 of the original Act constrains the society to only apply the proceeds of any sale of land to other land which is suitable for the purchasers of the society. And we know in today’s age, we can be a bit more flexible with land holdings. It is perhaps a little unusual to own a large piece of land for 365 days a year, simply to conduct a show for five or six days a year. So it’s entirely reasonable for this transaction to be entered into.

I understand that there’s been a fair bit of discussion in Hawke’s Bay, as they’re wont to do over in that part of the country, around the proper use of the land. But I understand that the parties have come to an agreement that the land itself will be held in perpetuity as a reserve but that the society will still be able to use the land for A & P shows into the future. And that seems to be a pretty good solution to me, because we do know—and I do accept that the land, which I understand is situated at the heart of the Tukituki electorate—that the show’s quite an event. It’s something where town and country come together, and, in fact, it’s really quite a fantastic event that people from around the country go to to enjoy the hospitality and produce of the Hawke’s Bay, and, of course, to see the fine pastoral animals that are produced there, and no doubt to take them back to Canterbury, where they can eat proper grass and grow even larger and flourish better.

I do note, though, that it appears from the Agricultural and Pastoral Societies Act 1908 that the lands held by most A & P societies were held by Crown grant. So it is important, I think, to note that the funds do need to stay within the purview of these societies, because, essentially, these are lands and now assets held in trust for the purposes of agricultural and pastoral societies. I do want to just pause on that and recognise the really important part that agricultural and pastoral societies play, not only as a festival, not only as a kind of industrial show where people in the industry can go and look at new machinery or innovations, but also in actually bringing parties together so that townies can go and have a look at animals, go and see the sheep, pet the ducks, whatever you want to do, and understand that what goes on in our rural communities is an important part of New Zealand society. And I know that the catchcry of bringing town and country together of the Hawke’s Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Society is actually exactly what they should be doing, so that we are one society, we understand each other, we understand the roles we have to play, and so that we build a stronger community together and recognise the important place that both agricultural and pastoral farming play in New Zealand’s society.

So this is an absolutely fantastic bill. Perhaps could do with a tidy up of those old Acts in the long run, but at the time this is a really good piece of legislation to take it forward. Kia ora, Mr Speaker.

Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to do a closing speech on the Hawke’s Bay Agriculture and Pastoral Society Empowering Bill. Can I just acknowledge the member, the local member for Tukituki, for introducing the bill. Alternatively, I would have done it, but I know she’s done a fine job—living not far from the very grounds that we are talking about here, and me living not very far from where she’s living. It is a local bill. Thank you to all the members who have got up in support of what is just a straightforward bill. I have nothing more to add other than to acknowledge those that have contributed tonight.

I want to acknowledge all our graduates around the country. And that’s where I’ve been—my own son has graduated tonight as part of the Māori graduation at Michael Fowler so, as you do, you’ve got to be in two places at once. So I just want to send congratulations, not just to him but to all the recipients in honouring them tonight.

But back to the bill, all those that have spoken, and my connection to Tomoana Showgrounds. Not only is it the place of the best farmers markets in New Zealand and not only is it the place where we have one of the best A & P shows but it’s also one of the places that we first welcomed the Queen, the late Queen, and her husband Prince Philip, back in the early 1970s. And we had over 2,500 Kahungunu warriors that participated in that po’hiri at the very ground that we’re talking about here. So it is embedded not only in the Hastings psyche but it’s built in the Hawke’s Bay and wider region, this Tomoana Showground and what it means for our community.

So it is a straightforward bill. I do appreciate those members that have taken a call on it, and I am looking forward to it going to the Governance and Administration Committee. I hear it’s a very hard-working select committee, very collegial. This bill, like we’ve all said, is non-controversial, but it does enable the A & P society to not just sell the land and get the proceeds—and that may be something at select committee, in my support of this bill, that we need to be very clear on the society’s objectives, so that people have confidence that once the land is sold they know that those funds are going to be used again for the purposes behind the society and the trust.

But what’s exciting is that the Hastings District Council has put up their hand to not only buy the land but also ensure that its use continues, because it’s an important part of the Hawke’s Bay fabric and society. But what excites me, yet again, about this bill is the involvement of the local marae, Waipatu, which is just seriously a stone’s throw across from the Tomoana Showgrounds. In fact, the name comes from the very descendants—Hēnare Tomoana, right up to the Tomoana whānau today, who very much live around that marae.

So I know that this purchase, or this bill, will usher not only the sale to the council but it will enable the Hastings District Council to have a very close relationship with the marae and the whakapapa that connects this particular ground to that Waipatu marae, Ngāti Hāwea, and also the Tomoana whānau. So, Mr Speaker, with those few words, thank you again for this opportunity to speak to this motion. Thank you to all the members who have spoken in support. I look forward to it going and getting properly scrutinised through the select committee, and its ushering back so we can allow that trust and the society to carry on, and for that land to stay in public hands in Hastings, Hawke’s Bay. Kia ora koutou.

Motion agreed to.

Bill read a first time.

The question is, That the Hawke’s Bay Agriculture and Pastoral Society Empowering Bill be considered by the Governance and Administration Committee.

Motion agreed to.

Bill referred to the Governance and Administration Committee.

Instruction to Governance and Administration Committee