Hamilton City Council (Parana Park) Land Vesting Bill

Clause 10 refers to the repeal of the Hamilton City (Parana Park) Empowering Act 1958. My colleague Sue Moroney was absolutely right in saying it is with some sadness that a line is being drawn legislatively under the connection with George Parr and the Parr family. It has to be said that through the debate we have had on this bill, the Labour members who have been taking part have grown quite a huge respect for George Parr, because he was man who was politically active, he had a vision for Hamilton, and he was engaged with his community.

George Parr worked alongside his community. He wanted to make New Zealand a better place, especially for children. That was particularly shown by the fact that a children’s convalescent home was included in the Parana Park space. George Parr was a man who really wanted to share his wealth. I suppose that he wanted to pay his fair share towards, and be part of, society, especially for the benefit of children. Parana Park was a space for children to play, but it was also a space where children’s health was taken care of and their well-being was looked after. Members on this side of the Chamber feel a particular affinity towards that. Labour members are absolutely committed to working alongside our community and making New Zealand a better place, especially for our children.

In Parana Park we have an asset that has been built up by past generations. It was built up when it was in private hands, by George Parr and his family, and then it was handed over to the public. The Hamilton City Council has maintained that asset and built it up so that it is part of the Hamilton community and will be part of the community’s future. On this side of the Chamber we also believe in protecting our assets—protecting those assets that have been built up by past generations—so that Kiwis can own their future, because that is such an important part of building a strong community and a strong economy in New Zealand.

George Parr wanted to make sure that the New Zealand economy worked for everybody. He had a vision. He had a vision for a number of things. As chairman of the chamber of commerce in Hamilton, he was working hard to build the economy in Hamilton. But he had also some projects that would have contributed massively to the economy in the upper North Island. One of those projects was a rail service between Hamilton and Auckland.

💬 Sue Moroney: Kāwhia and Raglan.

It was from Kāwhia and Raglan to Hamilton. The other project he was particularly interested in was a pipeline to get fresh water from the Waikato River over to Waiuku. Neither of those projects has actually happened, but there was a man with a plan and a vision to make the economy work for everybody. It was a plan to create jobs and opportunities, not just for people back at the turn of the 20th century in Hamilton and New Zealand but also for their children and their grandchildren.

That is what Labour is all about as well. We want to be able to go out to New Zealanders and say that the economy works for them and that the Government is able to create jobs and opportunities for them, their children, and their grandchildren. We want to make sure that everybody gets a fair go, and, just like George Parr, we want to make sure that everybody pays their fair share. George Parr wanted to make sure that New Zealand was going forward. He would be dismayed at the pace at which New Zealand is going backwards at the moment under this National Government.

George Parr was a man of vision, a man with a plan, and the man who gave Parana Park to Hamilton City Council. He is the man whose legacy we are, in a way, drawing a line under with clause 10, which repeals the Hamilton City (Parana Park) Empowering Act. That is the last legislative reference to George Parr, a man who wanted to make sure that the economy was going forward and who had a plan to get the economy going. That approach is quite different, it has to be said, from the approach of the current Government.

In vesting the Parana Park in Hamilton City Council and handing over the children’s convalescent home to the people of Hamilton, George Parr was a man who was so in touch with his community’s needs. He was completely in touch with ordinary Kiwis. I bet that many of the families who needed to send their children to the convalescent home would have been struggling to make ends meet, in just the same way that ordinary Kiwis today are struggling to make ends meet because of the rising cost of living when they go to the supermarket, when they go to the doctor, when they want after-hours care, and when they fill up the car at the petrol pump. They are seeing costs going up and they are struggling to make ends meet in the same way that the parents who sent their children to the convalescent home that George Parr donated to the city of Hamilton would have been struggling back then.

George Parr was a man who was working for the people of Hamilton as well as for the people of New Zealand. He was working for them and their families and he was working for their future. He could have handed over that land to his mates, he could have sold it, or he could have kept it in his family—kept it for the few. But, no, he handed it over so that it was an asset for the many. He was not a man who was interested in just looking after his mates, which is what this Government is all about; he was a man who was interested in the people of Hamilton.

Although, legislatively, clause 10 of this bill brings to an end that association with George Parr and his family, it actually continues his legacy. It reassures the people of Hamilton that they have a publicly owned asset, one in which their children can play and one that will be available for everybody. Everybody will have access to it and nobody will be barred from going on to the Parana Park land, and this legislation, although it removes the reference to George Parr and repeals the 1958 Act, continues that legacy.

That is why Labour members have so enthusiastically endorsed this legislation. We want to see this Parliament get alongside ordinary New Zealanders. We are really pleased to support a bill that actually does that, because they are just so few and far between in this term of Parliament. We have seen so many bills that have transferred wealth from the many to the few, which has seen people on lower incomes marginalised, but this bill is for the people. That is why Labour members are so pleased to support it and endorse it.

I move, That the question be now put.

Motion agreed to.

Clause 10 agreed to.

Bill reported without amendment.

Report adopted.