Arts Centre of Christchurch Trust Bill

It is with enormous pleasure that I rise to speak to the Arts Centre of Christchurch Trust Bill in its Committee stage. This bill is an important element in the protection and preservation of the Arts Centre of Christchurch for the future.

If you have been listening to the speeches on this bill over the last few weeks, you will realise how close to people’s hearts the Arts Centre is. It does not matter whether you come from Christchurch or Canterbury, or even from the rest of New Zealand—probably you have spent some time at the Arts Centre. People have very important memories. Perhaps, if you are a little bit older, you will remember being a student at the university there. More likely, you will remember enjoying the bars, the restaurants, or the cafes of the Arts Centre, maybe going to the Court Theatre or listening to the music in the great hall, or perhaps shopping in the markets or going to the Dux de Lux. It was a place of vibrancy. It was the heart of our city and something that everybody enjoyed.

But although we might remember it for its good experiences, it is a significant cluster of magnificent historic buildings—23 buildings, beautiful stone neo-Gothic buildings, that were built between about 1876 and 1923. But, of course, these magnificent stone buildings are particularly vulnerable to earthquakes, so during the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011, 22 out of the 23 buildings were significantly damaged. That has led to a huge restoration project—a project that could take up to 7 years and cost up to $300 million but also a project that will restore the Arts Centre to Christchurch. That also gives us an opportunity to think about a sustainable future for the Arts Centre. This is where this bill originated.

The purpose of this bill is to modernise the governance structure and to set out the charitable objectives of the Arts Centre of Christchurch Trust in legislation. There has been a lot of work done around this bill. It started with a comprehensive review of the Arts Centre—its history, its purpose, and everything we knew and loved about it. That led on to a consultation—an extensive consultation—with stakeholders. Anybody who lives in Christchurch knows that everyone is a stakeholder when it comes to talking about the Arts Centre. The bill recognises the importance of effective governance and the need for a board to have the right skills firstly, to complete the restoration, and, secondly, to create a sustainable future for the Arts Centre.

I do want to acknowledge the present board—in particular, Jen Crawford, the chair, and the inexhaustible Hon Margaret Austin, who has worked so hard to get this bill through Parliament. I also want to pay my respects to all members on that board. It is a particularly hard-working, intelligent, and skilled board. I think those members have done a great job to get to where we are now, not only in terms of the restoration but also in terms of their vision and their planning for the future of the site. They want the Arts Centre to once again be the cultural and social heart of Christchurch, and I think that is something every Christchurch person would endorse. I would also like to acknowledge the management team of the Arts Centre. That is led by André Lovatt. That team is the on-the-ground logistics, working to do the repair and the restoration of the centre, and it is making great progress. I hear that it is on time and on budget, and that it may even be completed before the 7 years are up.

But I come back to the bill. The Local Government and Environment Committee made some useful amendments to the bill. I want to thank the members of the committee for their work, particularly the chair, Scott Simpson. It was originally thought that the site should be vested in the Crown on a temporary basis if the trust was ever wound up, but the committee decided that, in line with similar trusts, the Charitable Trusts Act 1957 would apply. The trust board supports this change. The committee also proposed that the trust might have a conservation plan for the Arts Centre available at annual meetings. Again, the trust board is keen to do this because the last plan was from 1992. The new bill will enable the trust to work effectively now, during the restoration period, but also into the future. I believe that is what we need for this magnificent cluster of buildings. I think it is in good hands.

I look forward to the gradual opening up of the Arts Centre. We have already had the Registry Building opened. That has now got tenants in it and it is working really well. The next thing that opened was the gymnasium. For those of you who had been in the Arts Centre pre-earthquake, that was the Academy Cinema, but before that it was the gymnasium of the University of Canterbury, and before that it was the gymnasium of Christchurch Boys’ High School. It is now being leased by a performing arts company and is being used really well.

So overall I think this bill is good for the Arts Centre and good for Christchurch. Thank you.

Debate interrupted.

House resumed.