Gore District Council (Otama Rural Water Supply) Bill

Thank you, Mr Chair. I will be brief. Although this is a very important local bill, and particularly important to the farming community of Ōtama and Gore, there are other more pressing matters to follow, so I will try to at least give a good account of the interest and hard work of the farming community of Ōtama as they have developed this bill.

Part 3 applies if the water scheme is transferred to the water company. So Part 3 is redundant if this doesn’t go ahead, but if it does, then there are a number of things contained in Part 3, which, really, puts in place notification to the regional council that this transfer has—of course they know. But it’s to give a formal notification to the regional council that the transfer has taken place. It provides for all contracts being in place, and those might be maintenance and renewal contracts. There’ll be issues around legal contracts and there will be issues around renewal of consents, and all of those things will continue upon the transfer of this water scheme under Part 3.

There are some other legal matters. This is happening as an exception to the Local Government Act, and that, of course, has to be noted again in Part 3. It also covers off taxation and the duties which will arise for the new owners of the water scheme, and, finally, it covers off the transfer of land.

I have talked about the easements. That is contained in Part 2, so maybe I’m slightly out of order here. But all of these matters should and must be contained in the bill, and in this instance they are contained in Part 3.

Members, in order for Tūtehounuku Korako to make his valedictory statement, I will report the bill with progress, and the committee will sit again presently.

House resumed.

Progress reported.

Report adopted.