Palmerston North Reserves Empowering Amendment Bill

Tēnā koe, Mr Speaker. I move, That the Palmerston North Reserves Empowering Amendment Bill be now read a second time.

I rise as the sponsor for this local bill, which is being promoted by the Palmerston North City Council. It is a local bill that has been returned to the House from the Environment Committee, and I intend to talk a little bit more about that in a moment. But specifically, this piece of land is colloquially known as the Huia Street Reserve land, and it sits in central Palmerston North on the corner of Fitzherbert Avenue and Park Road. Actually, Fitzherbert Avenue gained a reference in the House yesterday as Minister Nash confirmed that 600 metres of it had been extended in light of the Provincial Growth Fund. So that’s where this particular piece of land does sit.

There are a number of Acts of Parliament that historically and currently manage the status of that particular land. I do want to just briefly touch on those, and the reason for that will become apparent in a moment. Firstly, in terms of its genesis, the Wellington Reserves Act of 1876 is the first piece of legislation that officials were able to identify that relates to this land. An amendment Act to that piece of legislation followed in 1877. The third is a piece of legislation called the Palmerston North Reserves Act of 1922, a 100-year-old piece of legislation. In 1966, there was the Palmerston North Reserves Empowering Act, and, of course, the Reserves Act of 1977. All of those pieces of legislation, at some point in time, have been relevant to the Huia Street Reserve land.

The 1922 piece specifically identifies that this piece of land cannot be sold. The effect of the Act is that the council could build on the land, it could lease the land, but it simply could not sell the land. But it could, however, be sold under the 1966 Act, which is the Palmerston North Reserves Empowering Act 1966, if it is specifically amended to include or add the Huia Street Reserve parcel into that Act by mentioning it or listing it in the schedule to enable potential sale. That’s, essentially, what this piece of proposed legislation does. It moves the management of that land clearly into the 1966 Act sole, rather than it being subject to a, I guess, conglomeration of other Acts in terms of its management.

I refer the House to those pieces of legislation because the select committee spent some time being very diligent, going through and identifying the specific pieces of legislation that apply at particular points in time. What it means is that sale of the land could be permissible under section 4A of the 1966 Act, and the select committee in its report notes that section 8 of that Act does require, however, that any proceeds of any sale are utilised for or towards public recreational reserves.

In my first reading contribution—actually, many heard about connections to Palmerston North; a fantastic electorate and fantastic city. I’m sure that those who will follow in contributions this evening may want to add to their recollections, perhaps. That was something that was factored into the select committee process. The select committee did receive 29 submissions, including that of the city council. I want to thank and acknowledge members of the Environment Committee. I was a member of that committee until last month, and I was able to participate in most aspects in terms of the passage and consideration of this bill. Can I also acknowledge the committee staff; the advisers, particularly from the Department of Conservation; and also the Parliamentary Counsel Office. There were many issues that they were able to provide advice on and work through. So that is appreciated.

I also want to acknowledge the Palmerston North City Council: Mr David Murphy, who has been an assistance through this process, and also Mr Nicholas Jessen, who was the legal adviser who was able to provide specific advice as part of this process, which was very, very helpful indeed. The committee was keen to undertake a site visit, which any local member will fully support. However, circumstances changed and the council was able to provide the committee with some detailed drone footage, some commentary that, I’m sure, select committee members may wish to comment on as well.

I want to acknowledge that there were some submitters who submitted in opposition to the proposed bill. The majority of their concerns were around the potential future of green space in Palmerston North. I guess, when we look at what’s on the record and what the select committee had in front of it, this piece of land is next to a tennis club, which is on a lease arrangement at the moment. If we look at the surrounds, we have the Manawaroa Park, which is used for cricket and also for the Manawatu Striders. We have Ongley Park, which is nearby—cricket and rugby are there. Wallace Park: football; my regular permit pop-up constituency clinic. I know that that happens on a Saturday because of the number of balls that hit the roof as part of that process. I know that it is a green space that is particularly well utilised and is near this area. Fitzherbert Park is nearby as well. Madam Speaker, you’re familiar with the place yourself. I could go on with the list, but the point there is that there are many green spaces that are in extremely close proximity to this Huia Street Reserve. So the select committee notes in its report that there are a number of other options available to the community.

This is a local issue, and I think if you were to talk to anyone on the streets of Palmerston North, if you were to talk about the Palmerston North Reserves Empowering Amendment Bill, they may not know what that is, but if you talk about the future of the Huia Street Reserve land, they will know what it is. Some submitters raised concerns about the suitability of that site being developed. That is actually a matter for the council. In the select committee’s report, they indicate that—that the council, if they wish to pursue this further down the track, that there is still a process—or processes, actually—that the Palmerston North City Council will need to undertake to ensure that any changes are in accordance with the city’s district plan, that there are obligations as well. Palmerston North, for those who don’t know, is a tier 2 council. So within the last 12 months where this House has considered Resource Management Act enabling housing supply issues, obviously there are options available to the council.

So there are a number of concerns that were raised of that particular ilk. However, the select committee—in my view, rightly so—has indicated that those are not relevant considerations in terms of the determination that the select committee has reached, in terms of whether this bill should be passed or whether it should be amended, noting that the select committee are suggesting that no amendments take place, but also that the bill will be passed in its current form.

Many of the submitters that, effectively, were in favour of what the council is seeking to do talked about the fact that this piece of land has remained vacant for some 16 or 17 years, that, you know, there are surrounding recreational assets nearby, and that housing is an issue in any community and certainly in Palmerston North. I will say, and I commend the council on taking steps to address that in terms of rezoning parts of the city—Whakarongo, for example; Tamakuku Terrace; Papaioea Place—and, for the first time in 20 years, Kāinga Ora are starting to build houses in Palmerston North. So there is an opportunity there that the council will, no doubt, need to take on board.

One of the things that I did want to touch on, as I draw towards the end of my contribution, is that this is a bill that came in a similar fashion or form to the Parliament 15 years ago, and it was withdrawn by the member, the Hon Steve Maharey, because the select committee in its report were concerned that there were a number of process matters that gave rise to some suggestion that there was no community support, that the council perhaps had not followed a particular process and there had been a lack of engagement with local iwi. The committee in its report has covered off all of those aspects. It has talked about the fact that the council have been engaging with Rangitāne, and I see my colleague Mr McKelvie, whose electorate falls within some of the Palmerston North City Council boundary as well. I am sure that he would join me in suggesting that Rangitāne are very much aware that this proposal is on the table and that they have not submitted an opposition, nor have they expressed any huge opposition in terms of what the council is proposing around that.

In my first reading contribution, I indicated that my tentative position was that due process had been followed. The select committee has concluded its deliberations. It’s concluded its assessment of this local bill, and they have also confirmed that that is their view. So I think the appropriate way forward is for the House to give this bill the green light, to give the Palmerston North City Council the opportunity to make democratic local decisions, which is in their domain. And on that basis, I commend the bill to the House.

The question is that the motion be agreed to.

Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. I rise on behalf of the National Party and as the member of Parliament for Coromandel to support this second reading piece of legislation. The member for Rangitīkei wants to know where the Coromandel is. Well, maybe he should come and visit some time; he’d be delighted at the warm welcome that he would receive, and his eyes would be opened to the beauties of the Coromandel.

Just coming back to this bill, this legislation is, as the sponsor of the bill, the MP for Palmerston North, Tangi Utikere, has very fulsomely explained in his second reading speech, what’s known as a local bill—relatively rare in the processes of our Parliament, but quite an important tool for local government to sometimes address issues that are significant in terms of their inability to move things forward, or to make changes that have occurred over time and that are in need of change, largely due, in this case, to an historic legacy legislative environment that has precluded the Palmerston North council from actually moving forward on this piece of land—about 1.6 hectares of land—currently serving as a recreation reserve and known as the Huia Street Reserve.

So Tangi Utikere went through the history of it, but the situation is, essentially, that legislation dating back as far as 1876 is precluding the current council from administering this land in a way that is suitable for today’s modern needs, and from them exercising their prerogative as the locally democratically elected council. So this piece of legislation—this local bill—will change that. The sponsor of the bill, Tangi Utikere, made it clear that, in his view, as a result of the very fulsome select committee process, he was now satisfied that due process had been followed in terms of the passage of this piece of legislation through the House. I want to confirm and acknowledge that from this side of the House.

We too were impressed very much by the detailed work that the council prepared and submitted to select committee members and, notwithstanding the fact that we weren’t able to take up the generous offer to visit Palmerston North on this occasion—

💬 Angie Warren-Clark: Why was that?

We were—well, it’s cold, and windy sometimes, so, actually, we took advantage of some of the very good modern technology that is available to us. We were able to reduce our carbon footprints by not attending in person, but to take advantage of an incredibly good piece of drone footage provided by the council that gave us literally a bird’s eye view, a land eye’s view, a ground eye’s view, a this way up view, a roundabout view, a complete view of the entire piece of land, of the surrounding properties, of the buildings and the trees and the pasture that was on it, the grass that was on it, the vacated bowling club buildings, and the neighbouring school, and all that sort of stuff. In fact, in many respects, I think the ability for select committee members to go and look at that drone footage, not once but multiple times if they wish, was actually in some ways almost better than being in the very fine city of Palmerston North.

So we were impressed, I think, as an Opposition, that the council had done a lot of work, and they’d clearly, I think, learnt from the mistakes that may have been made some years prior. I think the indication was that the Hon Steve Maharey had introduced legislation, or sponsored similar legislation some 15 years ago, that didn’t cross the threshold in terms of satisfaction, in terms of the select committee’s mind back then, that due process had been followed. On this occasion, I think we’re satisfied that it has been, and we are, as I say, supportive. I was particularly compelled by the submission of council. There were 29 submissions, some from local citizens and community groups who were concerned about what might happen to the land and what plans the council had. This piece of legislation actually doesn’t focus on, and is not intended to provide, a solution as to what will happen with the land. This piece of legislation simply allows the council to move forward into a position where a decision about the end purpose or use of that land can be made by council in due course. So this is a piece of legislation that is, effectively, freeing up a legacy historic legislative rule that has prevented them from doing so.

I noted, in particular, that the actual site has been, effectively, vacant since 2005 and that it’s not required by council to meet any of its recreational or reserve needs, and that the council, on the other hand, has some very significant and pressing demands in terms of providing space for residential building and development. Now, the council hasn’t yet come to any conclusion or decision about what kind of development may occur on the site, but, I think, if people are listening to this debate, and if those people who had had the opportunity to hear from submitters and also the council submission, they would have a reasonably clear indication about what might be council’s purposes and ideas for that site in the upcoming years. So the council, we were pleased to see, has actually completed all the required consultation under the Local Government Act of 2002, and they have come to this House via the local member to seek this bill’s passage.

There were a number of, I think, useful matters that the council raised and provided the select committee with a rationale for why this bill should be passed, not the least of which was that changing the potential that they have gives the council an opportunity to, at least, consider provision of this land for housing. It presents an opportunity for the current council to show leadership by supporting potentially medium housing density development that would support the change in the traditional housing typologies that have been delivered by the current marketplace. The land itself—the 1.6 hectares—is located in a very good location for potential medium-density housing development. It’s close to high amenity areas, services, and, indeed, to the central city. There are, of course—we were assured and shown—very significant public spaces available within close proximity to the Huia Street Reserve, and they will be maintained. So the proposal has the potential to provide the council with an alternative revenue source, which is something councils are always interested in. But the proposal, if this piece of legislation proceeds through the House, as I suspect it will, does not commit the council to immediately selling or developing the land.

In concluding my contribution on the second reading debate, I would also like to join with the member for Palmerston North in thanking the submitters, thanking the council, thanking officials and advisers to the select committee, to the select committee’s secretariat, and to my colleagues on the Environment Committee, who, I think, paid very careful and diligent attention to the provisions of this bill. We wanted to assure ourselves that it was the right thing to do, and it was the right thing to do for the current democratically elected council to make decisions and enable them to do so. So, on that basis, I’m happy to confirm that on this side of the House we support the second reading and will continue to support it through to conclusion.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. It’s a pleasure to stand to make a contribution to the Palmerston North Reserves Empowering Amendment Bill, which is a local bill and promoted by the Palmerston North City Council. Of course, I’d like to acknowledge the sponsor of this bill, the MP for Palmerston North, Tangi Utikere.

In my journey in this bill, I found out that Palmerston North has actually got a beautiful Māori name, referred to as Papaioea—Papai-oea; look how beautiful it is—which refers to the Manawatū.

💬 Hon Member: Oh, so true.

ANAHILA KANONGATA‘A-SUISUIKI: Oh so true, yeah. So I just want to acknowledge the member for sponsoring this very important bill to Palmerston North.

Also want to acknowledge the chair—the leadership of our chair, the Hon Eugenie Sage; I’ve always had to tip my hat to her in the way that she conducts herself in our committee—and, of course, the members of our select committee. I want to acknowledge the member that has just stood down in terms of their support of this bill, the Hon Scott Simpson. I want to thank the submitters: the 29 individuals and organisations who made a submission to the bill, and it gave us an insight into what locals are thinking in Palmerston North about this bill.

So, as we’ve heard from the member—what is this bill all about? So the Palmerston North City Council currently holds certain land under the Palmerston North Reserves Act 1922. That’s 100 years, so this Act is 100 years old. Land that’s held under that Act cannot be sold.

So the council are the promoter—the Palmerston North council wishes to be able to sell the land for development if it becomes surplus to council’s requirements. As we’ve heard from both our two speakers, it’s been vacant for about 15 years. So this bill, as we are talking on the second reading, it is the mechanism for this by amending the Palmerston North Reserves Empowering Act 1966—gives the mechanism for the council to be able to do that.

The bill would amend the Palmerston North Reserves Empowering Act 1966 to enable the Palmerston North City Council to sell 1.6 hectares of land that currently serves as a recreation reserve, which I can see from the Manawatū Standard that it used to be the former bowling club. I’m not a local—a former bowling club that I’ve noticed here.

I know that there were attempts for us to visit personally Palmerston North to view the area, but through technology we were able to do that on our screens.

The last time that I was in Palmerston North, it will always be memorable for me. I was in Levin; my daughter is allergic to peanuts. The member for Ōtaki keeps going on and on how there is no emergency hospital in Ōtaki—in Levin—but I wasn’t really listening. So my daughter ate peanuts in Levin, so I needed to get to a doctor immediately. I rang the ambulance and they said, “You either have to drive to Palmerston North or wait there and we’ll send the ambulance.” So, of course, I drove to Palmerston North. So that’s why Palmerston North will always linger in my heart: they did a really good job and saved my daughter on that night.

Locals know this reserve as the Huia Street Reserve—located at the corner of Fitzherbert Ave and Park Road in Palmerston North. The submitters that we heard from: the submitters that opposed the bill were concerned about preserving green spaces for the future generations—as I’ve said before, that Act is 100 years old—the suitability of Huia Street as compared to other options in the city, so that they did say that there are other options in the city.

Those submissions that submitted in support of the bill—in favour of the bill—noted a pressing need for more housing in the area, in Palmerston North. They told us that the Huia Street Reserve has had limited recreation use for some years—and, as we’ve heard, over 15 years. They told us that there were other reserves close by that the council could use for recreational activities that it has.

We heard from the promoter, which is, as we’ve heard, from the Palmerston North City Council, that it has engaged closely with Rangitāne o Manawatū, which is its tangata whenua partner, about the bill’s progress. Furthermore, the Palmerston North City Council—and I quote what they have reported to us as a select committee—that “Rangitāne o Manawatū are satisfied with the process, which they have full knowledge of in terms of this process.” So we also heard from the sponsor, Tangi Utikere, and, of course, as I said, the promoter. Just want to remind that the promoter is the Palmerston North City Council.

So I just want to remind the House what the bill does and why we support it. In November 2020, the Palmerston North City Council approved a preferred option for future use of huia reserve to enable the development of Huia Street Reserve for housing, including the potential for a mixed housing development supporting recreational and small commercial activity.

From the report from the library, they did show us an artist’s impression of what it could look like in terms of medium-density homes. [Holds up piece of paper] I don’t know whether people at home can see it, but it’s beautiful. It will have a mix—medium-density homes with a lot of warm housing.

So the council have directed the chief executive to engage with the relevant Government agencies, and, of course, the office of the Palmerston North member of Parliament, which is Tangi Utikere, to initiate the amendments to the Palmerston North Reserves Empowering Act 1966. Today, we are at its second reading.

So this is the first step that potentially allowed development for land for housing. The reason why I go into this depth: because as a select committee, we learnt a lot about this local bill and we’ve learnt a lot on how diligent the promoter, the Palmerston North City Council, is in engaging locals in a conversation on what to do with this land.

We heard that there are a variety of housing development scenarios proposed, including options of multi-unit, detached apartment-style housing. The decision to initiate this followed a formal council consultation process, and the community is broadly supportive of the development.

Palmerston North locals also had the opportunity to submit their views, which we’ve all heard so far. The sponsor of the bill, Tangi Utikere, referred to 2007 in terms—this is not new; the member Steve Maharey, who spoke in the Palmerston North local bill. I think it’s important that we hear the voices of the locals and that’s what I’ve learnt from this bill. But I’d like to refer back to Steve Maharey and what he stated in this House in 2007—which is 15 years ago: “It is parliamentary convention that local MPs sponsor bills of this nature through the House. It provides a mechanism whereby people can make sure that legislation is passed from a local point of view. In this case, it is Palmerston North City Council that wants this legislation to be passed, and it is my duty to ensure that it is advanced so it can be discussed.” That was the member Steve Maharey.

I want to congratulate the member—the current member, Tangi Utikere—and one day I will take up the option of visiting or look at how beautiful this place, Palmerston North, is, without being a choice of an ill child but actually a choice because I want to. So I look forward to visiting this. I look forward to the third reading of this bill, and I look forward to seeing what the Huia Street Reserve will look like in Palmerston North.

I also learnt a little something about Palmerston North. There’s conversations about naming of the Square—of the Square in Palmerston North. Perhaps that’s for a later time. Te Marae o Hine. Isn’t that a beautiful name? Daughter of Peace. Yeah, so I have been studying up—the member of Palmerston North often accuses me of not being well informed about Palmerston North, but this was an opportunity to do so.

I want to thank all the 29 submitters that submitted on this bill, and I again congratulate you, Tangi Utikere, for being the second MP from Palmerston North to bring this to Parliament. In that, I’d like to commend the local bill the Palmerston North Reserves Empowering Amendment Bill to the House. Mālō.

I always enjoy listening to the last speaker. She always makes a—I was going to say, “a boring subject very interesting”, but I can’t say this is a boring subject! I’ll get into a lot of trouble with the member for Palmerston North! And, just in reply to Scott Simpson, I’m very pleased that the last speaker, Anahila Kanongata‘a-Suisuiki, did point out to him that Palmerston North is a beautiful place. It beats the Coromandel any day! But a lot of what’s been said about this bill—

💬 Nicola Willis: You’re not allowed to lie in Parliament, Ian!

—shh!—I don’t need to repeat, but there’s some very interesting stuff in respect of this bill. Of course, this bill was brought to Parliament, as Tangi Utikere said, some years ago. At that time, of course, the Palmerston North City was in nowhere near as good hands as it is now—having been the deputy mayor, previous to coming to Parliament, having been a very important part of that council’s structure. He did point out the very good submissions that he made on behalf of this bill when they introduced it, and I think they did too. And I think, when you get a person or an organisation wanting to promote a member’s bill or a local bill or whatever it is and it’s done very well, it makes it much easier for the select committee to find its way and navigate its way through that. I am sorry that they had to go to Palmerston North by Zoom, because I go there two or three times a week.

In response to Tangi Utikere’s clinics that he runs, or whatever he calls them, I run one at Ongley Park pretty near every Saturday, because by the time you get to Ongley Park and watch your grandchildren playing various forms of sport, you do your 10,000 steps no problem before you get out of there, and you talk to thousands of people. So it is a great location, but the point I’m making is that Ongley Park, the Esplanade, and a number of other parks are absolutely adjacent to the site. And one of the reasons that this is certainly not required as a recreational site in Palmerston North is because there’s such an opportunity, within that very vicinity, actually, for recreational use. There’s the river, of course, which has probably at least 20 kilometres of tracks and trails that you can walk or bike, even ride a horse on. So Palmerston North is blessed with a whole lot of opportunity for recreation that many cities don’t have. Many cities don’t have the same advantage, actually, and so they’re very fortunate in that respect. So I think, when bringing this bill to the Parliament, both the promoter of it and the city council would be very confident that whatever they were doing with this land in the future will not impact in any way on the recreational opportunities that Palmerston North has.

I think, if I remember rightly, the Huia reserve probably was—it was a bowling club. The Manawatū Bowling Club occupied it, and a tennis club as well, but when it was first, I think, taken out of the bowling club’s hands and put into the council’s full time—because they leased it originally—it was actually taken partly to be used as an expanded intersection, and so it increased the size of the intersection on the corner that it occupies. That was a very necessary development for Palmerston North. I think an earlier speaker mentioned the fact that this goes right back to an 1876 Act of Parliament that controlled this park. And, of course, Palmerston North, by comparative standards, is a relatively newly settled city in New Zealand, because I think it really was, prior to 1870, pretty much bush. So, when you look at the history of the Manawatū-Whanganui area and you think that Whanganui was really almost the capital of New Zealand at one stage—it was certainly the dominant city in my part of New Zealand. The Rangitīkei, of course, almost borders Whanganui and surrounds Palmerston North. All the business was done in Whanganui in those early days, and it took a long time for Palmerston North to get the upper hand. And, of course, it caused quite a lot of envy, a little bit like Napier and Hastings, you could say. It caused a lot of envy between the two cities, as progress was slowly made by Palmerston North.

It wasn’t until Massey University was located at Palmerston North that it finally tipped the balance, actually, in favour of Palmerston North. Whanganui took a long time to recover from that, and I don’t think the member for Whanganui is in here—or the members from Whanganui; neither of them are here today.

💬 Barbara Kuriger: She is speaking later.

Oh, she’s coming in later. They might both come in. I know I’m not allowed to speak about whether they’re here or not, but it’s very important that they don’t criticise me for criticising Whanganui, because I’m not. But I do think it’s a bit important to understand the history of these things.

The other thing that’s absolutely relevant about this, because the Huia reserve is what we’re talking about—and there’s what I think is a very attractive Paul Dibble sculpture in Palmerston North, and it’s a huia, right in the centre of the Square in Palmerston North, a pretty amazing piece.

💬 Rachel Boyack: Oh there is!

Exactly, Rachel! It’s an amazing piece of sculpture, and there’s some beautiful sculptures in Palmerston North as well as that.

But anyway, I think that the issue with Palmerston North—and, as I said earlier, the reason that this decision was probably comparatively easy for the select committee to make, and I certainly was only part of that select committee for one or two of their discussions on it, but it would have been interesting to have been there for the whole time. But the reason it would be easy to make is that Palmerston North is an extraordinarily well laid out city—or in the earlier days it was. Some of its planning in the 1970s mightn’t have been so good, but it’s come right again now. And, of course, right at its centre it’s got a 7 hectare square, which is a huge asset to the city. And, as I said a minute or two ago, that’s where the Paul Dibble huia is. There is also a number of other statues around that square, and I think it’s a very attractive part of the city.

The other question that came up in my time on the select committee, the short time I spent on it, was the relationship between Rangitāne and Raukawa, and the question as to whether Raukawa should have been the dominant force in Palmerston North. Certainly that would not go down well with Rangitāne, and that was resolved to the select committee’s satisfaction in the end, because certainly Rangitāne are a very integral part of everything that happens in Palmerston North and contribute a whole lot to what goes on there. And, of course, Pipi Te Awe Awe is also one of those statues that’s in the Square in Palmerston North, and his relations are still very much active in both local government and the community in Palmerston North even today. Some of them are quite characters.

So I think that these things are frustrating for councils because legislation, throughout our history, has been put in place to deal with things that probably, now, you would never put legislation in place to deal with and you’d let the local communities get on with their own governance. But we often find this, and we certainly find it in the racing industry as well, where racecourses—Awapuni is not one of them, actually, but Foxton is. Some racecourses are really tied up in legislative stuff that is extremely expensive to get out of, and difficult for local communities to then manage their assets, because they’re controlled by Acts of Parliament. This reserve is one of those. In fact, I think it was controlled by three Acts of Parliament in varying forms, at varying stages of its career. So it is necessary to put these bills through Parliament, but they’re also difficult to get through Parliament. I remember some years ago as a Mayor of Manawatū trying to shepherd the Manfeild Park bill through Parliament, because it involved a racecourse which needed to be taken out of whatever the Act was in 1907, and the showgrounds, which the A&P Act is also about, an 1892 Act or something like that, which controls a whole lot of agricultural and pastoral showgrounds around New Zealand.

So there’s a whole lot of things that would be much better if we’d never done them, but at the time they were absolutely appropriate that we did them. So now we’ve got to go through, I guess, the task of unwinding them, and this bill is a classic example of where we have gone through the pathway of unwinding a whole lot of intricate pieces of legislation, actually. So I think, for Palmerston North, this is a good result. I think, for the people of Palmerston North, it will in the long term prove to be a very good result, and I think those people who submitted in opposition to it will eventually be satisfied that the Parliament has made the right decision, assuming this bill gets through, and I’m sure it will. But they’ll be satisfied the Parliament has made the right decision. I think this is a good piece of work by Tangi Utikere and the Palmerston North City Council, and I think it deserves to go through the full course and make its way through Parliament, and probably, from Palmerston North’s situation, the sooner the better. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mānawatia a Matariki. This bill, which the Environment Committee—the Palmerston North Reserves Empowering Amendment Bill. I rise to support this local bill that is before the House, which member Tangi Utikere has sponsored, as promoted by the Palmerston North City Council, specifically to allow for the amendment of the legislation specific to this piece of land, with the ability to be able to provide the option which may result in selling the piece of land. And that is where it is up to.

As you’ve heard from my colleagues before me, currently there are a number of Acts of Parliament—namely, the Wellington Reserves Act 1876 Amendment Act 1877, the Palmerston North Reserves Act 1922, and the Reserves Act 1977—which hold this piece of land in Palmerston North, held in trust. And whilst these Acts had good intentions, it is still unable to rectify the current situation, and hence why member Utikere has brought it to the House.

It requires an amendment to that Act, and, as a territorial local authority, the Palmerston North City Council has considered the decision in 2020, with a preferred option to enable a possible future development; or, if it is supported, this piece of land could be sold for the development in that consideration. As we understand, the land spans 1.6 hectares and is overgrown, and, actually, in the last number of years—probably 15, 16 years—nothing has really happened to the reserve. So the amendment bill, when passed, provides the tool and corrective action as promoted by the Palmerston North City Council. We’ve heard from member Utikere that to move this forward, they would be required to have a sale of a recreational reserve known as the Huia Street Reserve, which currently is described as surplus to council requirements.

The Palmerston North City Council, under its current vision, requires a mandate to be able to consider what their options are to provide necessary plan requirements for land-use outcomes. Those outcomes could be land for housing, land for infrastructure, proper town planning, and built environment under the required legal processes. This could also include effective transport routes using district plan processes to achieve its overall outcomes. But it has to find that balance, and it has to ease the city’s planning for the local housing stock. And for that, it must have the legal mechanism in order to effect this.

The location of the Huia Street Reserve is a real prime piece of land, and, in its current form, a number of locals have opposed and utilised the processes. Under this select committee, for which I was not at the time there, the Palmerston North City Council continues to make informed decisions. But in order to do that legally, it does require this bill to be passed. So what’s important is that Palmerston North City Council strives to achieve the outcomes for the Palmerston North community in the balance of this housing shortage and future growth, which is located amongst its wider infrastructure plan. We have heard that there are those who oppose this arrangement to move forward, and then there are those who support this move, as we have seen in media articles in February of this year. The land is situated in a prime location. We’ve also heard that some residents have access to other nearby green spaces in walking distance, which is surrounding the current piece of land in question.

This bill will allow the right process to be followed and is a transformative step to tidying up the various pieces of legislation. It also allows the correct process and for Palmerston North City Council to follow the consultation process, to hear the wider views of local residents. It will be the progressive first step to allow the council to move forward in whatever its decision is around housing development. Currently, there is no power of sale in the Palmerston North Reserves Act 1922, and, at present, we’ve heard Palmerston North City Council is promoting this local bill to amend the Palmerston North Reserves Empowering Act 1966.

“Empowering” is the key word. Over time, the population in Aotearoa has really grown, and the Labour Government is committed to ensuring it empowers local authorities to be able to have those mechanisms. For this particular reserve, there’s significant public space within the vicinity of Huia Street Reserve, with surrounding reserves to support that space accessible to locals. We know that local government plays an important role in our democratic system, giving people a voice in the leadership of their local communities and in the governance of services in publicly owned assets. Local councils are essential to maintaining and improving our wellbeing, and we need the right settings for them to do this. The Labour Government prioritises local democracy and local governance to evolve to fit for the future. In Aotearoa, it’s growing with some significant challenges being presented to us right now, like COVID-19, future population growth, and climate change.

In conclusion, I would just like to thank the Environment Committee, which I have joined recently, but I also want to thank the officers for all of their work within the select committee in helping bring the work together. This process will allow consultation to enable community views to be expressed and to be heard. Labour supports this bill, and I commend this bill to the House. Thank you.

E Māngai o te Whare, tēnā koe. The Green Party is supporting the Palmerston North Reserves Empowering Amendment Bill. We’re supporting it because it does implement the principles of appropriate decision-making by allowing the council to make a decision about the future ownership and management of the reserve and, as others, including the bill’s promoter, Tangi Utikere, have explained, because the legislation at the moment, the 1922 Act, doesn’t allow the land to be sold, but bringing it under the 1966 Palmerston North Reserves Empowering Act would allow the council to sell the land, provided it does so pursuant to a resolution, it provides public notice of the time and place of the meeting at which that resolution is to be submitted to the council, and it gives 14 days’ notice.

So that is appropriate decision-making, but I have been conscious that a number of members of the House are supporting the use of reserves for housing. And I think we do need to be careful here, because we’re here in 2022. Think out 200 years into the future: the population of Aotearoa New Zealand will have continued to increase significantly. We need green space in our urban centres to provide for the mental health and wellbeing of people through the recreation that Ian McKelvie discussed—taking grandchildren and watching them at sport. We need these green spaces to cope with a change in climate, to reduce the urban heat island effect, and to help with ensuring that stormwater, which is discharged into the Manawatū River, potentially can go through a rain garden.

So it is quite short-sighted to just see public reserves as a convenient way of providing much-needed housing when the other option is, of course, to encourage medium- and high-density housing on the bulk of private land which exists in the city. Certainly, this site at the Huia Street Reserve, the 1.6 hectares, is very close to the city centre. Palmerston North Girls’ High School is located to the south of the reserve. It’s close to main traffic routes. So it may well be suitable for housing, but I was disappointed to see that one of the reasons the Palmerston North City Council is promoting this bill was because—as the Mayor, Grant Smith, said in his submission—“The proposal has the potential to provide the council with an alternative revenue source.” Councils should not be about selling off public space reserve land in order to generate revenue. This space, once gone, is not generally retrieved. It has a multitude of uses, so I hope the Palmerston North City Council does consult widely and is careful in its decision making about whether to sell the reserve, or it adopts a proposal—as other councils have done—and works to provide a different form of housing typology on the land in a joint venture with a private developer, community housing trust, or others so that the land ownership remains with the council and remains in public ownership to preserve the options for the future.

So we’re supporting it because it does allow the council to make that decision. The select committee, in terms of the scope of the bill—the bill itself is not about those decisions about the future use of the land. I hope that the council also works closely with Palmerston North Girls’ High School and their board because, although the board did not appear before the select committee, they have raised some concerns about increased density of housing on this site—because of the traffic movements where you’ve got 1,200 students and 140 staff going in and out of the site, and there’s quite a narrow access way. So however the site is determined to be used by the council in the future, it’s got to take into account the needs of others in the community—particularly the girls’ high school—and ensure that it’s not just being used as a revenue-raising venture in order to reduce the demand on rates. But the Green Party is supporting the bill. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. It’s a pleasure to rise and take a call on the Palmerston North Reserves Empowering Amendment Bill, the second reading. It’s one of those interesting pieces of legislation, isn’t it? It’s a local bill, which is different from a private bill and different from a member’s bill.

I’d just like to acknowledge the member and thank the member Tangi Utikere for his sponsorship of this local bill, as the Labour elected MP for the community. Of note, we all know, and I think we’ve heard it in the House here tonight, that he has done previous service on the Palmerston North City Council as the deputy mayor as well. So there’s a nice synergy of him now as the member for the city bringing this bill to the House.

I also want to note that the Palmerston North City Council are the promoter. As I think other members have said, this, essentially, means that the bill has been progressed or asked to be passed on to the member in particular. However, there is no doubt that the member is very aware of the issues for this community and he is sponsoring the bill on the basis that that is his job as the local member, and the bill, therefore, is not in his name. Now, having said all of that, I know that the member is delighted to be doing this, I just wanted to make that reference as well.

I want to acknowledge the member the Hon Eugenie Sage, our chairperson, who is a really diligent chairperson, and we did progress, across the membership of the select committee, lots of detail about this bill. We had 29 submissions and we heard from eight of those, including from the sponsor himself and also from the promoter. So the bill came to the select committee on 8 December 2021 and submissions closed on 18 February. As I said, we heard eight oral submissions, and I think it’s really important, over that period of time, that I want to recognise and acknowledge the officials from the Department of Conservation (DOC), who supported us, and the Parliamentary Service and the Parliamentary Counsel Office as well.

Really useful, helpful submissions were given to us, and DOC wrote a particularly useful briefing for us on the bill. I want to just acknowledge one of the things—because it’s now been tabled in the House—for listeners out there, no doubt everyone is listening from home, from Palmerston North. There’s a really useful appendix—appendix II—that talks specifically about the types of legislation that this particular piece of land refers to. And there are nine pieces of legislation over the years from, as we have heard, 1876 onwards that refer to this little piece of land that we are considering here today. I think it’s really important to have a bit of a look at that, because that gives us some really tremendous history around some of the land in our country. Of course, this land became very simple land in 1876, but before that it also had a history, and I’d just like to acknowledge that.

So the former Palmerston North Reserves Act 1922 gave the initial protection to this land as a reserve so it could not be sold. This Act was superseded by the Palmerston North Reserves Empowering Act in 1966, which became the principal Act. This empowering amendment bill supports the aim of the Palmerston North City Council to be able to sell the land if it becomes surplus to their requirement. And I think the member the Hon Eugenie Sage made good point and good reference to the fact that this is a piece of land that is able to be sold, but we here in the Environment Committee, the select committee members, we did not look into the decision as to whether that was right or wrong. We looked specifically at the process of moving that piece of land. There is a due process that needs to be followed in the city council process.

So the particular area of land, as we have heard, is known as the Huia Street Reserve and it’s located at the corner of Fitzherbert Avenue and Park Road in Palmerston North. To my shame, the last time I was in Palmerston North, the “Fitzy Tavern” was still open. I think that was back in my student union days, so it’s been quite some time. However, I was quite delighted—quite delighted—with the drone technology that we had to see what this particular site looked like. I thought, “That’s a place I might want to visit sometime soon.” So the member Tangi Utikere has graciously invited us, at any point, to come to his fair city. And I think I will be taking that up. And I’m sure I will not be visiting the “Fitzy” because I think they closed many, many years ago.

During our deliberations, we did struggle a bit to understand exactly where the reserve sat. And, in fact, even some of the submissions from some of the local people were quite confused about where that piece of land was. So it was very helpful to have the drones—it gave us the boundaries, it gave us what the trees were and, in fact, whether they were indigenous trees or introduced trees, what the amenities were, what their location looked like—really useful. A little bit disappointed we didn’t visit in person, but certainly we did save a few thousand kilometres of petrol and travel, etc.

Of the submissions received, no one spoke to the content of the bill. Unsurprisingly, that is because it has six clauses and the two substantial clauses are clause 4(a) and clause 4(b). Now, with your indulgence, Madam Speaker, I’ll just read what they say. So clause 4(a) is: “vest in the Palmerston North City Council the land described in the Schedule; and (b) enable the Council to sell that land if the land becomes surplus to the Council’s requirements.” And then the Schedule gives the legal description. That’s it. That is the entirety of this bill, and that is why I raise it in the House, because the bill is so simple but there is so much behind it. I think it’s important to raise that.

I also want to acknowledge that under the 1966 Act, section 8 requires that when any land is sold under the Act, the full proceeds must be used to acquire development land for public recreation reserves. So if the council decides to sell in the future, they have to use the proceeds for other pieces of recreational property. And I think that that too is a very useful thing. We don’t as a select committee express a view as to the merits of the sale or the development. I think it’s been clear in this House tonight that we—some of us—sit in different positions, and that sale or otherwise is a decision that is going to be made appropriately by the Palmerston North City councillors, and those councillors will be politically accountable to the voters of Palmerston North City. Our job here, quite simply, is whether, in fact, the processes have been followed appropriately for us to ensure that this piece of land can be moved out of that reserve.

So with that, I think it’s an interesting piece of legislation. It is an entry of good intent and I appreciate having worked on it. I commend this bill to the House.

I can promise you, I won’t read from the bill and you won’t get a PowerPoint from the ACT Party. The ACT Party supports this bill. The bill was considered by the Environment Committee. I want to give assurances to the people of New Zealand that ACT’s role, my role as the ACT member of the Environment Committee, was to make sure that the time taken to consider the bill was reduced as much as possible, because—when you consider the amount of effort, the cost, the time it’s taken for just a few hundred square metres of land to be removed from its title as a reserve and made available when this bill gets Royal assent, made available for the local council that owns this piece of land to do something better with it for its community.

Now, it turns out—I’ve done a bit of research—that the Act that actually controls this reserve was passed in 1966, and you have to say that 56 years later there may be a need in some communities to do something different with parcels of land that were once set aside as a reserve for reserve purposes. Now, the problem is that it’s not just a Palmerston North council but it’s councils all around New Zealand who struggle to get permission or to establish the legal authority to change the land use.

If you look at the different types of reserves—and I’ll give you an example in a moment of what this means—I found in a quick search scenic reserves, historic reserves, scientific reserves, recreational reserves, and I also found hospital reserves, because it turns out that at some point back in the 1800s, when a local town said, “We need a hospital.”, the Government passed a law to say, “Here’s some land which we reserve for the hospital.” Now, of course, we’ve got much more efficient planning instruments than that, like the Resource Management Act—I’m joking! But at least we don’t need specific Acts of Parliament any more to designate land or give planning permission for land to be used.

Local government actually has a really important role in delivering positive social outcomes to its communities. So when a piece of land is surplus, they should have maximum flexibility in how that land is used, and if it’s disposed of, that should be of no consequence. Despite what we’ve heard from the Green member today, that it’s a great worry that councils might want to sell a bit of land and use that revenue to put back into some other council asset—I mean, heaven forbid that they might want to sell an asset, get some money for it and invest in something the community actually wants, rather than a weed-infested piece of land down the road.

What Palmerston North council have pointed out, rightly, and what Tangi Utikere, the member sponsoring this local bill, has pointed out, is that this land actually is in an ideal location to support urban densification and actually increase the housing stock that Palmerston North needs in order to grow and develop. The ACT Party supports that 100 percent. But what this process highlights is that it takes an awful long time for local and central government to do stuff and, actually, regulation, laws, Government are more often the handbrake holding back communities, holding back business, and holding back New Zealand from being our best selves.

So for members who think they come to this House to pass laws, to make people’s lives better, well, there might have been a few of those that I’ve seen come through this House in the short time I’ve been here—at only 18 months—and this is one of them, but we have this legacy of hundreds and hundreds of pieces of legislation which were passed with good intent and which now are nothing but a hindrance to communities around New Zealand who want to use their land for better purposes.

I’ll give you an example. When I worked in Auckland, there was a piece of land that had once been a quarry and it was owned by local council. It was owned by local council. It had once been a quarry and they said, “We’re no longer going to dig rock out of it; we’ve got all the rock out. I know what we’ll do, we’ll turn it into a reserve and we’ll let the birds come back and we’ll let the bush come back.” Well, that’s fantastic, except a short time later another part of council said, “We’ve got hundreds of thousands of cubic metres of surplus fill we need to get rid of. We can either pay commercial rates or we can put it in the old quarry that we used to operate that you’ve now called a reserve.” Well, after some years of exploring the option, it was deemed impossible, because it would have required if not an Act of Parliament almost—just to get permission to backfill that quarry with surplus fill. Actually, it would have delivered a better environmental outcome and a better asset for council, because rather than a big dangerous hole in the ground with rocks falling into it that no one could use; it was actually fenced off, it could have been made into a level site and repurposed for alternative community uses.

So when we consider this bill, this simple piece of legislation, as the member Angie Warren-Clark rightly pointed out before she threated to give us a PowerPoint, actually what we should be doing is looking at all the pieces of legislation that we currently have on the statute book and saying, “Which one of these, if we deleted it, no one would notice?”—no one would notice. I can see the member Michael Woodhouse looking at me with a great deal of interest. I know the National Party sometimes loses their way when it comes to regulatory reform, but I can assure this House that the ACT Party is laser-focused on eliminating waste, on eliminating poor regulations, that actually hold New Zealand communities back, that stop our economy from thriving and our communities from becoming those places that we want to see grow and develop.

So, look, it did take from around 2005, we heard today. That’s about 16 or 17 years since the need to change the purpose or the use of this land was identified and now here we are today, hopefully going to all vote yes and support this bill passing through the House. But I just want to point out what the cost was, not just the cost in the member’s time while we considered it, not just the opportunity cost to Palmerston North City Council and its residents but also the costs of officials’ time. While the committee sat, we had officials from the Department of Conservation, experts in their field. They came to the committee and they presented about biodiversity and land ownership and the Reserves Act. We got down into all kinds of detail that people who don’t sit on select committees and aren’t members of Parliament, or don’t work in the Parliamentary Counsel Office, or in some Government department where the lanyard class goes to work every day—they wouldn’t understand it. They would have no idea how complex and how difficult it is actually to pass a piece of legislation to prove why it should be allowed to pass, to make the case, and then to draft the legislation and have it passed just so that Palmerston North can sell or otherwise dispose of a piece of land or simply choose to own it but change its land use. I mean, who knows? They might find oil in Palmerston North and they might come to the House and say, “We want a bill to overturn the ban on oil and gas exploration because, just like Jed from The Beverly Hillbillies, ‘We’ve found oil!’ ” But that’s very unlikely. However, they should be able to use their land for whatever purpose they see fit, and it shouldn’t be up to nimbys and others to say what council should do with their land and how they should use it, it’s best fit for the communities.

So, look, the ACT Party supports this piece of legislation, primarily because it makes it easier for local government, or an agency, to sell and dispose of land so that it can be better used by the community. And while it’s important to recognise that the Environment Committee spent time on this bill, there are also a whole lot of other people who submitted, who raised concerns. And, in fact, the committee has found unanimously that this bill should proceed.

So, on that note, I’d like to conclude by saying the ACT Party supports this bill. We want to see more bills that get rid of red tape. We want to see more bills that make it easier to do stuff in New Zealand and actually reduce the number of people who claim to have standing and want to make decisions about how other people use their land. So we look forward to seeing more great bills like this being brought to the House by Government members in particular, maybe resource management reforms that limit the number of people who can say “No” to you on how you use your land. But, of course, there’s a snowball out there somewhere in hell, slowly melting. We look forward to the day.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. Look, it’s a pleasure to take a call on the Palmerston North Reserves Empowering Amendment Bill. Last time I spoke on this bill, I put my hand up and admitted that I am from the wonderful place of Palmerston North. There’s a few of us, I’ve discovered, in this House. Actually, Madam Speaker—and I know I’m not supposed to bring her into the debate, but I understand she was born in the mighty city of Palmerston North, as was, I understand, my colleague Anna Lorck. This may not be well known to people, but very good people have been born in Palmerston North, like my colleague Anna Lorck and the Deputy Prime Minister.

But I just acknowledge my colleague Tangi Utikere, who I went to school with in Palmerston North, for his fine work bringing this bill to the House. There’s a little phrase we use about Palmerston North. It’s a bit like family—maybe a bit like the ACT Party. You can only diss Palmerston North if you’re from Palmerston North, so I’m allowed to stand up here and give it a bit of a ribbing.

Now, one of the things my colleague Glen Bennett may say if he gets the opportunity to take a call later is that people often get Palmerston North and New Plymouth confused, and that was the bane of my existence. All my life growing up, people were asking me if I came from New Plymouth. But I guess what I would say now, as much as I do love Palmerston North, is I do love to be the MP for sunny Nelson, because we have a beach.

💬 Glen Bennett: Not as sunny as New Plymouth.

No, look, we are eventually going to take that, the sunniest city, back from you, Mr Bennett, I can assure you.

My colleague Ian McKelvie made some comments around the fantastic parts of Palmerston North and the Square, and he missed a few out. So I just wanted to note that there is the fantastic All Saints Church, where my mother is the organist, and that is currently closed to the public, unfortunately, due to it being earthquake-prone. There is also the second-ugliest city council building, the first most ugliest city council building belonging in my electorate of Nelson, and we’re very proud of that title. There was once a fantastic two-storey McDonald’s with a wonderful playground inside it, and I can see my colleague Mr Utikere having a bit of a giggle, because you’ll remember the playground and the McDonald’s in Palmerston North. But others have forgotten to mention that I think the best pub was High Flyers in the city. Unfortunately, it has suffered from a fire and is boarded up, but I would argue with my colleague Angie Warren-Clark about The Fitz and say, actually, in my view, it was High Flyers.

So look, I’ll get to the bill, as much as I’d love to spend 10 minutes talking about the fantastic place that is Palmerston North. The bill allows the Palmerston North City Council to sell reserve land for housing development. So it specifically does that. Look, a few weeks ago, I was in Palmerston North and I drove past this particular area. I made a point of slowing down and driving around just to specifically look at the area, and I’ll talk about the particular piece of land in a moment, because I know it quite well. This particular issue was brought to the House a few years ago. After I gave the speech in the first reading, I actually was heading back to Palmerston North and mentioned to my stepfather, who was a previous deputy mayor, and the deputy mayor at the time that Palmerston North City Council intended to bring this bill to the House previously—so I said to him, “Look, this bill is going back through the House.” He was very happy. He let out a sigh of deep frustration, and I understand that there were some real challenges there around the consultation. But this piece of land has had a part of it that was vacant since 2005. So for over 15 years, it’s been sitting there, and a huge lost opportunity, in my view, in terms of the ability for this land to be developed for housing.

The particular piece of land in question is the corner of Fitzherbert Avenue and Park Road. I just wanted to note, I guess, having grown up in Palmerston North, I went to Palmerston North Girls’ High School, which is literally right next to this piece of land. In fact, I was reminiscing with Mr Utikere earlier today about the time there was a sportsground next to it with a sports club, and, in my third-form year, we all ended up in that hall for a few hours after someone had made a bomb threat to the school. Some of my friends, unfortunately, had been doing PE that day and in very cold weather, so it wasn’t a great day. But look, it’s an area that I know very well, and I did just want to respond to some of the comments from the Green Party member Eugenie Sage, because, look, I do acknowledge we need to take some care around reserve land.

I disagree with Simon Court. I think, actually, we do need to ensure we’ve got proper processes around reserve land. Where I am in Nelson, I think it would cause us some challenge, because we don’t have as many large parks, and we’re quite constrained around land. Palmerston North is quite different. This piece of land is literally minuscule compared to enormous recreation areas right next to it. I’m talking less than 1 percent of the size. We’re not taking away any amenity value for the city. I have never used that vacant land at all. Fitzherbert Park next to it? Enormous. The Esplanade next to it? Also enormous. Just down the road is the Lido swimming pool. We have Manawatū River. Nearby, the botanical gardens. There is enormous amenity value in this area, and so I don’t think there should be any concern whatsoever from the community about losing a piece of land. In a point of principle, I do agree we need to take real care, but, in this particular instance, knowing the area intimately as I do, I think it makes complete sense.

In the Palmerston North City Council submission, which I enjoyed reading, they talked a little bit about potential that this could be potentially provided through social housing. That’s one of the potential options—in my view, probably the best option, but it is one of the options. They made a note here around some social housing that has been provided for in Papaioea Place, which is just around the corner from my family home. Last year, members of the Labour caucus visited these houses, which had been opened by the Prime Minister in Papaioea Place. They were fantastic. Look, I think that there would be a real benefit in being able to develop that housing of that style in this area. The amenity value, in my view, must be very high. It’s close to public transport, close to local schools—very good schools, like Palmerston North Girls’ High School. As I’ve already mentioned, it’s close to a very large number of recreation areas.

I just wanted to make a little note. I think, for the record, I’d like to get this into my speech. One of my colleagues mentioned trees, and there’s an interesting story around trees in this area. People who know Palmerston North well may remember that in 1997, in my seventh-form year at school, the trees were occupied by an activist who later became the Mayor of Palmerston North, Mark Bell-Booth. For a number of weeks, when they were looking to remove the plane trees down Fitzherbert Avenue, a number of activists were living in the trees all down Fitzherbert Avenue because they objected to having the trees removed for four-laning of the avenue. I used to cycle to school past a whole lot of Massey University students. All I could think about at the time, never knowing I’d become an activist at the time, is that they were students living in these trees and they’re probably very smelly. All I could think about was “Where would they have a shower?” But, look, there are trees growing in the area, and, look, it is a very lush, green area of the city.

In terms of one of the other comments that Ms Sage made that I just wanted to note as well was just around the access route down Huia Street. That was actually the smallest access point into the school, actually. There are main entrance gates along Fitzherbert Avenue, and that’s where people enter the school. I only used to enter that area—I was one of a small group of students that did enter down Huia Street, because I was a music student and the music department was at the back of Huia Street. So it was only really the naughty music students that would bike down Huia Street and enter that way. The vast bulk of the students would be entering through Fitzherbert Avenue and over by the science block area near the Blue Moon Dairy. So it’s useful to be able to look at these issues, having an intimate knowledge of the area. I think in principle, though, at the end of the day, this is a local bill.

So this is a bill that has been brought by the Palmerston North City Council. It’s not necessarily for us as parliamentarians, unless there’s a deep concern of some kind, to actually go against the wishes of the council. But I will put on record that I think people who are raising concerns—I don’t think those concerns in this case are valid. Having grown up in the area, knowing the need that we have for housing, this land has been vacant for over 15 years. It could be used to good effect. It’s a great place for social housing, right next to some of the best parks and recreation areas in the country, and so I commend Palmerston North City Council for bringing this bill to the House, alongside Tangi Utikere, the select committee, and officials. On that note, I commend this bill to the House.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I rise to speak on the Palmerston North Reserves Empowering Amendment Bill. This is a good local bill which has been brought before the House. National is very happy to support this, as National stands up for councils as strong local voices that are essential to a thriving local democracy. This is a good example of this and I commend the member Tangi Utikere, who has brought this to the House as the local member for Palmerston North.

Palmerston North is a great city. I was there not that long ago, actually. It’s certainly come a long way from when I used to travel through there as a child, and it was a lot quieter a number of decades ago, but it’s grown a lot. This bill will actually help with some of those growth pains.

Palmerston North is experiencing significant growth. Over $7 billion in major public and private investment has been planned by the council. There’s strong demand for housing over the next 10 years, which is certainly an issue right across the country, including in my own electorate in Queenstown, Alexandra, Gore, and Winton—you name it, it’s a big issue across the country. But it’s certainly one that Palmerston North is experiencing acutely with an acute shortage of affordable housing, problems with rough sleepers, and high occupancy of emergency and transitional accommodation. Simply, more housing is needed. This bill will give the council more options and encourage the council to be innovative and think differently about increasing housing supply.

Another point is local government is facing a number of issues and in Palmerston North, the city council is no different. Some of the key issues are: increased rates, growing debt, infrastructure deficits, housing affordability, climate change, and changing recreational needs. This Huia Street Reserve was formerly occupied by the Manawatū Bowling Club. It hasn’t been used for about 15 years, so it’s just sitting there, effectively, unutilised by the local community. It gives an option for the Palmerston North City Council to do something different. It doesn’t commit the council to immediately selling or developing the land, but it does provide the opportunity for public consultation should the council move to rezone the land under the First Schedule of the Resource Management Act.

So I think I’ll leave it there. In conclusion, this is a great example of a local council doing something about a need in their community, and the National Party is happy to commend this bill to the House.

Kia ora e te Māngai o te Whare. It’s an absolute delight to get up to speak to this bill of my colleague and friend Mr Utikere on members’ night. For those watching, you will appreciate that tonight is the night that we gather to debate the bills that come not from the Government but from individual members of Parliament, and they throw up some gems, and this is one.

Here we are debating tonight just under 4 acres—1.6 hectares of land—that has been sitting vacant for about 15 years but, unfortunately, the council that owns it and would like to repurpose it, perhaps as much-needed housing, is unable to do so because a quirk in a quite elderly piece of legislation. We’re here to rectify that. We are riding to the defence of Palmerston North. But what I’m really reading in this, as I characterise Mr Utikere as a sort of parliamentary Lone Ranger upon his horse dashing forth—and I’m definitely picturing Ms Boyack in a similarly heroic role—what I’m really loving about this, as someone who comes from another small town, is the love story we are seeing to Palmerston North. No longer is it the poor relation and often sadly mistaken rival to New Plymouth, and I stand here with the MP for New Plymouth to my right. But, of course, I always go to the left, and Mr Utikere is Palmerston North, and he sits to my left tonight. When I think about these small towns—New Plymouth, Palmerston North—the joke is: “Who remembers which one is which, other than their respective residents?” When I think about Whangārei, where I’m from, and I think about what I would refer to, and Ngāpuhi, as Whanganui, which of course is W’anganui—we often get mistaken as well—it is a point of sadness and soreness for us provincial peoples that the wonder and uniqueness of our little towns is not remembered.

I do actually have to say, however, that the fine residents of Palmerston North—I do have some trauma of my own relating to Palmerston North, that has luckily been salved by the discussion and the warmth and the love we have heard for Palmerston North, and the development that will be enabled by this bill. When I was a little girl, there were two weddings in our family, to my twin uncles Richard and Simon, and Uncle Richard married Auntie Jenny in, wait for it, New Plymouth. It was a lovely wedding, I have to say—a very lovely wedding—and, as little girl, I was very taken with the entire thing. But then, Uncle Simon married Auntie Jenny in Palmerston North. And in Palmerston North, a terrible thing happened. It was a wonderful wedding, it was most delightful—again, very taken with the wedding dresses—but in Palmerston North, my little sister Georgie, who was playing on the jungle gym in Palmerston North—

💬 Rachel Boyack: At the Esplanade?

It may well have been. It was a hoop arrangement, and Georgie, aged six, fell. She fell badly; she fell on to concrete. She broke her arm in two places. It was the first time any of us had actually known someone with a broken arm within our own family, so it was quite a traumatic moment. And I do note that Georgie does now live in New Plymouth. So the wonder and joy of small towns—

💬 DEPUTY SPEAKER: As interesting as that all is, the member should relate those stories to the bill.

—resides in their local councils and their people’s ability to develop them in the way they want to, and to bring our New Plymouth brethren to Palmerston North, and give them the option, perhaps, of moving to Palmerston North, on the wonderful Huia reserve, which, if this goes through, we will enable the council to take back into its control, take it out of its current weedy, “wastey” state, and perhaps repurpose it as housing, which even, despite her trauma, my sister Georgie might consent to visit someday. I commend this bill to the House.

Pō mārie, Mr Speaker, me koutou mā. [Good evening, Mr Speaker. Good evening everyone.] I stand, as the last speaker for the National Party, in support of the bill—and acknowledgment to Tangi Utikere, the member for Palmerston North. In my role as a list MP for the National Party from Whanganui, I’m of the neighbouring city. I’m going to speak in terms of my Māori development relationship role that I carry for the National Party and the ’hakapapa—that’s the genealogy—and the whanaungatanga—the relationships—that I have to Manawatū Palmerston North, Papaioea—that’s the Māori name for Palmerston North.

This bill, as has well been spoken to this evening, is about an amendment to the Palmerston North Reserves Empowering Act 1966. The placement of the particular reserve is in a central part of Palmerston North, not far from the Manawatū River and not far from a kura that my oldest daughter attended, Tū Toa, which is at the Hokowhitu campus. Again, the correlation of the relationships of the people to the whenua: Rangitane are the mana whenua of this area.

In my Māori development spokesperson role, sitting on the Māori Affairs Committee this morning, we heard from the Minister for Māori Development talking about papa kāinga and Māori housing. Through that lens, I noted with particular interest that in the select committee bill the amendment—the bill will pass without amendment, and the emphasis and focus was to insert a provision there to enable the council to be able to sell this particular reserve. The member from Nelson said that the amendment would be to sell it for housing or development. My understanding is that the amendment bill doesn’t specifically state that; that was a preferred option of the council.

What I did note that hadn’t been noted within the select committee report—and I didn’t sit on the Environment Committee—is that there was no consideration, from the 29 submissions, eight of those that were heard, and from the members on that select committee, for an option for the gifting or the return of the land. I looked through the Rangitāne settlement Act of 2016, to go to the redress clauses within that bill and to see what arrangement, relationship association, Ngāti Rangitāne has with the local authority, and there’s none that covers this particular reserve. But through my Māori lens and, again, the ’hakapapa and the whanaungatanga, I questioned why there hadn’t been consideration for that provision, particularly when we know—and I don’t know the particular ’hakapapa of this whenua and how it came to be as a reserve. But the amendment is specific that it only enables the district council if the reserve is deemed surplus to sell. And there is a provision, also within the 1966 Act, section 4A, “Power of sale”, that specifically states under subsection (5) “No land shall be sold under this section for a price that is less than the capital value of the land”.

So this is the second reading. It’s supported by the National Party. I flag that because it limits the district council only to the specific provision of sale, as opposed to an opportunity or the discretion to gift. I did a little bit of Google research this evening, not knowing that I was speaking on this bill until later this afternoon, and I saw that the Tauranga Council, back in December 2019, made the decision to gift surplus land back to tangata whenua, stating that it was time to do the right thing. So I mention that because I’ve heard in the House this evening the significance and the importance of relationships, but those relationships must hearken back to the ’hakapapa of the whenua—that this particular reserve is now going to be deemed, under this amendment, as only for sale, and then the option for the district council to decide or deem for what particular use.

In finishing, I’ll just talk about some of my whakawhanaungatanga. I talked about, again, the correlation of this whenua to the school Tū Toa, which my daughter attended, and relationships. I spent a lot of time in Palmerston North in my younger days, netballing. The last time I was in Palmerston North was for the New Zealand Māori Netball Tournament earlier this year. Tū Toa: the origins of the school come from the Durie whānau, Nathan Durie with his wife Yvette McCausland-Durie, who have been mentors and exemplars for many of our Māori youth going through our education system. Tū Toa, now named Manukura—Tū Toa still exists, but the offspring of that is Manukura. Yvette McCausland-Durie has been an exemplar for our Māori youth in the sporting and in the academic domain, and, of course, Yvette is well known as the coach of the netball Pulse team. So those are relationships, and I remember in my younger days—and I know that my daughter, when she was at Tū Toa, now named Manukura, used to train around this area, through Ongley Park, Manawaroa Park, and around the Huia Street Reserve.

So, as I tend to, I will always make a correlation of a personal association, which I’ve done through those relationships. I acknowledge Ngāti Rangitane, I acknowledge the Palmerston North District Council and councillors and the member in the House this evening who’s sponsoring this bill through, Tangi Utikere. As this bill goes to third reading, perhaps those members on the select committee might turn their minds to possibly a Supplementary Order Paper, possibly not, but I look and I share and I express that there needs to be a diversity of how we look at these issues. Tēnā tātou katoa.

Kia ora, Mr Speaker. It’s a pleasure to rise to speak on this piece of legislation, and I acknowledge the previous speaker, Harete Hipango, and thank her for her thoughtful contribution. My hope is that Palmerston North City Council, as I know it would have, has done its work and has spoken with local hapū and iwi and has had conversations around that, and I’m sure that Mr Utikere would have done his due diligence and had conversations.

But it’s really good to bring us back to remind us about the land that we all get to live on, this space, and who the first people of this land were. I want to say mānawatia a Matariki. I said it yesterday in the House. Yeah, we’ve had the holiday, we’ve had the celebrations over the weekend, but it is the season of Matariki, and let us be reminded of what’s gone before us, what’s here now, and what is to come. I guess this piece of legislation and this piece of land are about that: acknowledging what has happened; acknowledging what’s there right now but also looking forward to the future.

Now, we’ve talked a lot about Tangi Utikere tonight, and so we should, because he’s a fabulous, wonderful member of Parliament for Palmerston North. Here’s also congratulations, Mr Utikere, for becoming a junior whip just recently, and I will keep my comments within time—I will behave, thank you very much. But I’m just grateful for my colleague from the year of 2020 to be in the whips team. Also, Mr Deputy Speaker, I will speak to the legislation, and I think it relates to you, sir, obviously as the member of Parliament for Te Tai Hauāuru. I believe that part of your electorate is Palmerston North, so we acknowledge you this evening as I know you listen with great interest to the oratory that is just pouring out of this House tonight.

There have been some jokes, obviously, and obviously there’s always the gag about New Plymouth - Palmerston North, but I want to move on from that. I think we’ve grown up; I think we’re beyond that now. But I did some research, because we all did, and I can’t imagine what it would be like to be a member of Parliament without Google, but, anyway, I’m sure that did exist. I’m sure people actually went to libraries and actually had real-life knowledge that they stored up for years and years.

But Palmerston North has an interesting history, because we think of Palmerston down South and we think of Palmerston North, but did you know that there were actually four Palmerstons back in the 19th century? Four—not one, not two, but four—and, of course, there was that big conclave of conversations back in about 1873, off the top of my head, where there was a lot of confusion in this country. Obviously, my ancestors who came here were very original: “North Island, South Island. Palmerston—what are we going to do because everyone’s really confused? I know: Palmerston North.”—which this piece of legislation is about; the very, very important Palmerston North Reserves Empowering Amendment Bill—very important.

So I just find it fascinating, but, thankfully, I’ve spent time in Palmerston. I was born in Dunedin, so Otago, and I have loved that small town, and the town of Palmerston North in the North Island I have. In fact, as I look at the map and look at this piece of land, it brings me home. Now, this is not home—I was not born here—but my mother actually is from Foxton. [Interruption] Yes, and my mother had the privilege of being an old girl of Palmerston North Girls’ High. She used to catch the bus every day from Foxton to Palmerston North, and it was obviously life changing because it set her up to have wonderful children that have ended up—one of them, at least—in this House. I’ll give her all the credit this evening.

I look at this piece of legislation and it just seems like a no-brainer. It seems basic and really simple. Obviously, this Huia Street Reserve does have a long history and, as was spoken of earlier, the bits of history that I have in front of me are of my ancestors; not of tangata whenua, to be bluntly honest. This reserve was actually given to the city of Palmerston North back in 1876 by the Wellington provincial Government. It was to be used as a public park or recreation ground or botanical gardens for the inhabitants’ enjoyment of Palmerston North.

Now, I really take the point that the Hon Eugenie Sage made. I know she is a competent and effective chair of the Environment Committee. When she talked about the importance of green space, she did talk very much about the importance of ensuring—whether it be around traffic movements, around waste water, around all those amenities—that we do have to look at this, and we do have to pay attention. It might seem like a momentary decision today to throw a few more houses up to meet housing needs, but what is the big picture? Where do we look for our descendants—where do we look?

But then, of course, in my continued research, I don’t have the knowledge or wisdom that my colleague the MP for Nelson, Rachel Boyack, who is from Palmerston North, has, but I do have a map.

💬 Hon Member: A “power-pointer”.

It is a PowerPoint, which I always struggle with, to be honest. But when you look at the piece of land and then you look around in the vicinity, and if I had my little protractor or the bits of stuff you used to use in maths, you’d see there is many a green space in the near vicinity. They are very close. For me, our connection to nature, our connection to the environment, is important, so as I look at the green spaces available, I feel comfortable with the fact that this piece of green space, which has sat vacant since 2005, can actually be released, if this law comes into force, so that it can be committed to housing, to ensure that the good people of Palmerston North have places to live.

This piece of land on the corner of Fitzherbert Avenue and Park Road, also, as I heard earlier, was around traffic movements and there are some concerns about what that could look like. But, again, with town planners and the work that’s done in consenting, I know that it’s not just a “throw some houses up and hope like heck that it’s going to be OK”. There are obviously consents and processes that have to take place that will ensure that the roads are safe and that the roads will be able to be used in a convenient way. Again, as Rachel Boyack mentioned in her speech—in her very significant contribution that I’m still reflecting on, actually—the access way to Palmerston North Girls’ High won’t be affected by the change in land use on this piece of land.

Now, this local bill, the Palmerston North Reserves Empowering Amendment Bill, is small in nature in many ways, but it will be significant for the families who get to live in those dwellings. I truly believe that everyone deserves a place to call home, whatever that may look like, and having more housing in the wonderful city of Palmerston North is important.

As I said, my mother spent a lot of time in Palmerston North in her teen years. My first memory, actually, was when I was around 10 years old. We were living in Auckland. We bused, just like my mother, down to Palmerston North. [Interruption] Yes, I was in the church and, yes, it was for a music and creative weekend, and I did a really amazing job in terms of my theatrical expressions. It obviously didn’t go far. I have made several appearances on TV, but none you will remember. Yes, I was on Fair Go, but only as an actor in reconstructions—don’t worry—and nothing else.

This is important, and Palmerston North deserves pieces and parcels of land to be made available for housing. For myself, as the MP for New Plymouth, we have a similar situation with a piece of land, right in the centre of our CBD that sits vacant; it has, actually, since the year 2008. I’m really glad that just this week, there’s been an announcement around releasing that piece of land and removing the structures on that piece of land for the sake of our local tangata whenua—for Te Āti Awa—to do work to develop that space for the sake and benefit of New Plymouth, just as this piece of legislation is here for the sake and the benefit of the people of Palmerston North. It’s a great pleasure to stand this evening to speak and to commend this bill to the House.

Motion agreed to.

Bill read a second time.