Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust (Trust Variation) Bill
This is a small question—
Hon Dr Megan Woods: What have you got?
Hon RACHEL BROOKING: —and this is on the title.
Suze Redmayne: It’s actually not funny.
CHAIRPERSON (Barbara Kuriger): Well, we don’t know if it’s funny yet, because it hasn’t come out.
Hon RACHEL BROOKING: No. Well, what is funny, I say to the members opposite, is that often I stand here and do calls on the titles of different bills. I suggest terrible titles to represent the terrible things that this Government is doing to legislation, and they are right: it is not funny—I totally agree with them.
Now, in this case, I’m just worried—I’m not really worried, but with regard to our conversation about the geography of the area, instead of it being Christchurch-specific, I think it should be Canterbury-specific. It should be the Waitaha community housing trust because that gives more of a suggestion or an inkling to those who are looking at indications of the geographic proximity that is considered when the different councils are interested in this bill.
That’s my only suggestion for what is a very good bill, and the members opposite are, of course, quite right. It’s not funny, and it’s important that we let this trust operate to the best of its ability to house, with empathy, those people who are in need and who are forgotten by this Government.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I have two questions for the member in the chair, the Hon Dr Megan Woods. The first one is that I note that the date in the title clause says “2025”, and I wonder if the member has considered whether it would be worth updating that to “2026”, just to give it some currency. There are probably conventions around when the bill was first introduced that might preclude that kind of change, but it’s not too late, and I apologise that I don’t have an amendment on the Table. But it is something that would just make it a little more current, and it certainly would provide a signal to those who are looking at the written words in the trust’s documents, and then also at this legislation, in wanting to know when there was a transition, which is captured in Part 2 because Part 2 captures the transition under the relevant Act. But making that really clear in the title might just help people who are having to do the sort of legal donkey work and legwork to be able to find the right documents and know where that kind of brightline was when things changed.
So that’s my first question. It would be a very simple amendment because it would be simply—you wouldn’t even have to change the “2025”; it would just be replacing the “5” with a “6” at the end.
The second question is regarding the Act coming into force on the day after Royal assent. That tells me that this is a really simple matter and that, probably, things can just get straight into gear, but I wondered if the member can think of any problems that might arise if it was to occur so quickly. Has she gone through all the different scenarios so that we can be sure that there won’t be a problem for the trustees in having it come into effect so quickly after we have gone through this process in the House?
Thank you, Madam Chair. I don’t intend to take long in answering these questions. First of all, the bill will be updated in its date as it goes through its legislative process.
In terms of the trustees and whether this will be too fast for them and whether they will see that as a problem, I can categorically say no.
This is an idea that was first put to me, I think, in 2022, so it’s been a long time in the making. They would have loved to have seen it happen quicker and not have to go through this legislative process, so I think it is fair to say they are awaiting the day when this comes into effect. In response to my question from the Hon Rachel Brooking, there is nothing that member can say that will persuade me to take the word “Ōtautahi” out of the title, no matter how eloquently she tries.
Clause 1 agreed to.
Clause 2 agreed to.
Bill to be reported without amendment.
House resumed.
CHAIRPERSON (Barbara Kuriger): Madam Speaker, the committee has considered the Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust (Trust Variation) Bill and reports it without amendment. I move, That the report be adopted.
Motion agreed to.
Report adopted.
ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Maureen Pugh): In accordance with a determination of the Business Committee, this bill is set down for third reading immediately.
Third Reading