Cathedral bill catches council off guard

Urgent legislation to fast-track the Christ Church Cathedral restoration gives the Government too much power, MPs have been told.

Submissions on the Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Bill were heard at the environment select committee of MPs yesterday.

The bill, which went through its first reading in Parliament earlier this month, will accelerate resource management and consent processes relating to the cathedral rebuild.

James Wilding of the Legislation Design and Advisory Committee said the powers granted in the bill to ‘‘get rid of consultation’’ were ‘‘not justified’’.

‘‘This bill infers on the minister in charge the ability to control the heart of Christchurch for 15 years.

‘‘We do not see parallels with the earthquake laws. Those occurred in the context of extraordinary events,’’ Wilding said.

The Legislation Design and Advisory Committee provides guidance for the creation of new laws.

Christchurch City Council senior legal adviser Ian Thomson said the council should have known about the bill earlier.

‘‘There has been absolutely no consultation with council in preparation of this bill. We only found out about it when there was a story in The Press last week. We have had to scramble.’’

‘‘We are the regulatory authority for this project. We really need to know at an early stage ... [and] there is insufficient recognition of this role in the bill.’’

He said the tram route and council-owned land next to the cathedral should be considered in the plans. Land designated in the bill as the ‘‘cathedral area’’ includes council-owned land and part of the tram route, he said.

‘‘We hold the square for the wider community . . . We are happy to consider requests for the use of our land. Any need to use that land for the restoration needs to be weighed against the needs of the tram. We are happy to discuss that, but we would like an early opportunity to do that.’’

Church Property Trustees and Anglican diocese legal counsel Michael Heron and Jeremy Johnson suggested changes to the bill they said would protect reinstatement of the cathedral from further legal challenge. Heron said judicial review options should be limited.

Johnson said the ‘‘legislation doesn’t easily facilitate, for example, the replacement of stone at the top with the veneer of stone’’.

Heron said the choice of materials for reinstatement could be challenged and that would cause delays and cost increases.

‘‘[We need a] professional board able to get on and do this, without interference from those who would question how much we are sticking to the original [cathedral].’’

‘‘If there is delay that then impacts on fundraising and makes it harder.

‘‘It comes from the history and the certain knowledge that people will have a crack at these things. There are people who have strong feelings about the amount of original materials that will be used.’’

A legal representative for the Great Christchurch Buildings Trust said the definition of reinstatement in the bill ‘‘left room for doubt and further relitigation’’. She said the definition should be taken from the earlier working group report on the building, which outlined a plan to fully repair and restore the building.

"This bill infers on the minister . . . the ability to control the heart of Christchurch for 15 years."

James Wilding, Legislation Design and Advisory Committee