Progress for A&P society
Bill for To¯moana Showgrounds sale passes first reading
Hawke’s Bay’s A&P Society has passed the first of several hurdles in Parliament to gain the legal freedom to use money from the To¯moana Showgrounds sale as they wish.
A&P Society members voted to accept the Hastings District Council’s offer to purchase 40 of the 42 hectares of the showgrounds for $7.5 million in June, with ownership officially transferring on April 1, 2023.
However, a 114-year-old law currently prevents the A&P Society from investing the proceeds into anything besides the purchase of other land.
The Agricultural and Pastoral Societies Act 1908 requires the society to invest money received from any sale of showground land into the purchase of other land suitable for the purposes of the society.
Both the Hastings District Council and A&P Society General Manager Elisha Milmine earlier stated that they were aware of the act before the sale agreement.
Ikaroa Rawhiti MP Meka Whaitiri agreed to sponsor the Hawke’s Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Association Empowering Bill to remove the legal restriction, and the bill was publicly notified in October and introduced last month.
A statement from Whaitiri on Thursday confirmed the bill passed its first reading and will now be considered by a select committee.
Whaitiri said she and Tukituki MP Anna Lorck had “shepherded” the bill through with the support of the House.
She said the existing provisions limited the A&P Society.
“The society is seeking to change these requirements because the sale allows it to achieve long-term financial sustainability, while still having 10 days of annual free use of the showgrounds in perpetuity to run major events,” she said in a statement.
The bill has been referred to the Governance and Administration Select Committee, which will report back to the House in April.
After that, the bill will have to go through a second reading, a committee of the house, and a third reading.
With the sale on April 1 next year, the society keeps 2.8ha bounded by the Hawke’s Bay railway and Kenilworth, Karamu and Elwood roads.
A council spokesperson has previously said the matter was investigated and shared between the council and the Hawkes Bay A&P Society and included as a condition of the sale and purchase agreement, which was signed in May 2022.
There are clauses in the sale and purchase agreement regarding any delays with the bill going through Parliament, the spokesperson said.
As part of the deal, the showgrounds are to be designated as a reserve, to be managed by a trust with representatives of the A&P Society, the council, and nearby Waipatu Marae.
The society will have 10 days of free use of the showgrounds annually, primarily around the summer show each October, and free use of office space.
The sale and purchase agreement contains contingency clauses, should the bill not be passed.