Agenda of Council Meeting

Council Meeting item: 6.3

20 October 2020

TITLE:	Māori Representation: Māori Constituencies
ID:	A1367147
From:	Linda Harrison, Organisational Project Manager; Auriole Ruka, Kaiwhakahaere Hononga Māori and Jonathan Gibbard, Group Manager - Environmental Services
Authorised by Group Manager:	Jonathan Gibbard, Group Manager - Environmental Services, on date 08 October 2020

Executive summary/Whakarāpopototanga

The Local Electoral Act (LEA) 2001 provides for the establishment of Māori constituencies and is part of a suite of legislative provisions put in place by the Crown, with the aim to increase Māori representation and participation in local authority decision making.

Following the 2019 elections, the incoming council indicated that they wanted to re-visit the issue of Māori representation / Māori constituencies. Following this decision in March 2020, council held six workshops to better understand the full range of views in relation to the establishment of Māori seats both within a local government and Northland context. The matters covered at these workshops are summarised below:

• Explanation of legislative requirements and timeframes;

• Opinions and insights from a range of guest speakers with direct experience and/or a particular interest in Māori representation;

• Opinions and aspirations of key Māori leaders in Te Taitokerau;

• Aspirations and recommendations of the tāngata whenua caucus of Te Taitokerau Māori and Council Working Party (TTMAC); and

• Consideration and analysis of the full range of options available for greater Māori participation and representation within the Northland context.

This report provides more detailed background information on this matter, including:

• An analysis of Māori representation / participation options, including their advantages and disadvantages - refer Attachment 1.

• Advice provided by the tāngata whenua caucus of Te Taitokerau Maori and Council Working Party - refer Attachment 2.

• A list of the workshop topics and attendees - refer Attachment 3.

• A summary of statutory deadlines and considerations – refer Attachment 4.

This report concludes, based on feedback received during the workshop process and analysis attached to this report, that it is appropriate and necessary to recognise Northland’s significant Māori population and the aspirations of tāngata whenua by establishing dedicated Māori seats at the council table where the important decisions are made for Northland, Te Taitokerau.

Māori representation in council governance is viewed as an important expression of council’s commitment to tāngata whenua, ensuring council is reflective of the communities it serves and a reflection of the desire to improve the future growth and development of Te Taitokerau (as encapsulated in council’s vision statement “Ko tatou o Te Taitokerau – Ka whai hua tātou” | Northland, together we thrive).

This change will strengthen the existing Māori / council partnership and support and enable council to better reflect Māori values, issues, priorities and aspirations as they relate to council roles and functions. The majority of feedback received by council supported the establishment of Māori seats as a positive step forward that will ultimately improve the economic, social, cultural and environmental well-being of all Northland – for all Northlanders.

Should council wish to proceed with the establishment of Māori constituencies, a formal decision to this effect must be made by 23 November 2020. The establishment of Māori constituencies would also require a review of representation arrangements, which refers to the number of councillors and respective constituency names and boundaries. It should be noted that it is only the decision to establish Māori constituencies that is required by 23 November 2020. The subsequent representation review proposing the actual new constituencies, names and boundaries, does not have to be done until 31 August 2021. It will then be followed by a period of public consultation before a final decision is made by the Local Government Commission by 11 April 2022. These decisions would then apply to both the October 2022 and 2025 elections.

Recommendation(s)

1. That the report ‘Māori Representation: Māori Constituencies’ by Linda Harrison, Organisational Project Manager; Auriole Ruka, Kaiwhakahaere Hononga Māori and Jonathan Gibbard, Group Manager - Environmental Services and dated 24 September 2020, be received.

2. That pursuant to section 19Z of the Local Electoral Act 2001, council resolves to establish Māori constituencies for the 2022 and 2025 local body elections.

3. That staff be directed to undertake the required statutory process to establish Māori constituencies including notification of the public’s right to demand a poll and development of an Initial Representation Arrangements Proposal by 31 August 2021. This will be followed by public consultation, development of a Final Representation Arrangements Proposal and subsequent appeals / objections process.

Options

Option 1:

Council may choose to retain the status quo and have no Māori constituencies for the 2022 elections.

Advantages	Disadvantages
No change to current constituencies.	Continued frustration and disenfranchisement of some parts of the Māori community at the continued lack of Māori representation around the council table.
No additional budget required to establish Māori constituencies.	No certainty that there will be Māori representation on regional council through local body elections. The council currently has no Māori councillors.
	A continued lack of Māori representation increases the likelihood that council decision making does not reflect the views and outcomes sought by Māori.

Statutory considerations

Should council choose the status quo option and a valid demand for a poll was received, then council would be required to conduct a poll, the outcome of which is binding for at least the next two elections. A valid demand for a poll on Māori representation can be made at any time, but to be effective for the 2022 triennial elections, it must be received by 28 February 2021 and the poll held by 21 May 2021. The estimated cost of conducting a poll of $240,000 must be borne by the council.

Option 2:

Council may resolve to establish one or more Māori constituencies for the 2022 elections.

Advantages	Disadvantages
Improved depth of council decision making capability that is more representative of Northland’s unique iwi and hapū landscape. This enables a diversity of thinking that assists in identifying opportunities and mitigating risk.	Will require flow on changes to current constituency boundaries and probably the number of elected members.
Strengthened relationships pre-treaty settlement – confirming regional council commitment to Māori – will likely result in a stronger future relationship with Māori which is good for all of Northland.	Additional (unbudgeted) expenditure required to conduct a representation review ahead of the required six-year period.
Certainty that Māori, and Māori views as tāngata whenua of Te Taitokerau, will be represented in regional council decision making.	Has the potential to bring about an adverse reaction in some sections of the Northland community that oppose the establishment of Māori seats.
Showing leadership in Northland and across Local Government New Zealand with respect to Māori representation.
Sends a strong signal on this council’s commitment to fair representation and equality in Northland.

Statutory considerations

For this to take effect for the 2022 triennial elections, the resolution must be made by 23 November 2020. If a resolution is made to establish Māori constituencies then public notice is required by 30 November 2020, advising of the resolution and the right for five percent of electors to demand a poll on resolution. If a valid demand for a poll is received by 28 February 2021, council would need to conduct a poll by 21 My 2021.

The actual determination of the number of Māori constituencies would form part of the Representation Arrangements Review to be undertaken next year and no later than 31 August 2021. This review includes a process of public notification of council’s proposed representation arrangement and provides for public submissions and hearings.

Option 3:

Council may at any time resolve to hold a poll on Māori representation and let the wider community make the decision.

Advantages	Disadvantages
Will provide an opportunity for the wider community to provide its views to council ahead of any decision.	A poll will cost approx. $240,000, and to date the majority^{^[1]} of polls undertaken by other councils, no matter what the Māori population, have not supported the establishment of Māori constituencies.
	Is likely to have a divisive affect on the community.
	Some may consider this option as showing weak leadership by the council given the likely outcome is known.

Statutory constraints

To be effective for the 2022 triennial elections, the council must make the resolution to hold a poll by 28 February 2021 and undertake it by 21 May 2021. Polls held after this date are effective for the 2025 triennial elections.

Staff recommendation:

The staff’s recommended option is Option 2 - resolve to establish one or more Māori constituencies for the 2022 elections.

It is considered appropriate and necessary to recognise Northland’s significant Māori population with dedicated Māori seats at the council table where the decisions are made. Māori representation in council governance is viewed as an important expression of council’s commitment to tāngata whenua, ensuring council is reflective of the communities it serves and a reflection of the desire to improve the future growth and development of Te Taitokerau (as encapsulated in council’s vision statement “Ko tatou o Te Taitokerau – Ka whai hua tātou” | Northland, together we thrive).

This change will strengthen the existing Māori / council partnership and support and enable council to better reflect Māori values, issues, priorities and aspirations as they relate to council roles and functions. This will ultimately improve the economic, social, cultural and environmental well-being of all Northland – for all Northlanders.

A summary of the range of options available for greater Māori participation and representation within the Northland context is included as Attachment 1. This evaluates both the options already used by council as well as some options currently not used that may further enhance Māori / council partnership. The views of tāngata whenua gleaned from the workshop conversations are also noted. The key advantages identified within this analysis for establishing Māori seats are highlighted below:

a. Having guaranteed Māori seats would ensure an informed Māori world view is brought to council decision making that non-Māori cannot provide. This would help ensure the council more fully appreciate the Māori perspective, values and issues of importance when making decisions that affect a significant proportion of the Northland population.

b. Would strengthen Māori / council relationships pre-treaty settlement, confirming council’s commitment to Māori and the Treaty of Waitangi / Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This will likely result in a significantly stronger future partnership with Māori and more effective use of future resources which is good for all of Northland.

c. Establishing Māori seats would send a strong signal that NRC is listening to Taitokerau iwi and hapū, and is open and willing to progress the partnership. It sends a strong signal on this council’s commitment to fair representation and equality in Northland.

d. Shows leadership in Northland and across Local Government New Zealand with respect to Māori representation. 2020 is already seeing a sea change in councils proposing to introduce Māori seats ahead of the next elections in 2022 – a national trend that is likely to continue.

e. Puts council in a strong position and aligns council with the central government direction of travel that clearly has stronger Māori representation in future central government thinking on regional governance models and partnerships.

It is important to note that governance representation is different to participation. Participation provides an opportunity for Māori to provide advice into a decision-making process, while governance representation provides Māori a direct avenue for Māori representatives to make governance decisions.

Considerations

1. Community views

National context

New Zealand is one of the world’s most stable democracies. We have had a form of proportional representation since 1996 and governments are generally formed via coalitions. Past and present governments have shown commitment to strengthening the Māori/Crown relationship.

Te Ao Tūmatanui ‒ Strengthening the Māori/Crown relationship

The current Government has provided numerous examples of its commitment to improving services and outcomes for Māori and strengthening the Crown’s relationship with Māori. One such example is the proposal for significant public service reforms. It is proposed that this would include a prominent stand-alone clause within the Public Services Act 2020 that is clear about the expectations of the Public Services in relation to the Crown’s Treaty partner and contains guidance to support the public sector in building its capability. The changes will support:

· engagement, participation of and partnership with Māori;

· delivering services that are responsive, accessible and work for Māori and whanau;

· improving workforce composition and capability;

· collective responsibility for a culturally competent public service that delivers with and for Māori;

· Māori being supported in leadership and decision-making roles;

· recognising the responsibility of the Public Service; and

· including Crown Agents – to enable/support the Crown to fulfil its responsibilities under Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi.

In addition, explicit provisions in the Public Services Act 2020 will strengthen and clarify the Public Service Commissioner and chief executives’ collective responsibilities for developing cultural competence and capability, for supporting Māori leadership within the Public Service Commission (previously the State Services Commission).

Public servants will also be expected to work collaboratively and engage meaningfully with Māori in the design of policies, programmes and services. Chief executives will be accountable to the Commissioner for upholding their responsibilities to support the Māori/Crown relationship.^{^[2]}

Northland context

The following observations are made on the likely impact of the national landscape at a regional level:

· Central Government are clearly indicating, through their policy and legislative settings and fund allocation, their support for Māori to have a role at a governance level;

· Te Taitokerau will remain financially dependent on central government;

· Should the public service reforms be enacted, future central government funding will likely be subject to the provisions outlined above;

· Māori leaders and governance structures will hold significant relationships with central government and have the potential to influence central government for the benefit of all Te Taitokerau;

· New Zealand’s largest iwi, Ngāpuhi, remain in a pre-treaty settlement position and are likely to become more influential regionally and nationally post settlement;

· Where iwi and hapū who have received compensation for major treaty breaches, they have gone on to become a driving force in many areas that overlap with local government statutory roles and functions; and

· Northland Regional Council has a unique opportunity to create strong enduring relationships with Māori in a pre-treaty environment now.

While council has not specifically sought the full range of community views on this matter, workshop discussions with Te Taitokerau Māori and Council Working Party, Iwi Chief Executives and Iwi Chairs (Te Kahu o Taonui), and leaders from councils who have already established Māori seats all support the establishment of Māori constituencies as the preferred way forward. This view remains unchanged from past conversations with tāngata whenua in previous representation reviews when council declined the opportunity to establish Māori constituencies.

Should the council resolve to establish Māori seats, the wider public will get the opportunity to share their views as part of the public consultation process taken into consideration by the Local Government Commission when the final decision is made in 2022.

2. Māori impact statement

In September 2010 the Human Rights Commission published a report on Māori Representation in Local Government – The Continuing Challenge (www.hrc.co.nz). In summary, the recommendations of the Human Rights Commission report include:

· Iwi should discuss whether or not they want Māori seats on their local or regional council;

· Discussions should take place between councils and iwi on Māori seats and Māori representation prior to the next representation review;

· Councils should support the Māori choice; and

· There should be further national discussion on improvement provision for Māori representation.

In considering this matter, council sought the views and feedback from Te Kahu o Taonui (Iwi Chairs and CEOs (TKoT)) and Te Taitokerau Māori and Council Working Party members (TTMAC). In addition to verbal feedback, TTMAC Māori members prepared a report outlining their analysis and recommendations (please refer to Attachment 2).

Māori leaders from both forums (TTMAC and TKoT), were unequivocal and unanimous in their call for council to establish dedicated Māori seats. The prevailing view is that the council’s current relationship with Māori is more about participation rather than representation and that representation is what is needed to take council’s relationship with Māori to the next level. Furthermore, they consider that Māori constituencies are not a race-based selection, but rather a Treaty of Waitangi / Te Tiriti o Waitangi and legislative outcome that is both appropriate and necessary to deliver equity and unlock the potential of Northland as a whole.

3. Financial implications

There are no significant financial implications of establishment of Māori constituencies unless council, or 5% of electors, request a poll to be conducted. If a poll is to be conducted it is estimated to cost approximately $240,000 of unbudgeted expenditure.

Should Māori constituencies be established:

1. Minor unbudgeted expenditure will be required to progress the representation review, however its anticipated that this can be accommodated within existing budgets.

2. There will be a small increase in the cost of running elections due to the added administrative complexity. The additional cost is currently estimated at approximately $20,000.

It is also worth noting that should Māori constituencies be established, and council increases the number of members, that the remuneration package does not increase, but simply needs to be divided amongst an increased number of councillors.

4. Implementation issues

Should council decide not to establish Māori constituencies and retain the status quo there are no perceived statutory implementation issues for council to consider. Council will, however, need to consider carefully the potential negative impact such a decision is likely to have on its current relationship with Māori. Should council decide not to implement Māori seats then it is recommended that council should consider further the alternative options to increase Māori representation (as summarised in Attachment 1).

Alternatively, should council resolve to establish Māori constituencies then there are a number of issues that will need to be worked through between now and 31 August 2021.

In particular, council will need to determine the optimum number of total councillors and then apply the legislative formula to determine the number of Māori and general councillors (Schedule 1A of the LEA 2002). If this calculation is applied to the current total number of councillors (being nine), then two of these seats would become Māori seats and there would be seven general seats. Should council wish to increase the number of councillors to eleven, then there would be three Māori seats and eight general seats. All constituency boundaries would need to be re-drawn in either of these scenarios.

Council will also need to determine the boundaries of Māori constituency(s). Local authorities are required to consider the general requirements of sections 19U and 19V of the LEA relating to fair and effective representation arrangements, and must ensure that:

· the number and boundaries of constituencies will provide effective representation of communities of interest within the region;

· the constituency boundaries coincide with mesh block boundaries;

· constituency boundaries coincide with the boundaries of one or more territorial authority district in so far as is practicable; and

· the electors of every constituency receive fair representation (plus or minus the 10 percent rule).

In addition to the above requirements, in determining the number of constituencies and boundaries of Māori constituencies the provisions of section 6 to Schedule 1a of the LEA apply and council must also have regard to:

· the boundaries of any existing Māori electoral districts; and

· communities of interest and tribal affiliations.

If the council resolves to establish more than one Māori constituency, careful consideration will therefore need to be given to the boundaries of those constituencies to ensure the legislative requirements are met in terms of the plus or minus 10 percent rule, and also to minimise splitting tribal areas.

5. Significance and engagement

While the decision to provide for Māori constituencies is considered significant, the decision sought by this report is one step in a longer legislative process under the Local Electoral Act which provides specific provision for community engagement and input into the decision at a later stage in the process. In addition, the process to date has included engagement with bodies established to represent Māori interests. For these reasons, council is able to make this decision without undertaking further community engagement at this time.

6. Policy, risk management and legislative compliance

Recognition of the significance of the Treaty of Waitangi, its place and that of Māori in council processes, is a key part of the local government legislative framework.

Sections 19Z to 19ZH of the LEA 2001 provides for the establishment of Māori constituencies. This option is part of a suite of legislative provisions put in place by the Crown, with the aim to increase Māori representation and participation in local authority decision making.

Instead of prescribing Māori representation (Māori seats), the Crown has provided the legislative mechanism (through the LEA) to provide for Māori representation but left the actual decision to respective local authorities and their communities to decide whether to have specific Māori seats on council.

Furthermore, under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) council is required to recognise and include tāngata whenua issues, interests and values, providing a basis for the engagement and participation of Māori with three main sections central to achieving this purpose:

Section 6 relates to matters of national importance that are to be recognised and provided for. This includes a requirement for local government to recognise and provide for the “relationship of Māori and their culture and traditions with their ancestral lands, waters, sites, wāhi tapu and other taonga” (s.6(e)).

Section 7 includes additional matters to which “particular regard must be given”. This requires local government to have particular regard to “kaitiakitanga”.

Section 8 where “all persons exercising functions and powers under the RMA, in relation to managing the use, development, and protection of natural and physical resources shall take into account the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi).”

The Local Government Act 2002 (LGA) also charges council with the responsibility to promote opportunities for Māori to contribute to its decision-making processes ensuring they “foster the development of Māori capacity to contribute to decision making processes, and take into account the relationship of Māori and their culture and traditions with their ancestral land, water, sites, wāhi tapu, valued flora and fauna and other taonga.” (s.77(1)(c).

The decisions sought in this report meet the Local Electoral Act 2001 requirements, and in particular section 19Z. The decisions are also compliant with council’s decision making requirements as specified under the Local Government Act 2002.

Background/Tuhinga

The Local Electoral Act (LEA) 2001 requires council to undertake a representation review every six years. Council last undertook a representation review in 2018, so is technically not required to do another one until 2024 – applicable to the 2025 election. However, a council may undertake a representation review at any time.

Following its decision in March 2020 to reconsider Māori constituencies, council held six workshops to better understand the full range of views in relation to the establishment of Māori seats within both a local government and Northland context. The matters covered at these workshops are summarised below:

• Explanation of legislative requirements and timeframes;

• Opinions and insights from a range of guest speakers with direct experience and/or a particular interest in Māori representation;

• Opinions and aspirations of key Māori leaders in Te Taitokerau; and

• Consideration and analysis of the full range of options available for greater Māori participation and representation within the Northland context.

A list of the workshop topics and attendees are included as Attachment 3.

Should council wish to introduce Māori seats in the 2022 election, there are a range of statutory deadlines and considerations included as Attachment 4.

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Attachment 1: Summary of Māori representation / participation options ⇩

Attachment 2: Māori representation – Recommendation from TTMAC tāngata whenua ⇩

Attachment 3: List of the workshop topics and attendees ⇩

Attachment 4: Statutory deadlines and considerations ⇩

Council Meeting item: 6.5

20 October 2020

TITLE:	Request for approval of unbudgeted expenditure to be funded from the Covid-19 Reinstatement Reserve
ID:	A1369199
From:	Matt De Boer, Natural Hazards Advisor and Phil Heatley, Strategic Projects and Facilities Manager
Authorised by Group Manager:	Jonathan Gibbard, Group Manager - Environmental Services, on date 13 October 2020

Executive summary/Whakarāpopototanga

The Rivers and Natural Hazards Team is requesting to advance $85,000 from the Covid–19 Reinstatement Reserve to hire a full-time Climate Change Advisor position for the remainder of the 2020/21 financial year.

· Climate change is a priority work area for council, but currently no dedicated staff have been allocated. The work programme is predominantly managed by the Natural Hazards Advisor position in the Rivers and Natural Hazards team.

· The position is a priority LTP new initiative and this request brings forward the potential position by approximately six months.

· The role will enable council to progress a work programme for climate change adaptation and mitigation and alleviate pressure on the Natural Hazards Advisor position.

· This role has been identified by ELT as a priority and is in addition to the list of projects council has identified for the Covid-19 Reinstatement Reserve.

The Property Team is requesting $65,000 from the Covid–19 Reinstatement Reserve to construct a security fence at the Union East Street storage facility during the 2020/21 financial year.

· $94,000 was budgeted for programmed painting of council’s Water Street offices and now sits in the Covid–19 Reinstatement Reserve. Recent washing and treatment of the building has since revealed that painting will not be required for several years.

· Staff instead wish to use $65,000 of these funds for the provision of a security fence at Union East Street. The current fence is inadequate and the potential for theft of trailers and other stored equipment is high, being a low profile and uninhabited area of Whangārei outside business hours.

At the time of writing this report the reserve balance was $469,110.

Recommendation(s)

1. That the report ‘Request for approval of unbudgeted expenditure to be funded from the Covid-19 Reinstatement Reserve’ by Matt De Boer, Natural Hazards Advisor and Phil Heatley, Strategic Projects and Facilities Manager and dated 29 September 2020, be received.

2. That $85,000 of unbudgeted expenditure from the Covid-19 Reinstatement Reserve be allocated to support the hiring of a full-time Climate Change Advisor position.

3. That $65,000 of unbudgeted expenditure from the Covid–19 Reinstatement Reserve be allocated to construct a security fence at council’s Union East Street storage facility.

Options Natural Hazards and Climate Change Advisor

No.	Option	Advantages	Disadvantages
1	Fund a full-time Climate Change position ($85,000)	Enables the progression of climate change projects and relieves pressure on current staff.	Less funding available for other projects.
2	Do not fund the position.	More funding available for other projects.	Delays in the delivery of key climate change projects until additional staff resource is secured through the LTP.

The staff’s recommended option is Option 1 - ‘Fund a full-time Climate Change position’.

Options Union East Street security fencing

No.	Option	Advantages	Disadvantages
1	Reallocate funding for Union East Street security fencing ($65,000)	Funding is available due to painting not required at Water Street. Immediate protection of council property. Security fencing can be installed immediately before the business vicinity is vacated over summer leaving equipment unobserved and exposed.	Less funding available for other project options.
2	Consider funding for Union East Street security fencing in the 2021–31 LTP	Protection of council assets.	Protection is delayed. Project will compete with other priorities.
3	Do not fund Union East Street security fencing	Funding available for other projects.	Council property remains at risk.

The staff’s recommended option is Option 1 - ‘Reallocate funding for Union East Street security fencing’.

Considerations

1. Environmental impact

The Climate Change Advisor position will increase the ability of council and the region to proactively respond to the impacts of climate change by progressing a climate change-focussed work programme across council departments, Northland councils and government agencies.

There are no impacts in regard to the Union East Street security fencing.

2. Community views

The 2019 residents survey report results show that 84% of residents think that climate change is a significant issue facing Northland, and 55% think it is extremely important. However, nearly a third of participants (29%) think NRC are responding ‘not well at all’. This new position will enable council to take a more proactive approach and is likely to be supported by the community.

There is unlikely to be significant community views in regard to the Union East Street security fencing.

3. Māori impact statement

Climate change is a priority issue for Māori, and we have received ongoing support for the existing climate change adaptation programme from TTMAC, MTAG and other hapū representatives from around the region. Allocating additional resources to climate change at NRC will enable council to respond to the needs of hapū and iwi to plan for climate change.

There is unlikely to be significant Māori views in regard to the Union East Street security fencing.

4. Financial implications

Funding for both requests will be allocated from the Covid-19 Reinstatement Reserve.

Climate change is currently resourced from within existing Natural Hazards staff time and operational budget. An additional $105,000 of operational funding was allocated to Natural Hazards in the 2019/20 Annual Plan for climate change projects. As anticipated, this has been spent or is already allocated to hazards mapping and climate change risk assessment projects.

$94,000 was budgeted for programmed painting of council’s Water Street offices and this now sits within the Covid Reinstatement Fund. However, painting will not be required at this time. The Strategic Projects and Facilities Manager has applied for $94,000 in the 2021–31 LTP for painting in the 2024/25 financial year. Therefore, $65,000 of that set aside for Water Street building painting could be redirected to fund the construction of security fencing for Union East Street.

5. Implementation issues

There are no anticipated implementation issues of significance.

6. Significance and engagement

In relation to section 79 of the Local Government Act 2002, this decision is considered to be of low significance when assessed against council’s significance and engagement policy and is part of council’s day to day activities. This does not mean that this matter is not of significance to tangata whenua and/or individual communities, but that council is able to make these decisions without undertaking further consultation or engagement.

7. Policy, risk management and legislative compliance

The proposed role will assist NRC to comply with recent and upcoming legislative changes including the Zero Carbon Act, the development of the National Adaptation Plan, RMA updates re GHG emissions (2020), and proposed RMA reform re climate change adaptation and managed retreat.

The role will also assist NRC to better understand and address climate change risks identified in councils corporate risk register

There is no significant policy, risk management or legislative compliance issues in regard to the Union East Street security fencing apart from the proposal reducing the risk to council of stolen council equipment and assets.

Background/Tuhinga - Natural Hazards and Climate Change Advisor

Climate change is a priority

Climate change is a key priority for our councillors, evidenced by the establishment of a working party for climate change and support for the development of a climate change strategy. Climate change is a priority for tangata whenua, given the significant exposure and vulnerability of Māori cultural assets and communities to climate impacts such as flooding, sea level rise and drought. Climate change is also a key priority for our communities, highlighted by both public perceptions (such as NRC’s 2019 customer survey) and the exposure of private and community assets to climate risks.

Current situation - NRC

Council staff have been progressing work on climate change within the capacity of their current positions. However, to date there has been no dedicated role or operating budget allocated to the climate change work programme, resulting in stretched resources, compromised work programmes and additional stress on staff. While it is recognised that climate change needs to be embedded across the organisation, there is a need for additional specialist resources to coordinate and drive the work programme.

Around 50% of the Natural Hazards Advisor position is now spent on climate change adaptation work, leaving a shortfall in the natural hazards work program, with a large workload potentially creating a high stress situation. Given the wide range of impacts of climate change there is need for a comprehensive and aligned approach to programme development across multiple work programmes including biodiversity, biosecurity, hazards/CDEM and land/water.

Current situation - Region-wide

Regional alignment between councils in a response to climate change is essential and NRC is playing a leading role in coordinating and developing strategic relationships between the four Northland councils. The joint staff working group Climate Adaptation Te Taitokerau, currently chaired by NRC’s Natural Hazards Advisor, has made good progress but requires ongoing commitment and support. NRC staff are coordinating the development of the regional climate change adaptation strategy, including the drafting and analysis for regional climate risk assessments. As Northland councils begin the process of adaptive pathways planning, additional resourcing will be required. Support of the proposed joint standing committee on Climate Change Adaptation will also be the responsibility of NRC staff.

Current situation - National

Significant changes are occurring at legislative, legal and policy levels. However, NRC staff have limited capacity to maintain a current overview and adequately represent Northland in consultative processes. Examples of national climate change issues and opportunities include:

· Office for the Auditor General: using recommendations from the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosure, OAG has made requests for details on climate risks and liabilities to be reported by councils at appropriate levels (e.g. in the LTP).

· Climate Commission (Zero Carbon Act and National Adaptation Plan): requirement for input and opportunities for influence, reporting requirements for councils in the near future.

· Adaptation planning to mitigate risks for communities – currently national guidance only but may potentially become mandatory.

· RMA reform: consideration of greenhouse gas emissions in regional planning instruments and consents (comes into force December 2021).

· RMA reform and the proposed Climate Change Adaptation and Managed Retreat Act.

· Emissions trading scheme: agriculture to be included from 2025, potential impacts on land management programmes.

· Ongoing climate change case law and research on legal liability for councils.

· Opportunities for improved regional sector coordination.

· Opportunities for involvement in national research programmes and considering results of relevant research.

· Investigating opportunities for external funding.

Process

Natural hazards proposed an LTP new initiative (‘Climate Change – Adaptive Pathways Planning’) that includes a full-time position in year one of the LTP. The proposal was recommended as high priority by ELT. The proposed role in this paper brings this position forward into the current financial year, enabling the immediate progression of the climate change work programme.

Without additional support, existing roles covering the climate change work programme will find it hard to maintain the momentum that has been developed, and expectations may need to be lowered over the next six months.

Background/Tuhinga - Union East Street security fencing

Union East Street – current post and wire fencing

The Union East Street storage facility has been highly successful, kept tidy by departments and is not at capacity.

However, the current fencing comprises only of widely spaced timber posts and wire netting and entry for any trespasser is straightforward. Furthermore, the fencing has deteriorated with loose mesh and crooked posts. Staff have raised concerns about the potential for theft of trailers and equipment stored outside, particularly given that outside business hours it is a low profile and uninhabited area of Whangārei.

The intention is to provide an effective security fence to protect property. An automatic gate is to be included in order to address specific health and safety issues; firstly, the crash incident risk with larger vehicles, boats and trailers protruding out onto the road while the gate is being manually unlocked, and secondly the risk for staff having to leave their vehicle when retrieving or returning equipment alone after hours or in the dark. These risks have been matters raised by council’s Health and Safety Specialist in the past.

The alarm is currently monitored, although it is only activated if the buildings are accessed, and CCTV is being considered as part of the security package.

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Nil

Council Meeting item: 7.2

20 October 2020

freshwater ecology

TITLE:	Chief Executive’s Report to Council
ID:	A1368303
From:	Malcolm Nicolson, Chief Executive Officer
Authorised by Group Manager:	Malcolm Nicolson, Chief Executive Officer, on date 14 October 2020

Recommendation

That the report ‘Chief Executive’s Report to Council’ by Malcolm Nicolson, Chief Executive Officer and dated 30 September 2020, be received.

7.2.1 Highlights

Kaipara Moana Remediation Programme

The Kaipara Moana Remediation Programme is an ambitious ten-year $300 million project that aims to remediate ongoing environmental degradation by halving sediment loss from land to the Kaipara Moana (harbour). On Friday 9 October Northland Regional Council, Auckland Council, government, Te Uri o Hau, Ngā Maunga Whakahī o Kaipara, and Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua signed a Memoran-dum of Understanding (MOU) at Waihāua Marae, Arapaoa committing to the programme.

Government has committed to $100 million for the first six years. The Crown’s $100 million funding for the first six years of the programme is contingent on matched funding from councils, landowners and potentially other sources. Auckland Council and Northland Regional Council will consult on how council funding will be found through their respective Long-Term Plan processes

The programme is predicted to create around 300 new jobs; 200 for direct farm work such as fencing streams and wetlands, establishing water reticulation systems, preparing and planting land, weeding, and hill country stabilisation, and another 100 in the rural sector for nurseries, fencing manufacture, and farm advisory services.

Minister for the Environment David Parker signed the agreement on behalf of the government. Joining them at the signing were Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage and guests representing numerous community, conservation, hapū and marae groups, as well as the agricultural sector and philanthropic organisations.

As well as the MOU signing, the day also saw the first meeting of a joint governance committee, made up of six Kaipara Uri representatives and six council representatives (three from Auckland Council and three from Northland Regional Council). The committee will oversee a yet-to-be established entity charged with delivery of the ten-year Kaipara Moana Remediation Programme. The committee will be chaired by Tame te Rangi, with Penny Smart as deputy chair.

A group of people sitting at a table

Description automatically generated

Kauri Dieback Provincial Growth Fund Project

Council has been successful in receiving $2m funding from the Provincial Growth Fund aimed at preventing the spread of kauri dieback through building tracks and boardwalks on public (ie. district council and Landcorp) and private land along the Te Araroa Trail. It is estimated that this project will see 14 jobs created in Northland.

7.2.2 CEO’s Office

Current Legal Proceedings

Department	Description	Status
Consent decision appeal	Replacement consents for, and new consents for an expansion of, Doug’s Ōpua Boat Yard in Walls Bay, Ōpua.	No further update.
Consent decision appeal	Replacement discharge consents for East Coast Bays Wastewater Treatment Plant (Taipā)	Cultural Induction day and site visit held on 14 and 15 September 2020. Awaiting details on the next formal mediation date.
Regional Plan appeals	Environment Court hearings on provisions relating to land-use and disturbance activities, and mangroves have been held with decisions of the Court expected by end of 2021. This includes consideration as to how the new National Environmental Stanadards and associated regulations which are now operative impact on regional plan appeals.	Mediation and informal dialogue continues on remaining plan provisions under appeal as directed by the Court
Economics	Seeking summary judgement from the High Court on money owed to council by REL loan guarantors	Court has granted council’s application for summary judgement that council is owed monies by the guarantors. Arranging for costs to be awarded and judgement sealed.

7.2.3 Corporate Excellence

Fraud Declaration

As a result of a staff car being broken into on First Avenue, a council credit card was unlawfully taken and used without authorisation at several Whangārei retail outlets. The total amount of the unauthorised spend was $202. The police and the BNZ have been notified. The BNZ is currently undertaking an investigation and indicating the $202 will be re paid back to council.

Council Property Update

The Kensington Crossing tenancies are being progressively completed and will be handed over from now through to December 2020. All medical precinct businesses will likely be operational this year and convenience restaurant businesses by February 2021.

The Kaipara Service Centre piling is complete apart from two piles. Earth works and civil works are at early stages with powerline undergrounding occurring over October 2020. The project is currently 12 days ahead of schedule.

The NIWA Kingfish RAS Facility Project Manager and Designer have been engaged by NIWA and the Engineering and Electrical consultants are to be engaged this month.

No incidents or accidents to report; the only site activities to date have been topographical survey works.

7.2.4 Regulatory Services

COASTAL / WATER QUALITY FIELD OPERATIONS

All routine monthly water quality and ecological programmes were undertaken, including:

Ÿ four coastal water quality sampling runs.

Ÿ nine river water quality, priority catchment and periphyton sampling runs.

Ÿ validation of six continuous water quality stations (five freshwater and one coastal).

An eDNA sample was collected at Puapua Creek, Tinopai to assist in an ongoing Citizen Science Project. This involves analysing for DNA shed by organisms, both within the creek's water and surrounding catchment. The collected DNA is then compared with a library to identify what organisms are present, including fish, mammals and invertebrates.

HYDROLOGY

Rainfall

Ÿ September 2020 was a dry month, with most of Northland receiving less than 60mm of rain and Northland averaging just over 50mm for the month.

Ÿ Purerua Peninsula in the northern Bay of Islands recorded the least amount of rain with only 11.6mm, just 9% of the long-term median for the area.

Ÿ Waimamaku at Weka Weka Road recorded 139.5mm and Tutāmoe 107mm of rainfall, the only two sites that exceeded 100mm.

Ÿ The regional average of median rainfall was 39%. Poutō Point rarely gets the highest rainfall, but in September 2020 it had the highest percentage of the median at 76%.

Map

Description automatically generated

·	River Flows Ÿ Most Northland river flows for September are between 20% to 60% of normal mean flow due to the low rainfall for the month.

Groundwater

Ÿ A dry September resulted in decreased groundwater levels in most of Northland’s aquifers. The Taipā, Russell, Ruawai and Mangawhai aquifers were below their normal September groundwater level, while the remaining aquifers across the region were close to normal.

Weather Forecast

Ÿ NIWA outlook:

For northern New Zealand, including Auckland, a drier than normal start to the three- month period is likely, but developing north-easterly winds could introduce more moisture in November or December. Soil moisture and river flows are equally likely to be below normal.

Ÿ Metservice outlook:

There is a clear signal for highs to become strongly established over New Zealand, in between bursts of spring westerlies, during October. This leads to a drier than normal prediction for most regions of the country, which is of particular concern for the north and east of the North Island

Ÿ Typically, when a dry month of 10 to 20mm of rainfall strikes in spring/summer, the rivers in the dry catchments react and recede more quickly than normal.

Ÿ Soil temperatures are 2-3 degrees above normal, soil moisture deficits are currently higher than normal. Given westerly winds are predicted over October 2020, it is likely the current downward trend will continue through October unless a spring storm hits the region.

NATURAL RESOURCES DATA

Ÿ The LAWA website went live on 25 September 2020. The new “Rivers Topic National Picture Summary” was published on 4 October 2020.

Ÿ The ecological database (KiEco) is still under construction and is expected operational by
February 2021.

Ÿ The NR Data Team is working with the Online Services team and web developers to update the platform for displaying environmental data on the council’s website.

NATURAL RESOURCES SCIENCE

Air quality and carbon emissions

Ÿ Ambient PM₁₀ monitoring results for August 2020 at Robert Street, Mairtown (Whangārei) and Marsden Point stations show that compliance was met with the National Environmental Standards for Air Quality.

Ÿ Ambient PM_2.5 monitoring results for the Robert Street station were within the Ambient Air Quality Guideline value.

Ÿ The mobile BAM PM₁₀ monitor was deployed to Mairtown in early August 2020. Comparison of daily PM₁₀ concentrations between Mairtown and Robert Street sites is presented in the graph below. Out of 27 days monitored in August, the Mairtown monitor showed higher daily averages than the Robert Street monitor on 14 days and similar averages on six days.

Ÿ Council’s CO₂-e (carbon dioxide equivalent) emissions in 2019 and 2020 to date are presented in the graph below. Since April 2020, council’s monthly CO₂-e emissions have been lower than 2019 emissions, indicating and attributed to the effect of COVID-19 restrictions. The graph is based on live data and therefore figures for last few months are subject to change.

Ÿ Graphs showing consumption of council’s major contributors to CO₂-e (vehicle, air travel and electricity) between 2019 and 2020 are also presented in the graphs below.

Freshwater Ecology

Ÿ The first stage of the drought project contracted to Massey University (Death et al, September 2020) has been finalised following the internal review by the Science Team.

Ÿ The Stage 1 report has mainly focussed on state and trend of the river ecosystem health by looking at the long-term annual macroinvertebrate data collected from over 60 monitoring sites. The report has also undertaken some preliminary analysis of the drought impacts on river invertebrate communities.

Ÿ An in-depth analysis of the 2019 - 2020 drought impacts on river ecosystem health will be undertaken in Stage 2 of this project, which is expected to be completed by June 2021.

Freshwater Quality

Ÿ Water quality modelling work:

Ÿ The water quality steady state report by Land & Water Science (LWS) for Northland rivers and streams was finalised and its findings will be presented to the Water Steering Group by the end of October 2020. LWS is now working on water quality loads for Northland rivers based on their steady state model outputs. The GIS based water quality loads model will be delivered by mid-October 2020.

Ÿ NIWA is close to completing the CLUES calibration process of nitrogen, phosphorous and
E. coli loads for Northland rivers. The Science and Policy & Planning teams, together with the council’s Economist, are working closely to develop some scenarios that can feed into the CLUES scenario model to assess the water quality loads under different land management interventions over time. The scenarios will also consider the policies and standards in the NPS-FM2020.

Ÿ Lakes microplastic study:

Ÿ Studies on microplastics in the freshwater environment are scarce compared with the marine microplastics research. The council has volunteered to participate in a global lake microplastics study known as GALACTIC (or GlobAl LAke miCroplasTICs) which is being coordinated by NIWA for NZ contributors.

Ÿ Staff assisted in sampling for microplastics in Northland’s two outstanding and high value dune lakes, Lake Taharoa and Lake Ngatu. The samples will be analysed overseas with NIWA to present the finding to NRC in early 2021. The project has huge support from the local iwi associated with these two lakes.


Trawling plankton in Lake Taharoa for microplastic sampling	Filtering the water sample from the plankton net

Marine

Ÿ NRC has initiated a project with NorthTec, Whitebait connection, WDC, FNDC and KDC to try and estimate how much plastic and litter is reaching Northland’s estuaries and coastline each year. Litter traps have been installed on stormwater catch-pits around the region. NorthTec will audit the contents of the traps every three months to estimate how much plastic is washed into the sea. The project aims to identify some high-risk land uses such as playgrounds, car parks, supermarkets and fast food premises to enable targeted mitigation and education.


Litter trap being installed at the council’s Water Street office carpark	Plastic and litter on a stormwater grate in Whangārei City

· In September 2020, NRC was approached by a group of local researchers, NIWA and Ngāti Kuta to support a project to survey the ecology of the Ipipiri platform in the Bay of Islands. The platform has been identified as a Significant Ecological Area (SEA) in the Proposed Regional Plan for Northland as it contains among the most biodiverse soft sediment biogenic habitat in New Zealand, including nationally rare (or little reported) red-algal turfs and subtidal seagrass.

· NRC agree to provide in-kind support for the survey and to assist with some of the laboratory and field costs. One of the outcomes of the survey will be a baseline assessment of this important SEA. The survey will also hopefully provide the council with a useful template on how to survey ecologically important subtidal habitats.

Consents in Process

During September 2020, a total of 59 decisions were issued. These decisions comprised:

Ÿ Moorings 3

Ÿ Coastal Permits 3

Ÿ Coastal Discharge Permits 2

Ÿ Air Discharge Permits 1

Ÿ Land Discharge Permits 4

Ÿ Water Discharge Permits 0

Ÿ Land Use Consents 29

Ÿ Water Permits 10

Ÿ Bore Consents 7

The processing timeframes for the September 2020 consents ranged from:

Ÿ 522 to 2 calendar days, with the median time being 28 days;

Ÿ 106 to 2 working days, with the median time being 20 days.

Thirty-five applications were received in September 2020.

Of the 104 applications in progress at the end of September 2020:

Ÿ 55 were received more than 12 months ago (most awaiting further information from the applicant);

Ÿ 5 were received between 6 and 12 months ago (most awaiting further information from the applicant);

Ÿ 44 less than 6 months.

Appointment of Hearing Commissioners

No commissioners were appointed in September 2020.

Consents Decisions and Progress on Notified Applications in Process, Objections and Appeals

The current level of notified application processing activities at the end of September 2020 is (by number):

Ÿ Applications Publicly/Limited Notified During Previous Month 0

Ÿ Progress on Applications Previously Notified 6

Ÿ Hearings and Decisions 4

Ÿ Appeals/Objections 2

COMPLIANCE MONITORING

The results of compliance monitoring for the period 1 – 30 September 2020 (and year-to-date figures) are summarised in the following table and discussed below.

Classification	Total	Full compliance	Low risk non-compliance	Moderate non-compliance	Significant non-compliance	Not exercised during period
Air Discharge	14	13	1	0	0	0
Bore Consent	11	10	1	0	0	0
Coastal Air Discharge	2	2	0	0	0	0
Coastal Discharge	13	12	0	1	0	0
Coastal Permit	77	49	23	5	0	0
FDE – Discharge permit	151	112	0	30	7	2
FDE – Permitted activity	55	50	0	4	1	0
Land Discharge	47	38	4	3	0	2
Land Use Consent	32	28	2	0	0	2
Water Discharge	23	22	0	1	0	0
Water Permit	23	20	1	1	0	1
Water Take	109	53	49	6	0	1
Total	557	409	81	51	8	8
Percentage		73.4%	14.5%	9.2%	1.4%	1.4%
Year to date	1,719	1,132	230	159	51	147
Percentage		65.9%	13.4%	9.2%	3.0%	8.6%

Coastal

The majority of consents monitored during the reporting period related to coastal discharges (treated municipal sewage, boat maintenance facilities and other industrial) and coastal structures, which included all boat sheds in Whangārei Harbour. Of these, approximately 10% had issues relating to building matters that were referred to the Whangārei District Council as the building consent authority under the Building Act 2004.

Water, Waste, Air and Land Use (WWALU) Compliance Monitoring

Ÿ Water use

Approximately 97% of the annual water use records for this year have been received. Staff are currently considering what enforcement actions to take in relation to the outstanding records. Late fees were charged to consent holders that provided records after the required deadline, as per the council’s User Fees and Charges 2020/21 policy.

Ÿ Wastewater

The Whangārei District Council (WDC) has engaged a suitably qualified person to start a programme of intensified sampling and testing at the Hikurangi Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). The Hikurangi WWTP has some long-standing issues with water quality and the WDC plans to address these over a three-year period. More detailed timeframes are being put together by WDC, and NRC will be monitoring progress closely.

Ÿ Air Monitoring

Spray drift complaints continue to be received requiring staff to spend a large amount of time educating property owners and spray operators on the details of our regional plan rules regarding managing sensitive areas and avoiding off-target spray discharge.

Ÿ Forestry and Earthworks

With the return to COVID-19 Level 1, the forestry liaison meeting has been able to be scheduled for November.

The large slip at Ha Ha Road (Opotiki) has been cleared but will require further stabilisation work once the ground dries out. The large number of slips in the Glenbervie and Mt Tiger forests are still being worked on and monitored closely.

Ÿ Waste and Contaminated Land Management

Seven incidents involving the discharge of hazardous substances and 14 enquiries regarding contaminated land were received and responded to. One site was added to the Selected Land Use Register (SLR). No hazardous waste was disposed of during the reporting period.

Staff have been busy preparing the new programme for Hazardous Waste Collection that is rolling out in November. The new programme will be publicised via a media release, printed flyers and email distribution across available networks. The first amnesty day will be held on 17 November 2020 and will require additional staff to assist with directing people and chemicals.

Farm Dairy Effluent (FDE) Monitoring

FDE inspections commenced on 27 July 2020. A total of 804 farms will be visited by the contractor or NRC staff before Christmas - 25 less farms than last year. To date 418 farms (~52%) have been visited and reported on. Comparisons of this season’s results so far with those for last season are given in the tables below.

CONSENTED FARMS
Full Compliance		Moderate Non-Compliance		Significant Non-Compliance
This Year	Last Year	This Year	Last Year	This Year	Last Year
204	219	76	79	29	53
66%	62%	25%	23%	9%	15%

Six hundred and nine consented farms will be visited this season.

NON-CONSENTED FARMS
Full Compliance		Moderate Non-Compliance		Significant Non-Compliance
This Year	Last Year	This Year	Last Year	This Year	Last Year
84	89	14	19	11	22
77%	68%	13%	15%	10%	17%

One hundred and ninety-five farms operating under the permitted activity criteria will be visited this season.

Drought Recovery Grant – partial reimbursement of transport costs

NRC is administrating funding of $250,000 to help Northland livestock owners mitigate animal welfare issues – subject to set criteria.

The grant has been live since 1 July 2020 and we have received 66 applications so far (13 in July, 38 in August and 15 in September). Funds allocated so far:

	July	August	September	TOTAL
Far North	$11,748.19	$25,336.60	$26,976.69	$64,061.48
Whangārei	$12,364.59	$72,179.88	$16,599.83	$101,144.30
Kaipara	$20,771.56	$40,503.47	$7,690.20	$68,965.23
Total	$44,884.34	$138,019.95	$51,266.72	$234,171.01

Environmental Incidents

One environmental incident was reported which resulted in a significant environmental impact. In mid-July the Russell Wastewater Treatment Plant was inundated with stormwater from a localised storm event, resulting in UV treated wastewater from the wetland ponds overflowing to a natural wetland and then to the coastal marine area. The discharge was notified by Broadspectrum, which has provided a follow-up report on the discharge.

ENFORCEMENT

Abatement Notices, Infringement Notices and Formal Warnings

The following enforcement actions were taken during the period:

Nature of Offence	Infringement Notice		Abatement Notice		TOTAL *
Nature of Offence	No. Offences	No. Notices	No. Offences	No. Notices	No. Offences	No. Notices
Burning and smoke nuisance	1	2	13	16	13	18
Dead stock	1	2	0	0	1	2
Earthworks/landuse	0	0	2	3	2	3
Farm dairy effluent	11	13	14	14	18	27
Hazardous substances, spills and refuse	0	0	2	5	2	5
Illegal activity in coastal marine area	0	0	1	1	1	1
Other air discharge	0	0	1	1	1	1
Other water discharge	1	1	2	2	2	3
TOTAL	14	18	33	42	38	60

*An infringement notice and an abatement notice may be issued for the same offence. This means that in the above table, Column 5 (Total No. Offences) is not necessarily the sum of Column 1 (Infringement Notice No. Offences) + Column 3 (Abatement Notice No. Offences).

Other Enforcement

Ÿ Farm dairy effluent – Pūrua

Sentencing was completed on 18 September 2020 in the Whangārei District Court. Shepherd Farms Limited was fined $27,200, Philip Farms Limited $33,600 and Mr Philip $3,000. Mr Shepherd was convicted and discharged.

Ÿ Sand dune removal – Tokerau Beach

Charges were laid against two parties – an individual and his company for offending which occurred in July 2019. The alleged offences include the removal of a sand dune at Tokerau Beach. Guilty pleas were entered by the individual on 22 May 2020, with the charges against the company withdrawn. The individual requested to participate in the restorative justice process, which has been agreed to and directed by the Judge. The next court appearance will be 2 November 2020 to monitor the restorative justice process and to set a sentencing date.

Ÿ Timber treatment plant

Charges were filed in the Whangārei District Court on 12 March 2020 against a company and an individual for discharges from a timber treatment processing plant. The plant has a history of poor compliance with resource consent conditions. Not guilty pleas were entered on 29 May 2020. Further charges were filed on 8 July 2020 and the two sets of charges have been joined together. Evidence is to be filed by 6 November 2020.

Ÿ Earthworks without erosion and sediment controls – Totara North

Six charges were laid in the Kaitāia District Court on 20 July 2020 against an individual for earthworks undertaken without controls, and work within a watercourse and the riparian management zone. The summons was served on the defendant and the first court appearance is scheduled for 7 October 2020 in the Whangārei District Court.

7.2.5 Environmental Services

land management

Environment Fund

Seventy-seven Environment fund applications for the 2020/2021 financial year were approved under delegated authority on 2October 2020, totalling $508,471.34. Eight SHaRP fencing projects totalling $39,220.30 were also approved.

Sustainable Hill Country and Regional Priorities

Milestones	Status
Research
Coastal erosion buffers	Ÿ A research plan has been approved by Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and a coastal erosion tool utilising remote sensing and LiDAR data is in development. Ÿ Two sites have been chosen as coastal planting pilots.
Mature poplar / willow	Ÿ A research plan has been approved by MPI and poplar has been milled into a range of products for treatment and mechanical testing.
Farm Environment Plans
	Ÿ Land management is no longer preparing FEPs. MPI is aware of this and will amend the milestone. Ÿ NRC has proposed substituting FEPs for project implementation plans to support the delivery of land treatment milestones. Ÿ The SHaRP implementation plans will consist of planting, fencing prioritisation and soil conservation plans and be more targeted to soil conservation compared to the more generalised FEPs.
Stakeholder Engagement
	Ÿ A project engagement strategy has been approved by MPI. Ÿ Promotional material is in development including a ‘planting hub’ on the council website. Ÿ A communications plan is being developed for the planting and fencing grants.
Land Treatments
Retirement fencing	Ÿ E-fund applications for $121k are being prepared for a DA in October
Contractor capacity development	Ÿ A list of contractors interested in planting work has been prepared. Ÿ A contractor training programme is in development and will be delivered in November.

biodiversity

FIF Dune Lakes Project

Objective	Status
Aquatic weed and pest fish control	Ÿ The aquatic herbicide operation went ahead from 8 – 10 September at Lake Ngatu with assistance from Ngai Takoto and their Kaitiaki Rangers. Ÿ In total 6,995 litres of Aquathol K aiming to eradicate the pest oxygen weed lagarosiphon was delivered by airboat using trailing hoses over an area of around 54ha within the target rate of 3 ppm. Ÿ Monitoring and diver survey undertaken since has shown no by-kill with beds of lagarosiphon already starting to collapse.
Sediment and nutrient mitigation	Ÿ An onsite meeting held with Department of Conservation and Far North District Council on 8 September to progress sediment mitigation plans for Lake Ngatu. Ÿ The contract with FNDC was drafted and is awaiting sign off and landowner approval from DOC.
Maori Lakes Strategy	Ÿ Planning for the next hui was discussed at a meeting with far North Iwi
Fencing	Ÿ Fencing is underway to move a section of fence back from the edge of Lake Ngatu.

Lakes

Ÿ The annual Lakes Ecological Monitoring programme with NIWA divers and scientists was moved to spring and shortened to four days because of travel restrictions due to COVID-19. A total of six lakes were monitored by divers using LakeSPI (Submerged Plant Index) and seven waterbodies/wetlands were surveyed by reconnaissance, including four that have not been visited before.

Ÿ A new population of black mudfish was discovered in one of the wetlands.

Ÿ Unfortunately, two lakes had to be dropped from the list due to access issues and wet conditions.

Ÿ The three lakes scheduled for herbicide treatment through the FIF Dune lakes project had their pre-treatment baseline surveys. This has prompted a rethink of treating Ngakeketo and Waiparera in the Far North, due to significant spread of Egeria oxygen weed, which cannot be eradicated with herbicide and will dominate both lakes if the other weeds, targeted by herbicide are removed.

Ÿ At a meeting with Far North Iwi and NIWA scientists, iwi agreed to support a decision not to treat these two lakes and for NRC to investigate using the herbicide to treat lakes further south. This will need to be progressed through FIF project partner MfE.

CoastCare

Ÿ In August and September CoastCare dune planting took place at Long Beach, Russell; Ruakākā; Taipā; Ahipara; Karikari Peninsula (Rangiputa, Puwheke, Ohungahunga Bay, Waikato Bay, Patia Bay and Whakaroaro Bay), Hukatere, Poutō and Baylys Beach.

Biodiversity Technical Advice

Biodiversity staff provided threatened species technical advice to consent staff for the consent application for a proposed wharf at Mangawhai, and expert advice to the hearing for this application (APP.040213.01.01).

biosecurity incursions and response

Pest Plants

· Wilding Conifer Control – Lake Taharoa Stage 1

Stage 1 of the wilding conifer control at Lake Taharoa has been completed with contractors completing a final sweep of the area to locate any untreated trees.

Contractors and staff from Northland
Regional Council and Kaipara District
Council celebrate completion of Lake Taharoa wilding conifer control stage 1.

MARINE BIOSECURITY

Hull Surveillance Programme

No vessels were opportunistically surveyed this month by NRC staff so the year-to-date total of 20 hulls surveyed remains unchanged. The Hull Surveillance contract for 2020-2021 was signed following a successful tender by Marine Environmental Field Services and divers are due to begin in October.

rivers

Long Term Plan Projects

Rivers	Comments
Awanui	We anticipate the resource consent decision for full scheme upgrade will be made in October. The dry weather allowed a re-start to work at JNL that was delayed due to Covid.
Kerikeri-Waipapa	Landowner engagement is progressing, and we have lodged resource consent.
Matangirau	Design has been completed and landowner engagement is progressing.
Otiria/Moerewa	A hui was held with the Otiria Marae Committee to better inform spillway alignment options. Ongoing talks with Kiwi Rail continue.

Natural Hazards

Work Streams	Status	Comments
Coastal erosion hazard mapping	99% complete	New coastal erosion assessments and updates complete, final report and maps due October.
Coastal erosion research	95% complete	Auckland University is mapping Northland historic shorelines and erosion risk. Currently overdue – estimated completion is the end of October
Rangaunu harbour hydrodynamic coastal flood mapping	Planning phase	Coastal flood model for the Rangaunu harbour - detailed quote to be received
Region-wide coastal flood mapping	95% complete	Final maps and deliverables due Oct 9th
Region-wide river flood mapping	25% complete	Awanui and Whangārei models complete, all catchments prepared
Whangārei river flood model	Planning phase	Re-run of Whangārei model planned - quote received
Public release of new coastal hazard maps	Planning phase	New coastal hazard zones (10 new coastal erosion zones plus coastal flood hazard zones for entire coastline) and communications plan to be presented to council late 2020

Climate Change Response

Work Streams	Status	Comments
NRC Climate Change Strategy	Draft complete	No further progress. Strategy to be discussed and developed with the Maori Technical Advisory Group (a subgroup of the Te Taitokerau Maori and Council Working Party).
Climate Adaptation Te Taitokerau - Adaptation Strategy	In development	Climate Risk Assessment 1 - Risk descriptions - 90% complete Climate Risk Assessment 2 - Coastal risk spatial analysis - 90% complete Strategy due 2021
Joint Standing Committee on Climate Change Adaptation	Planning	All four councils have endorsed ToR. Inaugural meeting planned late 2020.

Northland Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR)

The new LiDAR data set is now being used widely throughout council and the wider Northland community with great reviews. NRC is working with LINZ for public portal data access.

MĀORI ENGAGEMENT

Ahakoa he iti, he pounamu “Referring to the tiniest piece of pounamu that still has significance”

Te Oneroa-a-Tōhe Board

The public consultation programme has begun with a number of activities planned for the public consultation and engagement on the draft Beach Management Plan. It has been a busy month kicking off in September with the final round of consultation on the draft Te Oneroa a Tōhe beach management plan to be completed on 11 October 11 2020.

Consultation began on the draft Te Oneroa-a-Tōhe beach management plan on Monday 14 September, as well as the four draft reserve management plans.

Media documents that have been released to date:

Ÿ media release 1 (issued 09.09.20)

Ÿ Northland Age public notice (to be published 15.09.09)

Ÿ Te Hiku Media advertising radio booking schedule

The website https://www.teoneroa-a-tohe.nz/ has undergone a refurbishment for consultation and is now live with these changes and updates.

A livestream hosted by Te Hiku Media featured three of the four Iwi representatives informing public of the background and history of the Board and the purpose of the beach management plan. To date this has 2.8k views online and has been a successful platform to highlight the work achieved by the Board: https://www.facebook.com/TeHikuMedia/videos/380076343012155

A number of post consultation board meetings will be required to consider feedback prior to approving the final plan on 3 December 2020.

Te Whāriki Core Cultural Competency Programme

Below is an outline of the outputs to date with positive results and comments flowing in from staff and council as to the learning outcomes being achieved across the organisation. A reflection of the skill and competency of the Kaiārahi Tikanga Māori to deliver a programme that is specific to the needs and aspirations of the council:

Ÿ Four Level 1 workshops delivered so far

Ÿ Three workshops unable to be delivered due to the COVID-19 lockdown

Ÿ Three Level 1 workshops remaining for 2020 (ending December)

Ÿ Eighty-one staff have completed Level 1 to date

Ÿ One hundred and sixty staff members are expected to have completed Level 1 by December, with three further workshops scheduled for early 2021

Māori Representation

Council has chosen to undertake a process to consider Māori constituencies prior to the 2022 elections. The final workshop presenting the full range of options analysis was presented to council to inform their formal decision on October 2020. Please refer to the detailed paper included within this agenda (Item 6.3).

Iwi and Local Chief Executive’s Forum

A meeting of the Iwi and Local Chief Executive’s Forum was hosted by Te Runanga o Whaingaroa on 8 September 2020. A comprehensive discussion identified the following priorities to progress:

Ÿ While housing remains a key priority, COVID-19, flooding and the drought have seen a need to review the action plan

Ÿ For iwi, key issues of concern are based around Wai, Whenua, kāinga and Kai with education, health, employment all part and parcel of these issues

Ÿ Other key issues raised from the floor were; economic development/recovery, alternative energy solutions and better synergies planning for the re-emergence of COVID-19

Ÿ Agreed that there needed to be some tangible gains, therefore, a need to prioritise the issues

Ÿ Whilst water resilience was front of mind right now, water quality and quantity were also a key risk for the region

Ÿ It was noted that COVID-19 had thrown groups together but the learning was the need for better cohesion between ILGACE and response to the needs of Te Taitokerau

7.2.6 STRATEGY, Governance And Engagement

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Investment and Growth Reserve – Projects Report

Project	Update	Future developments / reporting
Twin Coast Cycle Trail (TCCT)	Final invoice received and paid.	Project closed.
Extension 350	Annual Report received. Provided feedback into E350 project evaluation proposal.	Council has two more years of funding commitment, ending 30 June 2022
Extended Regional Promotions	Report for the year ended June 2020 received.	Council has one more year of funding commitment, ending 30 June 2021

Other Work Undertaken

Ÿ Northland Economic Quarterly – 28th issue completed and distributed. Annual section reviewed the latest housedhold income data while the Spotlight section again covered the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on consumer spending, employment and Jobseeker Support recipients.

Ÿ Joint economic development initative – work to align October district council decision making with September council resolution, including establishment of Regional Economic Development Service Delivery Working Party.

ONLINE CHANNELS

Most popular content on Facebook: Post about Summer Internship opportunities for students. This was followed by a video about Dragonfly Springs Wetland Sanctuary that was produced as part of the Environmental Awards programme to celebrate the winners.

*Measured by engagement – number of people who ‘reacted’, commented or shared the post

Key Performance Indicators	May-20	Jun-20	Jul-20	Aug-20	Sept 20
WEB
# Visits to the NRC website	27,900	33,800	48,900	36,100	29,396
E-payments made	6	5	31	12	11
# subscription customers (cumulative)	1,210	1,221	1,238	1,247	1,260
SOCIAL MEDIA (cumulative)
# Twitter followers	1,517	1,519	1,529	1,531	1,536
# NRC Facebook fans	9,627	9,713	9,767	9,843	9,880
# NRC Overall Facebook Reach	75,400	201,900	106,500	207,700	74,00
# NRC Engaged Daily Users	5,164	12,000	7,950	10,100	5,229
# CDEM Facebook fans	18,000	18,100	20,800	21,100	21,200
# CDEM Overall Facebook Reach	114,300	72,300	518,000	254,100	86,900
# CDEM Engaged Daily Users	11,800	5,817	92,200	30,600	5,764
# Instagram followers	1,172	1,193	1,203	1,220	1,241

NOTES:
July - increase in visits to the website was due to the flood event, 17 July 2020.
Sept – decrease in Facebook reach & engagement due mostly to being one FTE down in Online Services team
this month, therefore, not as many proactive campaigns were delivered.

ENVIROSCHOOLS / EDUCATION

Catchment Planting Day

On 1 September, 80 Kokopu School students with accompanying teachers and whanau planted 950 riparian plants – six species – around a dam and wetland area on a farm in the Mangere Catchment.

NRC Land Management and Enviroschools ran the event, with Integrated Kaipara Harbour Management Group members in attendance.

Enviroschools Bronze Celebrations

On 3 September, due to COVID-19 restrictions, Hurupaki Kindergarten held a private Enviroschools Bronze celebration. They are proudly displaying their new Enviroschools sign in time for kindergartens to attend a day learning about pest management, bush skills and other sustainable practices.

On 7 September, Cr Kitchen took part in Waiharara School’s Enviroschools Bronze celebration. The school is renowned for its prolific vege gardens and ongoing pingao planting mahi.

A group of people standing in front of a crowd posing for the camera

Description automatically generated

WaiFencing Assessment Day at Rangiputa

On 24 September, the final WaiFencing day for 2020 was held on Rangiputa Station, Karikari Peninsula. Over 40 senior students from seven secondary schools carried out practical assessments and handed in their theory papers. Unfortunately, the afternoon weather prevented the fencing off of a waterway, however, Kaitāia College and Kaitāia Abundant Life School students will return to complete the job. Pāmu (Landcorp) fencers supported Can Train NZ and Enviroschools in running this event.


Leon & Jarrod from Pamu's Rangiputa Station introduced tech fencing	WaiFencing students take care of bio-control

Enviroschools Communities Facilitated

During September, Enviroschools Facilitators held specific interactions with 39 school and early childhood communities.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL INFORMATION (LGOIMA) REQUESTS

Month	LGOIMA requests received 2019/20	LGOIMA requests received 2020/21
July	15	25
August	22	17
September	16	12
October	29
November	11
December	12
January	14
February	21
March	13
April	12
May	13
June	15
TOTAL LGOIMA REQUESTS RECEIVED	193	54
LGOIMA requests not responded to within 20 working days*	18	5

* REQ.605217 – Request for information in relation to Northland Regional Council’s COVID-19 wage subsidy application. The staff member allocated the LGOIMA request did not flag the request when it was received, and consequently it was not included in any work plans. The request has since been completed (Corporate Excellence).

7.2.7 Customer Service – Community Resilience

CUSTOMER SERVICES

Telephone Inbound Call Statistics & Enquiries

	September 2020	Target
Call volume via Customer Services	2,457
Conversion rate	97.0%	> 95%
Average wait time	6 sec
Calls answered in under 30 sec	95.3%	> 90%

For this first quarter, inbound volumes have exceeded the same month last year by 8%. One-third of the requests received were for biosecurity or consents. Fewer maritime requests than normal were received, which is probably a reflection of the time of year.

Satisfaction monitoring

Feedback cards, compliments and complaints

Feedback cards have been included with the tallies for compliments and complaints, as appropriate.

• Feedback Cards, Compliments and Complaints

Feedback cards have been included with compliments and complaints, as appropriate.

Compliments received	Total
Service provided by a specific person / people · Consents – K McGregor · Land Management – S McKenzie	2
Overall service · Consents	1
Total compliments recorded	3

Complaints received	Total
Issue has occurred repeatedly for me · Citylink	1
Disagree with decision or process · Citylink	1
Staff / contractor behaviour or attitude · Citylink	1
Disagree with cost / value for money · Total Mobility	1
Total complaints recorded	4

One complaint received concerned drivers not enforcing masks on buses, which is not the drivers’ responsibility and the issue was unable to be resolved to the customer’s satisfaction. Two other bus related complaints were about drivers parked over/close to driveways. In one of the instances it had happened repeatedly, but Ritchies had not been informed. One Total Mobility customer queried his ride cost, which was found to be correct.

• Residents’ Survey

The results of the 2020 survey have been published on the NRC website. The open text responses have been invaluable in determining issues of important and service improvements.

CIVIL DEFENCE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

The Minister of Civil Defence has proactively released a Cabinet Paper outlining proposed changes to the CDEM Act 2002 to improve New Zealand's future response to natural disasters and other emergencies. The changes are aligned with the Technical Advisory Group review outcomes and recommendations but have been slightly delayed in their adoption due to several emergencies over the last couple of years.

Changes include:

Ÿ clarifying roles and responsibilities

Ÿ enabling an approved provider to issue warnings and be protected from civil liability

Ÿ identifying the NZ Emergency Management Assistance Team (EMAT) in legislation and protecting its members from civil liability

Ÿ protecting volunteers from civil liability when acting under the direction of someone performing functions and duties or powers under the Act

Ÿ enabling a controller or recovery manager to operate nationwide

Ÿ allowing CDEM Groups (Joint Committee) to meet via audio or video meetings during an emergency

Ÿ providing that any CDEM Group can be a statutory administering authority, but have the regional council member act in that role as default

Ÿ providing that the National CDEM Strategy does not expire until it is replaced

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) have appointed a new National Controller - Roger Ball, who has a wide experience within local government and as a Group Controller for the Nelson Tasman CDEM Group for many years.

Northland CDEM Group

The Northland CDEM Group Joint Committee and the Coordinating Executive Group (CEG) met on 8 September.

The Northland CDEM Group completed the region’s CDEM COVID-19 resurgence plan for alert Level 2, 3 and 4. The All of Government response required all CDEM Groups to submit their COVID-19 resurgence plans through NEMA by 18 September.

Presentations on behalf of the CDEM Group Long Term Plan (LTP) priorities and funding requirements have been made to the four councils in Northland. The two priority projects for funding are a regional Multi-Agency Coordination Centre and the upgrade of the region’s Tsunami Siren Network.

Tsunami Siren Network Testing

The Northland tsunami siren network was tested at the start of Daylight Savings on Sunday 27 September at 10.00am. The testing is undertaken bi-annually to ensure the network is in good working order; a comprehensive advertising media campaign was released in the lead up to the test. Maintenance and repairs are carried out by Top Energy or Northpower respectively. This test was the first for 12 months since the scheduled test in March 2020 was cancelled at the direction of the National Controller.

The Tutukaka Marina conducted a Tsunami Evacuation Drill on Monday 14 September 2020. The Marina has a yellow strobe light which is manually activated to warn mariners of tsunami conditions in the Marina. The drill went as planned.

Coordinated Incident Management System (CIMS) training course were held in Kaitāia, with representatives from Police, Fire and Emergency NZ, Far North District Council and the Department of Conservation attending. CIMS Planning and Intelligence function training was also delivered in Whangārei.

Group Controllers professional development training was held on Friday 25 September and involved an external consultant providing feedback on self-reflection, leadership insights and a 360-degree review. All appointed Controllers for the Group participated.

Work Programme, Portfolio and Responsibilities Review

The Northland CDEM Group work programme, staff portfolios and responsibilities have again been reviewed due to continued response activities being undertaken; COVID-19 resurgence planning requirements and recent staff performance reviews.

Projects have been prioritised to align with group priorities and provide for further responses to emergencies, including COVID-19 resurgence response if required.

The CDEM Group has also commenced planning for the coming summer with the lessons learnt from the drought earlier this year informing the planning process. (The Group plan review is also continuing with the timeline for milestones having been amended to take into consideration the responses in the past 9 months.)

CDEM Group Plan Review Update

The review is still on track to be completed by September 2021. The updated timeline is contingent upon resources being available for normal business and many need to be revised if there are subsequent events requiring responses.

Costs during response and reimbursement from Central Government

During the recent drought and COVID-19 response central government made available funding to support communities and whanau. These appropriations were additional to the arrangements outlined in the CDEM National Plan and separate to the funding provided to Northland under the Mayoral Relief fund for the recent storm event and the MPI funding for farm relief. Throughout the drought and COVID19 responses funding and services have been provided – mainly for water delivers and support to community agencies to provide household goods and services – in line with the criteria laid out in the appropriations. The COVID19 appropriation amounted to $30m nationally and the Drought Support $10m nationally.

Both appropriations come with strict policy guidance on how they can be used. Each appropriation also requires that the council bears the initial cost and then lodges a claim for reimbursement with NEMA. Throughout the drought and to ensure cash flow during the COVID 19 response a total of 9 separate claims for reimbursement were submitted for a total amount of $2m of those claims, 7 have been now paid to a total value $1.75m. The mayoral relief fund of $30,000, provided by Central Government for disbursement after the July flooding emergency has now been fully committed.

REGIONAL TRANSPORT PLANNING

Government Policy Statement for Transport 2021

The Government released their finalised Government Policy Statement on Transport 2021 (GPS) on 17 September 2020. Aside from some relatively minor changes to the funding ranges, the finalised GPS remains largely unchanged from the Draft GPS.

Regional Land Transport Plan 2021/2027 and Regional Public Transport Plan

With there being no material changes to the finalised GPS, the work undertaken on the “Strategic Front End” of both the Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP) and the Regional Public Transport Plan (RPTP) remains unchanged.

Staff will continue to work at having the Strategic Front End of both documents completed during October 2020. Staff have also commenced work on the funding application spreadsheets for the RLTP.

At this time, it is planned to have a draft copy of both the RLTP and RPTP presented to the Regional Transport Committee (RTC) at their December 2020 meeting and have the final drafts to the February 2021 meeting for formall approval to release both documents for consultation in March 2021.

A progress report will be presented to the Regional Transport Committee at the 14 October 2020 meeting.

Passenger Transport Administration

BusLink figures are reported one month in arrears, due to the required information being unavailable at the time of the agenda deadline.

Bus Link stats for August (revenue ex GST)	Actual	Budget	Variance	Year/Date Actual	Year/Date Budgeted
City Link Passengers	30,174	32,030	-1,856	57,239	61,361
CityLink Revenue	$36,620	$43,241	-$6,621	$71,762	$82,837
Mid North Link Passengers	144	168	-24	297	324
Mid North Link Revenue	$552	$840	-$288	$1,090	$1,620
Hokianga Link Passengers	101	78	23	183	156
Hokianga Link Revenue	$531	$1,017	-$486	$992	$2,034
Far North Link Passengers	364	667	-303	808	1366
Far North Link Revenue	$878	$1,667	-$789	$1,933	$3,415
Bream Bay Link Passengers	32	24	8	96	54
Bream Bay Link Revenue	$209	$86	$123	$639	$195

COVID 19 – Alert Level One Public Passenger Transport Restrictions.

Alert Level 1 came into force for all regions except Auckland at 11:59pm Monday 21 September 2020.

It is now not a requirement to wear a face mask on public transport, but it is still encouraged. All COVID-19 health related posters remain in place on all buses.

All public passenger transport services in New Zealand must have tracing methods in place that will allow for the recording of passengers on every trip and vehicle. This is to assist the Ministry of Health in contact tracing if required. All Northland Regional Council contracted passenger services are continuing these tracing methods, on board cameras, registers, QR codes and electronic tickets.

Council staff are actively monitoring the situation and will continue to do so.

Waka Kotahi will continue to subsidise farebox revenue loss resulting from loss of passengers due to COVID-19 to the end of December 2020 where it will be reviewed.

Total Mobility

Total Mobility (TM) figures are reported one month in arrears, due to the required information being unavailable at the time of the agenda deadline.

	Total Clients	Monthly Actual Expend	Monthly Budgeted Expend	Monthly Variance	Year/Date Actual Expend	Year/Date Budgeted Expend	Annual Variance
Aug 2020	1,663	$18,815	$25,000	-$6,185	$42,374	$50,000	-$7,626

Client trips have remained below pre-Covid numbers due to a reluctance to travel, particularly amongst the elderly. This trend will continue for the foreseeable future.

Total Mobility Co-ordinator Group Meeting

A National Total Mobility meeting was held on Tuesday 15 September 2020. This meeting covered the following subjects:

Ÿ Ridewise 2 Total Mobility Electronic Ticketing System;

Ÿ Service Provider Driver Training;

Ÿ Inter-regional Services and Drivers;

Ÿ Monitor Clients Usage on Scheme;

Ÿ National Consistent Total Mobility card; and

Ÿ The request for continued free travel as provided under levels 3 & 4 of COVID-19 lockdown.

ROAD SAFETY UPDATE

Road Trauma Update: 2020 Year to date road death statistics

National 232 deaths compared to 256 at the same time in 2019

Northland 21 deaths compared to 23 at the same time in 2019

Fatalities this year	Far North	Whangārei	Kaipara	Northland	National
Local roads	4	6	2	12
State highways	4	5	0	9
TOTAL	8	11	2	21	232

Ride Forever (R4E) Rider Training numbers have continued to grow since 1 July 2020. There have been 21 riders attending these training and competency courses:

Ÿ Bronze Course 8

Ÿ Silver Course 10

Ÿ Gold Course 3

As the summer riding season approaches, the training organisations are seeing more registrations.

Road safety promotion work continued to be centred around supporting Police with road safety promotional messaging for motorists recognising safe driving practices and promoting seatbelt wearing.

Planning is continuing for Road Safety Week 9-15 November 2020 with the ‘Step Up for Safe Streets’ theme. A bus back has been designed and fitted on a City Link bus to help promote the week.

Key messaging continues to target – RIDS -Restraints, Impairment, Distractions, Speed along with Fatigue, Driver Behaviour and planning journeys.

This regional messaging was also further supported by Waka Kotahi NZTA national road safety campaign messaging. Advertising themes for September & October have been Motorcycling, Distractions, Alcohol, Young Drivers.

The Northland Freight Group is planning several truck education & health stops for November. One will be held at Northport at the scaling sheds targeting logging trucks and a much larger event will be held at Uretiti on SH1 targeting the full range of heavy freight vehicles.

Driver Reviver/Fatigue Stops 2020/2021 Campaign

The Driver Reviver/Fatigue Stop planning has been taking place with road safety partners and this seasons dates have been set. With the excellent support from Fulton Hogan, the Traffic Management Plan has been completed and approved for the five dates these Reviver Stops will be operating:

Ÿ Friday 23 October 2020 Labour Weekend

Ÿ Friday 18 December 2020

Ÿ Friday 29 January 2021 Anniversary Weekend

Ÿ Friday 5 February 2021 Waitangi

Ÿ Thursday 1 April 2021 Easter

MARITIME

Seventeen incidents were received during the month of September. The incidents for the month were made up mostly of abandoned and derelict vessel disposals, however, notification of one serious incident was received involving a vessel capsize and the rescue of four people from the water. Maritime staff also assisted Police with access to and recovery of two separate and unrelated deceased live-aboard residents discovered on their vessels in the lower Hatea river.

The opening weekend to scallop season coinciding with the reduction of COVID-19 alert levels in Auckland resulted in large numbers of recreational vessels and divers on the water in Whangārei Harbour. On-water bylaw and education patrols were carried out.

A Safety Ambassador has been contracted for the summer to cover the Far North, a key focus of the summer safety campaign. The ambassador will target remote areas working closely with communities and harbour wardens to improve recreational boating safety in these communities.

The Harbour Master, Deputy Harbour Master and the Marine Manager attended a meeting with the Minsistry for Primary Industries, Customs and NZ Police regarding on water patrols over the summer. The aim is to achieve tighter collaboration across organisations to assist with on water education, enforcement and complainace.

The council vessel Ruawai has had replacement engines fitted in time for summer, the previous engines having completed 1400 hours in just under five years.

Project work has commenced in collaboration with Northport and other stakeholders regarding the review and upgrade of Aids to Navigation (AtoN) in the upper harbour. The sections of the channel under review include the Shell cut through to Portland Channel.

The Bay of Islands simulator model is ready for use. The simulator is going to be a useful tool to assist with training, feasibility study and risk assessment. It is anticipated that the simulator will also allow the pilots with licenses for the Bay of Islands to maintain currency in the absence of cruise vessels. It is the intention at some point to invite any interested councillors, the Group Manager and CEO to attend a demonstration.

Hydro survey work around the region is ongoing, routine maintenance of AtoN is on going.

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Nil

[1] Wairoa District Council poll in 2019 supported the establishment of Māori seats after the same poll was unsuccessful in 2016. This is the only successful council poll on Māori representation undertaken to date.

No.	Option	Advantages	Disadvantages
1	Adopt the 2019/20 Annual Report	Facilitate the adoption and public availability of the 2019/20 Annual Report and 2019/20 Summary Annual Report within the statutory timeframes set out in the LGA 2002.	None
2	Do not adopt the 2019/20 Annual Report	The 2019/20 Annual Report can be amended if required.	A special council meeting would need to be held before 31 October 2020 to adopt a revised 2019/20 Annual Report and comply with the Local Government Act 2002.

2019/20 DRAFT net surplus after transfers to reserves reported to council in August 2020	40,311
Add back the transfers to Special Reserves as these do not form part of the statutory reporting format	2,787,233
Add back the transfer to reserves approved by council in August as they do not form part of the statutory reporting format:
- COVID-19 Reinstatement Reserve	1,700,000
- Opex Reserve	467,695
Add back non-cash gains/(losses) on the revaluation of council’s assets:
- Investment properties and vested assets	1,149,349
- Owner occupied land and buildings	394,411
- Carbon credits	156,267
- NEST loan interest	43,775
- Infrastructure assets	(1,253,564)
- Forestry holdings	(107,000)
Total Comprehensive Revenue and Expense - as reported in the 2019/20 Annual Report	$5,378,477

Tangata Whenua capability	$30,000
Modelling of aquifers	$100,000
Enviroschools staff and seminars	$86,565
Pest plant prevention work stream	$110,000
Biodiversity FIF dune lake position	$75,131
Biosecurity marine position	$60,092
Economic policy advisor	$85,701
Kaiarahi Mahere Māori technical advisor	$82,784
BOI harbour modelling	$58,000
ReCoCo obligations	$100,617
Northland Inc. business case assessment	$100,000
Campaigns & engagment coordinator role	$40,000
Building reconfiguration (capital works)	$106,000
Biodiversity contractors	$30,000
Planning & Policy BAU - for LTP contract work	$10,000
Building recongfiguration	$29,000
Otiria-Moerewa Flood Modelling and Pre-feasibility Study	$80,000
NRC Water Allocation Tool	$40,000
Total	$1,223,890

Name:	Bruce Howse, Group Manager - Corporate Excellence,
Title:	Group Manager - Corporate Excellence
Date:	13 October 2020

No.	Option	Advantages	Disadvantages
1	Undertake a competitive recruitment process for an Independent Financial Advisor	Test the market and recruit the best possible candidate for the role.	Nothing material.
2	Do not undertake a competitive recruitment process for an Independent Financial Advisor and undertake a direct appointment	Avoid having to go through the recruitment process, immaterial time and cost savings.	Are not able to test the market and may not find the best possible candidate for the role.

TITLE:	Confirmation of Minutes - 15 September 2020 and 24 September 2020
ID:	A1370843
From:	Chris Taylor, Governance Support Manager
Authorised by Group Manager:	Chris Taylor, Governance Support Manager, on date 14 October 2020

TITLE:	Receipt of Action Sheet
ID:	A1369954
From:	Chris Taylor, Governance Support Manager
Authorised by Group Manager:	Ben Lee, GM - Strategy, Governance and Engagement, on date 14 October 2020

TITLE:	Adoption of the 2019/20 Annual Report
ID:	A1369859
From:	Simon Crabb, Finance Manager
Authorised by Group Manager:	Bruce Howse, Group Manager - Corporate Excellence, on date 12 October 2020

TITLE:	Financial Report to 30 September 2020
ID:	A1371755
From:	Vincent McColl, Financial Accountant

TITLE:	Regional Rates Collection - Update to 30 September 2020
ID:	A1372734
From:	Simon Crabb, Finance Manager
Authorised by Group Manager:	Bruce Howse, Group Manager - Corporate Excellence, on date 14 October 2020

TITLE:	Health and Safety Report
ID:	A1369631
From:	Kelcie Mills, Health and Safety Advisor
Authorised by Group Manager:	Bruce Howse, Group Manager - Corporate Excellence, on date 12 October 2020

TITLE:	Independent Financial Advisor Recruitment
ID:	A1366308
From:	Bruce Howse, Group Manager - Corporate Excellence

Name:	Bruce Howse
Title:	Group Manager - Corporate Excellence
Date:	13 October 2020

TITLE:	2021 Meetings Calendar
ID:	A1367521
From:	Chris Taylor, Governance Support Manager
Authorised by Group Manager:	Ben Lee, GM - Strategy, Governance and Engagement, on date 13 October 2020

MEETING TYPE:	FREQUENCY:
Council	· To meet the third Tuesday of the month.
Investment and Property Subcommittee, and the Audit and Risk Subcommittee	· To meet quarterly. These have been scheduled on the same day due to synergies of membership.
Civil Defence Emergency Management Group (CDEM) and Regional Transport Committee (RTC) Climate Change Working Party and Biosecurity and Biodiversity Working Party.	· To meet quarterly and to be held, where possible, on the second Wednesday of the month to avoid TLA commitments. · The Climate Change Working Party and Biosecurity and Biodiversity Working Party to meet on the same day as CDEM due to membership and for efficient use of councillor time.
Te Taitokerau Māori and Council Working Party (TTMAC)	· Continue to be held on the second Thursday of the month to provide consistency for Māori representatives. Monthly commitments alternate between formal meetings and on marae hui.
Planning and Regulatory Working Party and Water and Land Working Party	· To meet quarterly and on the same day due to synergies of membership and focus areas.

TITLE:	Kaimahi for Nature
ID:	A1370531
From:	Jonathan Gibbard, Group Manager - Environmental Services
Authorised by Group Manager:	Jonathan Gibbard, Group Manager - Environmental Services, on date 08 October 2020

TITLE:	Compliance Monitoring & Enforcement Strategy
ID:	A1371764
From:	Colin Dall, Group Manager - Regulatory Services
Authorised by Group Manager:	Colin Dall, Group Manager - Regulatory Services, on date 13 October 2020

TITLE:	Chair's Report to Council
ID:	A1368934
From:	Penny Smart, Chair
Authorised by Group Manager:	Penny Smart, Chair, on date 13 October 2020

TITLE:	Northland Inc. Limited: Annual Report for the Year Ending 30 June 2020
ID:	A1368943
From:	Darryl Jones, Economist and Simon Crabb, Finance Manager
Authorised by Group Manager:	Ben Lee, GM - Strategy, Governance and Engagement, on date 14 October 2020

TITLE:	Working Party Updates and Chairpersons' Briefings
ID:	A1371144
From:	Sally Bowron, Strategy, Governance and Engagement Team Admin/PA
Authorised by Group Manager:	Ben Lee, GM - Strategy, Governance and Engagement, on date 14 October 2020

TITLE:	Council River Working Group Updates
ID:	A1372742
From:	Leah Porter, PA/Administrator Environmental Services
Authorised by Group Manager:	Jonathan Gibbard, Group Manager - Environmental Services, on date 13 October 2020

Item No.	Item Issue	Reasons/Grounds
9.1	Confirmation of Confidential Minutes - 15 September 2020	The public conduct of the proceedings would be likely to result in disclosure of information, as stated in the open section of the meeting.
9.2	Human Resources Report	The public conduct of the proceedings would be likely to result in disclosure of information, the withholding of which is necessary to protect the privacy of natural persons, including that of deceased natural persons s7(2)(a).
9.3	Commercial Tenant Rent Relief	The public conduct of the proceedings would be likely to result in disclosure of information, the withholding of which is necessary to enable council to carry out, without prejudice or disadvantage, commercial activities s7(2)(h) and the withholding of which is necessary to enable council to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations) s7(2)(i).