Agenda of Council Meeting - Tuesday, 20 April 2021

Council Meeting item: 6.1

20 April 2021

Salary Variances

Across council there is a $659K favourable salaries variance (YTD February 2021 $642K favourable variance) predominantly due to the time to complete recruitment of positions identified in the LTP and AP or restored via the Covid-19 Reinstatement Reserve. Some of these have associated external funding.

Transfers to reserves

For the year to date there has been a net transfer to reserves of $6.26M compared to a budgeted net transfer from reserves of $2.92M. This is predominantly due to:

Ÿ $2.99M more than budgeted transfers to externally managed fund reserves representing higher reinvestment of gains than budgeted.

Ÿ $904K of more than budgeted Infrastructure Investment Gains and $650k of surplus dividends have been transferred into the enterprise system reserve to provide for future enterprise system costs.

Ÿ $2.26M more than budgeted transfers into the flood infrastructure reserves predominantly relating to the unbudgeted PGF funding received to accelerate the flood scheme works.

Ÿ $554K lower than budgeted transfers from equalisation reserve for general funding. This funding was not taken as it was replaced by the additional dividend income.

Ÿ $256K of surplus dividends were transferred to the equalisation reserve to fund the expected 2021/22 pilotage revenue shortfall from the reduction in the number of cruise ships expected.

Ÿ $589K of surplus dividends was transferred to the Investment and Growth Reserve to reduce the reliance upon the 2021/22 dividend to fund economic development activities.

Ÿ $403K lower than budgeted transfers from the Covid-19 Reinstatement Reserve as projects, works, and positions are not occurring as soon as planned. Any savings in these projects will be added back to the reinstatement reserve schedule when the value of the saving is known.

Capital Expenditure

Capital expenditure of $2.40M is below the YTD budget of $3.18M due to the timing of capital projects expenditure compared to as budgeted. This is predominantly in the area of targeted rate funded flood works and is expected to be caught up later in the financial year.

Covid-19 Reinstatement Reserve initiatives

Twenty four initiatives have a funding commitment from the Covid-19 Reinstatement Reserve totalling $1.52M. This leaves $124K unallocated at the end of March 2021. Note that some of these projects are not expected achieve their allocated funding and the following table will be adjusted to reflect this for the April 2021 report. The committed initiatives are as follows:

*Projects removed from the 20/21 Annual Plan*
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
Northland Inc. business case assessment	$100,000
Campaigns & engagement coordinator role	$41,392
Building reconfiguration (capital works)	$106,000
Biodiversity contractors	$30,000
Planning & Policy BAU - for LTP contract work	$10,000
Offsite storage of consent files (building reconfiguration)	$17,000
Internal Audit BAU	$27,000
Northland Inc Project funding	$60,000
Total AP projects reinstated	$1,021,665

*New projects approved by council*
BOI harbour modelling	$58,000
ReCoCo obligations	$100,617
Otiria-Moerewa Flood Modelling and Pre-feasibility Study	$80,000
NRC Water Allocation Tool	$40,000
Climate change advisor	$57,511
Storage facility security fence (capital works)	$65,000
Enterprise system advance	$55,000
Fan worm eradication	$98,000
Total new projects	$554,128
Grand total	$1,575,793

Work Programmes, Salaries and Projects removed from, or reduced in, the 2020/21 Annual Plan to remedy the deficit arising from the impact of COVID‐19. Listed in no particular order.
Description of Programme Position or Project	Estimated Amount/Value	Approved/Removed/No decision
Tangata whenua capability and capacity	$30,000	Approved
Modelling highly allocated aquifers	$100,000	Approved
Enviroschools staff and seminars	$86,385	Approved
Off‐site storage of consent files	$17,000	Approved
Pest plant prevention	$110,000	Approved
Project costs associated with Northern Wairoa and lakes projects (Biodiversity contractors)	$41,854	Approved at $30,000.
~~Conferences and training~~	~~$25,000~~	~~Removed~~
S17a reviews	$20,890	No decision
Long Term Plan costs	$10,000	Approved
~~Communications – casual staff and promotions~~	~~$15,000~~	~~Removed~~
WNW Catchment Group	$35,352	No decision
Lab testing costs	$100,000	No decision
Citizen panels	$10,000	No decision
~~Backup staff~~	~~$10,000~~	~~Removed~~
FIF Dune Lake position	$75,131	Approved
Biosecurity Marine position	$60,092	Approved
FIF Wairoa position	$80,897	No decision
Junior hydrology officer	$69,000 Operational Exp. $4,700 Capital Exp.	No decision
~~National wells database~~	~~$20,000~~	~~Removed~~
Freshwater accounting system	$100,000	No decision
Māori engagement, Environmental awards extension and Intern	$68,880	No decision
~~Coastal water quality consultants~~	~~$7,231~~	~~Removed~~
~~Reg Services lab testing costs~~	~~$7504~~	~~Removed~~
Reg Services mobile device purchases	$3,000	No decision
~~Maritime teams overtime budget~~	~~$15,000~~	~~Removed~~
NIWA Kingfish legal fees	$10,000	No decision
Economic Policy Advisor position	$85,701	Approved
Environmental Science Reporting Officer position	$81,894	No decision
Kaiarahi Mahere Māori ‐ Māori Technical Advisor position	$101,000 Operational Exp. $82,784 $4,700 Capital Exp.	Approved. Reduced to $82,784.
~~Northland Māori representation on national committee 'Te Maruata'~~	~~7000~~	~~Removed~~
~~Data asset management~~	~~75000~~	~~Removed~~
Campaigns and Engagement Coordinator position	$40,000 Operational Exp. $4,700 Capital Exp.	Approved
Technology upgrades	$200,000	No decision
Far North Poplar and Willow Nursery Manager position	$70,322	No decision
~~Eastern Bays Hill country staff~~	~~$82,206~~	~~Removed~~
Painting of Water Street building, vehicle costs	$104,004	Approved. Redirected this to Union East fencing @ $65,000
Internal Audit	$27,000	Approved
IT consultants and other Corporate Excellent BAU	$15,000 $61,210	Approved. $10,000 approved for LTP contract work.
Water Street Reception and Ground Floor Meeting Rooms Renovation and fit out:	$105,663 Capital Exp.	Approved
OTHER ADJUSTMENTS MADE TO 2020/21 Annual Plan to remedy the deficit arising from the impact of COVID‐19.
Utilisation of Community Investment Fund Capital in lieu of Investment income – as Economic Development funding	$1,700,000
Utilisation of Community Investment Fund Capital in lieu of Investment and general income – as General funding	$200,000
Utilisation of Infrastructure Investment Fund Capital in lieu of Investment and general income – as General funding	$250,000
Utilisation of Equalisation reserve as General funding	$150,000
Reduction in Economic Development Project Development budget	$300,000	Approved at $100,000

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Nil

Authorised by Group Manager

Name:	Bruce Howse, Group Manager - Corporate Excellence,
Title:	Group Manager - Corporate Excellence
Date:	12 April 2021

Council Meeting item: 8.3

20 April 2021

TITLE:	Chief Executive’s Report to Council
ID:	A1430240
From:	Malcolm Nicolson, Chief Executive Officer
Authorised by Group Manager:	Malcolm Nicolson, Chief Executive Officer, on 13 April 2021

Recommendation

That the report ‘Chief Executive’s Report to Council’ by Malcolm Nicolson, Chief Executive Officer and dated 31 March 2021, be received.

8.3.1 Highlights

Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Partnership

Continuing the longstanding tradition of collaboration between the Northland Regional Council and Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, a renewed focus on fostering cooperation between the two organizations was initiated late in 2020. In early December, MWLR held a workshop at NRC with members of the Land Management Team, the Natural Resources Science Team and the Natural Resources Policy Team to discuss the prospect of bringing S-map, New Zealand’s digital soil information system to Northland.

Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research’s vision of “Let it be that the land and all its fruits may flourish” is core to NRC’s mission of creating a healthy environment, strong economy and resilient communities for Te Taitokerau. While planning is underway to bring S-map to the region, several other integrated research areas at MWLR have been identified as being relevant for NRC’s current and future priorities, including:

Ÿ Enabling iwi/hapū to be kaitiaki,

Ÿ Climate smart landscape change, and

Ÿ Better biodiversity outcomes through predator control

A meeting between GMs is scheduled for 15 April 2021 to further discuss how the two organisations can leverage off each other’s expertise and build networks for the benefit of Northland communities. A move to formalize the relationship between NRC and MWLC will be explored subsequent to these discussions.

Survey on Consent Requirements

The following details the responses of the NI regional and Auckland councils who have transferred their BCA responsibilities to Waikato Regional Council, and how they are responding to enquiries relating to proposed dams.

All the councils were contacted based on the scenario of a property owner in their area, potentially wanting to build a dam for water storage / irrigation. The dam sizes given were for a “large dam” as defined in the Building Act 2004 (eg. 4.5m height and 25,000m³).

The questions asked were along the lines of:

Ÿ Is consent required for this work?

Ÿ Was there a distinction/understanding between resource and building consents?

Ÿ If no mention of building consent, was one required?

Ÿ Were there any consents required from the local TA?

Ÿ What sort of timeframe was involved in processing the consent?

Ÿ Supplementary questions were added as required.

Of the eight councils contacted, NRC were the sole council to provide a totally correct response.

Auckland Council, Hawkes Bay RC and Horizons RC responses were substantially correct and referred the caller to WRC, incorrect responses on “heights”, “and vs or”, and “large dam” definitions can significantly affect the applicant.

Bay of Plenty RC, Greater Wellington RC, Taranaki RC, and Waikato RC incorrectly referred the enquiry to the local TA, which while correct response to most building consent enquiries, it is incorrect when it comes to “large dam” enquiries.

8.3.2 CEO’s Office

Current Legal Proceedings

Department	Description	Status
Consent decision appeal	Two separate consent applications for replacement and new consents relating to a proposed expansion of, Doug’s Ōpua Boat Yard in Walls Bay, Ōpua	Being dealt with jointly by the Environment Court.
Consent decision appeal	Replacement discharge consents for East Coast Bays Wastewater Treatment Plant (Taipā)	Environment Court approved Consent Order granting these consents on 8 March 2021.
Economics - REL	Worked with lawyers on legal documents associated with pursuing bankruptcy against both defendants.	Continue to work with lawyers.

8.3.3 Corporate Excellence

FINANCE

In May 2018, council borrowed $3.75m and issued a loan of the same amount to Northland Emergency Services Trust (NEST) to assist in the purchase of a new rescue helicopter. Under the terms of the loan agreement, any extraordinary amounts received by NEST (in excess of $100k) are to be forwarded to council and applied to the outstanding loan principal.

In April 2019, NEST received and paid to council a bequest of $549k. These funds were utilised as part of the $5.6m loan repayment in August 2020.

In March 2021, NEST sold an engine that was surplus to requirements and forwarded the sale proceeds of $250K to council. These funds have been deposited into the Infrastructure Investment reserved portion of the Long-Term Fund. The current balance of the NEST loan is now $2.95m and due for full repayment in May 2023.

CYBER SECURITY

Revenue generation is still the top objective of most threat actors, but data destruction is now part of the attack process with industry pointing to this as a precursor to new attacks in the form of a destruction service.

Mobility and cloud computing are just two examples of technology advancements that are stretching and eroding the security perimeter that organisations must defend.

Local councils are now experiencing first-hand cyber activity in the form of email attacks, denial of service (DoS) and now the global Microsoft Exchange attack.

NRC experienced such an attack on 5 March when its on-premise Exchange server was compromised. Ironically the service was fully patched with up to date security patches at the time, so little else could have been done to prevent the initial compromise (example of a zero-day attack). Microsoft released new security patches for this issue on the following day.

All services affected in the attack have now been fully restored. A full forensic analysis is currently underway, and at the time of writing is not complete. Details of any loss of data or breach of privacy will be included in the final report.

Following the full review of council’s security posture in 2020, a forward work programme to strengthen our security posture over the next three years. While some activity is already underway, the next key focus area is to review and improve security policies and processes, with staff awareness and education a significant element.

NORTHLAND SPORTS FACILITY PLAN

At the Extraordinary Council Meeting on 7 May 2019, councillors approved provision of $50,000 in the 2020-21 AP to co-fund a review of the Northland Sports Facility Plan, to be financed from the existing Regional Sporting Facilities Rate take pool. Sport New Zealand were the other co-funder of the review. Kōkiri Te Waka Hourua, a regional strategy for play, active recreation and sport, is attached for councillors’ reference.

Following the 2021-31 LTP deliberations, councillors will be asked to determine what sporting facility projects from across the region are most appropriately funded from regional sporting facilities rates collected. The plan identifies and prioritises new projects from across the region so that there is a ‘pipeline’ of projects lining up for potential funding from the regional rate. The quantum to be allocated will be approximately $3.8m over the next three-year period. The document is intended to inform those discussions.

For quick reference, ‘Regional Priority Facility Projects’ are on Page 32 to 35. The projects are not yet listed in ‘priority order’. However, such ranking will be provided to councillors for their post-LTP allocation decision.

8.3.4 Regulatory Services

Consents in Process

During March 2021, a total of 109 Decisions were issued. These decisions comprised:

Ÿ Moorings	1
Ÿ Coastal Permits	14
Ÿ Coastal Discharge Permits	11
Ÿ Air Discharge Permits	1
Ÿ Land Discharge Permits	9
Ÿ Water Discharge Permits	0
Ÿ Land Use Consents	47
Ÿ Water Permits	7
Ÿ Bore Consents	19

The processing timeframes for the March 2021 consents ranged from:

Ÿ 229 to 4 calendar days, with the median time being 42 days;

Ÿ 145 to 2 working days, with the median time being 18 days.

Forty-four applications were received in March 2021.

Of the 100 applications in progress at the end of March 2021:

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

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

Ÿ Forty-one less than 6 months.

Appointment of Hearing Commissioners

Mr Rob van Voorthuysen was appointed in March 2021 for one consent hearing for consents associated with a reclamation in Blacksmith Bay, Bay of Islands.

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

The current level of notified application processing activities at the end of March 2021 is (by number):

Ÿ Applications Publicly / Limited Notified During Previous Month	0
Ÿ Progress on Applications Previously Notified	3
Ÿ Hearings and Decisions	2
Ÿ Appeals/Objections	2

COMPLIANCE MONITORING

The results of compliance monitoring for the period 1 - 31 March 2021 (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	8	8	0	0	0	0
Bore Consent	7	5	2	0	0	0
Coastal Air Discharge	2	2	0	0	0	0
Coastal Discharge	23	16	2	2	3	0
Coastal Permit	127	70	35	10	7	5
Land Discharge	55	38	7	6	3	1
Land Use Consent	32	32	0	0	0	0
Water Discharge	52	37	8	5	1	1
Water Permit	27	26	1	0	0	0
Water Take	61	33	19	9	0	0
Total	394	267	74	32	14	7
Percentage		67.8%	18.8%	8.1%	3.6%	1.8%
Year to date	4,201	2,975	540	355	128	203
Percentage		70.8%	12.9%	8.5%	3.0%	4.8%

Coastal

The majority of consents monitored during the reporting period related to coastal discharges (treated municipal sewage and other industrial discharges), coastal structures and marine farms.

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

Ÿ Water Use

With Northland experiencing another dry month, river flows continued to remain low. Groundwater levels were generally below average for this time of year of year, more so in Tutukaka, Mangawhai and Porotī.

The large Matawii dam project is progressing with numerous management plans being submitted that requires review and certification.

Ÿ Wastewater

More time was allocated to reviewing compliance of wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) across the region. The Far North District Council is looking to standardise consent conditions across the 15 WWTP it is responsible for.

Ÿ Air Incident Monitoring

Reports of spray drift incidents continued to be received by the Environmental Hotline, with spray drift being confirmed in a couple of cases. However, a lack of adherence to the rules in regard to spray plans and notification to neighbouring properties was the main issue of non-compliance.

Ÿ Wetlands

Incident numbers involving wetlands are increasing and compliance staff are more often finding diggers and other machinery on actual or potential wetland areas. Biodiversity staff have been providing advice on the ‘status’ of these areas because of the difficulty in distinguishing actual wetlands and their boundaries. However, we are looking into providing more training to compliance staff in this regard.

Ÿ Contaminated Land Management

Four incidents involving the discharge of hazardous substances and 21 enquiries regarding contaminated land were received and responded to. Eighteen sites were added to the Selected Land Use Register (SLR) and 275kg of hazardous waste was disposed of.

The monthly amnesty collection day continues to prove popular.

Environmental Incidents

There were no environmental incidents reported in March which resulted in a significant environmental impact.

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
Earthworks/land use	1	1	1	1	2	2
Hazardous substances/spills/refuse	1	1	2	2	2	3
Illegal use of lakebed or riverbed	0	0	1	1	1	1
Other air discharge	0	0	1	4	1	4
Other water discharge	0	0	2	2	2	2
Sewage	1	2	0	0	1	2
TOTAL	3	4	7	10	9	14

*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 Earthworks without erosion and sediment controls – Tōtara North

Charges were laid in the Kaitaia District Court on 20 July 2020 against an individual for earthworks undertaken without controls, and work within a watercourse and the riparian management zone. There are six charges against the individual. A sentencing indication hearing was undertaken on 8 December 2020. The defendant indicated at the court date of 2 February 2021 that the sentence indication would not be accepted. A teleconference with the presiding judge is scheduled for 27 April 2021 to discuss the hearing date and estimated timeframe.

Ÿ Open burning on industrial/trade property – Whangarei

Charges were laid in the Whangarei District Court on 27 November 2020 against an individual for open burning on industrial/trade premises; the burnt items also included prohibited items. There are two charges against the individual. The first court date was 20 January 2021. The case has been adjourned until 30 April 2021 to allow time for disclosure to be provided and considered.

Natural RESOURCES Monitoring

Coastal & Water Quality

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

Ÿ Weekly recreational bathing sampling at 60 sites (a report will summarise the results in due course).

Ÿ Monthly sampling runs (coastal and freshwater water quality, periphyton, cyanobacteria).

Ÿ Quarterly lakes monitoring undertaken.

Ÿ Annual shellfish abundance surveys were undertaken at Houhora and Hokianga Harbours, in conjunction with Significant Ecological Areas surveys at Waipū and Mangawhai. The shellfish abundance programme is in its second year and is supported by local iwi and community engagement.

Ÿ Staff assisted the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) with its “Wai Tūwhera o te Taiao – Open Waters Aotearoa” project to facilitate the distribution of eDNA kits to iwi and community groups within Te Tai Tokerau. This project improves understanding of the ecology and diversity within their local awa and moana.

NATURAL RESOURCES DATA

Ÿ Electronic data collection forms are operational for recreational swimming, periphyton, sedimentation, groundwater, river and coastal water quality programmes. Electronic meter calibration forms have replaced the paper forms. Hydrology forms are now being developed.

Ÿ Development of the new environmental data portal for the NRC website is well underway and the expected “go live” is May 2021. The testing phase started in late February 2021, the data will be brought online over two phases

Ÿ Phase 1: rainfall, water level, water quality, drought and coastal, wind and wave data.

Ÿ Phase 2: biological data for periphyton, fish, macroinvertebrates and cyanobacteria.

HYDROLOGY

Groundwater

Ÿ Groundwater records indicate, generally, below average levels for this time of year, except for the Aupōuri and Russell aquifers. Mangawhai and Porotī recorded levels are very low for this time of year.

Area	Status (March 21)
Aupōuri	OK
Taipā	Below Average
Russell	OK
Kaikohe	Below Average
Whangārei	Below Average
Mangawhai	Below Average
Marsden - Ruakākā	Below Average

Rainfall

Ÿ March 2021 rainfall was below average in most areas. Region rainfall was split in two areas with the Bay of Islands and the Hokianga northward getting about 80% of usual March rain, while southern areas received about 45%.

Ÿ Only the Aupōuri Peninsula and gauges at Ōmāpere and Ngatawhiti Road (Poutō Peninsula) received more than 100%, the latter largely due to a thunderstorm on 4 March.

Ÿ The outlook for April is for average rainfall. Most events are likely to come from the Tasman Sea or Southern Ocean. Although April is seen as the last month in the Tropical Cyclone season, we may not receive any from the north.

River Flows

Ÿ River flows had minor increases due to rain in the first week of March and in the last few days of the month, but were largely in recession.

Ÿ Most rivers in the region are running below normal with a number being very low and the Mangakāhia extremely low.

NATURAL RESOURCES SCIENCE

Air quality and carbon emission

Ÿ Ambient PM₁₀ monitoring results for February 2021 for the Robert Street, Mairtown (Whangārei) and Marsden Point stations showed compliance with the National Environmental Standards for Air Quality.

Ÿ Ambient PM_2.5 monitoring results for the Robert Street station for February 2021 were within the Ambient Air Quality Guideline value.

Coastal

Ÿ An ecological survey of Mangawhai Harbour with kaitiaki from Te Uri O Hau commenced. The survey involved an assessment of bird life, shellfish abundance, marine invertebrates and seagrass. Council staff will now analyse the data and produce a baseline assessment of the estuary and kaitiaki will develop a cultural health assessment. The baseline assessment will help council to assess the effectiveness of the PRP at protecting and maintaining the ecological values of this SEA in future.

Sampling sites in Mangawhai Harbour

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Contents of one litter trap including 350 cigarette butts,
after the summer audit (57 days)

Ÿ The first audit of litter traps was undertaken at the end of the summer to help estimate the quantity of litter and plastic entering our estuaries and coast each year. NRC in conjunction with NorthTec, Whitebait Connection, WDC, FNDC, KDC and NDHB have installed 50 litter traps at stormwater grates throughout the region at a variety of different land uses (playgrounds, car parks, supermarkets, fast food premises, industrial sites etc).

Ÿ The intent is to identify some high-risk land uses enabling targeted mitigation and education. NRC recently undertook the first audit with the initial results showing big differences between sites – one site had just two items, while another site had 466 items. Once the audit is complete, the results will be available on the NRC website.

Ÿ Waipū Estuary investigation: Staff responded to numerous complaints about dead fish, discoloured water and an unpleasant odour in Waipū Estuary in early March 2021. During the initial visits, staff observed a large quantity of dead and decaying red algae (seaweed) in the affected area and recorded very low dissolved oxygen concentrations in the lagoon area of the estuary. In the upper area of the lagoon there is very little circulation and exchange of water with the open coast. It appears that red algae was washed into the lagoon from Bream Bay and then become trapped in the upper portion of the lagoon. Initially conditions were probably favourable for the red algae to continue to grow but once the algae started to die, microbial decomposition of the algae consumed oxygen. This can lead to a rapid decrease in dissolved oxygen levels and cause stress and mortality to other marine plants and animals. The dead and decaying plants and animals also caused an unpleasant odour. Staff have continued to visit the estuary throughout the month, and it appears that the estuary is slowly recovering without intervention. Dissolved oxygen levels appear to have returned to normal levels and the black colouration of the water and the strong odour caused by anoxic conditions (lack of oxygen) has also dissipated. It appears that a combination of tidal flushing and surface aeration, which will have been helped by moderate winds, have helped to re-oxygenate the water. NRC and the Department of Conservation are working closely as the area is a wildlife refuge. We used one of our drones and surveyed spot heights at the entrance of the estuary to try and understand the dynamics around the entrance to the estuary.

Ÿ GNS and PDU Northland Water Storage: The Provincial Development Unit has commissioned GNS to undertake a desktop assessment of Northland Water Storage: Options and Opportunities. A summary of the final report and recommendations is likely to be available within the next month.

Groundwater

Ÿ Coal Creek, north of Kaitāia and located in the southern part of the Te Hiku Forest, has been confirmed as a primary research site for the 5-year Forest Flows Programme. The Forest Flows programme involves comprehensive monitoring of water flows including climate stations, evapotranspiration rates, rainfall, soil moisture monitoring etc. The data collected will complement other NRC projects, including regional water balance modelling and the soil moisture network and will provide key ‘measured data’ on groundwater recharge and surface water flows in the Te Hiku forested area.

Freshwater Quality

Ÿ The monitoring network review continued with Stage 2 work plans for rivers and lakes. Field inspections were undertaken to scope new monitoring sites in the unrepresented Freshwater Management Units (FMUs) such as Aupōuri, Herekino-Whāngāpē and Bream Bay. The Natural Resources Science Team has contracted Land and Water Science and Cawthron Institute to assess the natural representativeness and suitability of the proposed river monitoring network (shown in the map to the right) in terms of meeting NPS-FM requirements as well as its integrity with other existing freshwater monitoring networks (such as hydrology and groundwater).

Map showing the proposed river monitoring network for water quality and ecology.

Map

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Ÿ IWA has finished working on calibration of the regional CLUES model. Following this calibration process, NIWA has decided not to use the Overseer model in CLUES, as it is unsuitable for Northland and runs the risk of overestimating the total nitrogen. Currently NIWA is working on the CLUES scenarios model to estimate the change in nitrogen, phosphorous, E.coli and sediment loads by applying various land management mitigation options. The report on the CLUES scenarios model is expected by May 2021.

Ÿ Work continued on collating, transforming and documenting the underlying GIS dataset of the rivers and lakes water quality current state (observed and modelled data) for the purpose of designing FMU based web-maps. When completed in early 2022, these maps will be publicly available to aid public consultation.

Ÿ The works around the following Envirolink projects continued:

Ÿ Dissolved oxygen (DO) metabolism for Northland Rivers, including a workshop and a guidance document prepared by the Cawthron Institute on data collection, data management and reporting of the river ecosystem metabolism.

Ÿ Workshop for guidance on surrogate technologies for river suspended sediment load.

Ÿ Workshop for monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of riverine flow management under NPS-FM. This will provide a framework for effective and efficient M&E of instream ecological response to riverine flow management by regional councils, in accordance with the NPS-FM.

8.3.5 Environmental Services

land management

Sustainable Hill Country and Regional Priorities

Milestones	Status
Research
Coastal erosion buffers	Biospatial will present preliminary results from phase 2 on 7^th April.
Farm Environment Plans (FEPs)
	Environmental services staff have discussed alternatives to FEP deliverable. Any replacement deliverable will need to work within the LTP restructure for Land Management.
Stakeholder engagement
	Press releases to promote retirement fencing and planting grants are in development.
Land treatments
Contractor capacity development	Two planting contractor workshops will be held in Whangārei and Waipapa on 29 and 30 March respectively.

Poplar and Willow Nursery

Objective	Status
Maintenance	A tender and contract have been developed for harvest and nursery maintenance activities. The contract will be for 2 years, with an option to extend by one year if mutually agreed by both parties.
Expansion	Expansion opportunities near the current Flyger Road site are being actively explored.
Harvest	Harvest of 3m poles will begin in late May for delivery in June. Poles are heavily subsidised this year at $4 +GST, which is about a third of the cost of production. The price is evenly split 3 ways (MPI, NRC, Landowner). It is estimated the nursery will supply 7,000 3m poles this season, and several thousand shrub willows. The nursery will now sell sub-3m poplars and willow that aren’t used for erosion control direct to the public. These poles used to be given away or burnt at the end of the season but will now be sold at non-subsidised prices as a cost recovery exercise. The long-term objective of the nursery is to become cost neutral.

Kaipara Moana Remediation Project

The Year 1 Work Programme continues at pace, comprising of projects to meet the programme’s investment objectives, plus budget for administrative and governance functions.

Progress and presentations to the Joint Committees have been made on key strategies for engagement and communications, tree nurseries and workforce. Further workshops and discussions are needed before the strategies are adopted by the Joint committee.

The KMR Joint committee meeting at Puatahi Marae on 22 March, approved the following papers:

1. Direction was sought for KMR Programme staff to prepare project plans, staffing and budget estimates for consideration under the KMR Programme Year 2 Work Plan to deliver a grants programme to Landowners and opportunities for marae, hapū and community groups provided to work collectively with landowners, including for land in multiple ownership, to undertake remediation projects

2. Approval was sought for the Fonterra Tiaki Partnership project to proceed on a revised 20-month timeframe to December 2022 and a total budget of $2.91 million. A partnership proposal where KMR investment to Fonterra with the project outcomes include the completion of 150 new Fonterra Tiaki Farm Environment Plans (Tiaki FEPs), and delivery of $1.8 million of remediation work targeted to sediment reduction and undertaken on Fonterra supplier farms.

The KMR Joint Committee will begin considering a Year 2 Work Programme over the next couple of months, providing the Ministry for the Environment a draft work programme up to June; a number of the Year 1 projects will run also under the anticipated Year 2 Work Programme. In the development of a Year 2 Work Programme, budgets and project objectives for these multi-year projects can be reassessed and adjusted as necessary.

biodiversity

FIF Dune Lakes Project

Objective	Status
Aquatic weed and pest fish control	The second grass carp operation Roto-otuauru (Lake Swan), Poutō, netted another 36 grass carp, bringing the total to 72 fish removed from the lake in two visits. A contractor will undertake 2 days’ grass carp netting in Midgley’s Lake in April which will see the second of four lakes being fished under the grass carp workstream.
	A further pest fish survey is planned for 7 - 9 April at Lake Rototuna. A LakeSPI survey was undertaken in Lake Ngatu by NIWA divers on March 25 during lakes ecological survey week which is an EPA monitoring requirement. No lagarosiphon (the target of the September 2020 herbicide operation) was found. Staff are working with local iwi, landowners, the Department of Conservation and NIWA on a plan for further control of hornwort in the lakes at Poutō and Mt Camel in the spring of 2021.
Sediment and nutrient mitigation	A contract is in place with Fulton Hogan to undertake sediment and nutrient mitigation earthworks at Lakes Ngatu and Rotokawau in autumn 2021.
Maori Lakes Strategy	Letters of Agreement for Kaiwhakahaere services have been signed with all iwi partners in the project. Iwi partners are planning a wānanga on the 26-29 April at Wai ora Marae in Ngataki, hosted by Ngāti Kurī to progress input into the FIF project and the use of maramataka.
Education Days	Two more dune lakes education events are planned: Kai Iwi Lakes in May and at Lake Humuhumu, Poutō in June.
Staff	A fixed term position to assist with the FIF programme has been advertised and interviews held.

Lakes

The annual lakes ecological monitoring was undertaken with NIWA. The total number of waterbodies visited over the week was 18 the week including eight lakes receiving full Lakes Submerged plant Indicator (LakeSPI) monitoring. This year marked the 20^th anniversary of the Lakes Monitoring Programme. Most lakes are showing stable or improving ecological condition though low lake levels over the last two summers is concerning.

Wetlands

The development of a wetland monitoring programme is progressing with the drafting of a scoping document. Morphum Environmental Ltd, who have been contracted by the Ministry for the Environment, have provided a draft report on the development of wetland mapping methodologies and the GIS based machine learning is being further tested and enhanced by NRC wetland staff.

Biodiversity staff have provided specialist advice to Consents on impacts of proposed subdivisions on wetlands at Te Maike Rd Ngunguru (Traverse Ltd) and Kapiro Road (FNDC) and to Planning for proposed vehicle on beaches rule.

Russell Forest Biodiversity Survey

Biodiversity staff joined the kaitiakitanga of Russell State Forest, DOC and Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research staff to carry out a six-day survey to inventory vegetation and bird diversity in Russell Forest, to enable iwi and others to better target pest control and to produce maps of vegetation and fauna values.

CoastCare

CoastCare Te Taitokerau celebrated Seaweek 2021 by attending several events with Northland schools and communities. At the Taipa event a total of 180 tamariki from Manganui, Peria, Taipa Area School and Doubtless Bay Kindergarten rotated around workshops and activities on topics including kaitatitanga, dune plants, shorebirds, marine pests, marine mammals, pingao weaving and ocean plastics.


From left: NRC Marine Biosecurity; CoastCare; Kaitiaki Rangers o Karikari

BIosecurity incursions and response

Reported Koi Carp Sighting at Lake Taharoa

A report of a suspected koi carp sighting at Lake Taharoa (3 February) initiated a biosecurity response in collaboration with key stakeholders (Department of Conservation, Northland Regional Council, Kaipara District Council, Northland Fish and Game, and affected iwi (Te Roroa), and hapū (Te Kuihi).

An intensive, nine-day netting and visual surveillance operation, involving up to 15 staff onsite daily, was carried out during the months of February and March. No pest fish were caught or observed during the response. Scaled down surveillance (aerial and underwater drone survey) will continue over the next few months.

An incidental find … a freshwater crab (Amarinus lacustris) caught (and released) in the koi response at Lake Taharoa. This tiny crab grows to just 10 mm in size and is New Zealand’s only freshwater crab.

Marine Biosecurity and Fish and Game staff setting up the underwater drone at Lake Taharoa during the koi carp incursion response.

kauri dieback

Kauri Dieback Track Mitigation Northland Project

Construction of the Kauri Mountain section of track is well under way with approximately half completed. Scheduling has been completed on four other tracks which work is expected to commence on three of them in April.


Kauri dieback track mitigation project construction at Kauri Mountain including mesh laid for aggregate tracks (left) and box steps (right).

Community Engagement

Over 30 people attended three workshops run by the kauri dieback team including:

Ÿ NorthTec with the pest animal control students on 8 March.

Ÿ Kauri dieback track builders in Mangawhai.

Ÿ Matauri Bay marae (Kura Kaupapa O Whangaroa) with adults and secondary students.

In addition, kauri dieback staff visited the Tangiterōria School to conduct kauri dieback awareness education.

partnerships

Western Northland High Value Area

Ÿ Maunganui Bluff Community Pest Control Area (CPCA): The initial possum control knockdown has been successful with 541 possums caught through leg hold trapping and contractors now following up with a toxin operation (cyanide) to reduce possums below the 5% residual catch trap target.

Ÿ Native Forest Restoration Trust CPCA: Planning and implementation for a new community pest control area on forestry and Native Forest Restoration Trust reserve land adjacent to the eastern side of the Matauraua Forest is underway. A baseline survey was carried out this month to get data on the number of kiwi present and presence/absence of kōkako and long-tailed bats. The preliminary results show relatively good kiwi numbers, with listening devices also detecting a kōkako call as well as long tailed bats.

Ÿ Contractor health and safety training: Council staff conducted Sitewise training in Dargaville for contractors and community groups working in the Western Northland area to assist them with their development of systems in preparation for accreditation through Sitewise.

Kai Iwi Lakes High Value Area

Planning has been completed to have the remaining green wilding pines in the stage one area treated as well as dealing with regenerating trees in road reserve adjacent to Lake Waikare. Te Roroa is scheduled to begin this work in April.

Piroa-Brynderwn High Value Area

The Piroa-Brynderwyn High Value Area working group are in the process of reviewing and updating their long term strategic plan. This work will build on the previous ecological report completed in 2009 by Dr Ray Peirce. This work will look to set a new vision for the group, review achievements to date, and set new objectives and outcomes with a wider focus such biosecurity, biodiversity, water quality, and working with iwi and hapū.

Tutukaka High Value Area

Weed Control: March saw a shift in events being run by volunteers contributing to 72 hrs of the estimated total of 93 hrs this month; with paid hours (21hrs) focused on landowner engagement, follow up, and coordination. Control was focused on targeted species – Formosa lily on the Ngunguru Sand spit, with jasmine, ginger and privet in the Whangarei District Council reserves.

Whangārei Heads High Value Area

Backyard Kiwi: Kiwi are moving towards the Kiwi link CPCA area and various kiwi are nesting. The kiwi Teina has been monitored since he was released at the Whangārei Heads and recorded his first nest. Unfortunately, the nest was not entirely successful, with Teina incubating a rock for 97 days.

Whangārei Heads kiwi Teina with
his first efforts at nesting

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Weed action in progress: A number of action events over the last couple of years are showing great results as shown in the youtube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9ZSEdM2ejQ.

Kiwi Coast

Jobs for Nature funding: Kiwi Coast have secured $500,000 through the Kiwis for Kiwi Trust from Jobs for Nature funding to back the Pest Free Purerua Project over the next five years. The project builds on more than a decade of pest control work on the peninsula. The funds secured will kick-start a new phase of the project, and enable goals to be lifted from pest suppression to pest eradication. Driven by local landowners, iwi, and hapū, this project aims to eradicate possums, stoats, feral cats, and rats from the 7,600 ha Purerua Peninsula on the northern reach of the Bay of Islands-Ipipiri. In addition, the project will create an 8,000 ha buffer zone from Whitehills to Rangitāne (near Kerikeri) to stop pests reinvading the peninsula. Kiwi Coast Trust Chairperson, Mike Camm said “We are thrilled to be working with local landowners, iwi and hapū, in partnership with the Northland Regional Council and Kiwis for Kiwi Trust on this important project.”

NZ Autotraps field trial: With sponsorship from the Northland Freemasons, Kiwi Coast are leading a one year Northland field trial of NZ Autotraps AT220 mechanically self re-setting National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) approved possum and rat trap. The trap will be field trialled across three community led projects – Mangatete Landcare in the Far North, Tutukākā Landcare in Whangārei, and Piroa-Brynderwyns Landcare in the south. This field trial will work in collaboration with Bay Bush Action who are carrying out their own field trial, and other Northland projects also trialling the traps. NorthTec staff and students have also offered to assist with data collation and analysis of results.

Demonstration of the AT220 mechanical self re-setting
NAWAC approved possum and rat trap.

Kiwi Coast continues to support the development of new pest control technology and tools to help Northland projects find efficiencies and maximise ecological gains. Reducing pest reinvasion rates into project areas or finding ways to save time spent checking trap lines are of great benefit to all the groups and projects involved. By supporting regional field trials, Kiwi Coast seeks to save individual community projects spending hard won funds on products that may still need improvements or modifications for Northland conditions.

Community Engagement

Council staff implanted a microchip in a kiwi chick at the Tānekaha CPCA with 11 locals in attendance.

2021 Kaipara Enviroschools Project Pest Control

Staff assisted at a two-day skills workshop at Taharoa Domain on 11 - 12 March for 30 students from Ōtamatea, Rūāwai and Dargaville schools. Students received training on possum skinning, fur plucking, leghold capture trapping and theory.

Three groups of students set raised leg-hold traps and box traps on an adjacent property to the Kai Iwi lakes, with a large pōhutukawa and a pine plantation. Later in the year they will attend an assessment course and will be assessed for NZQA credits on the skills learned in the workshop.

marine biosecurity

Hull Surveillance Programme

There were six incidents of Sabella spallanzanii (Mediterranean fanworm) – these were on vessels Matauwhi Bay (1), Kerikeri (1), Whangaroa (2), Bay of Islands (1). Two were resolved rapidly by diver removal in situ and two were cleaned via owner-directed haul outs.

The final fanworm incident (in the Whangaroa Harbour) was treated by council biosecurity staff in situ with a chlorine treatment to neutralise the risk posed.

Marine biosecurity staff alongside Biosecurity New Zealand are currently conducting an assessment of the incident to determine the likelihood of an incursion, however, the worms were not of a reproductive size and the chance of a population establishing is considered low at this stage. The 9 vessels found with Styela clava were in areas where this pest is already established and were not considered incidents of concern.

A vessel infected with Mediterranean fanworm is wrapped and treated in Whangaroa Harbour by council staff.

2020/2021 Hull Surveillance Programme Results	Total this month	Total YTD
Pathways Plan Compliance
Number of vessels surveyed this month	223	1,270
% Pathways Plan Compliance (all vessels) *	19.7%	46.4%
% Pathways Plan Compliance (recent arrivals) **	43.4%	75.5%
Vessels found with Marine Pests
Sabella spallanzanii (fanworm)	6	46
Styela clava (clubbed tunicate)	9	38
Undaria pinnatifida (Japanese kelp)	0	1
Eudistoma elongatum (Australian droplet tunicate)	0	0
Pyura doppelgangera (sea squirt)	0	0

* Percentage of all vessels surveyed that complied with the acceptable level of light fouling as defined in the Marine Pathways Plan.

** Percentage of vessels on anchor that complied with the acceptable level of light fouling as defined in the Marine Pathways Plan.

Marine Biosecurity at SeaWeek Events

The marine biosecurity team delivered an event as part of the annual event Seaweek at Taipa on 23 March run alongside local kaitiaki and community groups as well as representatives from the council’s Coastcare and biodiversity departments. Five school groups (students aged 3 – 10) attend the event with approximately 180 students and numerous teachers/parent helpers visiting the marine biosecurity station.

Marine Pest Identification Workshop: Paihia - 24 March

Marine biosecurity staff supported the Ministry for Primary Industries and NIWA’s Marine Invasives Taxonomic Service (MITS) to provide a free training workshop to help our communities recognise marine pests in and around Northland. The workshop was well attended by hāpu members and kaitiaki, vessel cleaning facility staff, Experiencing Marine Reserves charity staff, mooring contractors and other council staff involved in biosecurity or coastal work. These communities and organisations are an important part of Northland’s surveillance network and keeping them informed of marine pests and what to look out for is a key component of the marine biosecurity engagement program.

Paihia marine pest identification workshop (clockwise from left) 1. Workshop participants check out the displays. 2. Members of Patuharakeke Te Iwi attending the workshop. 3. An eye-catching pest crab display.

rivers

Long Term Plan Projects

Rivers	Comments
Awanui	The Southern Spillways project is approximately 80% completed. Phase 1 of the lower Whangatane Spillway work is completed. Preliminary work for Allan Bell Park is underway. Church Road Rock Stabilisation is 40% complete and Allen Bell Park scheduled to start early April.
Kerikeri-Waipapa	Consent has been granted and we currently investigating the synergies of combining this this work with an existing NZTA Maritime Lane Bridge work.
Matangirau	Key landowners downstream of the bridge have agreed to works. We are now focused to complete this phase of the work this season.
Otiria / Moerewa	Geotechnical testing for the pre-feasibility showed no fatal flaws.
Kawakawa	Sensitivity modelling showed 10-year protection and 50-year reduced velocities and levels. In-house surveying has been completed to allow cost estimating and the team will be meeting with the landowners to discuss options.
Kāeo	Mulching and digger work are underway in the Kāeo catchment.

NATURAL HAZARDS

Work Streams	Status	Comments
Coastal erosion hazard mapping	100% complete	Maps being prepared for publication
Coastal erosion research	Phase 2 underway	Analysis underway with publication of results due mid-2021
Region-wide coastal flood mapping	100% complete	Maps being prepared for publication
Region-wide river flood mapping	85% complete	FNDC and WDC maps received; Kaipara district models in progress
Whangārei river flood model	In progress	Upgrade of model including new structures, updated LiDAR and sea level rise values and recalibration. Initial draft outcomes expected at the end of May 2021.
Whangārei Inner Harbour Hydrodynamic Model	In Progress	Detailed, site specific. upgrade of the current coastal inundation model. Data is being collated with a draft outcome (maps and report) by the end of May / beginning of June 2021.
Public release of new coastal hazard maps	Under way	Publication of draft maps to NRC website 14 April 2021 with letters to all affected landowners. First media release late March.

Climate Change Response

Work Streams	Status	Comments
NRC Climate Change Strategy	Draft	Draft strategy going to MTAG and TTMAC in April
Climate Adaptation Te Taitokerau - Adaptation Strategy	In development	Strategy and supplementary reports all due by August 2021
Joint Standing Committee on Climate Change Adaptation	Planning	Inaugural meeting 12 April at NRC

Northland Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR)

The team is working with LINZ and the contractor on the final deliverables.

MĀORI ENGAGEMENT

Ko te manu e kai ana i te miro nōnā te ngahere, Ko te manu e kai ana i te mātauranga nōnā te ao

Ÿ Working with Policy team on a regional tangata whenua engagement plan for Te Mana o Te Wai as there have been requests from a number of hapū and iwi on how council will take into account the principles of Te Mana o Te Wai

Ÿ Gathering comprehensive data for the tangata whenua values to support the Outstanding Natural Landscapes review to assist having accessible and relevant information for council decision making as this is directly connected to our GIS project to build and update information pertaining to tangata whenua layers

Ÿ Collaboration with the GIS and Resource consents team on a shared project to enhance staff’s ability to identify tangata whenua areas of interests and understand the overlapping boundaries of marae, whānau, hapū and iwi.

Ÿ Better involvement of tangata whenua in resource consents and development of a guideline in process and working with Māori Technical Advisory Group on the development of a resource consents guidelines and requirements for a Cultural Impact Assessment to consider how we can facilitate better involvement of tangata whenua in council processes and subsequent decision making.

Ÿ Long Term Plan and commencement of high-level planning for treaty audit and health check for council’s performance against key legislative requirements including other proposals and supported the public consultations in council, Otiria, Dargaville, Kaitāia and Kerikeri.

Ÿ Collaborating with our environmental science team on State of Environmental monitoring network review and resourcing mātauranga Māori monitoring projects so we can have a more cohesive approach on how this data is collated and influences strategy and policies of council.

Ÿ A critical component to the success of this programme is to work with our environmental monitoring teams to understand the capacity of our staff to support and sustain the projects identified in collaboration with iwi and hapū partners. Two joint monitoring projects are currently being conducted in partnership with Patuharakeke and Te Uri o Hau and others to be identified will assist our competency in these joint programmes to build capacity of hapū and iwi

Ÿ Working closely with HR in regard to a policy or strategies on how we are able to value and acknowledge the skills that our Māori workforce bring to council. This includes the consideration of three important components classified as:

1. Supporting council Māori workforce

2. Supporting Managers as supervisors

3. Council is an attractive place for Māori to work

Ÿ The Kaiarahi Tikanga Māori has provided cultural advice and guidance in the key activities listed below:

Ÿ Supporting CDEM Team with creating Iwi engagement and response guidelines

Ÿ Nearing completion of all Te Whāriki Level 1 Workshop for entire organisation

Ÿ Finalising roll out of Te Whāriki Level 2 Workshop

Ÿ Represented council at the Te Taitokerau Māori Business Awards

Ÿ Met with the Whenua Māori Te Taitokerau Expo steering group including all councils, Te Puni Kokiri, Department of Internal Affairs and Māori Land Court

Ÿ Ongoing support for Property Management Team to partner with iwi and hapū to keep them updated as to the property developments; Kensington Plaza, Kaipara Building and Hannah Street


Otiria Rugby Club for Long Term Plan Consultations, 25 March 2021

8.3.6 STRATEGY, Governance And Engagement

REGIONAL PLANNING

Proposed Regional Plan

Since the last update provided to council, staff have been working on preparing expert evidence on (Topic 5: water quality) which is scheduled for hearing on 4-7 May and Topic 8: agrichemicals (scheduled for hearing on 27-29 April).

Due to the high number of expert witnesses to be called in relation to the Fishing Controls/Marine Protected Areas appeals, the Court has allocated additional resources to manage the caseload with expert conferencing on key issues now scheduled between 1-18 June prior to the hearing (set down for three weeks in July-August), and additional Judge and Commissioner appointed to the hearing.

Staff have been working with parties to the appeals on Aquaculture to explore the implications of the National Environmental Standards-Marine Aquaculture which came into force on 1 December 2020. Negotiations are constructive and staff will provide further updates as discussions progress.

The Court has released its decision on biodiversity and SEAS (Topic 11) in part directing that additional SEAs are to be included in the PRP. The Court has also released its final decision on Topics 3 and 4: water allocation and quantity, with clear direction being given that the amended PRP provisions are considered as interim, that water harvesting is the priority and making water takes that will exceed allocation limits being prohibited.

The Environment Court has vacated the hearing time previously allocated for Vehicles on Beaches due to the implications of the definitions of wetlands within the CMA Environment Court decision which has now been appealed to the High Court.

NPS Freshwater Management – Proposed Plan Change

Due to the COVID restrictions last month, the visit by Chief Freshwater Commissioner, Professor Peter Skelton, has been re-scheduled for 13 April. He will meet with councillors and council staff to discuss the new Freshwater Hearings Panel and associated freshwater planning process.

On 17 March, NRC staff attended an on-line Upper North Island – Regional Council NPS Implementation workshop where councils shared their approach and progress with the implementation of the NPS-FM and explored opportunities for collaborating together. NRC staff also attended an on-line MfE Wetlands Mapping Proof of Concept Workshop on 24 March, which provided an update on progress with the development of a national wetland mapping methodology. MfE will be circulating a draft of NPS-FM/NES-F wetlands definitions interpretation guidance early next week for feedback.

The Tangata Whenua Water Advisory Group is working to finalise its Terms of Reference.

PLAN CHANGES

The Far North District Council has released its Draft District Plan for feedback (this is not a formal statutory process under Schedule 1 of the Resource management Act 1991 – this process is expected to start late 2021). Staff are assessing the Draft and developing feedback from a council perspective with input from the councillors in the Far North wards. While staff have delegated authority to lodge such submissions, an agenda item to the April council meeting will seek that the submission be approved by the Chair prior to being lodged. The submission will be reported to the following council meeting.

RESOURCE CONSENTS

Staff have submitted on a notified resource consent application for a subdivision to create 133 lots at Kapiro Road, Kerikeri. The submission highlighted the need for adequate on-site water storage (for potable water) given the lots are not able to connect to reticulated supply – the concern being that these properties will rely on tanker delivery sourced from the network during extended dry periods. The submission also highlighted that the site contains natural wetlands that are subject to the provisions of the National Environmental Standards for Freshwater 2020 (and resource consents are likely required from NRC for land disturbance and damming, diversion and discharge of water in relation to the wetlands). The submission states NRC wishes to be heard - a hearing has yet to be scheduled.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Investment and Growth Reserve – Projects Report

Project	Update	Future developments/ reporting
Extension 350	Attended evaluation review meeting	Continue to provide input into project evaluation work.
Manea Footprints of Kupe	Project completion report received.

Other Work Undertaken

Ÿ Joint economic development initiative – work through Northland Inc. director appointment process and collated comments of draft SOI.

Ÿ Northland Inc. draft SOI – gathered comments from TTMAC Economic Development Sub-Group.

Ÿ Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust – consideration of investment options, land purchase option ruled out, others progressing.

Ÿ Northland Economic Quarterly – March 2021 issue distributed and available online at https://www.nrc.govt.nz/resource-library-summary/newsletters/economic-quarterly/. The annual section focused on drivers of GDP growth in year ended March 2020 while the spotlight section provided an update on the immediate impact of COVID-19 on the Northland economy. The NEQ is now available through council’s eNewsletter service, sign-up at: www.nrc.govt.nz/enewsletters.

ONLINE CHANNELS

Highlights: The tsunami evacuation in Northland on 5 March contributed to increased visits to the website and overall reach of the Civil Defence Facebook page.

Most popular content on Facebook: An Enviroschools post on the first Project Pest Control course for 2021 in Kaipara. Students from Rangatahi, Otamatea and Ruawai secondary schools gained new knowledge and skills around trapping of animal pests. The post reached 3,140 people and engaged with 54 people on our page.

*Engaged – number of people who ‘reacted’, commented or shared the post

Key Performance Indicators	Nov-20	Dec-20	Jan-21	Feb 21	Mar-21
WEB
# Visits to the NRC website	30,400	32,213	36,300	40,200	77,800
E-payments made	5	7	6	12	0
# subscription customers (cumulative)	1,255	1,257	1,270	1,286	1,276
SOCIAL MEDIA (cumulative)
# Twitter followers	1,546	1,549	1,551	1,558	1,563
# NRC Facebook fans	10,065	10,144	10,200	10,200	10,300
# NRC Overall Facebook Reach	149,121	216,341	189,600	211,800	173,800
# NRC Engaged Daily Users	9,203	10,133	7,365	8,283	11,100
# CDEM Facebook fans	21,200	21,200	21,300	21,900	25,200
# CDEM Overall Facebook Reach	49,400	50,561	83,600	262,600	484,900
# CDEM Engaged Daily Users	2,570	3,123	14,800	34,100	53,700
# Instagram followers	1,284	1,315	1,320	1,330	1,337

NOTES:
Nov – increased in reach due to increase in post volume and extremely popular post on toxic seas slugs.
Mar– increase in visits to website and CDEM Facebook reach due to the tsunami evacuation 5 March

ENVIROSCHOOLS / EDUCATION

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Project Pest Control

On 11 and 12 March, the first Project Pest Control skills course for 2021 was held at Kai Iwi Lakes.

All three Kaipara secondary schools took part in the NCEA-based course centred on biosecurity and biodiversity, including setting traplines on a local farm.

Council’s Biosecurity and Enviroschools teams joined with CanTrain NZ and local industry representatives to deliver the training.

Triumphant trapper: Gene from Dargaville High School

Enviroschools Bronze Status

On 24 March, Te Kamo Kindergarten celebrated achieving the Enviroschools Bronze stage. The kindergarten is currently vegetable gardening, sorting waste, worm farming and carrying out road-side clean-ups. Their next steps include harvesting and storing rainwater, developing an orchard, chicken coop and a Pātaka Kai for the local community.

WaiFencing Workshops

Cr Rick Stolwerk attended one of two WaiFencing skills workshops held on 25 and 26 March on Donagh Farm in the Kaipara Catchment. Over 70 students, and their teachers, from nine secondary schools, learnt skills in fence construction, electric fencing and fence repair. Council’s Land Management Advisor gave a presentation regarding the necessity of fencing stock out of waterways and a local farmer shared what is happening on the farm to project biodiversity and water quality. The accompanying NCEA-based assessment workshops, on 6 and 7 May, will culminate in fencing off a waterway.

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Te Noho Taiao o Ngāpuhi

On 30 March, Biodiversity and Enviroschools staff led a ‘getting to know your awa day’ as part of Te Noho Taiao o Ngāpuhi at Moria Marae in Whirinaki. Fifty Ngapuhi rangatahi and accompanying adults enjoyed the interactive workshops covering: tuna (eels), ika (fish), water quality testing and amphibious plants.

School communities facilitated

During March, Enviroschools Facilitators held specific interactions with 45 schools and early child-hood communities.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

With consultation on our Long-Term Plan happening from mid-March to mid-April, our staff have been supporting the process by developing and designing consultation material, running a multi-channel promotional campaign (online and offline), and supporting face to face engagement events.

Our next rates brochure (which goes out with quarterly rates instalments) is due to hit mailboxes later in April. This brochure helps show the broad range of work that regional council rates support.

Tai Tokerau Māori Business Awards 2021

Northland Regional Council had the opportunity to once again sponsor the Excellence in Environmental Awareness and Management Award with Roof BOI Ltd announced as the 2021 winners. North Drill Ltd took out the overall 2021 Māori Business of the Year Award.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL INFORMATION (LGOIMA) REQUESTS

Total LGOIMAs	March 2019 / 2020	March 2020 / 2021
Total LGOIMAs	153	148
Number of LGOIMAs not responded to within 20 working days 2020/2021*		7

* REQ.606924 and REQ.606989 – These requests relate to the same subject and required a thorough response. The collation of all the information took longer than expected (Regulatory Services).

8.3.7 Customer Service – Community Resilience

TRANSPORT

Regional Transport Planning

Draft Regional Land Transport Plan 2021/2027 and Draft Regional Public Transport Plan 2021-2031

Consultation on the Draft Regional Land Transport Plan 2021/2027 and the Regional Public Transport Plan 2021/2031 was undertaken during the month of March. This included seven “Have your say” sessions around Northland. Whilst the attendance was low, the sessions themselves were well received with a number of positive comments made in regards to this method of consultation.

Submissions closed on 26 March 2021, with a total of forty-six submissions received. Staff have commenced tabulating all submissions received. On completion of the above, a report, containing all submissions and the Project Team’s recommendations will be compiled for consideration by the RTC elected representatives at a formal RTC Deliberations meeting scheduled for Tuesday 11 May 2021.

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 February 2021 (revenue ex GST)	Actual	Budget	Variance	Year/Date Actual	Year/Date Budgeted
CityLink Passengers	26,096	25,344	752	207,263	224,152
CityLink Revenue	$32,967	$34,214	-$1,248	$265,255	$302,605
Mid North Link Passengers	175	144	31	1328	1248
Mid North Link Revenue	$589	$720	-$131	$4,811	$6,240
Hokianga Link Passengers	108	72	36	857	624
Hokianga Link Revenue	$539	$501	$39	$4,402	$4,341
Far North Link Passengers	442	468	-26	2972	5009
Far North Link Revenue	$1,218	$1,403	-$184	$7,841	$12,075
Bream Bay Link Passengers	43	24	19	400	210
Bream Bay Link Revenue	$333	$86	$247	$2,663	$756
Hikurangi Link Passengers	33	48	-15	144	204
Hikurangi Link Revenue	$ 86	$125	-$39	$344	$530
Whangārei Heads Link Passengers	12	24	-12	56	102
Whangārei Heads Link Revenue	$57	$104	$47	$233	$443

Far North Link

A promotional campaign for the Far North Link commenced in March, with print advertising, digital advertising, and social media, plus a banner on the main street in Kaitaia. This is designed to increase awareness about the service in an effort to increase passenger numbers.

Staff are actively working with Waka Kotahi and the Far North District Council to have suitable bus stops with the relevant infrastructure built along these routes.

Hikurangi Link

Promotion work on this service continues with an insert of the timetable placed in the Hikurangi local newsletter sent to 830 locals. Posters with “take a day trip to Hikurangi” along with timetables have been distributed to in shops including those in the Kamo area. Social media messages have also been posted.

Whangārei Heads Link

This has involved on-going advertising in the Whangārei Head’s newsletter, posters created encouraging residents to catch the bus to town on Thursdays and increased social media messages.

Total Mobility

	Total Clients	Monthly Actual Expend	Monthly Budgeted Expend	Monthly Variance	Year/Date Actual Expend	Year/Date Budgeted Expend	Annual Variance
Feb 2021	1,505	$19,696	$25,000	-$5,304	$167,718	$167,718	-$32,282

ROAD SAFETY UPDATE

Road Trauma Update:

Fatalities this year	Far North	Whangārei	Kaipara	Northland	National
Local roads	1	0	1	2	39
State highways	3	1	1	5	35
TOTAL	4	1	2	7	74

2021 Year to Date Road Death Statistics:

· National = 74

· Northland = 7

Road Safety Delivery:

Motorcycle Safety - Ride Forever (R4E) Rider Training Update:

For the 2020/21 financial year ending June 2021, 126 riders have participated in the Ride Forever (R4E) rider training programme across Northland.

The breakdown included riders participating in the following courses totals 126: -

Ÿ Bronze course 38

Ÿ Silver course 46

Ÿ Gold course 42

Heavy Vehicle Operation - Truck Education and Health Stops

A Truck Education and Appreciation Stop was held on 24February 2021 at Uretiti, co-ordinated by National Road Carriers and partners.

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Road Safety Promotion/Media:

Road safety promotion work continues across media platforms supporting Police and partners with road safety promotion at events such as the Driver Reviver/Fatigue Stops and Truck Education and Health Stops with key messaging such as ‘RIDS’ – Restraints, Impairment, Distractions, Speed which continue to feature too frequently in our serious injury and fatal crashes.

Advertising themes in the Road Safety Advertising Calendar 2020/21 for the months of March and April are ‘Drugs, Distraction, Speed & Safe Vehicles’.

CUSTOMER SERVICES

Telephone inbound call statistic & enquiries

	March 2021	KPI
Call volumes via Customer Services	2,949
Conversion rate	96.5%	95%
Average wait time	6 sec
Calls answered in under 30 sec	94.8%	>90%

The tsunami alert on 5 March required the evacuation of the Whangārei service centre. Reduced phone service was maintained throughout the evacuation, with only two Customer Services Officers available until others were able to log in from home.

During a civil defence emergency, customer services operates independent of the emergency response team and over the five hours of the alert, 222 calls came through customer services with 187 receiving reassurance and advice from the customer services team. Almost all the unanswered calls were within the first 30 minutes of the event, after which time calls were answered with an average wait-time of 9 seconds.

Satisfaction monitoring

Ÿ Feedback cards, compliments and complaints

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

Compliments received	Total
Quality of information provided Ÿ Coastal Hazards	1
Overall service Ÿ Civil Defence	1
Service provided by a specific person/people Ÿ Consents – A Vivian and J Giles, J Giles, K McGuire (3) Ÿ Monitoring – A Philips and R Scott	4
Total compliments recorded	6

Complaints received	Total
Staff or contractor behaviour/attitude Ÿ Biodiversity Ÿ Monitoring	2
Disagree with decision or process Ÿ Bus – Citylink Ÿ Land Management Ÿ Monitoring Ÿ Policy and Planning	4
Lack of information or communication Ÿ Bus - Citylink Ÿ Policy and Planning	2
Issue has occurred repeatedly for me Ÿ Customer Services	1
Total complaints recorded	9

Ÿ Towards the end of 2020 the consent teams moved to a duty officer model for handling new enquiries and this is working well for customers, consents officers and for customer services. The team regularly receives positive feedback on their communication and efficiency.

Ÿ Of the two complaints received concerning staff behaviour, one was a misunderstanding by a member of public and the second was due to incorrect information being given to a landowner concerning a fly-tipping incident. In this second incident the property owner was contacted and accepted our apology. Unfortunately, we did not have the contact details to rectify the misunderstanding issue.

Ÿ The repeated issue complaint concerned the non-availability of a manual sign in sheet for COVID logging. Our system provides better privacy and quicker reporting. New signage has been added to provide guidance and the customer has been contacted.

Ÿ There have been two complaints and several negative comments regarding our on-line submissions process with submitters complaining they find it unnecessarily complex. When it was installed several options were investigated and at the time the current system provided the best functionality and value. As we received similar complaints previously, it may be time to revisit options for handling submissions.

Ÿ Resident Survey

Ÿ The 2021 survey period will open on the 9 April and will run through to 21 May using online and postal questionnaires. The report will be available in July.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

Kermadec earthquake and tsunami

A sequence of three major offshore earthquakes, including a magnitude 8.1 quake near the Kermadec Islands, triggered tsunami warnings and evacuations along the east coast of New Zealand on the morning of 5 March.

The Northland CDEM Group activated its tsunami siren network and provided public information through Facebook and the Emergency Mobile Alerting System advising communities to evacuate from coastal areas. A joint agency Emergency Operations Centre was established at Fire and Emergency New Zealand in Bank Street to coordinate the evacuations.

By early afternoon, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) lifted the evacuation order.

All three earthquakes happened along the Tonga Kermadec subduction zone, where the Pacific tectonic plate dives under and then sinks beneath the Australian plate. This subduction zone is the longest and deepest such system on Earth. It spans from just north of the East Cape, some 2,600km to the north-east in an almost straight line to south of Samoa.

A multi-agency debrief was held on 24 March where agency feedback was collated to identify individual agency and across agency learning and opportunities for improvement.

The Northland CDEM Group Joint Committee convened post the 5 March tsunami event and have also provided feedback into the process from their perspectives. Opportunities for improvement and findings from the debrief will be formed into an overall response report for the Northland CDEM Group Coordinating Executive Group and Joint Committee.

Any CDEM opportunities for improvement which will be actioned will be incorporated into the Northland CDEM Group staff work programmes. Agencies are responsible for their own improvement actions.

CDEM Group plan review.

The Northland CDEM Group Plan review is continuing and is on schedule. A multi-agency workshop to consider the plan content was held in late March and was attended by a wide cross section of agencies.

CDEM Group Forum 2021

The annual Northland CDEM Forum is scheduled to be held Wednesday 5 May, from 9 am – 1 pm, at Forum North. The Minister for Emergency Management has confirmed that she will be attending together with the National Controller and the newly appointed Deputy CEO of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

The forum is free to attend and is open to agencies, emergency services and interested members of the public. This is a great opportunity to connect, network and engage with partners, key stakeholders and agencies

Resilience Fund

NEMA have undertaken various reviews and restructures of the National Resilience Fund over the past decade. Deloitte have been engaged to do a comprehensive review of the fund. As a result, a new group has been convened to work with NEMA to review the report outcomes. The Northland CEG Chair has been co-opted onto the group and has had the opportunity to contribute to the ongoing review.

Applications for Funding for the current year, under the existing model and criteria, closed in the middle of January. The Northland CDEM Group submitted two applications, and in late February the group was advised that the fund was under subscribed.

An additional application for $250,000 to support the tsunami siren replacement programme was submitted, along with the two earlier applications - Resourcing to fund Iwi engagement $80,000 and Impact Assessment technology tool $30,000.

NEMA have now approved all three applications.

MARITIME

Thirteen incidents this month were logged and all small scale. One commercial incident between the cement vessel and a fishing vessel near miss is being investigated by Maritime NZ.

One superyacht piloted into the Bay of Islands this month.

A geo tech survey was completed in the Bay of Islands, Kerikeri inlet and a hydrographic survey was completed in the Hātea channel. Planning for this year’s dredging is underway for the Hātea and planning for the remaining pile mooring upgrades is also underway. The NRC survey equipment is now being well used for recreational area surveys and is working well.

Maritime signed a new contract to supply on-water services to service the aero beacons in the Whangārei Harbour.

The summer safety campaign in the far north is winding up after a successful trial of a summer safety ambassador based out of Ahipara. This was one of the key elements funded by Maritime NZ through the Fuel excise duty fund. The “Just add water” School water safety education program is ongoing with two schools completed.

The maritime team is two staff down, with recruiting now underway. The Ōpua maritime role is now closed and recruitment is almost complete.

Planning has commenced on the replacement vessel for the Waikare.

Work is ongoing to fill the gap that will be left by refining NZ staff made redundant, who were filling oil spill response positions for the region. We are working with Maritime NZ and Northport to fill the training gap.

A number of wrecks have been identified and staff are working through the legal process to deal with these.

Otherwise the usual repairs of Aids to Navigation, on-water services to other departments, and dealing with problem vessels is business as usual.

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Attachment 1: Kokiri ai Te Waka Hourua ⇩

[1] The RMA s. 35(2)(b) “Every local authority shall monitor… …the efficiency and effectiveness of policies, rules or other methods in its policy statement or its plan…” and s.35(2A) “Every local authority must, at intervals of not more than 5 years, compile and make available to the public a review of the results of its monitoring under subsection (2)(b).”

[2] Many regional councils have a poor track record with section 35(2)(b) reviews – see for example the report of the Office of the Attorney-General (paragraphs 3.60-3.75 https://oag.parliament.nz/2011/freshwater/part3.htm#reporting )

[4] The National Planning Standards came into force in November 2019 and council has three years to adopt the standards in the RPS and ten years for regional plans. https://www.mfe.govt.nz/rma/national-direction/national-planning-standards/implementing-first-set

No.	Option	Advantages	Disadvantages
1	Adopt the Investment Strategy	Council has a strategy outlining how it intends to manage its investments (including its commercial investment portfolio), and its borrowings and other liabilities.	Nil
2	Do not adopt the Investment Strategy	Nil	Lack of clarity for how council intends to manage its investments (including its commercial investment portfolio), and its borrowings and other liabilities.

No.	Option	Advantages	Disadvantages
1	Council initiates five-year review of the RPS immediately	Complies with requirements of RMA s. 35(2A).	Diverts limited staff resources from higher priority matters. RPS may have limited life expectancy given RMA reforms already underway resulting in wasted effort.
2	Council decides to delay the RPS five-year review indefinitely	Frees up staff resource to address more pressing planning matters. Removes risk of expending effort unnecessarily.	Does not meet council’s obligations under s.35(2A). Increased risk of criticism to council for failing to meet its obligations. RPS may remain relevant and the work would be required in future anyway.
3	Council decides to delay the RPS five-year review for a limited period and reviews the decision	Frees up staff resource to address more pressing planning matters in the short term. Reduces risk of expending effort unnecessarily. Still allows for RPS review in future if deemed relevant.	Minor risk of criticism to council for failing to meet its obligations.

No.	Option	Advantages	Disadvantages
1	Delegate authority to the Chair to make a submission to the FNDC draft District Plan	Allows for feedback from council to be provided to FNDC in a timely manner. Maximises the opportunities for the two councils to work collaboratively to ensure a better plan for the Far North that meets the challenges ahead.	None.
2	Do not delegate authority to the Chair to make a submission to the FNDC draft District Plan and seek further extension from FNDC	Allows for feedback from council to be provided to FNDC. Maximises the opportunities for the two councils to work collaboratively to ensure a better plan for the Far North that meets the challenges ahead.	Does not enable council to provide feedback to FNDC within its consultation timeframes.
3	Do not make a submission to the FNDC draft District Plan	None.	Does not demonstrate a collaborative working relationship. Would not provide any guidance to FNDC on issues of council until formal plan process is entered.

No.	Option	Advantages	Disadvantages
1	Provide a response to Northland Inc. Limited on its draft SOI	Council clearly conveys its expectations to its council-controlled organisation for the next three years.	None
2	Don’t provide a response	None	An opportunity for council to provide input and direction to its council-controlled organisation is missed.

No.	Option	Advantages	Disadvantages
1	Adopt the process	Clarity on who will be involved in the recruitment process and their responsibilities and clarity on those who will be advisors.	Nil
2	Do not adopt the process	Nil	Lack of clarity on who will be involved in the recruitment process and their responsibilities and clarity on those who will be advisors.

TITLE:	Confirmation of Minutes - Extraordinary Council Meeting held on 9 March 2021 and Council Meeting held on 16 March 2021
ID:	A1430766
From:	Chris Taylor, Governance Support Manager
Authorised by Group Manager:	Chris Taylor, Governance Support Manager, on 13 April 2021

TITLE:	Financial Report to 31 March 2021
ID:	A1431711
From:	Vincent McColl, Financial Accountant

TITLE:	Investment Strategy
ID:	A1431916
From:	Bruce Howse, Group Manager - Corporate Excellence
Authorised by Group Manager:	Bruce Howse, Group Manager - Corporate Excellence, on 07 April 2021

TITLE:	Regional Policy Statement 5-Year Review
ID:	A1428093
From:	Alison Newell, Natural Resources Policy Manager
Authorised by Group Manager:	Ben Lee, GM - Strategy, Governance and Engagement, on 13 April 2021

TITLE:	Far North Draft District Plan
ID:	A1428242
From:	Alison Newell, Natural Resources Policy Manager
Authorised by Group Manager:	Ben Lee, GM - Strategy, Governance and Engagement, on 13 April 2021

TITLE:	Te Pēwhairangi Marine Mammal Sanctuary Proposal
ID:	A1428463
From:	Alison Newell, Natural Resources Policy Manager
Authorised by Group Manager:	Ben Lee, GM - Strategy, Governance and Engagement, on 13 April 2021

TITLE:	Tangata Whenua Water Advisory Group Meeting Schedule
ID:	A1430891
From:	Alison Newell, Natural Resources Policy Manager
Authorised by Group Manager:	Ben Lee, GM - Strategy, Governance and Engagement, on 13 April 2021

TITLE:	Northland Inc. Limited: Draft Statement of Intent 2021-2024
ID:	A1431358
From:	Emmanouela Galanou, Economic Policy Advisor and Darryl Jones, Economist
Authorised by Group Manager:	Ben Lee, GM - Strategy, Governance and Engagement, on 13 April 2021

TITLE:	Regional Software Holdings Limited - Reporting and 2022-2024 Statement of Intent
ID:	A1421215
From:	Carol Cottam, Information Services and Technology Manager
Authorised by Group Manager:	Bruce Howse, Group Manager - Corporate Excellence, on 13 April 2021

TITLE:	Process to Appoint Chief Executive Officer
ID:	A1432951
From:	Beryl Steele, Human Resources Manager
Authorised by Group Manager:	Bruce Howse, Group Manager - Corporate Excellence, on 12 April 2021

Date	Addressed To	Subject
01.03.21	Hon Dr David Clark, Minister of Statistics Hon Nanaia Mahuta, Minister of Local Government Hon Jan Tinetti, Minister of Internal Affairs	2020 Meshblock population data
17.03.21	John Neison Rangitane Residents’ Association Inc.	Rangitane maritime facilities development
26.03.21	Margaret Hicks	‘Have Your Say’ consultations

TITLE:	Local Government New Zealand Remit
ID:	A1432266
From:	Jim Lyle, Regional Harbourmaster and Chris Taylor, Governance Support Manager
Authorised by Group Manager:	Ben Lee, GM - Strategy, Governance and Engagement, on 13 April 2021

TITLE:	Health and Safety Report
ID:	A1429361
From:	Kelcie Mills, Health and Safety Advisor
Authorised by Group Manager:	Bruce Howse, Group Manager - Corporate Excellence, on 13 April 2021

TITLE:	Chair's Report to Council
ID:	A1430449
From:	Penny Smart, Chair
Authorised by Group Manager:	Penny Smart, Chair, on 13 April 2021

TITLE:	Northland Inc. Limited: Second Quarter 2020/21 Reporting Against Statement of Intent 2020-2023
ID:	A1431258
From:	Darryl Jones, Economist and Simon Crabb, Finance Manager
Authorised by Group Manager:	Ben Lee, GM - Strategy, Governance and Engagement, on 13 April 2021

TITLE:	Receipt of Committee Minutes
ID:	A1430259
From:	Chris Taylor, Governance Support Manager
Authorised by Group Manager:	Chris Taylor, Governance Support Manager, on 13 April 2021

TITLE:	Working Party Updates and Chairpersons' Briefings
ID:	A1427751
From:	Sally Bowron, Strategy, Governance and Engagement Team Admin/PA
Authorised by Group Manager:	Ben Lee, GM - Strategy, Governance and Engagement, on date 13 April 2021

Item No.	Item Issue	Reasons/Grounds
10.1	Confirmation of Confidential Minutes - 16 March 2021	The public conduct of the proceedings would be likely to result in disclosure of information, as stated in the open section of the meeting
10.2	Receipt of Confidential Committee Minutes	The public conduct of the proceedings would be likely to result in disclosure of information, as stated in the open section of the meeting.
10.3	Working Party Updates and Chairpersons' Briefing	The public conduct of the proceedings would be likely to result in disclosure of information, as stated in the open section of the meeting.
10.4	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).
10.5	Northland Inc. Limited: Appointment of Directors	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).
10.6	Unbudgeted Expenditure for the Enterprise System	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 on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations) s7(2)(i).