Council

Tuesday 21 September 2021 at 10.30am

 

 

AGENDA

 


Council Meeting

21 September 2021

Northland Regional Council Agenda

 

Meeting to be held in the Council Chamber

36 Water Street, Whangārei

on Tuesday 21 September 2021, commencing at 10.30am

 

Recommendations contained in the council agenda are NOT council decisions. Please refer to council minutes for resolutions.

 

RĪMITI (Item)                                                                                                                                                                 Page

1.0       Ngā Mahi Whakapai (Housekeeping)

Key Health and Safety points to note:

·         If the fire alarm goes off – exit down the stairwell to the assembly point which is the visitor carpark.

·         Earthquakes – drop, cover and hold

·         Visitors please make sure you have signed in at reception, and that you sign out when you leave. Please wear your name sticker.

·         The toilets are on the opposite side of the stairwell.

2.0       Karakia Timatanga – Tauāki ā roto (Opening karakia)

3.0       Ngā Whakapahā (apologies)

4.0       Ngā Whakapuakanga (DECLARATIONS OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST)

5.0       Ngā Whakaae Miniti me te Mahere Mahi (Council Minutes and Action Sheet)

5.1       Confirmation of Minutes - 17 August 2021                                                                                        6

5.2       Receipt of Action Sheet                                                                                                                          16

6.0       Ngā Ripoata Putea (Financial Reports)

6.1       Financial Report to 31 August 2021                                                                                                   18

7.0       Ngā Take (Decision Making Matters)

7.1       Council Input to Government Proposals                                                                                           22

7.2       Taumarere River Working Group                                                                                                        29

7.3       Regional Sporting Facilities Rate Allocation for 2021-2024                                                       33

8.0       Ngā Ripoata Mahi (Operational Reports)

8.1       Health and Safety Report                                                                                                                       44

8.2       Chair's Report to Council                                                                                                                        48

8.3       Chief Executive’s Report to Council                                                                                                    50

8.4       2020/21 Northland Transport Agency - Transportation Activity Update                             77

9.0       Receipt of Committee Minutes and Working Party/Group Updates

9.1       Receipt of Committee Minutes                                                                                                          103

9.2       Working Party Updates and Chairpersons' Briefings                                                                 112

9.3       River Working Group Updates                                                                                                           114

10.0    Kaupapa ā Roto (Business with the Public Excluded)                                                           116

10.1    Confirmation of Minutes - Confidential Council Meeting Minutes 17 August 2021

10.2    Human Resources Report

10.3    Introduction of a New Fund Manager into the Long-Term Fund Investment Fund

10.4    Purchase of a Whangārei CBD Property

10.5    Rent Relief for Council's Investment Property Tenants Under 'No Access in Emergency' Conditions   


 

ACC - Accident Compensation Corporation

ALGIM - Association of Local Government Information Management

AMA - Aquaculture Management Area

AMP - Asset Management Plan/Activity Management Plan

AP - Annual Plan

BOI - Bay of Islands

BOPRC - Bay of Plenty Regional Council

CAPEX - Capital Expenditure (budget to purchase assets)

CBEC - Community, Business and Environment Centre

CCO – Council Controlled Organisation

CCTO – Council Controlled Trading Organisation

CDEM - Civil Defence Emergency Management

CEEF – Chief Executives Environment Forum

CEG - Co-ordinating Executive Group

CEO - Chief Executive Officer

CIMS - Co-ordinated Incident Management System (emergency management structure)

CMA - Coastal Marine Area

CPCA - Community Pest Control Areas

CRI - Crown Research Institute

DHB - District Health Board 

DOC - Department of Conservation

DP – District Plan

E350 – Extension 350 programme

ECA - Environmental Curriculum Award

ECAN - Environment Canterbury

EECA - Energy Efficiency Conservation Authority

EF - Environment Fund

EMA - Employers and Manufacturers Association

EOC - Emergency Operations Centre

EPA - Environmental Protection Authority

ETS - Emissions Trading Scheme

FDE - Farm Dairy Effluent

FNDC - Far North District Council

FNHL - Far North Holdings Limited

FPP - First Past the Post

GE - Genetic Engineering

GIS - Geographic Information System

GMO - Genetically Modified Organism

HBRC - Hawke's Bay Regional Council

HEMP - Hapū Environmental Management Plan

Horizons - Brand name of Manawatu-Wanganui Regional Council

HR - Human Resources

HSNO - Hazardous Substances & New Organisms Act 

HSWA - Health and Safety at Work Act 2015

IEMP - Iwi Environmental Management Plan

ILGACE - Iwi and Local Government Chief Executives Forum

IPPC - Invited Private Plan Change

IRIS - Integrated Regional Information System

KDC - Kaipara District Council 

KPI - Key Performance Indicator

LAWA – Land, Air, Water Aotearoa

LEA - Local Electoral Act 2001

LGA - Local Government Act 2002

LGNZ - Local Government New Zealand

LGOIMA - Local Government Official Information & Meetings Act 1987

LIDAR – Light detection and ranging

LTI – Long time injury

LTP - Long Term Plan

MBIE – Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment

MFE - Ministry for the Environment

MFL – Māori Freehold Land 

MHWS - Mean High Water Springs

MMH - Marsden Maritime Holdings Limited

MNZ - Maritime New Zealand

MOH - Ministry of Health

MOT - Ministry of Transport

MPI - Ministry for Primary Industries

MSD - Ministry of Social Development

NCMC - National Crisis Management Centre

NDHB - Northland District Health Board

NEMA – National Emergency Management Agency

NES - National Environmental Standards

NFT – Northland Forward Together

NGO - Non-Governmental Organisation

NIF - Northland Intersectoral Forum

NINC - Northland Inc. Limited

NIWA - National Institute of Water and Atmosphere

NORTEG - Northland Technical Advisory Group

NPS - National Policy Statement

NZCPS - New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement

NZRC - New Zealand Refining Company (Marsden Point)

NZTA – Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency

NZTE - New Zealand Trade and Enterprise

NZWWA - New Zealand Water and Wastes Association

OFI - Opportunity for Improvement\

OPEX – Operating Expenditures

OSH - Occupational Safety & Health

OTS – Office of Treaty Settlements

PCBU - Person Conducting Business or Undertaking

PGF – Provincial Growth Fund

PPE - Personal Protective Equipment

RAP - Response Action Plan

RBI - Regional Broadband Initiative

RCP - Regional Coastal Plan

RFI - Request for Information

RFP - Request for Proposal

RLTP - Regional Land Transport Plan

RMA - Resource Management Act 1991

RMG - Resource Managers Group (Regional Councils)

RMZ - Riparian Management Zone

ROI - Return on Investment

RP – Regional Plan

RPMP - Regional Pest Management Plan

RPMS - Regional Pest Management Strategy

RPS - Regional Policy Statement

RPTP – Regional Public Transport Plan

RRSAP – Regional Road Safety Action Plan

RSG – Regional Sector Group

RSHL - Regional Software Holdings Ltd

RTC - Regional Transport Committee

RTO - Regional Tourism Organisation

SIG – Special Interest Group

SIPO - Statement of Investment Policy and Objectives

SITREP - Situation Report

SOE - State of Environment (or) State Owned Enterprise

SOI – Statement of Intent

SOLGM - Society of Local Government Managers

STV - Single Transferable Vote

TAG - Technical Advisory Group

Tier 1 - Site level plan or response for an oil spill

Tier 2 - Regional level plan or response to an oil spill

Tier 3 - National level plan or response to an oil spill

TLA - Territorial Local Authority – City & District Councils

TON – Top of the North (regions)

TTMAC – Te Taitokerau Māori and Council Working Party

TTNEAP – Tai Tokerau Northland Economic Action Plan

TMP - Treasury Management Plan

TOR - Terms of Reference

TPK - Te Puni Kōkiri (Ministry of Maori Development)

TUANZ - Telecommunications Users Association of NZ

UNISA - Upper North Island Strategic Alliance

WDC - Whangarei District Council

WHHIF - Whangarei Harbour Health Improvement Fund

WRC - Waikato Regional Council

WSMP - Workplace Safety Management Practices

 

 

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Council Meeting                                                                                                                                                         item: 5.1

21 September 2021

 

TITLE:

Confirmation of Minutes - 17 August 2021

From:

Chris Taylor, Governance Specialist

Authorised by Group Manager/s:

Chris Taylor, Governance Specialist, on 15 September 2021

 

Ngā mahi tūtohutia / Recommendation

That the minutes of the council meeting held on 17 August 2021 be confirmed as a true and correct record.

 

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Attachment 1: Council Meeting Minutes 17 August 2021   


Council Meeting  ITEM: 5.1

21 September 2021Attachment 1

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Council Meeting                                                                                                                                                         item: 5.2

21 September 2021

 

TITLE:

Receipt of Action Sheet

From:

Chris Taylor, Governance Specialist

Authorised by:

Chris Taylor, Governance Specialist, on 15 September 2021

 

Whakarāpopototanga / Executive summary

The purpose of this report is to enable the meeting to receive the current action sheet.

 

Nga mahi tutohutia / Recommendation

That the action sheet be received.

 

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Attachment 1: Council Action Sheet - September 2021   


Council Meeting  ITEM: 5.2

21 September 2021Attachment 1

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Council Meeting                                                                                                                                                                                             item: 6.1

21 September 2021

 

TITLE:

Financial Report to 31 August 2021

From:

Vincent McColl, Financial Accountant

Authorised by Group Manager/s:

Bruce Howse, Pou Taumatua – Group Manager Corporate Services, on 15 September 2021

 

Whakarāpopototanga / Executive summary

This report is to inform council of the year to date (YTD) financial result to August 2021.  Council has achieved a YTD surplus after transfers to and from reserves of $3.17M, which is $53K favourable to budget.

 

Ngā mahi tūtohutia / Recommendation

That the report ‘Financial Report to 31 August 2021’ by Vincent McColl, Financial Accountant and dated 7 September 2021, be received.

 

Background/Tuhinga

    


 

 

Revenue

Year to date revenue is $11.19M, which is ($131K) or (1.2%) below budget.

 

Marsden Maritime Holdings Limited declared a fully imputed dividend of 11.25 cents per share to be paid on 24 September 2021.  This will be recognised in the September accounts and will be in line with budget.


Expenditure

Year to date expenditure is $7.06M, which is $344K or 4.7% below budget.  Please note that the table below does not yet reflect the new organisational structure.

 


Council Meeting                                                                                                                                                         item: 6.1

21 September 2021

Salary Variances

Across council there is a $233K favourable salaries variance predominantly due to the time to complete recruitment of positions identified in the LTP and some vacancies already present at the end of 2020/21.

 

Transfers to reserves

For the year to date there has been a net transfer to reserves of $969K compared to a budgeted net transfer to reserves of $808K.  This is predominantly due to:

Ÿ $44K more than budgeted transfers to river reserves due to lower than budgeted YTD expenditure.

Ÿ $30K more than budgeted transfers to bus reserves due to lower than budgeted YTD expenditure.

 

Capital Expenditure

Capital expenditure of $405K is higher than the YTD budget of $288K due to floodwork expenditure occurring sooner than budgeted.

 

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Nil


Council Meeting                                                                                                                                                         item: 7.1

21 September 2021

 

TITLE:

Council Input to Government Proposals

From:

Ingrid Kuindersma, Policy Planner

Authorised by Group Manager/s:

Ben Lee, GM - Strategy, Governance and Engagement, on 15 September 2021

 

Executive summary/Whakarāpopototanga

There are a plethora of documents coming out of central government seeking feedback covering various major policy and legislative reforms including biodiversity, climate change, resource management reform, local government reform to name a few.  Over the next 18 months consultation documents will include exposure drafts on new legislation, national policy statements and regulations - the majority cover matters with major implications for council.  Consultation timeframes on these proposals are likely to be tight, meaning the council process for making submissions is likely to require flexibility.  The government programme also provides an opportunity to collaborate with tangata whenua on submissions through Te Taitokerau Māori and Council Working Party (TTMAC) to maximise synergies and better represent Northland interests.

This issue was considered by the Planning and Regulatory Working Party at its August meeting – the working party advice was that the government proposals are likely to be of significant interest to council as a whole, that workshops should be held to inform submissions where timeframes prevent formal consideration. It also recommended seeking input from TTMAC.

The current delegation is as follows:

Full (formal) council approval is required for all submissions that are deemed to be politically significant.  However, in the event timeframes are such that formal approval cannot be sought then the Executive Leadership Team may lodge a submission on behalf of council provided a draft is circulated to elected members for comment and the submission is retrospectively approved by council at the next council meeting. 

Three options are presented which all provide for alternative delegations to approve submissions where timeframes do not allow for the submission to be formally approved by council.  The third option also includes involving TTMAC in the process.  The preferred option is the same as the above delegation, but instead of the Executive Leadership Team, the submission is lodged by the Chair and the Chair of the relevant Working Party. 

In addition, a recommendation for delegated authority to the Acting GM Strategy, Governance and Engagement to lodge a submission on the Kaipara District Plan discussion documents is also included.

Recommendation(s)

1.         That the report ‘Council Input to Government Proposals’ by Ingrid Kuindersma, Policy Planner and dated 1 September 2021, be received.

2.         That council delegates authority to the Chair and the Chair of the relevant Working Party to approve the content and authorise the lodging of submissions, on behalf of council where timeframes preclude formal council approval being sought provided a draft is circulated to elected members for comment and the submission is retrospectively approved by council at the next council meeting, on the following central Government matters:

·    Essential freshwater package

·    Climate change adaption and emissions reduction

·    National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity

·    Resource management reforms

·    Local government reforms

·    National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land

3.         That council approve staff seeking advice from TTMAC on how to obtain their input into submissions on the matters set out in recommendation 2.

4.         That council delegates authority to the Acting Group Manager - Governance and Engagement to authorise lodging of feedback on the Kaipara draft District Plan discussion documents on behalf of council.

 

Options

 

No.

Option

Advantages

Disadvantages

1

Status quo - in the event timeframes are such that formal approval cannot be sought then the Executive Leadership Team may lodge a submission on behalf of council provided a draft is circulated to elected members for comment and the submission is retrospectively approved by council at the next council meeting

Most streamlined option.

May limit TTMAC input – only possible when timeframes allow (TTMAC meet every two months) 

Contrary to Planning and Regulatory Working Party advice.

2

Same as option 1 except the Chair and the Chair of the relevant working party can lodge the submission (instead of the Executive Leadership Team)

Provides greater confidence (than option 1) that submissions on the significant matters align with the views of elected members

Will limit TTMAC input – only possible when timeframes allow (TTMAC meet every two months).  Contrary to Planning and Regulatory Working Party advice.

3

Same as option 2, but TTMAC invited to have input into submissions on proposals of interest

Provides greater confidence (than option 1) that submissions on the significant matters align with the views of elected members.

Provides greater opportunity for TTMAC input.

Aligns with Planning and Regulatory Working Party advice.

Places additional workload on TTMAC (pending advice).

Least streamlined option

 

Option 3 is the preferred option.

Considerations

1.         Environmental Impact

The process used to develop council submissions and the lodgement of submissions is not considered to have environmental impacts.  This decision will have no impact on the ability of council or the region to respond to the impacts of climate change now or in the future.

2.         Community views

Communities in Northland are likely to have an interest in the matters but the council decision on how council processes to approve submissions does not materially affect them. Communities and interested parties also have the opportunity to lodge submissions on the various government documents representing their own views.

3.         Māori impact statement

This report relates to a council administrative matter and therefore does not have a direct or material impact on Māori.  The government proposals are likely to be of interest to Māori and the recommendations provide for input into council submissions. 

4.         Financial implications

There are no financial implications associated with the decision on whether or not to delegate authority to approve content and authorise lodgement of submissions. There are potential financial implications regarding the role of TTMAC which will be considered by council once TTMAC has provided its recommendations.

5.         Implementation issues

There are no implementation issues associated with this decision.

 

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 because it 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 decisions relating to this matter without undertaking further consultation or engagement.

7.         Policy, risk management and legislative compliance

 There are no policies or legislative compliance issues and there are no significant risks associated with the decision being made. Council has legal authority to delegate functions for the lodging of submissions on its behalf.

Background/Tuhinga

The government has announced a number of major changes to the planning and regulatory framework including the replacement of the Resource Management Act with the Natural and Built Environments Act, the Strategic Planning Act and the Climate Change Adaptation Act and Local Government reform, as well as forthcoming national policy statements on indigenous biodiversity and productive soils to name a few.  These proposals will generally have significant impacts on council. 

Much of the consultation on these planning reforms are scheduled within the next 18 months and an overview is included in Attachment 1.

The exact nature of all the individual components are as yet unknown and the timing of the release of specific documents for consultation with tāngata whenua, council and other stakeholders is subject to change.  The current delegations for making submissions, on the types of matters as set out in recommendation two, are set out in the following table.  The underlined is the relevant delegation for these matters.

Section

Summary of function delegated

Delegate

Notes

N/A 

To make submissions on behalf of council 

The Executive Leadership Team 

·    The Executive Leadership Team is delegated authority to lodge submissions on behalf of the Northland Regional Council provided the subject of the submission is deemed to have low political significance and/or is of an operational nature.  The submission must be circulated to elected members prior to lodging.  The submission also to be listed in the next Chief Executive’s Report to council. 

 

·    Full (formal) council approval is required for all submissions that are deemed to be politically significant.  However, in the event timeframes are such that formal approval cannot be sought then the Executive Leadership Team may lodge a submission on behalf of council provided a draft is circulated to elected members for comment and the submission is retrospectively approved by council at the next council meeting. 

 

·    For the avoidance of doubt this does not supercede existing delegations for specific council officers to lodge submissions under explicit sections of the Resource Management Act 1991, the Building Act 2004 and the Crown Minerals Act 1991 

 

At its 25 August meeting the Planning and Regulatory Working Party endorsed:

·    prioritising the vast majority of matters under reform (particularly biodiversity, climate change, freshwater and RMA and Local Government reforms);

·    a high level of engagement with council (e.g. through using workshops) before finalising submissions; and

·    seeking input from TTMAC.

Feedback from TTMAC members at that meeting supported a collaborative approach which enabled synergies to be maximised, both providing opportunity for tangata whenua to provide advice to council as well as council being able to share its submissions to help inform tangata whenua feedback to the government.  If council adopts the recommendations, a paper will be presented to the October TTMAC meeting seeking recommendations on the most appropriate means to enable TTMAC input when timeframes are restrictive for further consideration by council.

Three options have been suggested as potential means of resolving the challenge of enabling council input when timeframes for submissions are tight and providing confidence that submissions on the significant matters align with the views of elected members.  The options vary in terms of the degree of council and TTMAC input to draft submissions and who authority is delegated to.

In addition, specific delegation is also sought for authority for the Acting GM Strategy, Governance and Engagement to lodge feedback on the discussion documents regarding the draft District Plan released by Kaipara District Council.  These discussion documents are an early non-statutory step in the development of a new Kaipara District Plan – council feedback is therefore not a formal submission under the Resource Management Act 1991.  A draft of the feedback will be discussed in a council workshop prior to being sent to the Kaipara District Council.

 

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Attachment 1: 2021 Schedule of upcoming legislative changes   


Council Meeting  ITEM: 7.1

21 September 2021Attachment 1

Timeline

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Council Meeting                                                                                                                                                         item: 7.2

21 September 2021

 

TITLE:

Taumarere River Working Group

From:

Joseph Camuso, Rivers & Natural Hazards Manager and Matt Jolly, River Management Officer

Authorised by Group Manager/s:

Jonathan Gibbard, Poutiaki Taiao - Group Manager Natural Resources, on 07 September 2021

 

Executive summary/Whakarāpopototanga

This paper seeks council approval for the appointment to three new members onto the Taumarere River Working Group.

 

Recommendation(s)

1.         That the report ‘Taumarere River Working Group ’ by Joseph Camuso, Rivers & Natural Hazards Manager and Matt Jolly, River Management Officer and dated 6 September 2021, be received.

2.         That the following Taumarere River Working Group nominees be approved by council:

·        Tangata whenua representative, Riki Ngakoti;

·        Waiomio representative, Nisha Marsh; and

·        Maromaku representative, Paul Tipene.

 

Options

During the last Taumarere River Working Group meeting, the working group resolved to support and recommend to council the appointment of the following new members onto the working group:

·   Tangata whenua representative, Riki Ngakoti;

·   Waiomio representative, Nisha Marsh; and

·   Maromaku representative, Paul Tipene.

 

No.

Option

Advantages

Disadvantages

1

Approve three new members onto the Taumarere River Working Group

Fills existing vacant positions on the Taumarere River Working Group.

The nominees have been endorsed by the working group and their respective marae.

No perceived disadvantages.

 

2

Do not approve the appointment of three new members onto the Taumarere Working Group

No perceived advantages.

Existing vacant positions on the Taumarere River Working Group will remain vacant.

 

 

The staff’s recommended option is Option 1. 

 

Considerations

1.         Environmental impact

Given this is largely an administrative matter there are no direct environmental impacts envisaged.

2.         Community views

The new members proposed to join the Taumarere River Working Group have been endorsed by the River Working Group and respective marae committee.

3.         Māori impact statement

This will give more Māori representation on the Taumarere River Working Group for positions that have been vacant for some time. 

4.         Financial implications

There are no envisaged additional financial implications as a result of these decisions.

5.         Implementation issues

There are no envisaged implementation issues arising as a result of these decisions.

 

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 because it has previously been consulted on and provided for in council’s Long-Term Plan and/or 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 decisions relating to this matter without undertaking further consultation or engagement.

7.         Policy, risk management and legislative compliance

The recommended decisions within this report are consistent with River Working Group ToR, legislative responsibilities and will help mitigate risks associated with vacant positions on the Taumarere River Working Party.

 

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Attachment 1: Taumarere Terms of Reference   


Council Meeting  ITEM: 7.2

21 September 2021Attachment 1

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Council Meeting                                                                                                                                                         item: 7.3

21 September 2021

 

TITLE:

Regional Sporting Facilities Rate Allocation for 2021-2024

From:

Phil Heatley, Strategic Projects and Facilities Manager

Authorised by Group Manager/s:

Bruce Howse, Pou Taumatua – Group Manager Corporate Services, on 13 September 2021

 

Executive summary/Whakarāpopototanga

This report is to present council with the schedule of projects receiving the distribution of the 2018–2021 Regional Sporting Facilities Rate and a recommendation for the allocation of any surplus funds.

 

It is also to provide for the allocation of grants from the collection of the 2021-2024 Regional Sporting Facilities Rate.  The allocation process draws from direction provided from two council workshops in June and August 2021.

 

It is staff and Sport Northland’s recommendation that council allocate funding now for the 2021–2024 financial years giving organisations overseeing projects a degree of certainty to plan and a platform to apply for funding from other parties.  Should the nature of any project significantly change over the three-year period the Chief Executive Officer would return to council recommending further options.

 

Recommendation(s)

1.         That the report ‘Regional Sporting Facilities Rate Allocation for 2021-2024’ by Phil Heatley, Strategic Projects and Facilities Manager and dated 8 September 2021, be received.

 

2.         That the following regional sporting facility projects receive an ‘In Principle’ GST exclusive allocation from the cumulative Regional Sporting Facilities Rate collected during the 2021–2024 financial years as follows:

 

i.          Pohe Island Sports Hub (Bike) be allocated up to $600,000 from September 2021;

ii.         Sportsville Kaikohe Stage 2 be allocated up to $1,400,000 from November 2022;

iii.        Northland Football Hub Stage 1 be allocated up to $1,000,000 from August 2023;

iv.        Northland Football Hub Stage 2 be allocated up to $800,000 from June 2024.

 

3.         That the Chief Executive Officer has authority to distribute funds to each project, up to the amounts allocated, when he is satisfied that the following has been met to his satisfaction:

 

a.         The project Governance Group is properly constituted and capable; and

b.        The project, or standalone stage, is fully or near-fully funded; and

c.         Any other criteria that he sees as relevant and material having taken advice.  

 

4.         That the Chief Executive Officer has discretion over fund distribution timing (before or after the dates in recommendation 2) but distribution sums should not exceed the cumulative Regional Sporting Facilities Rate collected at the time of distribution.

 

5.         That the Chief Executive Officer refer to council if there is a material change in a project or proposed change in maximum allocation from the ‘In Principle’ decision.

 

6.         That the Chief Executive Officer report to council following the completed distribution of the 2021–2024 Regional Sporting Facilities Rate providing:

 

a.         A schedule of projects with the respective grants and dates of distribution; and

b.        A recommendation for the allocation of any surplus rates collected.

 

 

 

Options

1

Allocate the rate now as presented for the 2021–2024 financial years

Council publicly presents a clear three-year plan and process, signalling early those projects best positioned for funding.

Project group has a degree of certainty and can plan.

Certainty of council funding provides a platform to apply for funds from other parties.

A natural next step following the 2018–2028 allocation process having signalled these projects as those of a nature that could attract funding.

The status of projects could change leading to the revisiting of a decision.

Other projects could materialise, although they are unlikely to be well advanced and would have to be in the relevant District Council’s LTP.

2

Do not allocate the rate to all or some of the projects at this time

Provides the opportunity for the planning of projects, as presented, to mature.

Provides the opportunity for other projects to materialise.

Project groups do not have any certainty and may struggle to progress planning.

Project groups may struggle to attract funding from other parties.

Raises expectations of those groups with significantly less advanced or thought-out projects.

 

The staff’s recommended is Option 1, to allocate the rate now as presented for the 2021–2024 financial years.  Should the nature of any project significantly change the Chief Executive Officer can re-present options to council.

 


 

Considerations

1.         Environmental Impact

The proposed allocation approach has no specific environmental impacts.  However, staff do recommend that review of the rate for the 2024-2034 LTP should involve consideration of preferring projects where environmental design aspects (e.g. solar power, use of LED lighting, water collection) have been taken into consideration.

2.         Community views

Sport Northland on behalf of council and Sport New Zealand undertook a regionwide consultation process to inform Kokiri ai Te Waka Hourua, a strategy for play, active recreation and sport.  The strategy identified the regional priority projects for this 2021-2024 allocation decision.  Submissions during the consultation process were by a substantial majority supportive, or otherwise silent, on the projects recommended.

3.         Māori impact statement

Māori and hapu groups were widely consulted on Kokiri ai Te Waka Hourua, a strategy for play, active recreation and sport.  The strategy was used for the regional priority project recommendations for this 2021-2024 allocation decision.  Māori will benefit alongside all residents in terms of access and use of all facilities.

 

4.         Financial implications

The allocation is provided for in the 2021–2031 LTP.  It is envisaged that council will not allocate and distribute significantly more money than has been collected at any one time to avoid interest costs eroding the benefit of the rate.

5.         Implementation issues

The actual distribution of funds allocated will be dependent on the progress of projects and them having been able to attract the balance of funding required.

 

Those organisations’ leading projects will need to provide evidence of need and evidence of completion.  Council staff will make best endeavours to use government/territorial authority funding milestones, where such funding is involved, to minimise council’s own administration and transaction costs.

 

6.         Significance and engagement

The collection and allocation of the rate is well supported by the 2018–2028 and 2021-2031 LTP consultation processes and consistent with subsequent policy and decisions.  Allocation decisions from this council meeting will be extensively presented to the public.

7.         Policy, risk management and legislative compliance

The decision is consistent with the policy and legislative requirements.

Background/Tuhinga

Report back on the distribution of the 2018–2021 rate allocation

The projects in the following table were approved for allocation in September 2018 and have since received their funding as in the following table. The exception is Te Hiku which receives 25% when they have building consent (now distributed), 50% when half built and 25% when ¾ built.


 

 

Transaction Date

Payment Type

Project

District

Total Allocation

Month

Year

 

$

October

2018

Single payment

Sportsville Dargaville

Kaipara

$600,000

November

2018

Single payment

Sportsville Kaikohe Stage 1

Kaipara

$100,000

May

2019

Single payment

Mangawhai Activity Zone

Kaipara

$500,000

June onwards

2020

$350,000 Jun 2021, $700,000 due Dec 2021, $350,000 due Mar 2022

Te Hiku Sports Hub

Far North

$1,400,000

February

2021

Single payment

Pohe Island Sports Hub Stage 1

Whangarei

$350,000

Feb & June

2021

$550,000 Feb 2021,  $280,000 Jun 2021

Pohe Island Sports Hub Stage 2

Whangarei

$830,000

3 Years

 

 

$3,780,000

Note: Rates Collected and Allocation as presented is GST exclusive.

 

 

The surplus of rates collected over that distributed for the 2018–2021 rate allocation is approximately $205,600.  The Strategic Projects and Facilities Manager recommends that the unallocated rates collected in 2018-2021 be placed in the pool for allocation over 2021–2024.

 

Rate allocation for 2021–2024

Council struck a $14.44 + GST targeted rate in the 2021–2024 LTP, known as the Regional Sporting Facilities Rate (the rate), to provide funding support to assist in the development of sporting facilities, across Northland, that are of regional benefit.

 

The ‘Principles of funding’ when allocating the rate to the potential recipient projects were established in the 2018–2021 LTP process when the rate was first struck.  They are as follows:

 

·    For projects of regional/district significance or benefit;

·    For projects, only if in one of Northland’s territorial authorities 2021–2024 LTP;

·    For multiple projects in parallel;

·    For sporting facilities, not active recreation facilities;

·    At a magnitude on a case-by-case basis with no minimum or maximum;

·    Limited to construction and construction management;

·    For new builds or significant extension of current facilities (not maintenance or refurbishment);

·    That rates collected out of a district would not be strictly allocated to a district, the benefits of any project from a regional perspective is what is important.  However, if the quantum allocated broadly matched that collected this would be a positive, albeit secondary, benefit.

·    Allocation will be subject to final signoff by a council meeting.

 

Furthermore, councillors’ intent was that we not allocate and distribute more money than has been collected at any one time.

 

Kokiri ai Te Waka Hourua Projects

Potential recipient projects were to be identified through a regionwide consultation process to inform Kokiri ai Te Waka Hourua, a strategy for play, active recreation and sport.  A partnership between Northland Regional Council, Sport Northland, Northland’s three district councils and Sport New Zealand has now produced the strategy.

 

A proposed project is presented to Sport Northland in the first instance, by a regional or district not-for-profit sporting focussed group, for consideration and prioritisation.  Substantial work by the Working Group (Northland’s four councils and Sport Northland) sees the prioritisation of regional sporting facility projects.  For this allocation, 12 projects are in varying states of readiness and have been benchmarked against council approved criteria (see attachment).

 

With the criteria and the principles of funding in mind, the Working Group recommend the following projects as those of a nature and state of readiness that should attract rate funding:

 

·    Pohe Island Sports Hub (Bike);

·    Sportsville Kaikohe Stage 2;

·    Northland Football Hub Stage 1; and

·    Northland Football Hub Stage 2.

 

Rate collection for 2021–2024

Below is an estimate of the magnitude of rate collected from each district and across Northland considering the latest collection rate data.

 

District

Rating units/SUIPs

Rate (per RU/SUIP)

Funding Available in One Year

Funding Available Over Three Years

Kaipara

14298

$14.44

$189,992

$569,976

Far North

37437

$14.44

$497,463

$1,492,390

Whangārei

44153

$14.44

$586,705

$1,760,114

REGIONWIDE

95888

$1,274,160

$3,822,480

Note 1: Proposed rate collected as presented is GST exclusive.

Note 2: Approximately 92% of rate is collected.

Note 3: Collection figures are estimates only.

 

Rate allocation process for 2021–2024

As discussed at workshops, the Regional Sporting Facilities Rate allocation and distribution process would be as follows:

 

i.      Council consider the Working Group’s recommendations and decide ‘In Principle’ on the allocation to various projects for 2021–2024 and signal when this funding would be available.

ii.     The relative project applicants will be invited by council’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to apply only when they can use the allocation.  Funds cannot be held over by applicants.

iii.    Applications will be received by Sport Northland for assessment and forwarding to council’s CEO for consideration and execution.

iv.   Distribution occurs when milestones are met (often to match government/territorial authority funding milestones, where such funding is involved, to minimise transaction costs).

v.    Council’s CEO will return to council only if there is a material change in project or allocation from the ‘In Principle’ decision.

vi.   Council’s CEO will report to council following the completed distribution of the 2021–2024 Regional Sporting Facilities Rate including:

a.      A schedule of projects with the respective grant and date of distribution; and

b.      A recommendation for the allocation of any surplus funds.

 

Proposed rate allocation for 2021–2024

A decision of the magnitude of any grant and its timeliness is a balance between a project’s financial need, its readiness and staging and council’s desire to fund several projects in parallel while ensuring it is not distributing more funds than has been collected at any one time. The latter would result in interest being paid which would erode the capital available for distribution.

 

Sport Northland, as Chair of the Working Group, has consulted with the four priority project organisations regarding the magnitude and timing of allocation.  This feedback has resulted in the following recommendation from council staff for the allocation of the Regional Sporting Facilities Rate for 2021–2024 (refer table below).

 

Transaction Date

Rates Collected

Project

District

Allocation

Running Balance

Month

Year

$

$

$

November

2021

 

Pohe Island Sports Hub (Bike)

Whangarei

$600,000

$34,925

November

2022

 

Sportsville Kaikohe Stage 2

Far North

$1,400,000

$28,090

August

2023

 

Northland Football Hub Stage 1

Whangarei

$1,000,000

$62,704

June

2024

 

Northland Football Hub Stage 2

Whangarei

$800,000

-$61,064

3 Years

$3,822,480

$3,800,000

$22,480

Note 1: Collection figures are estimates only.

Note 2: Rates Collected and Allocation as presented is GST exclusive.

Note 3: $22,480 unallocated ‘headroom’.  The ultimate surplus will need to be allocated.

 

The recommendation ensures the funds distributed will not significantly exceed that collected at any point in time.  It also allows for approximately $22,000 ‘headroom’ to ensure there is no over-allocation.  This conservative approach will inevitably result in a surplus at the end of the 2021–2024 period as occurred in 2018–2021.  This will require the Chief Executive to report to council with a recommendation for the allocation of any surplus funds.

 


 

Equity of allocation across Northland 2018–2024

While council has been clear that rates collected out of a district did not need to be strictly allocated to a district, councillors may be interested in how the six-year scenario ‘plays out’ if the recommended projects did ultimately receive funding.  As it happens, the quantum allocated broadly matches that collected (refer table below).  

 

District

Collection Over 6 Years

Scenario Allocation Over 6 Years

Kaipara

$1,139,952

$1,100,000

Far North

$2,984,779

$2,900,000

Whangārei

$3,520,229

$3,580,000

TOTAL

$7,644,960

$7,580,000

Note 1: The allocations provide ‘headroom’.  The ultimate surplus would need to be allocated.

Note 2: Rate Collection is an estimate.

Note 3: Collection and Allocation values are presented as GST exclusive.

 

 

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Attachment 1: 2021-2024 Criteria for RSFR Project Prioritisation

Attachment 2: 2021-2024 Scoresheet for RSFR Project Scoring (August 2021)   


Council Meeting  ITEM: 7.3

21 September 2021Attachment 1

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Council Meeting  ITEM: 7.3

21 September 2021Attachment 2

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Council Meeting                                                                                                                                                         item: 8.1

21 September 2021

 

TITLE:

Health and Safety Report

From:

Kelcie Mills, Health and Safety Advisor

Authorised by Group Manager/s:

Bruce Howse, Pou Taumatua – Group Manager Corporate Services, on 07 September 2021

 

Whakarāpopototanga / Executive summary

This report is to inform the council of the activity in health and safety for the month of August 2021.  An overview/summary of the activities include:

·        The health and safety induction has a revised completion target.

·        There was a decrease in both hazard and injury/incident related events reported.  This is largely due to level 4 lockdown occurring on 18 August.

·        The Wellbeing Committee has been sharing support resources and coordinating activities throughout lockdown to support staff.

·        A new personal protective equipment (PPE) policy has been approved to support the PPE catalogue.

·        Due to COVID, the first aid training was only partially completed, and all other trainings have been postponed.

 

Ngā mahi tūtohutia / Recommendation

That the report ‘Health and Safety Report’ by Kelcie Mills, Health and Safety Advisor and dated 1 September 2021, be received.

 

Background/Tuhinga

1.         Health and safety performance

Table 1: Health and safety performance lead and lag indicators

*Based on calendar year

Table 1 outlines the key lead and lag indicators in health and safety. 

Inductions as of 18 August were at 97%.  There is one person outstanding (they are based in Waipapa, and no trained H&S representative has been available to complete the induction).  The revised induction target is to have 80% of new workers inducted within two days of commencing employment and 100% of new workers inducted within five days of commencing employment. Workers will not be undertaking any activity that they have not been inducted in.

Physical inductions have since been placed on hold due to COVID-19 restrictions.  However, all new staff still complete a Cognise E-learning on health and safety requirements while at home.

 

2.         Risk management

The top risks are:

1.         Dealing with aggressive people – psychological harm

2.         Extended workload/stress

3.         Workplace bullying and harassment

4.         Working with contractors

5.         Driving motor vehicles – accident and injury related

6.         Slips, trips, and falls

7.         Sedentary work – ergonomic harm

8.         Working under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol

Note: There were no changes in the top risks in August.

Risk Updates

·        Contractors working during COVID-19 alert level three are required to submit H&S Plans for working safely at level three.  These are to be reviewed and approved before work can commence. 

·        The drug and alcohol policy is due for review in September.

 

3.         Injuries, incidents, and hazards

Chart, line chart

Description automatically generated

Figure 1: Number of hazard and injury related events for previous 12 months

Figure 2 shows a decrease in both hazard and injury/incident events reported.  There was a total of seven reports for the month, six of which were reported before entering lockdown.

Unlike the last lockdown in March 2020, a large portion of workers are better equipped to work from home as their workstations have been reviewed as part of the flexible work arrangements.  It is expected that there shouldn’t be many additional reports of ergonomic stress or discomfort whilst in lockdown.

 

Events reported

Chart, bar chart

Description automatically generated

Figure 2: Top event types for previous 12 months

Events of interest

Note: the events of interest only detail high risk events, or events which affect large groups of people.

·        As discussed in the July report, speeding events which are more than 20km/h over the limit are now being reported as incidents.  In July there were 12 events recorded, and a further two in August.  Managers are to address their staff if it is their first event.  Those with more than two reports will be addressed by their group manager.

·        A contractor fell over on a flat surface and broke their ankle.  The person was taking photos above their head at the time and whilst walking, landed on an awkward angle causing them to fall.  It is suspected the new boots that were being worn did not offer the ankle enough flexibility to move with their foot causing the break.

 

4.         Health and safety strategy work programme

Leadership

·        The health, safety and wellbeing policy was revised to incorporate responsibilities for the Executive Leadership Team (ELT).

·        The Health and Safety Committee has been working on the action plans and focus areas for the 2021–2022 financial year.

·        A new Personal protective equipment (PPE) policy has been approved and will be distributed to staff along with the revised catalogue. 

Communication and engagement

·        The focus for communication and engagement in August has been checking on staff wellbeing during lockdown and offering support. 

Wellbeing

·        The Wellbeing Committee has been running a photo competition to engage staff and updating the Express with wellbeing information and resources for staff to access.

·        A stress management workbook developed internally is available for all staff.

Learning and development

·        The first aid course only partially took place before entering COVID-19 lockdown, and all other courses have had to be postponed.

Continual improvement

·        Due to the lockdown, the focus for health and safety has been on assisting the COVID-19 response team in the pandemic protocols, and further reviewing contractors’ health and safety plans for working at each of the alert levels.

 

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Nil


Council Meeting                                                                                                                                                         item: 8.2

21 September 2021

 

TITLE:

Chair's Report to Council

From:

Penny Smart, Chair

Authorised by Group Manager/s:

Penny Smart, Chair, on 15 September 2021

 

Purpose of Report

This report is to receive information from the Chair on meetings/events attended, and correspondence sent for the month of August 2021.

 

Ngā mahi tūtohutia / Recommendation

That the report ‘Chair's Report to Council’ by Penny Smart, Chair and dated 2 September 2021, be received.

 

 

Meetings/events attended

During this period, I attended the following meetings/events/functions:

·        Meetings attended with the council’s CEO, Malcolm Nicolson:

o   Meeting in Dargaville regarding Ruawai flood levels.

o   Kaipara Moana Remediation Joint Committee workshop – with Councillors Macdonald and Yeoman.

o   Meeting with Fonterra – Philippa Fourie, Mike Borrie, and Rowan Hartigan.

o   Northland Mayoral Forum.

·        NRC Kaihu River Catchment Group - river inspection.

·        Marsden Maritime Holdings director interviews – with Councillors Kitchen and Stolwerk.

·        Regular LGNZ 3 Waters catchups.

·        Regular Mayors and Chair catchup meetings.

·        Reuben Levermore, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Air New Zealand.

·        Dargaville Business Forum mix and mingle.

·        NRC virtual representation hui with Councillors Macdonald and Robinson.

·        Mayors/Chair meeting prior to Northland Mayoral Forum.

Correspondence

During August I sent out the following correspondence:

Date

Addressed To

Subject

04.08.2021

Hon James Shaw

Minister of Climate Change

Meeting with Northland Regional Council

10.08.2021

Jim Kilpatrick

Chair

Ngunguru Sandspit Protection Society Inc.

Letter of support for Ngunguru Sandspit

20.08.2021

Hon Kiritapu Allan

Minister of Conservation

Mapping of outstanding natural landscapes in Northland

 

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Nil


Council Meeting                                                                                                                                                         item: 8.3

21 September 2021

 

TITLE:

Chief Executive’s Report to Council

From:

Malcolm Nicolson, Tumuaki - Chief Executive Officer

Authorised by Group Manager/s:

Malcolm Nicolson, Tumuaki - Chief Executive Officer, on 15 September 2021

 

Ngā mahi tūtohutia | Recommendation

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

 

 

8.3.1   Highlights

COVID-19 Delta Response 

On 17 August 2021 a community case of Delta variant of COVID-19 was identified in the community and as a result New Zealand moved quickly to Alert Level 4 at 1159 hours, on the 17 August.  

As a consequence, the National Emergency Management Agency and CDEM Groups, including Northland, activated to support New Zealand’s response to the COVID-19 resurgence by:  

Ÿ Implementing COVID-19 resurgence plans and activating Emergency Coordination Centres where required.  

Ÿ Ensuring concurrent event planning and connections with partner agencies are in place.  

Ÿ Proactively supporting Health and the All of Government response to the impacts of COVID-19.  

Ÿ Providing welfare support aligned with Caring for Community arrangements.  

Ÿ Keeping Regional Leadership Groups and other stakeholders updated as necessary.  

As of 1300 hours on Friday 3 September, 764 community cases had been identified: 747 cases in Auckland and 17 cases in Wellington.  Over 37,600 close contacts and 261 locations of interest were also identified. 

The Alert Level settings were reviewed by Cabinet on Monday 6 September 2021 and Auckland remained at Alert Level 4 whilst the rest of New Zealand were to move to Alert Level 2 at 2359 hours on 7 September.  

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

No further update.

Economics - REL

Still waiting for repayment proposal from Maher Jammal. Hope to receive something imminently. 

Review proposal and negotiate an agreement. 


 

8.3.3   Corporate SERVICES

Enterprise System Update

Contract has been executed.  The de-briefing of unsuccessful vendors to be completed by month end.  Project commencement is scheduled for early October.

IT Update

The majority of staff experienced a smooth transition to remote working in Level 4.  Increased laptops since the last lockdown with well tested security features such as multi-factor authentication were key factors resulting in a reduction in issues compared to last year.

There have been application performance issues for some staff which once again is unfortunately down to the quality of their internet, something outside of our control.  However, with the continued journey to moving more applications to the cloud, there is less of a reliance in on-premise software - Sharepoint over Objective being an example.

We are working closely with our suppliers with the aim of moving the final batch of users to laptops as early as possible in 2022, supply chains permitting.

Security is currently in a stable position and as we continue to look at increasing our remote security posture we will be reviewing our security policies over the coming months.

Fraud Declaration

I am not aware of any fraud nor am I investigating any incidence or suspected incidence of fraud at this time.

Council Property Update

Construction work on the Kaipara Service Centre re-started at Alert Level 3.  However, Canam have notified Council of the potential delays to the construction programme as a result of the current COVID-19 lockdown and various design changes including additional fire ratings.  Consequently, the opening and handover to Kaipara District Council is more likely to be in late March/early April 2022 than in February 2022

The unconditional Kensington Crossing sale will likely settle on or around 31 October 2021, largely depending on subdivision consent.   

Construction work on Council’s Water Street building restarted at Alert Level 3 and will now continue throughout September and early October 2021.

8.3.4   Regulatory Services

Consents in Process

During August 2021, a total of 52 decisions were issued.  These decisions comprised:

Ÿ Coastal Permits

8

 

Ÿ Water Permits

6

Ÿ Land Discharge Permits

5

 

Ÿ Bore Consents

11

Ÿ Land Use Consents

22

 

 

 

The processing timeframes for the August 2021 consents ranged from:

Ÿ 145 to 0 calendar days, with the median time being 28 days;

Ÿ 29 to 0 working days, with the median time being 20 days.

Thirty-two applications were received in August 2021.

Of the 78 applications in progress at the end of August 2021:

Ÿ Twenty-four were received more than 12 months ago, with the following reasons:

Ÿ Awaiting additional information (including CIAs)

10

Ÿ Consultation with affected parties/stakeholders

4

Ÿ On-hold pending new rules becoming operative

5

Ÿ Other

5

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

Ÿ Forty-six less than 6 months.

Appointment of Hearing Commissioners

No commissioners were appointed in August 2021.

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

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

Ÿ Applications Publicly / Limited Notified During Previous Month

0

Ÿ Progress on Applications Previously Notified

3

Ÿ Hearings and Decisions

1

Ÿ Appeals/Objections

1

COMPLIANCE MONITORING

The results of compliance monitoring for the period 1 - 31 August 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

8

6

1

1

0

0

Coastal Discharge

11

8

1

2

0

0

Coastal Permit

32

20

2

1

0

9

FDE – Discharge Permit

77

64

0

12

0

1

FDE – Permitted Activity

35

26

0

9

0

0

Land Discharge

43

32

5

2

1

3

Land Use Consent

36

33

1

0

0

2

Water Discharge

59

43

8

6

1

1

Water Permit

25

20

3

0

0

2

Water Take

144

88

50

1

0

5

Total

478

348

71

34

2

23

Percentage

 

72.8%

14.9%

7.1%

0.4%

4.8%

Year to date

1,002

718

164

65

11

44

Percentage

 

71.7%

16.4%

6.5%

1.1%

4.4%

 

Coastal

The majority of consents monitored during the reporting period related to coastal discharges (municipal sewage and industrial) and coastal structures (inspections undertaken prior to the national COVID-19 lockdown).

Farm Dairy Effluent (FDE) Monitoring

FDE inspections commenced on 21 July 2021.  NRC staff and the FDE contractor will be visiting a total of 783 farms this monitoring season (five less than last year).  To date approximately 22% of farms 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 (592 to do)

Full Compliance

Moderate Non-Compliance

Significant Non-Compliance

This Year

Last Year

This Year

Last Year

This Year

Last Year

103

101

20

45

2

26

82%

59%

16%

26%

2%

15%

Non-consented farms (191 to do)

Full Compliance

Moderate Non-Compliance

Significant Non-Compliance

This Year

Last Year

This Year

Last Year

This Year

Last Year

40

37

10

10

1

9

78%

66%

20%

18%

2%

16%

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

Ÿ Contaminated Land Management

Ten incidents involving the discharge of hazardous substances and 33 enquiries regarding contaminated land were received and responded to.  700 kg of hazardous waste was disposed of at the household hazardous waste amnesty day.

Environmental Incidents

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

ENFORCEMENT

Abatement Notices, Infringement Notices and Formal Warnings

The following enforcement actions were taken during the period:

Enforcement ID

Number of Recipients

Action
Type

Served Date

Nature Of Offence(s)

Originated From

ENF.065933.01

1

AN

17-08-21

Discharge to land

Incident

ENF.065939.01

1

IN

04-08-21

Illegal activity in coastal marine area

Incident

ENF.065944.01

1

AN

04-08-21

Other water discharge

Incident

ENF.065945.01

1

AN

04-08-21

Illegal activity in coastal marine area

Incident

IN

04-08-21

Illegal activity in coastal marine area

Incident

ENF.065947.01

1

IN

04-08-21

Sewage (municipal)

Routine Monitoring

ENF.065950.01

1

AN

10-08-21

Sewage (municipal)

Routine Monitoring

ENF.065951.01

1

IN

04-08-21

Farm dairy effluent

Routine Monitoring

AN

04-08-21

Farm dairy effluent

Routine Monitoring

ENF.065952.01

1

AN

09-08-21

Illegal activity in coastal marine area

Incident

IN

09-08-21

Illegal activity in coastal marine area

Incident

ENF.065953.01

1

IN

09-08-21

Farm dairy effluent

Routine Monitoring

AN

09-08-21

Farm dairy effluent

Routine Monitoring

ENF.065954.01

3

IN

11-08-21

Farm dairy effluent

Routine Monitoring

IN

11-08-21

Farm dairy effluent

Routine Monitoring

IN

11-08-21

Farm dairy effluent

Routine Monitoring

AN

11-08-21

Farm dairy effluent

Routine Monitoring

AN

11-08-21

Farm dairy effluent

Routine Monitoring

AN

11-08-21

Farm dairy effluent

Routine Monitoring

ENF.065955.01

1

AN

16-08-21

Other water discharge

Incident

ENF.065958.01

1

AN

17-08-21

Other water discharge

Incident

ENF.065962.01

1

IN

31-08-21

Dead stock

Incident

ENF.065964.01

1

IN

31-08-21

Other water discharge

Incident

AN

31-08-21

Other water discharge

Incident

 

Action Type

Number

Abatement Notice (AN)

13

Infringement Notice (IN)

11

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.  The defendant has pleaded not guilty.  A hearing was scheduled for 22-24 June 2021 which did not proceed due to the defendant being ill.  A new hearing date of 17-18 January 2022 has been set down.

Ÿ Open burning on industrial/trade property – Whangārei

Charges were laid in the Whangārei 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 who pleaded not guilty on 30 April 2021.  A case review hearing was completed on 22 June 2021.  A new hearing date needs to be scheduled due to Covid alert level 4 lockdown cancelling the hearing set down for 6-7 September 2021.

Ÿ Farm dairy effluent – Tāheke

Charges were laid in the Kaikohe District Court on 30 March 2021 against a farm owner and his company for offences which occurred in August 2020.  There are two charges against the company and one against the farm owner.  The farm has a poor history of compliance with regional rules for animal effluent disposal.  Disclosure was provided to the defence lawyers on 23 April 2021.  The defendants pled not guilty on 23 June 2021.  A case review hearing was undertaken on 2 August 2021.  NRC asked for charges to be withdrawn due to further information becoming available as statements were being prepared.

Ÿ Farm dairy effluent – Parapara

Charges were laid in the Kaitaia District Court on 6 May 2021 against a farm owner for offences which occurred in August 2020.  There are four charges against the farm owner.  The first court appearance was set down for 9 July 2021, which was adjourned until 25 August 2021 to allow the defence lawyer to consider the disclosure documentation.  A further adjournment has been requested due to the ill health of the defendant.

NATURAL RESOURCES MONITORING  

Coastal/Water Quality Operations 

Ÿ The majority of routine monthly water quality and ecological programmes were completed, including all coastal runs and all but two of the combined freshwater quality and periphyton river runs. 

Ÿ Two river runs and the quarterly lakes sampling programme were not completed due to the national COVID lockdown. 

Ÿ As well as continuing with usual office-based work, staff took the opportunity during lockdown to complete training, undertake annual review of existing processes and to create new processes. 

Natural Resources Data 

Ÿ LAWA Water Annual Refresh: Details of the request were provided to councils in May 2021.  Several data checks and analysis need to be completed by September 2021, ready to go-live for World Rivers Day. The trends and analysis checks are now well underway for river, lake, swimming, groundwater and macroinvertebrate data. The air quality and land cover information is now available on the LAWA production/public site (www.lawa.org.nz).  

Ÿ Environmental Data Portal (EDP): Testing with external data customers has now been completed.  A communication plan has been developed for the EDP and Go-Live is scheduled for late September/early October 2021. 

Ÿ Quality System: The quality and quantitative objectives and KPIs have been reviewed. New automated tools have been developed to assist with reporting and measuring KPIs.  

Ÿ New electronic data collection forms are being developed for lake levels and groundwater levels to assist with field validation, lab calibration and periphyton. 

Ÿ Some assistance was provided to Civil Defence Emergency Management as part of the COVID-19 response under Level 4. 

HYDROLOGY 

Hydrology Projects 

The Hydrology and the Rivers teams are investigating the development of a flood forecast model for the Awanui River and expect to review quotes for work during September 2021.  

 

Rainfall 

Ÿ Near normal or slightly below normal rainfall occurred across the region in August 2021. 

Ÿ A clear split across the region for winter rainfall – wet in the east and dry in the west – particularly in the southwest which was very dry during the winter quarter. This continues to be a ‘symptom’ of predominant North-Easterly weather systems. 

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River Flows 

·    River flows across the region varied between “Normal” and “Low” flows, but broadly were “Below Normal” for the region as a whole, in response to slightly below normal rainfall for the month.  

 

 

 

Groundwater

Ÿ Groundwater levels generally reflect the rainfall distribution for winter, with water levels in most aquifers north of Whangārei in the “Normal” or “Below Normal” categories. 

Ÿ Water levels in the south (Ruawai, Mangawhai, Tara) were falling within the “Very Low” category. 

Ÿ Recharge tends to peak between July to November and above normal rain over spring is required in the southern aquifers to increase water levels to near-normal levels.

Area

Status

Percentile

Aupōuri

N/A

N/A

Taipā

Below Normal

25 - 40th

Russell

Below Normal

25 - 40th

Kaikohe

N/A

N/A

Whangārei

Normal

40 - 60th

Marsden-Ruakākā

N/A

N/A

Porotī

Low

10 - 25th

Mangawhai

Very Low

5 - 10th

Ruawai

Very Low

5 - 10th

 

N/A = no visit due to COVID-19 lockdown

NATURAL RESOURCES

Natural Resources (NR) Science 

Environmental Monitoring Networks Review: The following is an update of the three-staged review of all NRC environmental monitoring networks, including freshwater quality, quantity and ecology, groundwater, coastal, and air quality: 

Ÿ Stage 1 consisted of the Natural Resources (NR) Science team working towards LTP planning deadlines. This step focused on identifying objectives and criteria upon which the review was to be built and undertaking a stocktake of existing monitoring networks. Stage 1 was finalised late last year and a summary report produced and released to the Water Steering Group. 

Ÿ Stage 2 consisted of an in-depth review of existing monitoring networks, considering objectives and criteria identified in Stage 1 and budget/resourcing adopted through the LTP planning process. The Stage 2 draft report is nearly complete with monitoring plans and associated documentation to be provided to the NR managers and operational teams for feedback. 

Ÿ Stage 3 consists of the implementation of the review in conjunction with the NR operational teams (Water Quality Monitoring, Hydrology and Data teams). Upon feedback received and required amendments made to the monitoring plans, the NR Science team will work with the teams to implement the changes. 

Upon completion of Stage 2, a short summary of the process and outcomes for each monitoring network will be presented to council. 

Mātauranga Māori responsiveness framework:  The NR Science Team is working with the Māori Engagement Team to develop a policy around Mātauranga Māori monitoring.  Among several other objectives, this piece of work is to assist council in meeting statutory requirements.  The policy is in draft form and expected to be finalised soon. 

Air quality and carbon emission 

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

Ÿ Ambient PM2.5 monitoring results for the Robert Street, Whangārei station for July 2021 were within the Ambient Air Quality Guideline value.  

Ÿ Council’s CO2-e (carbon dioxide equivalent) monthly emissions from 2018 are presented in the graph below. Since April 2021, council’s CO2-e emission has increased every month in comparison with the same months in 2020 and 2019, except May 2019. Air travel contributed high emissions in May 2019.  Lower emissions from April 2020 are largely attributed to the COVID-19 restrictions/lockdown. The graph is based on live data and therefore figures for the last few months are subject to change. 

Ÿ Council started carbon emission reporting from 2018 calendar year, which is considered as a base year for comparative proposes with the future reporting. Therefore, 2018 emissions are represented in a line graph. 

Ÿ One of the options to reduce council’s increasing carbon emission is to increase council’s fleet of fuel-efficient vehicles. More than 70 percent of council’s carbon emission is contributed by vehicle fuel consumption. 

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Freshwater Ecology 

Ÿ In preparation for the roll-out of KiEco, ecological SOE data management (in conjunction with the Data Team) is ongoing. Macroinvertebrate data has been calculated and sent to LAWA. 

Ÿ NR Science staff are assisting with testing a new MfE driven application for calculating fish index for biological integrity. 

Ÿ Data from the 2020 Drought Survey is being analysed and will be incorporated in the report. 

Freshwater Quality 

Ÿ River ecosystem metabolism based on continuous dissolved oxygen (DO): The purpose of this Envirolink funded project was to get advice and guidance from national freshwater expert,  
Dr Roger Young (Cawthron Institute), on data collection, data management, data analysis and reporting of the NPS-FM attributes related to continuous DO measurements. The draft report together with a data analysis automation tool have been received and the NRC project team has provided feedback. The Cawthron Institute is now finalising the report, although delivery of the final report has been delayed due to the COVID lockdown. 

Coastal 

Ÿ An analysis of coastal water quality data collected between 2018 and 2020 is almost complete.  The report will include a comparison of the results with the coastal water quality standards in the Proposed Regional Plan for Northland and temporal trends in water quality parameters for the period 2008-2020. 

Ÿ GIS analysis of dune habitat using the aerial images associated with the Northland LiDAR survey is now complete. Quality assurance checks will be undertaken before the layer is published. This will provide a map layer of existing dune habitat in Northland as at 2019.  It will provide a baseline of habitat extent which can be used to measure any future habitat loss or gain. 

8.3.5   Environmental Services

land management

Sustainable Hill Country and Regional Priorities

Milestones

Status

Farm Environment Plans (FEPs)

New Erosion Control Plan template finalised (replaces FEP)

Stakeholder engagement

Nothing new to report

Land treatments – Retirement fencing

Nothing new to report 

Poplar and Willow Nursery

Objective

Status

Harvest

A business case is to be developed to determine how best to invest in our nursery assets to achieve our production targets, taking into account the constraints at the current site (loss of land to the rail development and the need for better irrigation infrastructure).

We need to understand whether NRC should continue to invest in the nursery given reduction in growing area, look to establish a nursery in another location that is suitable for pole production, or a combination of the two.

Whangārei Urban Awa Project

Ÿ The year one report has been submitted to MfE and is pending acceptance. 

Ÿ New planting and fencing applications are currently going through the approval process and should be able to get underway once lockdown ends. 

Ÿ A second run of 150 letters have been delivered to potentially eligible landowners and we expect new queries to start coming in because of this.

Waimā Waitai Waiora Partnership

Ÿ Two community planting days have been organised (now postponed due to COVID-19 lockdown).

Ÿ A Year four annual report has been submitted to MfE for approval.

Ÿ Approximately 30,000 plants have been planted into the Northern Wairoa catchment area this planting season, with the team facilitating getting the plants into the ground. Once lockdown eases, the remaining plants will be transported for planting at various sites across the catchment as soon as possible.

Ÿ Million Metres (Sustainable Business Network) have raised $22,745.95 for the Waimā Waitai Waiora partnership (WWW).

Ÿ The WWW partnership met with the interim KMR Manager to discuss potential funding opportunities in preparation for when WWW funding finishes end of 21/22 financial year.

Ÿ Facilitated by Reconnecting Northland, Te Kawa Waiora have held hui wananga.

Waitangi catchment group

A meeting held on 26 August covered the following topics

Ÿ Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Pukekiwi Pa geotech report funding and allocation of catchment group’s $10,000 discretionary fund to support works to reduce sedimentation of the Titahi Stream.

Ÿ An update from the Te Ruaotehauhau Stream and Cottle hill sub-catchment groups.

Ÿ An update from Ko Waitangi Te Awa Trust.

Ÿ An update on the Productive riparian Buffers project.

Ÿ Waitangi catchment content document development

biodiversity

FIF Dune Lakes Project

Objective

Status

Aquatic weed and pest fish control

A quarter lake treatment of Reglone was applied to Lake Tutaki, Poutō Peninsula to control hornwort and egeria, in partnership with the Department of Conservation and Waikaretu Marae.  Further treatments will occur once the results of this first application are known (two months after the treatment).  Staff went to Lake Karaka with the landowners to discuss the recent find of hornwort in this lake.  Planning underway for the control of hornwort in three other lakes.

Sediment and nutrient mitigation

Meeting held with Te Rorora and Kaipara District Council representatives at Kai Iwi Lakes to discuss sediment mitigation.  Modelling underway for sediment detainment bunds.

Education Days

No education events held this month.

Poutō Catchment Group

The Poutō Catchment Group meeting was held on 2 August.  The annual $10,000 budget was allocated to fencing projects to upgrade exisitng fences around Lakes Kanono and Rotokawau to keep them stock proof, and support new fencing at Lakes Humuhumu and Rotokawau, all outstanding lakes.

CoastCare

Dune re-building work continued at Langs Beach in early August with reshaping earthworks and planting.  Just under 20 people came along to help plant and 1,500 plants were in the ground in under two hours.

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Langs Beach dune restoration works – excavator
removing fill and exotic vegetation

Volunteers planting the shaped area with
wiwi and spinifex

Wetlands

A second freshwater fish survey (repeated from 2018) was carried out at #28 Top Wetland – Paranui Stream Wetland, to determine if black mudfish might be present.  No black mudfish were found during the survey, indicating that they are not present in this wetland complex.

BIosecurity

Rainbow Lorikeet Incursion

The Readiness and Response Services Directorate at the Ministry for Primary Industries have been briefed on the incursion of Rainbow Lorikeets reported in Kaiwaka, and their support obtained in elimination of the feral flock.  A directorate representative will consult with iwi and hapū representatives, as well as council and Department of Conservation staff to work out the best way to proceed.  Rainbow lorikeets must be caged and if released they can form wild flocks displacing our native hole-nesting parrots and competing for their food.

kauri PROTECTION

Hygiene Stations

The Kauri Protection Team have delivered three small barrel and grate footwear hygiene stations to the “Waiere Boulders” tourist attraction in Waiere.  The boulders are a tourist destination with walk trails up round the river where some kauri are present.  These hygiene stations will serve a dual purpose of advocacy as well as hygiene, as Waiere Boulders hosts many visitors to Northland. 

Kauri Protection Education Programme

The kauri protection education programme continued during August with five Northland schools visited teaching 293 students about the importance of protecting kauri.  Twenty Kauri Protection Hygiene Kits were also sent to schools during the month.

A picture containing tree, outdoor, grass, person

Description automatically generatedStudents from Kāretu School participating in the kauri protection education programme

Kauri Dieback Track Mitigation Project

The contractor has works in progress at all three of the Kerikeri and Waipapa projects.  Now that winter is almost over, the contractor is preparing to upscale operations as soon as ground conditions improve.   

Clean Card Workshops

The Clean card initiative ensures a quality standard for training and awareness of Kauri protection and staff completed the second workshop for the financial year.  The attending group included nine rangers from Pukenui and two from the general public who wanted to learn more about current hygiene practices and what to do to prevent spreading the disease.

partnerships

Kiwi Coast – Northland Regional Council Partnership

The Kiwi Coast Trust has completed its annual reporting processes.  The 2021 Annual Report presents the key activities and achievements of the past 12 months and is now available here https://kiwicoast.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Kiwi-Coast-Annual-Report-2021_electronic-version_July-2021.pdfHighlights from the report include:

Ÿ 187 entities are now linked to Kiwi Coast, 181 of which are community, iwi, and hapū led projects.

Ÿ Collectively, the area under management has increased by 26,700 ha in 2020 to approximately 224,760 ha.

Ÿ 95,800 animal pests were trapped by groups and projects involved in the Kiwi Coast in 2020, bringing the total to 492,458 pests removed over the last eight years.  On average, over 1,800 animal pests are now trapped on the Kiwi Coast every week.  Kiwi Coast also supports and assists projects to carry out pest control work using toxins to further reduce predator numbers.  The scale of these results not only demonstrate the scale of effort, but also generate a sense of pride and mana at the work being done by the community – together they are achieving phenomenal results.

Ÿ The Kiwi Listening Blitz #2 (a five-yearly survey using acoustic monitoring devices designed to track changes in the Northland Brown kiwi population within the Kiwi Coast collective project area over time) was conducted.  The survey found that of the 58 sites surveyed in 2016 the percentage of sites containing kiwi had increased from 65% to 82%.  Furthermore, of the new 170 sites surveyed in 2021 (reflecting the expanded area of Kiwi Coast operations), 95 sites contained kiwi.

Ÿ Seventy-six skill building workshops have now been held by Kiwi Coast, 21 of these over the last year alone.

Ÿ 18,367 people have attended Kiwi Coast supported events and workshops over the past eight years.

Ÿ The support of research and development, including the upgrade of the Kiwi Coast Listening app (now being used by 235 people) and the New Zealand AT220 autotrap field trial, have contributed to improvements and efficiencies in pest control and outcome monitoring.

There has been much regional, national, and even international interest in the results presented.  In particular, the Kiwi Listening Blitz Survey results have led to articles in the Guardian and Audubon magazines, and interviews with TVNZ, Australia Radio National and even the first Kiwi Coast article in German! 

marine biosecurity

Marine pest identification workshop – Tutukaka

Marine biosecurity staff ran a marine pest identification workshop for 25 participants at the Tutukaka Marina in August.  After an introduction into marine biosecurity, staff went over ways to identify targeted marine pests and explained the impacts they could have on New Zealand’s marine biodiversity.  The question-and-answer session at the end of the workshop generated great discussion between local boat owners, regional and district councils, marina operators, community members and kaitiaki about ways to promote marine biosecurity in Northland through having more eyes in and on the water looking out for marine pests. 

These workshops are run regularly throughout Northland and are also available to any community or group on request.  Another one is planned for the Bay of Islands in the near future.  In addition, council staff run a free annual collaborative workshop involving staff from council, NIWA, and the Ministry for Primary Industries which goes into more detail about national marine biosecurity.  

New Zealand Biosecurity Institute (NETS) conference

Council’s marine biosecurity specialist presented at the annual New Zealand Biosecurity Institute national education and training seminar (NETS).  The talk focussed on the on-going incursion response of Sabella spallanzaii in the Ōpua harbour.

Mangawhai Undaria Investigation

Staff from the marine biosecurity, maritime and biosecurity incursions teams revisited Mangawhai estuary to search for the invasive seaweed Undaria pinnatifida (Asian kelp) after a juvenile plant was identified and removed from a moored vessel in May.  It is likely the vessel picked up this pest elsewhere where there is an established population; however, staff took a conservative approach and conducted an extensive search around the area where the vessel was moored as well as around suitable habitat throughout the estuary.  No evidence of a local population of Undaria was found.

Snorkellers searching for invasive seaweed
 
Undaria pinnatifida in Mangwhai estuary

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Tutukaka Harbour Marine Pest Survey

Annual surveillance on the Tutukaka marina structures was completed with no marine pests found within the marina or on the seafloor below.  An additional search was completed in the bays outside of the marina with no pests identified.

pest plants

Eradication Plants - Batwing Passionflower

The first section of the extended batwing search area in West Kamo has been completed.  A large adult batwing vine was found outside the known extant area and required removal from the tree canopy by an arborist.

Progressive Containment Plants - Manchurian Wild Rice

Follow up of the Manchurian wild rice river survey carried out in June has found new site on the bank of the Wairua River.  This is a concern because the closest known infestation is 4.8 km downstream or 40 km upstream.  The find has identified the need for an aerial survey of this area which is being planned for when COVID-19 protocols allow the activity.

 

Newly discovered Manchurian wild rice grass site found on the Wairua River survey in June.

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rivers

Long Term Plan Projects

Rivers

Comments

Awanui

Design and tendering is underway for next year's works season

Otīria/Moerewa

Hydraulic Modeling is complete, Pokapu bridge alignment is confirmed and the tender for the design has closed.  Staff evaluated and awarded this tender early in September.  

Matangirau

Staff have met with key landowners and are progressing with an agreement. 

NATURAL HAZARDS  

Work Streams   

Status   

Comments   

Region Wide Coastal Hazard Erosion Mapping   

100% complete 

The feedback period has now closed.  Appropriate and applicable submissions have been reviewed and analysed. No major changes are proposed. Internal discussions, in parallel with district council consultation is ongoing, with reference to RPS and District Plan (Rules) potential implications. This is also with reference to the up-and-coming district councils plan changes and it’s timing. Finalised updated maps could be implemented on a District priority basis.

Region Wide Coastal Hazard Flood Mapping  

100% complete 

The feedback period has now closed.  Appropriate and applicable submissions have been reviewed and analysed.  No major changes are proposed. Internal discussions, in parallel with District Council consultation, is ongoing, with reference to RPS and District Plan (Rules) potential implications. This is also with reference to the up-and-coming district councils plan changes and it’s timing. Finalised updated maps could be implemented on a District priority basis

Region-Wide River Flood Mapping   

95% complete 

All model results and maps have been received; quality assurance and checks process have been completed. HE-DEM data has been checked and the last deliverables are expected by the middle of September. This does not affect the publication of the maps. Our GIS colleagues have now committed resources to this project and have commenced the ‘process’ of developing the web-based maps. The drafts of which are expected by the end of September. Subsequent consultation will most likely take the format of our coastal hazard maps, i.e., feedback period and letter drop to affected landowners. These maps are in addition to the existing Priority Rivers Flood Hazard maps and will be combined in one layer on the website portal.

Whangārei (CBD) River Catchment Flood Model  

25% complete

Upgrade of model including new structures, updated LiDAR and sea level rise values and recalibration.  Initial draft outcomes have been delayed until the beginning of October due to over commitment by the consultant

Website Natural Hazards Portal  

75% completed

Morphum Environmental have been engaged to develop the portal; the first inclusive workshop was held, initial draft lay-out was received and discussed.  The second draft was received for feedback by participants by 3 September, followed up by a second workshop for ‘finalization’.

Whangārei Inner Harbour Hydrodynamic Model 

99% complete 

Final model outputs and report have been received following QA/QC check and comments on the report. Model outputs / maps to be incorporated on our website page map portal replacing the existing ‘bath-tub’ model maps. Request has been forwarded to our GIS colleagues; expected to be completed in October.

Raupo Drainage Scheme
Coastal Flood Hazard Analysis & Mitigation Options
 

5% complete

We have engaged Water Technology (WT) to do detailed hydraulic modelling from all perspectives, i.e., catchment, river and most importantly coastal.

The stop banks will be surveyed by KDC and the operations team on the ground. KDC will be engaging a survey company to do this task at their costs. They will also be surveying all major infrastructures on the drainage schemes as well as the drainage channels.

WT have started with collating all the modelling and reports information. Survey data will be supplied over the next 6 to 8 weeks.

The objective being to establish a detailed base model and to develop flood hazard mitigation options, particularly from a coastal perspective, adaptation planning.

Climate Change Response  

Work Streams   

Status   

Comments   

NRC Climate Change Strategy “Ngā Taumata o te Moana’ and implementation plan 

Adopted and actions progressing

Final climate change strategy and implementation plan was adopted at the 27 July council meeting and is now publicly available on the NRC website.

Progress on recommended actions in the implementation plan will be reported at the next Climate change working party meeting. Actions taken to date include:

·    Initial conversations with Manaaki whenua for a research project to investigate the role of wetlands in removing and storing carbon in Northland with the aim of developing improved carbon accounting methodologies to assist landowners to measure carbon removals from wetlands

·    Engaged a contractor to develop initial pre-feasibility study for regional EV charging station requirements

·    An interim plan to reduce vehicle fleet emissions in the near term by using high efficiency vehicles in fleet replacements

Te Taitokerau Climate Adaptation Strategy  

Draft V2.0 – additional feedback phase 

Draft strategy presented to the Joint Climate Change Adaptation Committee at workshop on 9 August, with an updated version and adoption process plan presented at the 30 August Joint Committee meeting.

Additional feedback will be sought from TLAs and Tangata whenua representatives, prior to final drafting and presentation at the 30 November Joint Committee meeting.

Progress on a number of priority actions is being made, including the development of a coordinated coastal community adaptation programme.

MĀORI ENGAGEMENT

He Waka Eke Noa – Acknowledgement of the principle of working together

Te Tiriti o Waitangi / Treaty of Waitangi Health Check

Ÿ In late 2020, the non-elected members of TTMAC were asked to provide input and advice into the 2021-2031 long term planning process of council.  This was achieved via a series of workshops with Māori Technical Advisory Group (MTAG).  Feedback (including a Te Tiriti Health Check) was presented to TTMAC who subsequently endorsed the Māori Technical Advisory Group (MTAG) recommendations.

Ÿ In late June 2021, council approved its LTP 2021-2031 which included on-going funding for a Treaty of Waitangi/Tiriti o Waitangi Health Check.  Council recognises the importance of meeting its Treaty of Waitangi responsibilities and undertaking an independent review of how council is meeting these legislative responsibilities is an important part of ensuring these obligations are met. 

Ÿ Recommendations include a framework process within which a Treaty of Waitangi / Tiriti o Waitangi Health Check will be undertaken.  Following consideration of different frameworks, council endorsed the use of Te Arawhiti - Māori Crown Relations Capability Framework for the Public Service and a recommended process / steps for undertaking the Health Check for implementation in 2021/2022.

TTMAC Strategic Intent 2021-2040

He whenua haumoko – Land that is bountiful/abundant

He wai mā - Water that is pure and healthy

He iwi whai ora – People that are flourishing

Te Kaupapa – He iwi tahi tātou kia ora ai te taiao - Kāwanatanga and rangatiratanga work together for the wellbeing of the environment.

A sub-group of non-elected members with Co-Chairs Councillor Robinson and Pita Tipene leading, of Te Taitokerau Māori and Council Working Party (TTMAC), supported by two consultants (David Badham and Makarena Dalton, Barkers and Associate), were charged with developing a Strategic Intent for TTMAC.  The document was presented to TTMAC after a significant amount of work as a recommendation by the non-elected members to council for endorsement. 

8.3.6  Strategy, Governance And Engagement

REGIONAL PLANNING

Proposed Regional Plan

Since the last update to council, the Court has agreed to extend the timeframes for the Outstanding Natural Landscapes in the Coastal Marine Area mapping to allow council four months to engage with tāngata whenua to co-design an appropriate way forward and to consult on this with parties to the appeals. Council is to report back by the end of December on the outcome of those discussions and proposed approach. 

A council workshop is planned to discuss a proposed approach with Te Taitokerau Māori and Council Working Party (TTMAC) and Iwi and Local Government Chief Executives (ILGACE) prior to council consideration in October.

The COVID-19 lockdown has had some impact on the appeals with hearings scheduled for October on livestock exclusion now possibly being delayed and parties to the appeals seeking extensions for lodging of evidence for forthcoming hearings.  Staff continue to work with parties to the appeals to resolve provisions without the need for hearing, including drafting of provisions to give effect to the Court’s decisions on water quality and agrichemicals which will be lodged with the Court in early September. 

The High Court held a one-day hearing on 6 September on whether the definition of wetlands under the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management includes wetlands in the coastal marine area.

District Planning

Mediation for the appeals lodged on plan changes in Mangawhai has been put on hold due to the COVID-19 lockdown and will be rescheduled, as all parties agreed that face to face mediation would be preferable to an online meeting.

NPS Freshwater Management – Proposed Plan Change

The Tāngata Whenua Water Advisory Group (TWWAG) held a full day wānanga on 13 August and started to flesh out more detail on their workplan. They will have a second all day wānanga on 13 September to continue developing their initial draft report and workplan. The Primary Sector Liaison Group (PSLG) meeting scheduled for 24 August 2021, to make a start on identifying freshwater issues, challenges and long-term visions, has been cancelled due to COVID-19 Alert Level 3 and will be re-scheduled pending level outcomes.

NRC has completed a gap analysis of their current environmental monitoring programmes for rivers, lakes, groundwater and wetlands against the requirements of the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management. This information is contributing to a review of our freshwater monitoring programmes.

NIWA has completed their report on the effectiveness of four mitigation scenarios (fencing, riparian planting, planting highly erodible land and wetlands) in reducing contaminant loads (sediment, nitrogen, phosphorus, microbial contamination). NRC’s economics team are in the process of providing costings for those scenarios. Once completed the results will be presented to the Water Steering Group and Council, TWWAG and PSLG.

NATIONAL INITIATIVES

National Environmental Standards for Freshwater

The Ministry for the Environment is consulting on changes to the intensive winter grazing provisions National Environmental Standards for Freshwater (NES-FW). Changes to the wetland provisions of the NES-FW and National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management are also proposed.  The intensive winter grazing proposals relate to:

Ÿ Changes to the slope condition for intensive winter grazing (from a mean slope to maximum)

Ÿ Management of pugging and critical source areas

Ÿ Excluding sub-surface drains

Ÿ Requirement to re-sow grazed areas as soon as practicable (rather than a specified date).

Staff do not consider a submission necessary as intensive winter grazing is not known to be a major issue in Northland and the changes appear logical.  Submissions close 7 October 2021.

The consultation document is available here: https://consult.environment.govt.nz/freshwater/intensive-winter-grazing-regulations/supporting_documents/managingintensivewintergrazingdiscussiondocument.pdf

The proposed changes to the NES-FW and NPS-FM wetland provisions relate to:

Ÿ Making the definition of 'natural wetland' clearer

Ÿ Simplifying provisions for maintenance and restoration activities in and around natural wetlands

Ÿ Provide for biosecurity activities in and around natural wetlands

Ÿ Including specific provisions (consenting pathways) for quarrying, landfills, clean fills and managed fills, mineral mining and urban development.

Staff have yet to consider the changes in detail but are likely to recommend council submit on these changes given the management of wetlands is a significant issue in Northland.  Submissions close 17 October 2021.

The consultation document is available here: https://consult.environment.govt.nz/freshwater/managing-our-wetlands/

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Investment and Growth Reserve – Projects Report

Project

Update

Future developments/ reporting

Extended Regional Promotions

Final report for the year ended June 2021 received.

Nothing further as the three-year funding commitment has come to an end. 

Extension 350

First quarter invoice for 2021/22 commitment paid. 

 

Hundertwasser Art Centre

Project nearing practical completion (mid-October)

Penultimate tranche payment to be made at practical completion under the funding agreement. 

Other Work Undertaken

Ÿ COVID-19 – undertook analysis of the impact of the latest COVID-19 lockdowns on economic activity in Northland.

Ÿ Northland Emergency Services Trust (NEST) loan – consent and waiver letter sent to NEST regarding the treatment of a one-off donation.

Ÿ Regional Economic Development Strategy – undertook background work including paper for Northland Mayoral Forum.

Ÿ Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust – met with Trust to get update on project including financial details.

Ÿ Oruku Landing Conference and Event Centre – met regularly with WDC and NDC representatives to develop the project and provide information/data as required.    

ONLINE CHANNELS

Most popular content on Facebook:    Most popular post for August was the “REMINDER | Our next FREE Household Hazardous Waste: Amnesty Day is on Tuesday 17 August” posted on Tuesday 10 August 2021. We had a reach of 9,275 people with 80 engaged.

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

Key Performance Indicators

Mar-21

Apr-21

May-21

Jun-21

Jul-21

Aug-21

WEB

 

 

 

 

 

 

# Visits to the NRC website

77,800

39,000

35,400

34,100

36,300

29,700

E-payments made

0

2

9

9

54

38

# subscription customers (cumulative)

1,276

1,278

1,276

1,287

1,280

1,278

SOCIAL MEDIA (cumulative)

 

 

 

 

 

 

# Twitter followers

1,563

1,560

1,548

1,555

1,554

1,557

# NRC Facebook fans

10,300

10,300

10,400

10,441

10,454

10,500

# NRC Overall Facebook Reach

173,800

96,800

145,600

62,800

90,600

94,500

# NRC Engaged Daily Users

11,100

5,266

8,796

3,249

3,811

2,760

# CDEM Facebook fans

25,200

25,200

25,200

25,271

25,279

25,287

# CDEM Overall Facebook Reach

484,900

66,500

36,700

29,300

70,600

208,700

# CDEM Engaged Daily Users

53,700

1,625

2,416

1,410

3,324

23,000

# Instagram followers

1,337

1,360

1,383

1,399

1,408

1,422

NOTES:
May –Online payment figures for incomplete due to termination of BNZ service.
August – Alert L4 lockdown

ENVIROSCHOOLS / EDUCATION

Find Your Future Careers Event

On 11 August, a ‘Find Your Future’ event was held in Whangārei and opened by Cr Jack Craw.  Council joined with the Whangārei Agricultural and Pastoral Society to run the interactive careers event focused on encouraging high school students to work in the primary industries.  We were supported by Rabobank, Pioneer, Balance Agri-Nutirents, Loca Avocados and NIWA. 

Twenty secondary students and their teachers from seven secondary schools participated, where they listened to the career pathways of young professionals (including a biosecurity staff member who discussed their pathway into marine biosecurity and what a typical week as a marine biosecurity officer at council looks like), participated in activities such as completing a dissection of Mediterannean fanworm and collecting coelomic fluid to determine its sex and life history stage, as well as joining in a site visit.

 

Enviroschools Green-Gold celebrations        
During August, Enviroschools Green-Gold celebrations were held at Riverview School, Kerikeri and Oruaiti School, near Mangonui.  Cr Marty Robinson officiated at the celebrations which I supported at Oruaiti School.  The format included a presentation, tour of the schools’ sustainability mahi and green and gold cupcakes!

At Oruaiti School, the wetland restoration project was of particular interest.  Part of the pest plant mahi consists of trialling an organic weed killer created by the students.  Next steps for the wetland include student-directed enquiry projects on using bio controls for pest plant management, advanced water testing to investigate if the awa is safe for swimming and creating a timeline of the history of the awa and wetland.


 

 

A picture containing grass, nature, outdoor, grassy

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Above:  Oruaiti School including wetland

Top right: Oruaiti School students explaining organic weed spray trial

Bottom right: Oruaiti School students clearing pest plants from their wetland

A group of people standing in a garden

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Paparoa Planting Day

On 5 July, 30 students from four Kaipara schools plus accompanying teachers and whānau planted 1,500 riparian plants adjacent to the salt marsh wetland in the Paparoa bush walkway.  NRC Enviroschools ran the event with Paparoa Lions Club and NRC Land Management in support.

Enviroschools Communities Facilitated

Despite the COVID-19 lock down, during August Enviroschools Facilitators visited and had specific interactions with 52 school and early childhood communities.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL INFORMATION (LGOIMA) REQUESTS

Total LGOIMAs

August 2020/2021

August 2021/2022

42

49

Number of LGOIMAs not responded to within 20 working days*

3

*    REQ.608667 – Due to an administrative error this LGOIMA was assigned to the wrong person.  Once the error was discovered it was re-assigned and the requestor was contacted for more information.  The requester advised he was in no hurry for the response and was happy to wait until we had finalised the budgets for the year which were in the process of being done for annual operational reporting (the LGOIMA was in relation to specific biosecurity budget expenditure).

      REQ.608891 – Lockdown workload and access to IRIS reporting had some impact on collating the response, and there was a further delay in confirming insurance related matters with our provider prior to sign off.

      REQ.608853 – Due to an administrative error this LGOIMA was not responded to.  The request has been re-assigned and Customer Services will be looking at improving their process.

8.3.7   Customer Service – Community Resilience

REGIONAL TRANSPORT PLANNING 

Regional Transport Committee 

The Regional Transport Committee met on Wednesday 11 August 2021. The following papers were tabled:  

Ÿ Regional Land Transport Plan 2018/2021 Funding Uptake 

Ÿ Regional Land Transport Plan 2021/2027 and Regional Public Transport Plan 2021/2031 Progress Report 

Ÿ Northland Road Safety Report 

Ÿ Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency Report 

Ÿ Northland Regional Council Regional Transport Committee Elected Representative – Councillor Archer 

Ÿ Rural Driver Licensing and Mentoring in Northland 

Ÿ Proposal for Production of an Indicative Economic and Delivery Business Case into the Proposed Four-Laning of State Highway 1 Between Marsden Point and Whangārei 

National Land Transport Programme 2021/2027

The Government’s National Land Transport Programme for the 2021-2027 funding period was scheduled for release on 1 September 2021.  This date has been extended to 7 September 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 July 2021 
(revenue ex GST)  

Actual 

Budget 

Variance 

Year/Date Actual 

Year/Date Budgeted 

Variance 

CityLink Passengers 

 26,006 

29,331 

-3,325 

26,006 

29,331 

 -3325 

CityLink Revenue 

 $34,005 

$38,837 

-$4,832 

$34,005  

$38,837 

-$4,832 

Mid North Link Passengers 

 231 

168 

63 

231 

168 

63 

Mid North Link Revenue 

$ 842 

$840 

$2 

$842 

$840 

$2 

Hokianga Link Passengers  

97  

84 

13 

97 

84 

13 

Hokianga Link Revenue 

$ 523 

 $584 

-$61 

$523 

$584 

-$61 

Far North Link Passengers  

 403 

667 

-264 

403 

667 

-264 

Far North Link Revenue 

$1,150  

$1,748 

-$598 

$1,150 

$1,748 

-$598 

Bream Bay Link Passengers 

 64 

30 

34 

64 

30 

34 

Bream Bay Link Revenue 

$433 

$108 

 $325 

$433 

$108 

$325 

Hikurangi Link Passengers 

16  

30 

-14 

16 

30 

-14 

Hikurangi Link Revenue 

 $42 

$78 

-$36 

 $42 

$78 

-$36 

Whangārei Heads Link Passengers 

22  

30 

-8 

22 

30 

-8 

Whangārei Heads Link Revenue 

$96 

$130 

-$35 

$96 

$130 

-$35 

*Given the current passenger split for Citylink it appears that July school holidays has impacted greatly on the stats.   


 

COVID-19 Alert Level 4 Operations 

Ÿ CityLink Whangārei is operating to a Saturday timetable. 

Ÿ Hokianga, Mid North and Far North BusLink Services are operating reduced services. 

Ÿ Hikurangi, Whangārei Heads and Bream Bay BusLink services have been put on hold until Alert Level 2 or earlier if demand dictates. 

COVID-19 safety related messaging was communicated via posters on buses and at bus termini, social media, and the NRC website. The key messages were:  

Ÿ Travel for essential services only 

Ÿ Wear a mask/face covering  

Ÿ Keep 2 metres distance between yourself and other passengers. 

CityLink Farebox Revenue Collection 

Whilst the Ministry of Health has stated that cash handling is deemed safe if the correct PPE gear is being worn, drivers have continued to voice their concerns regarding cash handling.  

Staff are working with the operator to produce a system that negates the driver having to handle cash.  A radio advertisement is currently running requesting passengers to “Tender the correct fare” when boarding.      

With the expected continuation of such events, it is planned to have sealed fare collection boxes permanently installed in the buses which allow for direct deposit whilst at the same time allowing the driver to see the deposited amount.  Passengers will be notified that the correct fare must be tendered. This will take time to embed. 

In addition to the above, passengers will be encouraged to purchase a Bee Card to move towards cashless system on the buses. 

Total Mobility (TM) 

 

 

Total
Clients
 

Monthly Actual Expend 

Monthly Budgeted Expend 

Monthly Variance 

Year/Date Actual Expend 

Year/Date Budgeted Expend 

Annual Variance 

July 2021 

1,260 

$25,937 

$25,000 

$937 

$25,937 

$25,000 

$937 

COVID-19 Alert Level 4 

From Wednesday 18 August 2021 TM trips have reduced by 75%.   

Messaging via social media and the NRC website was undertaken to advise TM clients of travel for essential services only, and whilst in the vehicle, both driver and passenger must wear a mask and no passenger may sit next to the driver.    

ROAD SAFETY UPDATE 

Road Trauma Update - 2021 Year to Date Road Death Statistics 

Fatalities this year 

Far North 

Whangārei 

Kaipara 

Northland 

National 

Local roads 

3 

2 

2 

7 

119 

State highways 

6 

3 

7 

16 

97 

TOTAL 

9 

5 

9 

23 

217 

Motorcycle Safety - Ride Forever (R4E) Rider Training Update 

Winter weather and COVID-19 restrictions have slowed down what is normally a quieter time of the year for training motorcyclists through the Ride Forever programme.  September was due to be “Motorcycle Awareness and Safety Month.”  This is now going to be held in October if restrictions are lifted. 

Road Safety Promotion/Media 

Refer to Agenda Item 8.4 – 2020/21 Northland Transport Agency: Transportation Activity Update

CUSTOMER SERVICES 

Telephone Inbound Call Statistics and Enquiries 

Call volumes have been standard up until lockdown on August 18.  Since then, call volume has considerably dropped due to welfare agencies being up and running promptly.  The Customer Services team have been able to set up and work from home covering calls and mailroom efficiently during the lockdown period.  A report with the statistics will be entered next month when the report becomes available in the office.  Bus registrations (passengers registering the trips they were taking on Citylink services as they did not have access to a COVID tracer app on their phone) were recorded by Customer Service Officers through lockdown and any enquiries that came through for welfare were also registered. 

Mailroom Email Processing Performance 

The Customer Services Enquiry Management System is working well for the mail being distributed to all services across Council and external customers. The inward mail has continued to be at the normal rate during lockdown and there have been no issues in processing.  Mail room processed over 817 mail items for August and there were 16 LGOIMAs logged across Council. 

Satisfaction Monitoring 

Ÿ Feedback cards, compliments and complaints 

No compliments were received.

Complaints received

Total

Bus - Citylink

Ÿ Driver not wearing a mask

Ÿ Driver speeding on Fairway Drive

Ÿ Not being able to register a trip on Saturday over the phone

 

Total complaints recorded

3

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT 

NEMA CEO Appointment  

The Public Service Commission has announced the appointment of David Gawn as NEMA’s substantive Chief Executive in early August, taking up his role from Wednesday 1 September.  David was the Chief Executive of the Pike River Recovery Agency and formerly Chief of the New Zealand Army.  

Northland CDEM Group and CEG 

Both the Northland CDEM Group and CEG met remotely on Wednesday 8 September for their quarterly meetings.  

Northland CDEM Group Plan 

The Northland CDEM Group has been successful in securing funding from the NEMA Resilience Fund for two projects during the current financial year. $25,000 was secured for the Lifelines Project outlined below and $45,000 for a one-year project to develop a Tsunami Response plan for the region.  

Lifelines 

The Northland Lifelines (Utility) Group, NLG, identified an opportunity to carry out a broad scale Regional Infrastructure Climate Change Risk Assessment and has prioritised this project to be undertaken in FY 2021/22. The project is being done collaboratively with the Northland Regional Council (NRC) and the Northland TLAs, each of whom are currently undertaking (or planning to undertake) climate change projects, to ensure a joined-up approach.   

Funding of $25,000 (excl. GST) from the NEMA Resilience Fund has been sought and secured by the Northland CDEM Group, on behalf of NLG.  

The aim of the project is to understand the risks arising from future climate change to Northland’s lifelines infrastructure, and how these may change over time.   

Tsunami Siren Testing 

Tsunami siren testing of the existing network is planned to take place at the start of Daylight Savings on Sunday 26 September 2021 at 1000 hrs. The usual testing process will be undertaken including a wide-reaching media campaign. 

Welfare Coordination Group  

The Welfare Coordination Group (WCG) meeting was held on 6 August with good representation from WCG member agencies, with 39 in attendance.  A shelter and accommodation workshop was held on 5 August, attended by a variety of agencies to review the Northland Shelter and Emergency Accommodation plan.   

MARITIME 

Recreational Boating 

The NRC Maritime and Communications team put forward a successful funding application to the Fuel Excise Duty Fund managed by Maritime NZ.  This fund promotes Navigation and Safety initiatives around the country and this year NRC received a total of $70,000. 

The focus this coming season will again be using our safety ambassador in the Far North to improve safety outcomes in remote areas and communities by establishing life jacket and dive flag hubs as well as boat ramp visits, attending community events and working alongside the Harbour Wardens. 

In addition, five “No Excuses days” will be funded in conjunction with Maritime New Zealand officers.  This will be more compliance focused, with the targeted areas being congested waterways around Mangawhai Harbour, Kai Iwi Lakes and the Bay of Islands. 

The safety ambassador and maritime team participated in a photo shoot for promotional safety material that can be used in future educational campaigns and material.   

Work on planning the campaign and organising educational and promotional material has continued during lockdown.  

Commercial Shipping 

The Deputy Harbourmaster has been working with Maritime NZ to renew approval for pilots' proficiency and training manuals for Whangārei and the Bay of islands. 

The Harbourmasters are working with the pilot company on an updated operating procedures manual.  Changes to shipping include reduced larger tankers, and an increase in container vessels. Designated anchorages are also under review for vessels waiting outside the harbour. A Harbourmasters’ Direction regarding reporting into harbour radio during transit has been extended to all commercial fishing vessels regardless of size.    

The Northport simulator is now in regular use for risk assessments for shipping, including mooring line assessments, and emergency breakdowns for ships leaving the wharf.  

COVID-19 Lockdown 

In general, the Maritime team have been able to continue working from home.  Critical maintenance of vessels has been completed.  One grounded vessel was rescued and placed on a mooring.  The owner was in Christchurch and had left the vessel at anchor.  Another person was stopped in the process of removing a vessel under the control of the Harbourmaster and deemed a wreck.  The team have worked with the Police as required and passed on all reports of on-water activity for them to follow up.  There have been various reports of on-water kayaks and fishing vessels, however weather has been a big deterrent.  

One new Maritime Officer started during the lockdown.  The IT and HR teams assisted greatly in starting him on induction material until he can join the team in person. 

 

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Nil


Council Meeting                                                                                                                                                         item: 8.4

21 September 2021

 

TITLE:

2020/21 Northland Transport Agency - Transportation Activity Update

From:

Calvin Thomas, Northland Transport Alliance Manager

Authorised by Group Manager/s:

Tony Phipps, Group Manager Advisor, on 15 September 2021

 

Whakarāpopototanga / Executive summary

The purpose of this paper is to provide the Northland Regional Council Elected Members with an update on Transportation activities delivered through the Northland Transportation Alliance (NTA) in the 2020/21 financial year (1st July 2020 – 30th June 2021).

The NTA is responsible for overseeing and managing the delivery of Transportation services for all Northland Councils (FNDC, KDC, NRC and WDC).

Each quarter the NTA Management team provide a summary report to the Alliance Leadership Group (NTA Governance) on activities and progress across the Region. Information from the 2020/21 Year End Summary Report presented to the August 2021 Alliance Leadership Group Meeting is included within this paper covering:

·    NTA Organisational Progress and updates

·    Specific Northland Regional Council – 2020/21 Activity summary

·    Northland District Councils – 2020/21 Activity summary.

 

Ngā mahi tūtohutia / Recommendation

That the report ‘2020/21 Northland Transport Agency - Transportation Activity Update’ by Calvin Thomas, Northland Transport Alliance Manager and dated 8 September 2021, be received.

 

Background/Tuhinga

Updates are provided for the NTA Organisational Activities, specific NRC transportation activities and a summary of Northland District Council activities for the twelve-month period of July 2020 to June 2021, aligning with existing Governance reporting provided to the Alliance Leadership Group.

On 1st July 2021 the NTA celebrated it’s 5-year anniversary and, to commemorate this, a Special 5th Anniversary Edition of our Mahi Tahi Newsletter was published providing and overview of how the organisation has progressed, and a summary of some of what has been achieved to date.

NTA Deliverables, Vision and Values

In late 2020 the NTA Leadership Group and Management Team confirmed the following Organisational Strategic Deliverables:

·    Industry Leader in Asset Management

·    Improve the reach of the Public Transport network

·    Deliver the Capital Works programme(s)

·    Deliver the Maintenance programme(s)

·    Lift the quality of Customer Experience, and

·    Prove a demonstrable improvement in the Northland Transport Network.

An NTA Cultural Working Group (CWG) was then established involving NTA staff representatives from each Council and functional team, with the primary purpose of the CWG being to lead the development of the NTA’s Vision and Values, designed to support achievement of the Strategic Deliverables.

The NTA Vison and Values were confirmed and endorsed (by both NTA Staff and the Alliance Leadership Group) in early 2021. The NTA then worked with Waka Kotahi’s Māori Liaison team to produce the Vision, Values, and value descriptions in both Te Ao Māori and English.

Graphical user interface

Description automatically generated with medium confidenceThe embedding process for the Values & Behaviours has commenced through the nominations for monthly NTA staff awards being linked to demonstration of these Values & Behaviours. Each year there will be annual staff awards for each of the values along with an overall team award focused on the NTA Vision (to be awarded to the team who have encapsulated the ethos of the vision throughout the year).

NTA Staff Culture and Engagement survey – 2021

The annual NTA Staff Culture and Engagement staff survey was completed in June 2021, with results indicating good progress towards creating the desired culture within the organisation:

·    92% of staff participating in the survey, and 

·    a positive engagement of 66%.

While the engagement score is a small drop from last year (70%), similar engagement score reductions have also been seen in individual Council surveys and likely reflects the significant workloads placed on the teams over the last year developing 2021/24 AMP submissions, supporting LTP & RLTP development and delivering a record regional transport capital works and maintenance programme.

Over 80% of the organisation are proud to work for the NTA and understand how their work contributes to achievement of the organisation’s goals, while approximately 30% raised concerns over workloads and fairness of renumeration.

Detailed survey results are being utilised to develop specific improvement plans for each department.

Health & Safety

Good progress has been made on the NTA improvement programme Health and Safety work stream, with the following activities now complete:

·    NTA Organisational Health & Safety Policy developed and adopted

·    NTA Lone Working Standard developed and implemented

·    NTA H&S Incident Management process developed and approved, with stakeholder communication plan developed to incorporate the new process within Maintenance Contracts. 

·    The NTA Working in the Road Corridor standard has been drafted and is currently out to consultation with the NTA’s Subject Matter Experts.

·    Further standards to provide constant approach across the NTA to identified critical risk activities have been identified for development over the next 18-24 months.

 

Road Safety Update

Table

Description automatically generatedRoad Trauma Update: 2021 Year to date (January 2021 – June 2021) road death statistics

 

As demonstrated in the table above, 71% of Northland’s 21 road deaths this year have occurred on the State Highway network (vs. 47% nationally).

Driver behaviour and mistakes continue to be key factors in Northland’s crashes.  

Regional Financials

As demonstrated in the tables below, full year expenditure for NTA managed transportation budgets was significantly greater than 2019/20, (noting negative impact of COVID on 2019/20 final quarter delivery).

 

 

The total expenditure ($143.1m) for NTA managed work in the 2020/21 year was 53% greater than the total expenditure of the full 2019/20 financial year ($93.3m).

 

NRC Transportation Financials and Waka Kotahi NZTA 2020/21 subsidy uptake

As a result of COVID impacts on Public Transport services, in combination with other contributing factors listed in the table below, Northland Regional Council’s subsidy uptake was 77% of what was originally available noting that, with the exception of $180k requested carry over related to the Rose Street upgrade, works were completed as planned.

 

 

 

Operational Highlights

NRC Transportation Department Activities

Northland Regional Land Transport Plan 2021/2027 (RLTP)

On Monday 28 June 2021, the RTC and NRC approved Regional Land Transport Plan for Northland 2021-2027 was submitted to Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency (through their Transport Investment Online [TIO] system) for consideration for inclusion in the National Land Transport Programme 2021-2024.

At the time of compiling this report, Waka Kotahi have yet to provide a detailed breakdown of the funding approved under each work category. This is scheduled for release to each approved authority in early September 2021.

Northland Regional Public Transport Plan 2021/2031 (RPTP)

All feedback has been received on the Draft RPTP. Unfortunately, due to workload pressures and lack of available resources, the finalisation of this document has not yet been completed. The completed Draft Regional Passenger Transport Plan 2021-2031 will be presented to the Northland Regional Transport Committee at their October 2021 meeting.

Public Transport

The BusLink revenue and passenger numbers for 2020/21 year are provided below, with most services achieving lower than budget, in a large part as a result of Covid impacts on passenger numbers and public transport usage.

 

Bus Link stats –  July 2020 to June 2021

(Passenger Numbers)

Year/Date Actual

Year/Date Budgeted

Variance

City Link Passengers

326,894

330,550

-3,656

Mid North Link Passengers

2213

1872

341

Hokianga Link Passengers

1299

936

363

Far North Link Passengers

4381

6660

-2,279

Bream Bay Link Passengers

 601

312

289

Hikurangi Link Passengers

 240

204

36

Whangarei Heads Link Passengers

94

204

-110

Bus Link stats –  1 June 2020 to 31 March 2021

(revenue ex GST)

Year/Date Actual

Year/Date Budgeted

Variance

CityLink Revenue 

$408,449

$446,243

-$37,794

Mid North Link Revenue

 $8,030

$9,360

-$1,330

Hokianga Link Revenue

$6,712

$6,511

$201

Far North Link Revenue

$11,784

$19,205

-$7421

Bream Bay Link Revenue

$4,000

$1,123

$2,877

Hikurangi Link Revenue

$593

$530

$63

Whangarei Heads Link Revenue

$397

$887

-$490

 

 

Northland Bus Services - 2020/21 Operational summary

CityLink Service

Whilst the passengers carried have slowly returned to pre-Covid19 numbers, the farebox revenue has remained well below budget due to: -

·    Fares remaining at a lowered level to encourage greater uptake of the service; and

·    The number of scholars using the service having dramatically increased at the expense of adult passengers. Whilst passenger numbers show a slow, but positive, growth, farebox revenue lags due to scholars paying half fare.

Another factor having a negative impact on the attempt to grow adult passenger numbers is the anti-social behaviour of school children on the buses and at the Rose Street Terminus. Staff have been working with the schools and the police in an attempt to find a solution. This includes looking to introduce individual school only buses operating directly to/from the individual schools in an effort to keep the scholars apart.

There has also been a marked decrease in SuperGold Card passengers travelling on the buses with a corresponding increase in travel on the Total Mobility Scheme which appears to be primarily a result of the elderly being more cautious in their travel choice due to the Covid19 transmission scare.

Hikurangi Link Service

This service is slowly showing positive results. Staff are actively working with community groups to identify various options to continue to grow the service and if feasible, expand it.


 

Whangarei Heads Link Service

Although staff have continued to advertise and work with the community, passenger loadings remain disappointingly low. Various alternative operating options are being considered at this time including the possibility of offering a summer service only.

Far North Link/Mid North Link/Hokianga Link

Staff will be undertaking an extensive feasibility/viability exercise into the above services. This includes meeting with the Northland Regional Council and Waka Kotahi with regards to future funding and the operators and the communities on possible alternative options available.

Any alternatives or changes will need to consider that these services were requested through previous Northland Regional Council Long Term Plans, and any plans to remove them will require public consultation. 

BusLink Customer Service Results

In April 2021, staff undertook a Passenger Satisfaction Survey on the CityLink service. This was undertaken over a three-day period.

·    200 (12% of daily total) passengers were interviewed. 

·    Over 90% of those interviewed rated their experience of the Public Transport System overall as Good to Extremely Good.

BusLink promotions/events

Advertising and promotion continued for all services during the last quarter of 2020/21 including staff handing out Easter Eggs to bus passengers at Rose Street on Thursday 1st April 2021, wishing passengers a Happy Easter as a “Thanks for hopping on Board” initiative.

 

Public Transport Customer Interactions

Chart, bar chart

Description automatically generatedThere were 55 recorded Customer Interactions / Requests relating to busses in 2020/21, a slight reduction on 2019/20 (57) and 2018/19 (62).

 

Total Mobility

Total Mobility (TM) 2020/2021 financial year to date.

Total Mobility Stats for 1 July 2020 to

30 June 2021

Total Clients

Year/Date Actual Expenditure

Year/Date Budgeted Expenditure

Annual Variance

June 2020

1632

$220,489

$300,000

-$79,511

June 2021

1316

$261,244

$300,000

-$38,756

 

When comparing the 2020/2021 against the 2019/2020 financial period, there was:

·    A $40,755 increase in fares collected, and

·    3,578 additional trips operated.

This increase is attributed to the change in the SuperGold Card bus passengers on the CityLink service now choosing to use the Total Mobility Scheme instead.

A total of 1,316 Total Mobility Scheme clients are registered on the database (a decrease of 316 when compared to 2019/20 total of 1,632 clients).

In conjunction with the above, Total Mobility Scheme identity cards expire every three years which requires a full database cleanse.  When a card is about to expire, a letter is sent to the client advising them of the need for renewal.  Any client card not used during this 3-year period are cancelled out of the system with any attempt to use an expired card automatically flagged in the system with all operators advised.

The increase in the number of Total Mobility Scheme service providers (taxi operators) during 2020/2021 has resulted in a greater number of wheelchair accessible vehicles being available leading to increased confidence in the service. There were 810 more hoist lifts this year compared to last year, with Total Mobility operations continuing to grow each year.

 

Road Safety Delivery:

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

186 courses were completed over the 2020/21 financial year, a reduction of 54 (22.5%) compared with the 240 completed in 2019/20. The decrease in numbers is believed to be due to the COVID-19 impacts and we expect there to be an increase in the uptake of courses going forward.

The 2020/21 breakdown included riders participating in the following courses:

·            52 completed the Bronze Course 

·            77 completed the Silver Course (intermediate), and  

·            57 completed the Gold Course (advanced) 

Road Safety Promotion/Media:

Road safety promotion work continued through 2020/21 supporting Police and partners with road safety promotion at events such as the Driver Reviver/Fatigue Stops and Truck Education and Health Stops, Waitangi Weekend events, with key messaging such as ‘RIDS’ – Restraints, Impairment, Distractions, Speed which continue to feature too frequently in our serious injury and fatal crashes. 

NRC Staff also supported a campaign undertaken by NorthPort and the Auckland/Northland Police Commercial Vehicle Safety Teams (CVST) carried out during the period that containers were being transported from NorthPort back to Auckland and some to Whangarei. Several issues with vehicles and drivers were addressed by the safety teams. Some road safety resources targeting driver behaviour were also handed out to truck drivers while they were down at NorthPort awaiting access to the unloaded containers

 

Looking forward, advertising themes in the Road Safety Advertising Calendar 2021/22 for the months of July and August are ‘Alcohol, Safe Vehicles, Speed and Restraints’.

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Northland Road Safety have also sponsored the Northland Rugby Union NPC team with an important message of ‘Seatbelts On’. The Northland Road Safety team were invited to an induction session with the players and with the support of Northland Police to present on this message and relay its importance (Police media release - Players kicking off with safety campaign | New Zealand Police). We also encouraged the players to have discussions with their communities about road safety.

 

The first competition match was on Saturday August 7th and the logo will be on all players shorts for every game this season.  

District Council Activities – Key Highlights

NTA Staff utilisation across District Council activities

Operational management and specialist staff continue to be utilised to complete tasks across the three District Councils, with 19.6% of WDC work completed by NTA employees of other Councils. The following table demonstrates the percentage of hours attributed to each Council for the year is relatively well aligned with each Council’s portion of overall NTA managed District Council expenditure.

Asset Management & Strategy

The final AMP document, incorporating minor changes required by Waka Kotahi NZTA, and LTP adjustments to programmes by each Council, was completed by the end of January 2021. The funding requests for each Council was moderated by Waka Kotahi staff over the period to May 2021. At the end of May Waka Kotahi NZTA advised each Council of the indicative funding for the Maintenance Operations and Renewals (MO&R) funding, for the 2021-24 period. These figures are:

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Final approval of the NLTP programme will be considered by the Waka Kotahi Board by late August and the final approved NLTP is due to be announced by the Minister of Transport in early September 2021. Aligned with this timing:

·    The confirmation and details of the indicative funding will not be made available until September 2021.

·    Details of the Capital programmes, Low Cost Low Risk (projects under $2M) and Major Improvement Works (projects over $2M) will also not be released until September 2021.

Update (September) – finalised budgets have subsequently been released (for MO&R) and for the three District Councils is greater than what was indicated in May 2021. While approved funding remains less than the originally submitted bids, staff are now confident the confirmed funding levels allow for a continuation of maintaining Levels of Service and, in specific areas, the opportunity to implement targeted improvement strategies and interventions.

A paper outlining funding outcomes and associated recommendations will be provided to each Council for consideration following staff assessment of impacts of any funding loss.

The Asset Strategy and Planning Team are presently developing interim budgets and projects briefs for the new year to enable the NTA Delivery teams (Maintenance and Capital) to start this year's programme of works. Future Activity Management Plan (AMP) improvement projects that the team are working on for the 2021/22 year include:

·    One Network Framework (ONF) integration into our RAMM databases.

·    Combining the 3 Councils RAMM database and introducing the Asset management Data Standard (AMDS).

·    Transportation Procurement Strategy refresh, (completed).

·    Unsealed road data collection - condition and dust.

·    Increasing detailed understanding of the unsealed road Lump Sum items in the Maintenance Contracts

Externally Funded Works - MBIE Worker Redeployment Programme

The Te Tai Tokerau Worker Redeployment Funding programme was fully completed on 18th June 2021, with total funding of $13.32m ($9.32m original + $4m storm variation) fully expended. Through administering the funding contract through Whangarei District Council, via the Northland Transportation Alliance (NTA), staff were able to leverage off existing Maintenance Contract arrangements to initiate works quickly and enable engagement of smaller local contractors. Several of these contractors faced uncertain futures following the level 4 restriction period and the injection of funding provided surety of forward works for a 6-month period allowing contractors to engage additional resources with confidence.

Early collaborative engagement with key stakeholders including Northland Council representatives, local MBIE staff, Ministry of Social Development (MSD), Te Puni Kōkiri and Northland Inc. ensured the programme Social Procurement objectives were developed and agreed to support the achievement of the programme deliverables.

The engagement of at least 294 workers on this programme (111 of whom were previously unemployed) ensured that a significant proportion of the funding returned through the Te Tai Tokerau local economy. At least 93% (103) of those employed specifically for the programme remain permanently employed in July 2021, either through transitioning to fulltime employment with the respective contractors or utilising the skills and training acquired on the programme to secure alternate employment.

Approximately $5.035m (54% of Original Programme funding) reported as being awarded to, and completed by, locally owned Northland enterprises, with approximately $1.38m (15% of Original Programme funding) of this locally awarded work reported as being awarded to, and completed by, Local Māori / Pasifika owned Northland enterprises. The balance of the expenditure was completed by Northland’s Tier 1 roading maintenance Contractors (Fulton Hogan, Downer, Ventia) who, although not locally owned, provide for significant local employment and procurement of goods and services.

In addition, the volume of rubbish collected through the programme was estimated as:

·    NRC Waterways – over 20 tonnes of illegally dumped refuse removed from Northland rivers and roadsides.

·    Council roadside – Over 2000 individual bags of rubbish, several fridges and tyres removed from berms areas along Northland Council’s local roads.

·    State Highways component - up to 20 tonnes of litter has been collected from roadsides on the Northland State Highway network

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A copy of the final project close-out report is included as an attachment to this report

Capital Works & Procurement

As demonstrated in the graph and tables below, with additional funding and projects added through the year, the value of capital and renewals project work delivered for Northland’s three District Councils in 2020/21 exceeded the original budget values.

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Description automatically generatedWhile full programme delivery was 85%, these figures are negatively impacted by several in progress externally funded projects (where full budget shown in 2020/21 but actual completion is 2021/22). With this component of work removed, 98.2% of the region’s subsidised capital works and renewals programme was successfully completed.

 

The significant difference in the unsubsidised budget and the actual unsubsidised spend is a result of:

·    Some works coming in under budget, and

·    MBIE funded projects with separate contractual milestone requirements not related to the end of the financial year.

Key achievements of the Northland District Council Capital Works programmes delivered in 2020/21 included:

·    17.5km of Seal Extensions constructed ($19.5m)

·    270km of reseals across 500 sites ($13.5m)

·    18km of road rehabilitation works over 20 sites ($11m)

·    Repaired, replaced, or upgraded over 200 bridges ($6.5m)

·    46 new footpaths / shared paths constructed ($7.5m)

·    24 resilience projects ($5.0m)

·    43 safety improvement projects ($6m).

·    Continued Street Lighting improvement projects ($4m) including:

Removal of 74 old light columns and 174 old luminaries, and

Installation of 340 new light columns and 542 new luminaries.

Maintenance & Operations

Through the remarkably busy last quarter of the financial year the five Maintenance and Renewals Contracts have maintained their construction momentum, successfully completing all planned renewals and additional externally funded (MBIE, PGF and TIF) upgrades.   

The NTA are pleased with the overall delivery of the annual Renewals and Projects.  The inclusion of significant funding from MBIE for Shovel Ready stimulus works created new employment opportunities and led to significant clearance of wilding pines and other hazardous trees, acceleration of stormwater upgrades and footpath construction. In addition, the Provincial Growth Fund continues to fund delivery of much needed seal extensions presently underway, along with improvements to rural unsealed roads throughout the Region.

While the NTA are satisfied with the overall delivery of the annual Renewals and Projects, the core routine maintenance works, particularly on unsealed roads, remain an area of focus for improvement.   

The unsealed road network typically suffers deterioration over the dry summer months (i.e. corrugations and loose gravel roads) that are problematic to treat by grading when still dry.  Nonetheless the requirement to meet response times remains a priority that all the Contractors are falling behind on. Non-Conformance Records (NCRs) have been issued where response times are behind, with payment penalties applied to the respective monthly claims. 

Contractor Management and Performance

The requirement to meet response times remains a priority that all the Contractors are presently falling behind on. Non-Conformance Records (NCRs) have been issued where response times are behind, with payment penalties applied to the respective monthly claims.

The 2020/21 average monthly compliance score achieved was >90% across all five of the Maintenance & Renewal Contracts. 

 


 

As demonstrated in the following “Year 3” KPM graph, there is now consistency of contractor performance measured against the contractual KPM’s across all five contracts.

 

While a good result, further to previous comments regarding core maintenance activities, there remains a concern that the performance scores do not truly reflect the actual condition of the roads, particularly the unsealed road networks.

The NTA has recently activated KPM No’s 28 and 29 (both previously excluded while objective measurement methodology was developed). These KPM’s measure and report the statistical compliance of workmanship quality, both for routine works (Lump Sum/month) and ordered works (measure and value tasks).

Further review and analysis of the KPM statistics is underway to ensure ongoing confidence to activate the first Contract rollover at the end of June 2022.  A report to each District Council is planned for early in Quarter 2 2021/22 advising of the Contract roll-over triggers, conditions and recommendations.

Customer Interactions

There has been a total of 38,599 Roading related Customer Interactions (CI’s) since 1 July 2018 across the Northland Region, with average volumes remaining relatively consistent when adjusted for seasonal variances and one-off events.

 

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Description automatically generatedThe chart below commences from 1 July 2018, providing sufficient historical data to look at associated trends, noting the small dip Q2 2020 dip coinciding with the initial 4 week Level 4 Covid lockdown and a volume spike in Q3 2020 related to the significant rainfall event (17th July) and subsequent network damage.

 

The NTA Business Performance team continue to work collaboratively with the respective Council Customer service teams to improve the accuracy of initial request assignments and through the development and provision of frequently asked questions responses as this ultimately improves both on timeliness of responses and staff workloads.

 

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Attachment 1: 2021 09 Project Close Out Report - Te Tai Tokerau Redeployment Package   


Council Meeting  ITEM: 8.4

21 September 2021Attachment 1

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Council Meeting                                                                                                                                                         item: 9.1

21 September 2021

 

TITLE:

Receipt of Committee Minutes

From:

Chris Taylor, Governance Specialist

Authorised by Group Manager/s:

Chris Taylor, Governance Specialist, on 15 September 2021

 

Ngā mahi tūtohutia / Recommendation

That the unconfirmed minutes of the:

·        Regional Transport Committee – 11 August 2021; and

·        Joint Climate Change Adaptation Committee – 30 August 2021

be received.

 

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Attachment 1: 2021 08 11 Regional Transport Committee meeting minutes - unconfirmed

Attachment 2: Joint Climate Change Adaptation Committee Minutes - 30 August 2021   


Council Meeting  ITEM: 9.1

21 September 2021Attachment 1

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Council Meeting  ITEM: 9.1

21 September 2021Attachment 2

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Council Meeting                                                                                                                                                         item: 9.2

21 September 2021

 

TITLE:

Working Party Updates and Chairpersons' Briefings

From:

Sally Bowron, Strategy, Governance and Engagement Team Admin/PA

Authorised by Group Manager/s:

Ben Lee, GM - Strategy, Governance and Engagement, on date 15 September 2021

 

Ngā mahi tūtohutia / Recommendation

That the report ‘Working Party Updates and Chairpersons' Briefings’ be received.

 

Te taitokerau Māori and council working Party (Co-Chairs: Clr Robinson and Pita Tipene, Ngāti Hine)

The Te Taitokerau Māori and Council Working Party (TTMAC) met on 12 August 2021. The topics for discussion included:

·        Endorsement of the draft TTMAC Strategic Priorities Plan (renamed Strategic Intent)

·        Endorsement of the Tiriti o Waitangi - Health Check

·        An update from Northland Inc Ltd regarding their Statement of Intent 2021-2024

·        Direction of travel regarding coastal occupation charging

·        An update on mapping of Outstanding Natural Landscapes in the coastal marine area

·        Information about the Whenua Māori Expo September 2021

·        Reports from the regional hui, representation review, other working parties and groups and Chief Executive Officer's report to July council meeting.

Following discussion, TTMAC provided advice on the following next steps:

·        That the Strategic Intent, as amended and endorsed by TTMAC during the meeting, go to council for their consideration

·        That Ngā Kupu Pānga | Terms of Reference for TTMAC be reviewed by the Māori Technical Advisory Group (MTAG) and aligned with the Strategic Intent

·        That the implementation of the TTMAC Strategic Intent be a standing item for TTMAC meetings

·        That the 2021/22 Te Tiriti Health Check framework and process as endorsed by non-elected members of TTMAC fo to council for their consideration, with the references to ‘Treaty’ in the report and attachments to be read consistently as references to ‘Te Tiriti’

·        That council engage MTAG to jointly develop a Draft Discussion Document on coastal occupation charging with staff and make recommendations to TTMAC on how to best incorporate Māori values and aspirations into the Discussion Document

·        That TTMAC Co-Chairs write a letter on behalf of members to tautoko the one penned by the Iwi and Local Government Chief Executives (ILGACE) group and signed by iwi Chairs and the Mayors of the Northland district councils. The letter is to request a pause to allow time to work with tāngata whenua on developing an appropriate process for mapping of Outstanding Natural Landscapes and ensuring that there is proper consultation. Additionally, that NRC approach the Environment Court again, asking the court to pause for the reasons already stated.

·        That TTMAC appointed tāngata whenua members confirm Te Waiāriki, Ngāti Korora, Ngāti Taka Hapū Iwi Trust to host the 11 November 2021 regional marae-based hui, subject them confirming marae availability.

·        That staff to look into correcting the te reo Māori used in the Kia Kotahi Mai document for the representation review and amend the online publication and, timeframes permitting, the hardcopy also.

 

Joint WDC-NRC Whangārei Public Transport Working Party (Cr. Terry Archer)

The Joint WDC-NRC Whangārei Public Transport Working Party met on 11 August 2021. The topics for discussion included:

·        CityLink (Whangārei) Operational Update – August 2021

·        Rose Street Bus Terminus Upgrade and Proposed Transit Lanes Update

·        Report from New Zealand Police Regarding Behavioural Issues at Rose Street Bus Terminus

Following discussion, the Joint WDC-NRC Whangārei Public Transport Working Party provided advice on the following next steps:

·    Chris Powell, NTA, to send Hikurangi Total Mobility User numbers to Cr. Murphy.

·    NTA and Committee members to investigate actions that could lead to increased Total Mobility service usage, and review at the next Joint WDC-NRC Whangārei Public Transport Working Party meeting on 13 October 2021.

·    Discussion indicated that the Waka Kotahi National Land Transport Plan (NLTP) will need to be released before further progress can be made.  It is due for release early September 2021.

·    Chris Powell, NTA, to confirm whether funding for increased bus operations is part of the NLTP.

·    Whangārei District Council are having a presentation from CitySafe and NZ Police in September.  Cr. Murphy to send the details of this meeting through to NTA.

 

 

 


Council Meeting                                                                                                                                                         item: 9.3

21 September 2021

 

TITLE:

River Working Group Updates

From:

Erica Wade, Personal Assistant - Natural Resources

Authorised by Group Manager/s:

Jonathan Gibbard, Poutiaki Taiao - Group Manager Natural Resources, on date 07 September 2021

 

Ngā mahi tūtohutia / Recommendation

That the report ‘River Working Group Updates’ be received.

 

Kāeo River – Whangaroa Catchment Working Group (Chair: Cr. Robinson)

The Kāeo River – Whangaroa Catchment Working Group met on 30 July 2021.  The topics for discussion included:

·        Discussion around the Terms of Reference and its current vacancies.

·        Discussion around how the agenda and minutes can be distributed for those without sufficient internet access.

·        An update on the State Highway 10 Bridge.  NZTA were absent from the meeting however, Cr. Stratford gave the committee an update.

·        Presentation on the 18 July 2020 flood event was shown.

·        Presentation was shown on the 2020-2021 Works Programme.

·        Overview of the 2021-2022 Budget was provided.

Following discussion, the Kāeo River – Whangaroa Catchment Working Group provided advice on the following next steps:

·        The agenda, minutes and any atttachments will be available from the Kāeo Service Centre.

·        The Terms of Refernece will be added as an agenda item for the next meeting which will be held in December 2021.

 

Taumarere Flood Management Working Group (Chair: Cr. Blaikie)

The Taumarere Flood Management Working Group met on 6 August 2021.  The topics for discussion included:

·        Invitation for NRC to attend an upcoming hui at Motatau Marae.

·        Discussion around the Terms of Reference nominations for current vacancies, resignation of one tangata whenua representative and how the Terms of Reference can be more flexible when appointing committee members.

·        An update on Turntable Hill progress was given.

·        Presentation was shown on the 2020-2021 Works Programme.

·        Concerns were raised on how the Otiria / Moerewa flood mitigation spillway is going to effect Kawakawa community.

·        Matt Jolly presented a fly-over and 3D video.

Following discussion, the Taumarere Flood Management Working Group provided advice on the following next steps:

·        Invitation to attend the hui at Motatau Marae was accepted.

·        Taumarere working group to provide feedback on how the nomination process for appointing committee members might be improved.  Terms of Reference will be an added topic on the next working group meeting agenda.

·        Working Group accepted the nominations for Nisha Marsh, Paul Tipene and Riki Ngakoti to be representatives on the committee.  Nominations to be sent to council for approval.

·        Joe Camuso will sit down with interested committee members to view modelling maps in more detail.

Kaihū River Working Group (Chair: Cr. Smart)

The Kaihū River Working Group met on 13 August 2021.  The topics for discussion included:

·        Updating the previous minutes to reflect those who were present.

·        Discussion around Maropiu Bridge and the work completed.

·        Presentation given on the rain event of July 2020.

·        Overview of the 2020-2021 Budget was provided.

·        Presentation was shown on the 2020-2021 Works Programme.

·        Discussion around how the boat inspection went and the proposed works programme.

Following discussion, the Kaihū River Working Group provided advice on the following next steps:

·        To increase the budget for tree removal to $20k for the 2021-2022 year.  This will include a trial on an area of cutting and pasting stumps.

 

·        Staff will cost up and circulate works plan and will give time for feedback before moving forward with work plan.

 

·        Contact marae trustee for approval to remove the pine trees on the marae and replace with natives.

   


Council Meeting                                                                                                                                                        ITEM: 10.0

21 September 2021

 

TITLE:

Business with the Public Excluded

 

Whakarāpopototanga / Executive Summary

The purpose of this report is to recommend that the public be excluded from the proceedings of this meeting to consider the confidential matters detailed below for the reasons given.

Ngā mahi tūtohutia / Recommendations

1.              That the public be excluded from the proceedings of this meeting to consider confidential matters.

2.              That the general subject of the matters to be considered whilst the public is excluded, the reasons for passing this resolution in relation to this matter, and the specific grounds under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 for the passing of this resolution, are as follows:

Item No.

Item Issue

Reasons/Grounds

10.1

Confirmation of Minutes - Confidential Council Meeting Minutes 17 August 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

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).

10.3

Introduction of a New Fund Manager into the Long-Term Fund Investment Fund

The public conduct of the proceedings would be likely to result in disclosure of information, the withholding of which is necessary to prevent the disclosure or use of official information for improper gain or improper advantage s7(2)(j).

10.4

Purchase of a Whangārei CBD Property

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).

10.5

Rent Relief for Council's Investment Property Tenants Under 'No Access in Emergency' Conditions

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).

3.              That the Independent Financial Advisors be permitted to stay during business with the public excluded.

Considerations

1.    Options

Not applicable. This is an administrative procedure.

2.    Significance and Engagement

This is a procedural matter required by law. Hence when assessed against council policy is deemed to be of low significance.

3.    Policy and Legislative Compliance

The report complies with the provisions to exclude the public from the whole or any part of the proceedings of any meeting as detailed in sections 47 and 48 of the Local Government Official Information Act 1987.

4.    Other Considerations

Being a purely administrative matter; Community Views, Māori Impact Statement, Financial Implications, and Implementation Issues are not applicable.