Agenda of Council Meeting - Tuesday, 19 October 2021

Council Meeting item: 7.3

19 October 2021

TITLE:	Review of Regional Policy Statement
From:	Ingrid Kuindersma, Policy Planner
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Ben Lee, Acting GM - Governance and Engagement, on 12 October 2021.

Whakarāpopotanga/Executive Summary

Under the Resource Management Act (RMA), council was required to report on its monitoring of the efficiency and effectiveness of the Regional Policy Statement (RPS) by May 2021. The purpose of the monitoring review is to assess how effective the provisions have been in addressing the regionally significant issues identified and achieving the objectives of the RPS after five years from the operative date (it is not a full review under s 79 RMA). The five-year review also provides an opportunity to identify any key gaps or areas for improvement as a result of changes to legislation, national policy direction or best practice which have emerged since the RPS was made operative. It is noted that the process is not a review of council’s performance in administering the RPS but is designed to identify short comings/additional areas for consideration in the document itself that would assist in achieving regional outcomes. Therefore, if the option for an internal review was adopted, staff are well placed to lead the review and have a thorough understanding of the organisation and wider environment.

Council decided on the 20 April 2021 to place the review on-hold for six months due to uncertainty over the resource management reform process and a lack of staff resources to undertake the review.

In the intervening time, there has been more clarity on the resource management reform process, in particular, there is likely to be an extended transition period of up to 10 years to fully implement the new legislation. Additional staff resource is also now available due to filling a vacancy.

Given the extended transition time, recent additional staff capacity and legal advice recommending proceeding, it is proposed that the review now be undertaken.

The RMA does not provide direction as to the detail of how council undertakes that review, with some councils undertaking lengthy and detailed reviews involving full public consultation, and others undertaking more modest desktop reviews. A recent comprehensive review including community engagement undertaken by another council earlier this year cost in the vicinity of $100,000 while a slightly older review that do not include public consultation cost $50,000.

Recommendations

1. That the report ‘Review of Regional Policy Statement’ by Ingrid Kuindersma, Policy Planner and dated 28 September 2021, be received.

2. That council proceed with the preparation of the five-year review of the Regional Policy Statement, in accordance with s 35 of the Resource Management Act 1991, and

a. That it be a desktop-based level of analysis

b. Include engagement with tangata whenua (via the Te Taitokerau Māori and Council Working Party)

c. Include key stake holders such as the Department of Conservation and district councils, and

d. That a draft of the review be provided for public feedback.

Options

No.	Option	Advantages	Disadvantages
1	Place the review on-hold for a further length of time.	Saving in resources.	Failure to undertake a statutory requirement exposes the council to reputational risk and potential criticism from the Minister for the Environment and the public.
2	Employ an external consultant to undertake a comprehensive review of the RPS including a process that allows for full public consultation.	Allows for full public input. Meets legislative requirements. Fully transparent.	Expenditure has not been budgeted and likely to take considerable time. Discussions with two other councils who have recently undertaken comprehensive reviews of their RPS and RCP has indicated the cost to be in the region of $50,000 to $100,000. With the lesser cost not including public consultation, and the more expensive review involving a multistage process, including community engagement. May not result in significant additional information as the RPS is still to be fully implemented by the district councils and the regional plan and therefore the true outcomes are yet to be determined. 5 years is also considered to be a short window of time to identify any changes in environmental outcomes linked to the RPS.
3	Staff undertake a desktop review of the RPS and seek feedback from the District Councils, tangata whenua and DoC (Department of Conservation) Provide a draft for public feedback.	Can be undertaken by staff in a relatively short timeframe with no external resources needed. Tangata whenua input through TTMAC via MTAG or external consultants could be accommodated within existing budgets. Will be sufficient to identify any aspects of the RPS that need amending. Meets legislative requirements.	Limits public input. Could be perceived to be less transparent.
4	Employ an external consultant to undertake a desktop review and seek input from targeted external parties and provide a draft for public feedback.	Will be sufficient to identify any aspects of the RPS that need amending. Meets legislative requirements. Provides an external perspective on the RPS. Could be perceived as being more transparent.	Will require unbudgeted expenditure of an estimated $30,000-$50,000.

Staff recommend Option 3.

Considerations

1. Environmental Impact

The review of the RPS will not directly result in any environmental impacts. However, the intention of the review is to identify any deficiencies in the RPS. Further work can then be undertaken on how to address these issues, potentially improving environmental outcomes.

2. Community views

Communities in Northland are likely to have an interest in the outcome of the review and any changes to the RPS that may arise from it. Depending on which option is adopted, there will be varying opportunities for public input. All options would see the final review being made publicly available.

3. Māori impact statement

The effectiveness and efficiency of the RPS has potential impacts on Māori and it has therefore been proposed to consult with TTMAC (Te Taitokerau Māori and Council Working Party) regarding direct input from MTAG (Māori Technical Advisory Group) or the potential to hire a consultant to prepare input on their behalf.

4. Financial implications

There are financial implications if Option 2 or 4 are undertaken as this would require funding that has not been budgeted for. Option 3 would have limited financial impact as it would largely be limited to staff time and additional costs to support MTAG/consultant for tangata whenua review can be accommodated within existing budgets.

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

Section 35 of the RMA requires councils to undertake efficiency and effectiveness reviews of their Regional Policy Statement at 5 yearly intervals and make the results available to the public. Failure to undertake a statutory requirement exposes the council to reputational risk and potential criticism from the Minister for the Environment and the public.

Background/Tuhinga

The RPS for Northland became operative on 9 May 2016. Under s.35(2) of the RMA, council is obliged to monitor the effectiveness and efficiency of its policies (amongst other things), and to make the results of that monitoring publicly available at least every five years. Council was therefore obliged to report by 9 May 2021 on its monitoring review. However, a decision was taken on the 20^thApril 2021 to place the review on-hold for six months due to uncertainty over the resource management reform process and a lack of staff resources to undertake the review.

Given the extended transition time, recent additional staff capacity and legal advice recommending proceeding, it is proposed that the review now be undertaken.

The review is an opportunity to assess how the RPS is functioning in achieving the stated outcomes for the region and identify any gaps that have become apparent over the 5-year time period. Where gaps or improvements are identified these will need to be addressed in an ongoing program of amendments in addition to any new requirements related to upcoming central government legislation. The ability to undertake the assessment is constrained to some extent by the short timeframe for identifying environmental trends associated with provisions of the RPS and that to date the RPS has not been fully implemented by the district councils and the regional plan.

The review is intended to assess the performance of the RPS document rather than it’s administration by council and therefore, staff are well placed to lead the review and have a thorough understanding of the organisation and wider environment.

It is proposed to use the following questions as a framework for measuring effectiveness and efficiency of the RPS:

· Have we done what we said we would do?

· Have we achieved what we said we’d achieve?

· How do we know if our actions led to the outcomes observed?

· Have we achieved the outcomes at a reasonable cost?

· Are we focused on the right issues - are there any gaps?

It is proposed that staff undertake a desktop analysis based on the following information:

· Resource consent decision reports, including conditions imposed on resource consents

· Compliance and complaints information

· State of the Environment reporting

· Evidence from staff

· Committee minutes and agenda items

· Consultation with DoC and District Council staff and tangata whenua

An important aspect of the review is to consider tangata whenua perspectives on the efficiency and effectiveness of the RPS. TTMAC advice on the most appropriate way for gaining input was sought at the 14 October TTMAC meeting. Staff will provide a verbal update to council on TTMAC advice.

Should an internal review process be adopted the following timeline is proposed:

· 19 October – council approve process for 5 year Regional Policy Statement review

· October-January – staff to prepare draft report for feedback from DoC, district councils and TTMAC/MTAG with follow up meetings if required. Approximately 2-3 council workshops as required to discuss content as review progresses.

· February – revised report to Planning and Regulatory Working Party for feedback and TTMAC for advice/recommendations

· March/April – council consideration of the final 5 year Review Report

· April 2022 – make the review document available to the public

Should the option of using an external consultant be adopted (Option 4) instead of using internal staff (Option 3), additional time would be required to award contracts and brief the appointed consultant.

Should the option of an extensive review be adopted (Option 2) the timeframes would be anticipated to be extended by an additional 1 year.

Regardless of the RPS 5-yr review findings the RPS must be amended in light of:

• National Planning Standards – mandatory changes required by November 2022 and consequential amendments (RMA s. 581(3)(d)¹ - no RMA schedule 1 process required

• NPS Freshwater Management 2020 – combined Regional Policy Statement and Regional Plan – freshwater plan change process already underway (RMA Part 4 Schedule 1² freshwater planning process required)

• NPS Indigenous Biodiversity – when received, likely early 2022 (a similar amended RMA process to that set out for Freshwater is anticipated

Following the review, it is anticipated that there will be an ongoing programme of amendments based on the above national planning instruments and any deficiencies identified as part of the review. In most instances these changes to the RPS would entail a process including public consultation.

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Nil

Council Meeting item: 7.5

19 October 2021

TITLE:	Proposed four waters entities - council position
From:	Ben Lee, Acting GM - Governance and Engagement and Colin Dall, Pou Whakaritenga - Group Manager Regulatory Services
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Ben Lee, GM - Strategy, Governance and Engagement, and Colin Dall, Pou Whakaritenga – Group Manager Regulatory Services on 13 October 2021.

Executive summary/Whakarāpopototanga

As part of the wider three waters reform, Government is proposing four new large water service delivery entities to manage drinking, waste and storm water. To date, council has not expressed a formal position. Staff recommend council have a formal position because of potential impacts on council’s various roles relating to water management, and it is important to show leadership on behalf of the Northland community for changes that could have significant impacts on them.

Recommendations:

1. That the report ‘Proposed four waters entities - council position’ by Ben Lee, Acting GM - Governance and Engagement, and Colin Dall, Pou Whakaritenga – Group Manager Regulatory Services, and dated 8 October 2021, be received.

2. That council adopt the following position regarding the Government’s proposal to establish four water entities for the delivery of three waters services:

i. The Northland Regional Council supports the Government and LGNZ joint objectives for the reform.

ii. The Northland Regional Council wants to see improved three waters services in Northland, with a focus on:

(a) Achieving full compliance performance of wastewater systems, ensuring they meet the desired environmental outcomes.

(b) Increasing the reliability and resilience of water supplies during droughts.

(c) Increasing the investment in new public wastewater schemes and water supplies particularly where there is the greatest social and environmental need.

(d) Future proofing of all three waters infrastructure to cope with the impacts of climate change

iii. The Northland Regional Council does not have a view on whether or not a joint Auckland and Northland Entity is the best solution for Northland. We make the following recommendations for any Three Waters Entity:

(a) It needs to provide for local community input into decision making.

(b) While increased investment is required, any new entity must be the most cost-efficient delivery model to be affordable for Northland communities.

(c) It needs to enable improved and/or new water services where there is a need, as many small Northland communities are not connected to a public wastewater and or water supply scheme.

(d) It needs to ensure the views of tangata whenua are understood and are an integral part of Three Waters management

iv. The Northland Regional Council acknowledges district councils’ right to make their own evidence-based decisions on opting in or out.

v. The Northland Regional Council wants to ensure regional councils are fully involved in any government consideration and analysis of including flood protection and land drainage infrastructure as part of the reforms. We do not support any proposal to transfer this infrastructure without a full analysis of the problem and potential solutions.

Options

No.

Option

Advantages

Disadvantages

Be silent on Government’s proposed four water entities

Minimal effort for staff and councillors.

Community doesn’t know where NRC stands with a proposal that could have significant impacts on the community.

Risk that government will make decisions that NRC does not support.

Difficult to raise concerns after the fact if council has not expressed a view early on.

State council’s position on Government’s proposed four water entities

Government, Northland’s district councils, public and tangata whenua are informed of the views of council.

Council is perceived to be actively representing the region’s interests.

Transparency.

Risk of upsetting parties with different views on the proposed four water service entities.

Staff recommend Option 2.

Considerations

1. Environmental Impact

The recommended decision will not in itself have a direct environmental impact. However, the proposed position advocates for improved environmental outcomes.

2. Community views

The Government, mainly through the DIA, has consulted with the public throughout New Zealand on Three Waters reform and the proposed creation of cross-regional water service entities. It is clear from public consultation meetings attended by council representatives, mainstream and social media commentary that community views on the proposed four water service entities are wide-ranging.

3. Māori impact statement

It is clear from public consultation meetings attended by council representatives, mainstream and social media commentary that Māori have strong views on the proposed four water service entities, particularly their governance, the ownership of water service assets and affordability of water services.

4. Financial implications

There will be some minor resourcing implications for council in making the recommended decision. Staff time will be invested in advocating the council position. There will also be staff time involved in being involved in discussions and analysing options for flood protection and land drainage infrastructure. Expert advice may also need to be commissioned (unbudgeted).

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. The proposed position is not inconsistent with council’s Long-Term Plan and the council position recommended is consistent with council’s functions and council’s role as a lead organisation for the Northland community. This does not mean that this matter is not of significance to tāngata 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 known policy, risk management or legislative compliance issues associated with this decision.

Background/Tuhinga

Following the serious campylobacter outbreak in 2016 and the Government’s Inquiry into Havelock North Drinking Water, central and local government have been considering the issues and opportunities facing the system for regulating and managing the Three Waters (drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater).

The focus has been on how to ensure safe drinking water, improve the environmental performance and transparency of wastewater and stormwater networks, and deal with funding and affordability challenges, particularly for communities with small rating bases or high-growth areas that have reached their prudential borrowing limits.

The Government’s stated direction of travel has been for publicly owned multi-regional entities.

The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), in partnership with Local Government NZ (LGNZ) have formed the Three Waters Steering Committee (which includes elected members and staff from local government commissioned specialist economic, financial, regulatory and technical expertise) to support the Three Waters Reform Programme and inform policy advice to ministers.

After the initial phase of intelligence gathering and analysis, Government released its proposal for a new model of delivering water services, which includes:

· Establish four statutory, publicly owned water services entities that own and operate Three Waters infrastructure on behalf of local authorities.

· Establish independent, competency-based boards to govern

· Set a clear national policy direction for the Three Waters sector, including integration with any new spatial / resource management planning processes

· Establish an economic regulation regime

· Develop an industry transformation strategy.

· Putting the three Northland district councils into Water Services Entity A, Northland and Auckland (although the precise southern boundaries are still up for discussion).

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Figure 1: Summary of Governments proposal (sourced from Far North District Council website- https://www.fndc.govt.nz/Our-Services/Water/Three-Waters-Reform-Programme)

On 15 July 2021, in partnership with LGNZ under a Heads of Agreement, the Government announced a package of $2.5 billion to support councils to transition to the new water entities and to invest in community wellbeing. This funding is made up of a ‘better off’ element ($500 million will be available from 1 July 2022 with the investment funded $1 billion from the Crown and $1 billion from the new Water Services Entities) and ‘no council worse off’ element (available from July 2024 and funded by the Water Services Entities). The “better off” funding can be used to support the delivery of local wellbeing outcomes associated with climate change and resilience, housing and local placemaking, and there is an expectation that councils will engage with iwi/Māori in determining how to use their funding allocation.

In addition to the funding announcements, councils were given an eight-week period ending 30 September 2021 to review the information provided by the government. The purpose of this period is to understand the proposal and how it affects councils and their communities and to identify issues of local concern and suggest possible ways to address those concerns.

Next steps are expected to be announced soon, which would include the timeframes, more detailed proposal and any community or public consultation.

It is also important to note that the Government has not ruled out legislating for an “all-in” approach to reform to realise the national interest benefits of the reform.

On the assumption that the reform goes ahead, it is anticipated that councils will continue to deliver water services until at least early 2024.

LGNZ and Government position

LGNZ and Government have been working closely together in developing the Government’s preferred model. This includes participating in a Joint Steering Group (created in mid-2020 to provide feedback on the Government’s reform proposals) and adopting an agreed set of joint objectives for the three waters reform^{^[2]}:

· significantly improving the safety and quality of drinking water services, and the environmental performance of drinking water, wastewater and stormwater systems;

· ensuring robust safeguards against privatisation

· ensuring all New Zealanders have equitable access to affordable three waters services and that the water services entities will listen, and take account of, local community and consumer voices

· improving the coordination of resources, planning, and unlocking strategic opportunities

· ensuring the overall integration and coherence of the wider regulatory and institutional settings

· increasing the resilience of three waters service provision to climate change and natural hazards

· moving three waters service delivery to a more financially sustainable footing, and addressing the affordability and capability challenges faced by small suppliers and local authorities

· improving transparency about, and accountability for, the planning, delivery and costs of three waters services

· undertaking the reform in a matter that enables local government to continue delivering on its placemaking role and broader “wellbeing mandates”.

District councils’ position

Whangarei District Council

Whangarei District Council (WDC) have put considerable effort into analysing Government’s proposal. At their 29 June 2021 meeting WDC made the decision to opt-out^{^[3]}.

Put simply, WDC opted-out because Government was unable to provide evidence of the need for change Whangārei district:

The lack of Council specific data means that government has not shown a coherent case for reform for Whangarei. That data may eventually be provided but Council wants to make a formal decision before the MoU expires on 30 June 2021. Hence our recommendation must be to ‘opt-out’ of the reforms at this stage.

Then at their 27 September 2021 meeting, WDC resolved that the council:

1. Supports the need to lift the standards of water supply quality and wastewater treatment across New Zealand;

2. Supports the need for government to genuinely partner with councils;

3. Supports the need to introduce an economic regulator to improve efficiency and productivity and ensure there is appropriate oversight, notes that the economic regulator can apply to Council owned and operated Three Waters infrastructure without amalgamation;

4. Notes the need for some Councils to achieve greater scale and capability in the delivery of water services, and/or alternative funding sources;

5. Agrees that there are alternative governance and financial models to that proposed which will achieve most of the government’s water reform objectives and outcomes that should receive further consideration by the government;

6. Agrees to continue to work with the government to consider these alternative options

7. Agrees that water service entities should have the same accountability mechanisms as provided under the Local Government Act for council-controlled organisations;

8. Agrees that ownership of waters assets, in the traditional sense, should continue to reside with Council;

9. Agrees that the set-up of any new entities should specify the requirements or principles for consultation, as they are set out in the Local Government Act 2002; 11.

10. Does not support the government’s proposed ownership and governance arrangements for the entities;

11. Supports a pause on the reforms until further work has been undertaken to the satisfaction of Council; Seeks further engagement and information on the aspects of the water reform proposals; Or confirms its decision of 29 June 2021 to provisionally opt-out of the reforms.

Far North District Council

The Far North District Council (FNDC) made the decision to opt-out at their 12 August 2021 meeting^{^[4]} “… until the Council has sufficient information to make an informed decision”. FNDC “…also voted unanimously to:

· Ask Council staff to report back to them in November after analysing the Government’s proposed package of reforms

· Work with other Northland councils to find a water entity and governance structure that suits the region

· Gauge community support for the Government’s reform proposal and, if necessary, hold a referendum on the issue.”

FNDC are currently undertaking a poll to get community feedback on whether the council should opt in or out of Government’s programme. The results will inform the decision they will make in November.

Kaipara District Council

Kaipara District Council (KDC) agreed, at its September meeting, to send a letter to the Minister for Local Government highlighting some key areas of concern with the Government’s proposal^{^[5]}. KDC are still undecided on whether they support the proposal because they do not have necessary information to decide. Key areas of concern include:

· How the level of cross subsidisation would work around Entity A (incorporating councils of Auckland, Whangarei, Far North and Kaipara),

· A request for Kaipara to have a seat on any Representative Governance Group that may be established,

· Confirmation on the approach to debt financing with the Local Government Funding Agency and Council’s role as a guarantor,

· Clarity on the status of land drainage parts of the stormwater network,

· Clarity around how the proposed water entity would manage future planning, to ensure that transport and community infrastructure, which Council would still control, would continue to be aligned,

· How the proposed entity would align with and support the outcomes of the climate change adaptation work being done in the community, and,

· How the proposed Entity A body would engage with Kaipara people.

Feedback on Government’s proposal

LGNZ has released some early analysis of the councils’ feedback on the Governments proposals^{^[6]} (the eight-week feedback period closed on 30 September):

Early analysis of the feedback shows five clear areas of concern:

· Governance, accountability: The sector is concerned the proposed arms-length governance arrangements are not sufficient to ensure the Water Service Entities are accountable to communities.

· Local voice and prioritisation: The small size of the Regional Representative Group (governance) is a challenge for councils, especially among smaller councils who fear their voice will be crowded out when setting investment priorities and plans.

· Integration with the planning system: The parallel Resource Management reforms are creating uncertainty, and at a minimum councils will want to see the Water Service Entities “give effect” to their plans (as they exist) rather than “give consideration” to their plans.

· Rural Water Schemes: The complexity of rural water scheme ownership and operations is creating uncertainty in many rural communities and the role of Taumata Arowai and the Water Service Entities needs to be clarified.

· Iwi/Māori co-governance: Councils want the flexibility in the Regional Representative Group settings to ensure they can match existing relationships with mana whenua.

District council performance

Since the major local government reform in 1989 and the formation of regional councils and territorial authorities, Northland’s three district councils have provided only a few new water supply and wastewater schemes to previously unreticulated communities. Many of Northland’s communities do not have public wastewater and/or water supply schemes. Notably, about half the population is still not connected to a district council operated public water supply. The affordability of providing new schemes has been a significant hurdle, particularly with the demise of government subsidies.

At the same time, the costs of improving Northland’s existing public water and wastewater services are significant and mounting up. Many of the existing schemes, particularly wastewater schemes, have aging reticulation and treatment systems that require replacement or upgrading, with some councils essentially in catch-up mode to improve their wastewater infrastructure due to historic under investment in those schemes.

The 2019/2020 drought also ‘highlighted’ the fragility (lack of resilience) of many public water supplies and meeting maintenance flow limits imposed on the take consents for many public water supplies has been a problem during droughts, exacerbated by lack of back-up water sources. Climate change (declining average annual rainfalls and more frequent periods of dry weather/drought) is likely to further exacerbate the situation.

The response of the district councils to providing water services that consistently perform well and meet consent requirements has been variable. The following table gives a summary of enforcement action the council has taken in the past ten years in relation to public water supply and wastewater schemes:

Council	Formal Warnings	Abatement Notices	Infringement Notices	Enforcement Orders
FNDC	1 wastewater	17 wastewater 1 water supply	6 wastewater	1 wastewater
WDC	3 wastewater	1 water supply	1 water supply
KDC		5 wastewater	1 wastewater

And abatement notices are currently in place in relation to the discharges from the following wastewater schemes:

Wastewater Scheme	Reason
Ahipara	Ongoing non-compliance with bacteriological consent limits
Kaitāia	Reticulation overflows
Kerikeri	Non-compliant discharge*
Opononi & Omāpere	Ongoing non-compliances with bacteriological consent limits
Russell	Occasional non-compliances with E. coli consent limit post UV treatment unit
Maungaturoto	Intermittent non-compliances, generally due to high rainfall

*May be cancelled soon if the monitoring results for the recently completed replacement treatment plant

confirm consent compliance.

Two infringement notices have also been issued recently, one in relation to a spill from the Taipa (East Coast) wastewater scheme and the other in relation to a non-compliant discharge from the Russell wastewater scheme.

Flood protection and land drainage infrastructure

The Stormwater Technical Working Group (STWG) was established to identity future arrangements for the planning and management of stormwater services and how those services could be successfully delivered by the proposed water services entities. The STWG recently released their report (August)^{^[7]}.

Included in the report were recommendations in relation to flood protection and land drainage infrastructure. This is relevant (and important) for council because council has flood protection assets and there is a strong relationship between land drainage schemes and wider catchment management activities council is involved in (including flood management and water quality and quantity management). The report recommends that flood protection and rural land drainage schemes are not transferred to the new water entity, but that the door should be left open for it to happen if mutually agreed.

Council position to date

Council has yet to form a view on Government’s proposed four water entities. However, council did make a submission on the Water Services Bill^{^[8]} which included some relevant statements:

· We support system reform that will facilitate investment into improved quality standards and expanded capacity of water services, provided consolidation (and the allocation of investment that goes with it) doesn’t neglect our most vulnerable rural communities and perpetuate the problem of underinvestment in these areas.

· We also acknowledge there are issues around the operation and performance of wastewater and stormwater networks in parts of Northland. We support improved regulation and oversight of the ‘water services’ system.

· While not directly addressed in the Bill we also strongly support the intent that water supply (and supplying entities) remain effectively in public ownership – we do not support delegation of or transfer of this vital function to the private sector as we do not see this as being in the public interest or benefit.

· Small and dispersed communities with a large amount of water infrastructure per person face a particular challenge in funding and financing the maintenance and renewal of that infrastructure. This pressure is compounded by requirements to meet strengthened safety and environmental regulations.

· While we understand the rationale for scale / consolidation (particularly in relation to the scale of investment needed), there is again potential for tension in delivering on government policy in the NPS for Urban Development (NPS-UD) – this directs that councils must provide for urban development and in particular meet demand for housing and business land. This will require a high degree of alignment and coordination between water suppliers and council planning to ensure water supply infrastructure and capacity matches plans for increased urban capacity/growth.

Discussion

There will be increasing expectation for council to be clear about its position on the proposed four water entities, particularly when the Government releases its next version of the proposal and asks for wider public feedback. Staff are of the view that council should form a view, given its various roles which are directly related to water services delivery (e.g. regulatory, flood protection, emergency management, climate change response) and as a lead agency for the Northland community.

LGNZ’s and Governments joint objectives are laudable, difficult to argue against and consistent with council’s position to date. These should be endorsed.

There are some performance issues with the current delivery of water services model that need addressing:

(a) The poor compliance performance of some wastewater systems (mainly in the Kaipara and Far North districts)

(b) The concerning reliability and resilience of water supplies during droughts

(d) Future proofing of three waters infrastructure to cope with the impacts of climate change (an emerging issue).

However, while we have concerns with the current delivery of water services, we are not in a position to say whether a single Auckland and Northland Water entity will better address these issues or generally provide a better delivery model for Northland. We have not done the analysis or sought the information necessary to inform such a view.

District councils have done a considerable amount of work in analysing the proposals, particularly WDC. We are not in position to interrogate their analysis and conclusions – and therefore we are not able to form a view on their conclusions. However, we should acknowledge that district councils can (and should) make their own evidence-based decisions.

But while we should not have a view on what model would provide the best solution for Northland, there are some key principles that staff believe are critical for any water services delivery model to address:

(a) It needs to provide for local community input into decision making.

(b) While increased investment is required, any new entity must be the most cost-efficient delivery model to be affordable for Northland communities.

(c) It needs to enable improved and/or new water services where there is a need, as many small Northland communities are not connected to a public wastewater and or water supply scheme.

(d) It needs to ensure the views of tangata whenua are understood and are an integral part of three waters management

Flood protection and land drainage infrastructure appear to be “off the radar” at the moment for automatic transfer to the entity. However, we should be clear that it is a particular area of interest for council, that we should be fully involved in any analysis of the transfer of flood and land drainage infrastructure, and our holding position is we do not support any proposal to transfer this infrastructure without a full analysis of the problem and potential solutions.

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Nil

Council Meeting item: 8.3

19 October 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 13 October 2021

Ngā mahi tūtohutia | Recommendation

That the report ‘Chief Executive’s Report to Council’ by Malcolm Nicolson, Tumuaki - Chief Executive Officer and dated 30 September 2021, be received.

8.3.1 Highlights

Regional Accessibility Strategy

In May 2019, the Chief Executive Forum raised the possibility of developing a region-wide disability (now accessibility) strategy for Northland. The purpose of the strategy would be to enable people with access needs to live, work, play, visit and participate across our communities, in a more inclusive and equitable way.

A cross-council working group, comprising staff representatives from the three district councils and NRC, have since been working to advance development of the strategy. The first action was to seek feedback from the Disability Advisory Group. The group advised that any development of such a strategy must be done in partnership with the disability community and the wider access needs community and must be underpinned with strong implementation or action plans.

Following this feedback, the working group ran two surveys: one to assess the needs of the community, and the other to gain insight from staff across all four councils. These surveys revealed that:

Ÿ only 17% of the respondents in the community survey said that councils were good at supporting accessibility.

Ÿ staff wanted more leadership, support, guidance, and resources to enable them to build specific working practices to progress accessibility for everyone. There is a clear desire to learn more, be more accessible and to do better for the community of Northland.

While COVID-19 has slowed the process somewhat, work is progressing. The next step in the project is to carry out early community engagement to gather more in-depth information from the access needs communities, which will feed into development of the strategy. Development of guiding documentation and a consultation plan to properly support this process is underway. Early engagement is expected to begin in November or December this year.

Once the engagement has been carried out and the analysis completed, the working group will seek approval from each council to start drafting the strategy.

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.
Consent decision appeal	Irrigation of avocado orchards and horticulture crops.	Decision appealed by the Director-General of Conservation. Awaiting Court directions.
Economics - REL	Still waiting for repayment proposal from Maher Jammal. Hope to receive something imminently.	Review proposal and negotiate an agreement.

8.3.3 BIOSECURITY

Incursions and response

A red ear slider turtle was captured near Kaingaroa and rehomed in Whangārei. Red eared sliders are long lived and are a top predator if allowed to occupy our natural waterways.

Red eared slider turtle captured near Kaingaroa

A picture containing reptile, turtle

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Feral Pig Control

Council received three pig trap requests. Assistance was provided to a landowner on Waiuku Coach Road, Waima, where there were 20 feral pigs that were overrunning the property. The pigs were trapped and humanely destroyed.

A meeting was attended with concerned landowners at Midgley Road, Mangonui. Advice was given and contractors were recommended to help with the control of feral pigs which had been damaging macadamia and olive orchards.

KAURI PROTECTION

Clean Card Workshops

The first two online versions of our Clean Card workshop were conducted. This is a free, three-hour workshop providing a detailed, informative and interactive session on Kauri Protection. It’s designed to upskill attendees in the areas of identifying dieback disease, understanding hygiene and how best to prepare for activities undertaken around Kauri. The workshop is made up of a PowerPoint and interactive displays and participants reported that the course had been worthwhile.

Kauri Boardwalk Project

Ÿ Project Outcomes

Key outcomes of the kauri boardwalk project funded by the Provincial growth Fund are as follows:

Ÿ To provide jobs to unemployed, or recently unemployed people as a result of the impact of COVID-19 in New Zealand.

Ÿ Be a key part of jobs created being sustainable, providing not just short-term benefits to the unemployed.

Ÿ Protecting kauri from soil borne pathogen which causes dieback through the upgrade of walking tracks to protect root systems and prevent movement of dirt via footwear.

Ÿ To upgrade walk trails, enhancing the experience of the walk using boardwalks, boxed steps and occasionally platforms and bridges.

Ÿ Through track upgrade encourage the use of the tracks which would bring people into communities increasing patronage of local cafes, restaurants, and accommodation.

Ÿ Progress Summary

The chosen contractor, Jack Johnson Contracting, has a track record of employing and sustaining employment for unemployed youth particularly young tāne but also wāhine in Northland. Johnson Contracting provides supervision and pastoral care for their employees and offers workplace training and qualifications through NorthTec.

Eight projects were originally proposed and five have designs completed successfully. The Kauri Mountain trail is complete, and four others are at varying stages of completion; Puketotara Farm, Wrights Farm, Kerikeri River and Onekainga (near Whananaki). Onekainga trail traverses multiply owned Maori land and work is currently on hold due to concerns raised over the trail’s current location. Physical works had commenced on this job on the understanding that the TA trail representatives had reached agreement with the landowners, however this remains in negotiation and consequently the project has been placed on hold until such time as the landowners determine their future aspirations.

Overall the project is tracking slightly behind due to Covid restrictions and poor weather however staff and contractors are confident the works will be completed early in the new year and within the contracted time and budget.

PARTNERSHIPS

Piroa Brynderwyn High Value Area

A lot of time has been spent this month reacting to a suspected ferret kill on kiwi within the high value areas.

Extra traps (both live capture and kill traps) along with baited trail cameras have been set in the hope of catching or at least getting footage of the suspect. No ferrets have been caught in either the traps or the cameras however, several possums have been observed in the camera footage.

Two animals with glowing eyes

Description automatically generated with low confidence

Whangārei Heads High Value Area

NRC Biosecurity staff holding Controlled Substance Licences again supported the community-led ground-based toxin operation on Manaia this month.

A total of 260 bait stations laid out on 30km of tracks within the reserve were filled with pre feed followed by cereal 1080 pellets targeting possums, rats, and predators such as mustelids and feral cats via secondary poisoning.

This area also forms part of the Whangārei Heads PF 2050 project area where possums are expected to be fully eradicated over the next 5 years.

Tutukākā High Value Area

Ÿ Predator control

September marks the beginning of our return to Salted Rabbit and fortnightly trap checks. The total catch of cats and mustelids for August-September was 19; only slightly higher than previous months, with almost all taken in the TLC-Rayonnier projects. This level is typical of the winter months. The rat catch is similar to the long-term average with 182 caught in the past two months. Community trappers reported two stoats and a cat at Riverland’s. The cat’s capture was notable, because following its detection upon its arrival on the trail cam, it was immediately targeted using cage traps, and duly removed within 36 hours of its arrival – a freakishly successful detection and targeted trapping effort.

Ÿ Species Enhancement

Enhancing kiwi with Operation nest egg – monitoring birds with transmitters. Tracking of the four birds released in April is progressing, and all are well. Progress update on four coastal kiwis are as follows:

Awanui: Not sitting and remains near the top of Blue Water Heights. Active about 8 hours per night.

Mango: Last seen on the coastal cliffs at Tawapou. He is not sitting, though we do know there are some other birds in that vicinity.

Kotahi: Still holding her place on the headland between Matapouri Bay and Horseshoe Bay; comfortable at the Horseshoe Bay “Sheraton”.

Marohi (previous release): Now been sitting for 69 days, and with his average nightly activity down to 2 hours, he is paying close attention to his duty. On past performances his chick hatches at 74/75 days. With a camera on the nest, we hope to observe the chick taking its first steps out of the nest. We have seen a female parade past the nest on a couple of occasions. We are just guessing it's Mrs Marohi, checking to see if Dad is doing his duty!

Ÿ Pāteke

Family units with up to 6 ducklings have been sighted around the district: Kaiatea Road, Sandy Bay Farms, and Woolleys Bay bridge, really encouraging.

A very capable maternal pāteke with six ducklings observed near Sandy Bay, September 2021.
(photo courtesy of Malcolm Pullman).

A group of baby ducks

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Mid North High Value Area

Ÿ Pest Free Purerua

There has been good success removing feral cats using kill and live capture traps.

Trail cameras have shown up at least two wandering dogs, at night, on multiple occasions in a high kiwi density area near Taronui. No success yet capturing either the dogs or the owners.

More information on this project can be found at https://pfp.kiwi/

Support for existing 47 groups is continuing well. This month has seen the re-establishment of the Oramāhoe Trust Project and the expansion of the Top Energy Ngawha Generation Ltd pest area expansion.

Three community groups have started at Lower Pungaere Road, Riverstream Drive and Kapiro Road. A ferret sighting came in on a weekday morning at 9.30am. Kiwi Coast had a suite of traps in place by 4.00pm that afternoon. More information to come.

Ÿ Community Events

Puketōtara Landcare Dog Awareness and Trapper Training.

Kerikeri Cubs rat box building.

Western Northland High Value Area

Two new Community pest control areas have been formed in Western Northland; Native Forest Restoration Trust and Waipoua Forest Trust.

Native Forest Restoration Trust (NFRT) have four prominent reserves (total of 756ha) in the Western Northland High Value Area which all adjoin the Waipoua Forest Conservation Park as well as other Community pest control areas. Mustelids, possums, and rats will be targeted across the four reserves.

The Waipoua Forest Trust (WFT) occupies 265ha of previously cleared land set aside for native regeneration. This land is made up of three reserves which border the northern and southern edges of the Waipoua Forest. The Waipoua Forest Trust is committed to restoring the natural balance of the forest ecosystem by replanting natives and controlling plant and animal pests and this community pest control area has a particular focus on weed control.

Planning for toxin operations for possum and rat control is underway for Te Toa Whenua CPCA, Maunganui Bluff CPCA, Pupurangi CPCA, Native Forest Restoration Trust (NFRT) CPCA , Wekaweka CPCA and Waipoua Forest Trust (WFT) CPCA. NRC provides funding for Vertebrate Toxic Agents (VTA’s) to control rats and/or possums across large areas through established bait station networks. VTA plans are required to be completed before any toxin is provide to groups to ensure the necessary planning has been done to reduce risks of non-target poisoning. There is also some funding for result monitoring through either residual trap catch or wax tag monitoring methods.

Te Toa Whenua and Maunganui Bluff are Te Roroa led projects focussed on possum control along the Waipoua River and Maunganui Bluff respectively to support restoration of these areas. Native Forest Restoration Trust, Waipoua Forest Trust and Wekaweka CPCA’s work collaboratively on their possum and rat control where their reserves/project areas are adjacent to each other to create a larger area of sustained control. The reserve/project areas for these groups are adjacent to Waipoua Forest. Mustelid trapping also occurs through all of the CPCA’s and this is either funded directly through the groups CPCA or via the Kaitiaki Kiwi CPCA which is an iwi/community collaboration that has a trapping network across Te Roroa, NFRT, WFT land.

Kiwi Coast – Northland Regional Council Partnership

Kiwi Coast Trust continued permitted activities relevant to each COVID-19 alert level applied to Northland during the recent Delta outbreak and lockdown. Kiwi Coast worked with contractors to put revised Health and Safety Plans and procedures in place, including the development of Standard Operating Procedures for pest control services, Kiwi Coast coordinator support of groups and projects, electronic meetings, and workshops.

Time during lockdown was put to good use developing strategic plans and documents for projects and operations, including progressing the revision of the Northland Brown Kiwi Taxon Plan with the Northland Kiwi Forum Working Group and a Ferret Response Plan with Piroa-Brynderwyns Landcare.

Shortly before lockdown, considerable national and international media attention was received in response to Kiwi Coast’s recent Kiwi Listening Blitz that documented the return of kiwi to a number previously silent sites. As stated in Kiwi Coast’s 2021 Annual Report:

“A total of 228 sites were surveyed during Kiwi Listening Blitz #2. Kiwi were detected at 137 or 60% of the sites surveyed. All sites surveyed in 2016 that recorded kiwi, still had kiwi in 2021.

Excitingly, 50% of sites that did not detect kiwi in 2016 were found to have kiwi in 2021. These results were of great delight to the landowners and communities involved who had been working hard to ‘get kiwi back’.”

This resulted in interviews with TVNZ Breakfast, Stuff.NZ, Radio Australia Drive show, and European and New York magazines (Full Kiwi Listening Blitz Report and Map attached). All were interested in the positive, good news success story of the recovery of the Northland wild kiwi population thanks to two decades of collaborative effort across the region. We were proud to be able to share the results on behalf of all those involved, and to help get key messages across regarding essential community leadership, the need for sustained pest control and the vital importance of good dog control for kiwi survival.

MARINE BIOSECURITY

Marine Biosecurity Surveillance

The Marine Biosecurity team spent their time over lockdown strengthening and creating new partnerships to increase our marine biosecurity surveillance capacity and boost education and advocacy programmes in Northland. An exciting new kaupapa has been negotiated and initiated with Patuharakeke to enhance marine biosecurity protection in Whangārei Harbour by monitoring newly arrived vessels at Marsden Cove Marina with pole cameras.

Patuharakeke kaitiaki will collaborate with marine biosecurity staff and marina management in this ambitious project where elements of data sharing, surveillance and early detection of new incidents will provide significant protection to Patuharakeke’s rohe moana with positive flow on effects to the rest of Northland’s marine environment.

Experience Marine Reserves

Experience Marine Reserves charity (EMR) have been in discussions with NRC about co-hosting some of their popular community snorkel days throughout Northland over the 2021-2022 summer. The community snorkel days hosted by EMR provide an excellent platform to bring to light local marine issues (such as marine biosecurity) to a wide audience in a fun and practical manner. They will also provide an opportunity to upskill community members to identify and report marine pests (or unusual marine organisms) to NRC. This would assist NRC in their marine biosecurity surveillance programme and hopefully encourage further participation of the public in the monitoring of marine pests.

Four events have been selected to be sponsored by NRC as they are in locations where there has been identified monitoring gaps in the marine biosecurity surveillance programme and/or where previous marine biosecurity incidents have been recorded and there is a need for ongoing monitoring. From this increased collaboration we plan to start further dialog between NRC and EMR about creating a sustainable partnership going forward.

PEST PLANTS

Progressive Containment Plants – Pultenaea

The management of Pultenaea (an invasive sweet pea shrub) outside containment sites was squeezed in around COVID-19 lockdown while this plant pest was still in flower. All five infestation areas outside of the containment zone except one contract site were inspected and treated.

A total of 37 adults, 25 juveniles, and 140 seedlings were observed this treatment round in comparison to 160 adults, 125 juveniles, and 146 seedlings last treatment round.

Weed Workshop

A hands-on weeds workshop was organised with NorthTec with 22 students attending.

8.3.4 COMMUNITY RESILIENCE

TRANSPORT

Regional Transport Planning

Regional Transport Committee

The next meeting of the Regional Transport Committee (RTC) is scheduled for 13 October 2021 with the following papers being tabled for consideration:

· Northland Regional Land Transport Plan 2021-2027 Funding Uptake Report – quarterly expenditure on first year of the Plan.

· National Land Transport Programme 2021-2024 – presentation on the national funding assistance applied for and what was approved for Northland transportation projects and services.

· Rural Driver License Testing and Mentoring in Northland – report detailing what assistance is being provided to persons wishing to obtain their driver licences.

· Northland Road Safety Update – quarterly update on road safety initiatives undertaken.

· Waka Kotahi Quarterly Report to the RTC.

· Draft Regional Public Transport Plan 2021-2031 compilation progress report.

National Land Transport Programme 2021/2027

The following situation pertains to the funding assistance applied for by the Northland Regional Council through the Regional Land Transport Plan 2021-2027 and as reflected in the National Land Transport Programme 2021-24 (as at the time of compiling this report):

Approved

· Whangārei City Link, Far North Link, Mid North Link, Hokianga Link, Hikurangi Link, Whangārei Heads Link and Bream Bay Link bus services

· Super Gold Card

· Total Mobility Scheme

· Road safety education, promotion, and advertising

· Rose Street bus terminus upgrade

Probable

· Regional Land Transport Plan - awaiting Waka Kotahi compilation of nation-wide business case format

· Regional Road Safety Action Plan - awaiting Waka Kotahi compilation of nation-wide business case format

· Proposed increase in Citylink bus service – Whangārei District Council are working on completing the Point of Entry which is the first stage of the business case process. This should be submitted to Waka Kotahi early October. The design for the Kamo/Bank Street bus priority lane is mostly complete and is likely to be constructed this financial year should funding be approved. The design of the Riverside Drive bus priority lane is also well advanced

Passenger Transport Administration

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

Bus Link stats for August 2021  (revenue ex GST)	Actual	Budget	Variance	Year/Date Actual	Year/Date Budgeted	Variance
CityLink Passengers	19,260	32,030	-12,770	45,266	61,631	-16,365
CityLink Revenue	$25,213	$42,223	$17,010	$59,218	$80,907	$21,689
Mid North Link Passengers	119	156	-37	350	324	26
Mid North Link Revenue	$487	$780	-$293	$1,329	$1,620	-$291
Hokianga Link Passengers	74	72	2	171	156	15
Hokianga Link Revenue	403	501	-$98	$926	$1,085	-$159
Far North Link Passengers	219	667	-448	622	1,334	-712
Far North Link Revenue	$586	$1,667	-$1,081	$1,292	$3,415	$2,123
Bream Bay Link Passengers	30	12	18	94	42	52
Bream Bay Link Revenue	$203	$43	$160	$636	$151	$485
Hikurangi Link Passengers	7	12	-5	23	42	-19
Hikurangi Link Revenue	$18	$31	-$13	$60	$109	-$49
Whangārei Heads Link Passengers	5	12	-7	27	42	-15
Whangārei Heads Link Revenue	$22	$52	-$30	$117	$182	$65

*Level 3 and 4 COVID-19 restrictions have had an impact on all bus statistics. Most services were reduced or stopped from 17 August, and this continued into September.

Rose Street Bus Terminus Update

The Northland Transport Alliance (NTA) paused this project at the end of last financial year, due to concerns that funding would not be approved in the National Land Transport Programme 2021-24.  Now that confirmation has been received from Waka Kotahi confirming funding approval, NTA are aiming to construct Stage 1 of the project (bus lane widening, new shelters and raised pedestrian crossings) over summer.  The tender drawings are completed, and tender documents are being completed.  The order for the new bus shelters is likely to be placed in the next week.

Free bus rides to and from your vaccination appointment

At the request of Waka Kotahi, free travel will be offered to all persons (including caregivers and accompanying children) wishing to travel to a COVID-19 vaccination appointment, on the provision that the individual can provide proof of appointment. This will officially commence on Friday 1 October 2021 and will cover all Northland Regional Council contracted bus services.

Advertising for this has been undertaken across the region.

Far North Link and Mid North Link Re-tender

The contract periods for the Far North Link and the Mid North Link contracted services expire on 25 March 2022 and 26 February 2022 respectively.

As both services receive subsidy from the National Land Transport Fund, the tender method to be used for both will be the Price Quality Method contained in the Waka Kotahi Procurement Manual.

Staff have commenced the process by seeking “Expression of Interest” through both GETS (Government Electronic Tender Service) and through adverts in local, regional and national press.

Total Mobility (TM)

	Total Clients	Monthly Actual Expend	Monthly Budgeted Expend	Monthly Variance	Year/Date Actual Expend	Year/Date Budgeted Expend	Annual Variance
August 2021	1,242	$18,357	$25,000	-$6,643	$44,293	$50,000	-$5,707

Ridewise Two update

The development of Ridewise Two (electronic swipe card system) continues. NRC staff are part of the Subject Matter Experts (SME) group that make software requirement recommendations on behalf of all participating councils to the Product Owner. These recommendations are then forwarded to the National Steering Group for approval.

Total Mobility National Meeting

NRC staff organised and chaired the recent Total Mobility National Coordinator's meeting held on 16 September 2021.

Agenda items included an update from the MOT on the TM review; a research project from Waka Kotahi on TM, with a focus on the client's experiences; possible free fares for vaccines; and the Privacy Act and the role of caregivers.

ROAD SAFETY UPDATE

Road Trauma Update - 2021 Year to Date Road Death Statistics

Fatalities this year	Far North	Whangārei	Kaipara	Northland	National
Local roads	4	2	2	8	136
State highways	6	3	7	16	106
TOTAL	10	5	9	24	242

Motorcycle Safety - Ride Forever (R4E) Rider Training Update

For the 2021/22 financial year so far, 22 riders have participated in the Ride Forever (R4E) rider training programme across Northland. These programmes and number of participants were:

· Bronze Course 10

· Silver Course 8

· Gold Course 4

Motorcycle Awareness Month (MAM)

Due to the COVID-19 lockdowns, this project has been rescheduled from September to October. Both the ACC & R4E team will be focussing on the following aspects during October:

Week 1 – Celebration, Week 2 – Skills, Week 3 – Gear, Week 4, Tech.

Driver Reviver/Fatigue Stops

The next north-bound Uretiti Driver Reviver/Fatigue Stop, subject to Alert Levels, is scheduled for Friday 22 October 2021 (Labour Weekend).

Road Safety Promotion/Media

Advertising road safety themes for September & October are ‘motorcycling, distractions, alcohol, young drivers.’

The ‘Seatbelts On’ joint campaign with the Northland Rugby Union continues. The ‘buttons’ continue to be popular and a new ‘bus back’ advertisement (pictured below) is helping to remind people to wear their seatbelts, which is an ongoing problem in Northland crashes.

CUSTOMER SERVICES

Telephone inbound call statistics & enquiries

	Aug 2021	Target
Call volume via Customer Services	1784
Conversion rate	95.9 %	>95%
Average wait time	8 sec
Calls answered in under 30 seconds	98.9 %	>90%

	Sept 2021	Target
Call volume via Customer Services	2054
Conversion rate	97.3%	>95%
Average wait time	6 sec
Calls answered in under 30 seconds	98.6%	>90%

Call numbers dropped considerably in August due to lockdown. An average of 81 external calls per weekday were received by the Customer Services Team for August, and 93 for September.

Fifteen percent of calls were Biosecurity and Consent enquiries, and Maritime and Compliance Monitoring enquiries were 10% each. There was a greater volume of calls for the District Councils due to rates demands. The rest of the call volume was spread between the internal departments.

Mailroom email processing performance
Customer Service’s enquiry management system is working well. The Customer Services team are being given training as updates and improvements are made.

	September
Mail processed	952
LGOIMA	17

Satisfaction monitoring

Feedback cards, compliments, and complaints
We received no complaints for the month of September.

The compliments received were for LGOIMAs that were handled by the two staff members below.

Compliments received	Total
Planning – B Baillie	1
Consents – M Musa	1
Total compliments recorded	2

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

National   

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) National Coordination Centre stood down from the All of Government (AOG) response to the COVID-19 Delta outbreak once Auckland moved to Alert Level 3. However, ongoing coordination and collaboration continues between the National Controller and Group Controllers.

Regional  

Ÿ COVID-19 Delta Response

The Northland CDEM response debrief will take place on Wednesday 6 October.

The Group Welfare Manager supported Auckland Emergency Management for seven days, leading the welfare response for Auckland during the recent Alert Level 4 lockdown.

The national focus is turning to the vaccination roll out.

Ÿ Tsunami Siren Testing 

The Northland tsunami siren network was tested at the start of Daylight Saving, Sunday 26 September, at 10.00am for 10 minutes and again at 10.30am for 30 seconds. Faults were reported via an online survey, email or paper questionnaires, and repairs will be undertaken by Northpower and Top Energy respectively.  Details of faults are being collated.

Ÿ Northland CDEM Group Plan 2021-2026 

The draft plan was reviewed by, and feedback received from the Minister of Emergency Management Hon. Kiritapu Allan and NEMA. Feedback was positive with minor additions to the plan to further strengthen it. The additions have been completed and the draft plan will be presented for final approval at the 10 November Northland CDEM Group Joint Committee.

Ÿ Lifelines

The Northland Lifelines (Utility) Group has developed a project plan, including a contract for the delivery of a broad scale Regional Infrastructure Climate Change Risk Assessment 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 for this project of $25,000 (excl. GST) from the NEMA Resilience Fund has been approved.

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.

MARITIME

Commercial Shipping

Work has been ongoing for several months to review, update and re-certify the Pilot Training and Proficiency manuals for the Bay of Islands and Whangārei. Both manuals have now been approved by Maritime NZ, and contain updated processes for maintaining proficiency, including the use of a simulator if required.

Pilots are required to complete a minimum number of pilotage acts per year to keep their pilotage licenses valid. With no shipping to the Bay of Islands, Pilots have not been able to carry out enough pilotage acts. To keep their licenses valid, we have utilised the ship simulator at Marsden Point. The training was completed this month in two sessions, which included emergency scenarios and extreme weather conditions.

A McCallum Bros Barge Master completed a pilot-exempt master exam, enabling them to pilot their own 2,000T barge into Portland.

The Harbourmaster and Policy team met with the Department of Conservation twice regarding the navigational safety requirements in the Marine Mammal Proposal. All the submitted points from NRC had been left out of the proposal, and after discussion these are now being incorporated.

Recreational Boating

Servicing has begun on buoys and beacons, with Whangaruru and Mangonui already completed. The northern-most harbours will be serviced next.

The Harbour Warden Agreements have all been updated. They are required to complete a minimum number of hours in recreational boating education and enforcement. The Deputy Harbourmaster is in the process of meeting with the wardens individually to update them on the agreement and safety requirements.

The summer recreational boating campaign planning is ongoing, with funding secured and material being organised. Forty-five navigational sign panels have been ordered to replace old and damaged signs on launch ramps throughout Northland.

We are currently working through the process of public notification for 8 derelict and abandoned vessels, before they are destroyed. These are all based either in Whangaroa or Whangārei.

With a change of maritime staff in the Moorings Admin role, and two new Maritime Officers, the Maritime team is finally up to full strength after almost a year of being short-handed.

RIVERS

Long Term Plan Projects

Rivers	Comments
Awanui	Remaining detailed design and procurement is underway for this year's works season. The first physical works package (tender 21/05) closed 23 September, with the award scheduled for 4 October and site possession expected within 2 weeks of this date.
Otīria/Moerewa	Hydraulic modelling is complete. The detailed bridge design for Pokapu Road Bridge has been awarded to WSP-OPUS. Staff are working with landowners regarding easements.
Matangirau	Staff have met with key landowners and are progressing with an agreement.

NATURAL HAZARDS  

Work Streams	Status	Comments
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 end of October. This does not affect the publication of the maps which our GIS colleagues are working on. These maps are in addition to the existing Priority Rivers Flood Hazard maps and will be combined in one layer on the website portal. NRC Councillors’ workshop was held on 28 September, and others are planned with our TAs during the month of October. It is our aim to go public at the beginning of November, for which a communication plan is under development.
Whangārei (CBD) River Catchment Flood Model	25% complete	Upgrade of model including new structures, updated LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and sea level rise values and recalibration. Initial draft outcomes have been delayed until the end of October due to over commitment by the consultant. This hydraulic model will be shared with WDC as they, in parallel, are developing their storm water model.
Website Natural Hazards Portal	78% complete	Morphum Environmental have been engaged to develop the portal; the first inclusive workshop was held, initial draft layout was received and discussed. The second draft was received for feedback by participants by 3 September, followed up by a second workshop. The next phase of the development of the portal is underway and it is our vision to ‘go public’ by the end of 2021.
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 by the end of October.
Raupo Drainage Scheme – Coastal Flood Hazard Analysis & Mitigation Options	8% 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 cost. 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. The objective is to establish a detailed base model and to develop flood hazard mitigation options, particularly from a coastal perspective, adaptation planning. A first project team meeting was held this month on site which included a detailed site walkover. The project team consists of NRC and KDC staff, Chair of the Drainage Committee, and the consultants. NRC are taking the lead on the modelling for the project.

CLIMATE CHANGE RESPONSE  

Work Streams	Status	Comments
NRC Climate Change Strategy “Ngā Taumata o te Moana” and implementation plan	Adopted and actions progressing	Progress on recommended actions in the implementation plan were reported at the Climate Change Working Party meeting on 8 September.
Te Taitokerau Climate Adaptation Strategy	Draft V2.2 – council workshops	Draft strategy presented at the 30 August Joint Climate Change Adaptation Committee meeting. Workshops are being held with all councils as well as tangata whenua representative groups, prior to final drafting and presentation at the 30 November Joint Committee meeting. Coastal adaptation programme is in development, including exposure assessment of 63 coastal communities to support TAs to select sites for community adaptation planning.

Work Streams   

Status   

Comments   

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

Adopted and actions progressing

Progress on recommended actions in the implementation plan were reported at the Climate Change Working Party meeting on 8 September.

Te Taitokerau Climate
Adaptation Strategy  

Draft V2.2 – council workshops

Draft strategy presented at the 30 August Joint Climate Change Adaptation Committee meeting.

Workshops are being held with all councils as well as tangata whenua representative groups, prior to final drafting and presentation at the 30 November Joint Committee meeting.

Coastal adaptation programme is in development, including exposure assessment of 63 coastal communities to support TAs to select sites for community adaptation planning.

NORTHLAND WIDE LIDAR SURVEY

Work Streams	Status	Comments
Regional LiDAR Survey	Finalisation of QA/QC processing	Dataset with LiDAR Contractor (RPS Aus.) for re-classification. Provision of classification images to NRC prior to creation of deliverables.

8.3.5 CORPORATE SERVICES

Fraud Declaration

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

Enterprise System

Ÿ Training, Test and Production environment have been commissioned.

Ÿ Working with Infor Project Manager on consolidated project management plan and schedule.

Ÿ First solution design workshops with Process Leads have been scheduled.

8.3.6 ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES

LAND MANAGEMENT

Sustainable Hill Country and Regional Priorities

Milestones	Status
Farm Environment Plans (FEPs)	Soil Conservation Plans (SCPs) have replaced FEPs. The land management team have a SHaRP target of completing 136 plans and/or covering 34,000ha in 2021-2022.
Stakeholder engagement	Mailout to large farms with highly erodible complete. Letter invites landowners to get a free-soil conservation plan which is required to qualify for NRCs planting and fencing grants. LMAs will prepare the plans following a site visit.
Land treatments – Retirement fencing	Fourteen fencing projects have been approved totalling $122,424, with a total fence length of 17,389m retiring 233ha of erosion prone land.

Whangārei Urban Awa project

Ÿ Year-1 report awaiting final MfE sign-off

Ÿ NRC Invoice to MfE generated and sent for remainder of Year-1 costs

Ÿ Site visits well under way for Q1/Year-2

Ÿ 4.5km of fencing already planned for Year-1

Waimā Waitai Waiora (WWW) Partnership

Ÿ The majority of the 100,000 plants have now been delivered and planted on site throughout the Northern Wairoa catchment area. COVID-19 has caused significant delays, specifically with the nursery being in the Auckland region.

Ÿ The third WWW Governance hui was held on marae 23 September 2021.

Ÿ The Year-4 Annual Report is awaiting final MfE sign off.

Ÿ One community planting day has been completed.

Ÿ Wananga facilitated by Reconnecting Northland for the research component of the WWW partnership (Te Kawa Waiora) have been delayed due to COVID-19 alert levels.

Ÿ Million Metres (Sustainable Business Network) have raised $24,933.35 for the WWW partnership.

BIODIVERSITY

FIF Dune Lakes Project

Objective	Status
Aquatic weed and pest fish control	Working on the tender, contract and controls required for the application of herbicide to the dune lakes. Request for quotes sent to contractors to apply Reglone to Lakes Egg and Mt Camel North.
Ministry of the Environment Reporting	Worked with MfE to tidy up loose ends and get invoices from Year-3 and Year-4 of the project paid to NRC and finalising the Year-5 Annual Work Programme.
Māori Partnerships	Two on-line meetings held with iwi project partners to progress the projects KPI and arrange a wānanga to be held in early 2022.

Lakes Ecological Survey 2022

The dates and locations have been set for the annual lakes ecological survey for this financial year. One week in November 2021 will focus on the Poutō Lakes and one week in March will include lakes in the Far North.

Wetlands

Site visits were carried out to provide advice on wetlands and restoration to Tern Point in Mangawhai and Kaeo. Quarterly wetland monitoring was carried out at McEwan Road wetland, top wetland #54. The wetland was much wetter than monitoring in Autumn following the wet winter.

Biodiversity Advice

Advice for consent applications – Otiria spillway, Mangawhai Harbour dredging and Mangonui SH10 culvert mangrove removal was provided to consents and rivers staff.

NATURAL RESOURCES

Coastal/Water Quality Operations

Ÿ All routine water quality and ecological programs were majorly disrupted this month due to COVID-19, whilst in alert level 4. Council’s main laboratory service provider Watercare, located in Auckland, was unable to process field results whilst Auckland remained in alert Level 4. All river runs have been completed in the latter half of September 2021, using an alternative laboratory. Some groundwater quality sampling has been completed. No lakes or coastal sampling was able to be undertaken.

Ÿ Annual report cards have been created for all river sites, providing a quick summary of water quality and biological results for the previous year. These have been in development for some time and will be replicated annually, early in the calendar year. They will be available to the community as handouts; they are not intended to be available online as the data is available via the data portal.

NATURAL RESOURCES DATA

Ÿ LAWA Water Annual Refresh: Details of the request were provided to councils in May 2021. Data checks and analysis have been completed and the information went live for World Rivers Day on Friday 24 September 2021. It is available to view at www.lawa.org.nz.

Ÿ Environmental Data Portal (now called Environmental Data Hub): A communication plan has been developed for the Hub and Go-Live is scheduled for early October 2021.

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

Ÿ Hilltop Mobility Solution/Survey123 Project: Hills Labs are working with regional councils on the integration of Survey 123 into Hilltop. Survey 123 is software used to collect field data. Hilltop is the database that stores the data. New electronic data collection forms are being developed for lake levels and groundwater levels. Reviews of the existing forms will be completed before the summer sampling season. This is a RECOCO project to ensure consistent electronic field capture across regional council and centralise the required IT resourcing required to implement.

Ÿ The implementation of the biological database is still underway, and we anticipate completion of most modules (Macroinvertebrates, periphyton etc.) in December 2021.

NATURAL RESOURCES SCIENCE

Air Quality

Ÿ Over the month of August 2021, no air quality exceedances were recorded for ambient PM₁₀and PM_2.5at the Whangārei and Ruakākā airsheds.

Ÿ The World Health Organisation (WHO) updated its 2005 Air Quality Guidelines (AQG) and published them on 22 September 2021. AQG serve as a global target to work towards improving public health by reducing air pollution. The new AQG may delay the proposed National Environmental Standard for Air Quality (NESAQ) by the Ministry for Environment (MfE) as WHO’s new guidelines for all air pollutants are stricter than the existing and proposed NESAQ. The comparison between NESAQ and WHO’s new guidelines for PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 is presented in the table below.

Ÿ MfE was waiting for WHO to release its air quality guidelines prior to finalising the proposed NESAQ. If MfE adopts WHO’s guidelines, Northland airsheds will have difficulty complying with those standards.

Pollutant

Averaging time

NZ NES/AAQG (µg/m³)

WHO 2005 ((µg/m³)

WHO 2021 (µg/m³)

PM_2.5

24 hour

Annual

(25)

(8)

PM₁₀

24 hour

Annual

AAQG – air quality guidelines, Blue in bracket proposed, NESAQ Blue new WHO guidelines.

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) except August 2021. Lower emissions from
April 2020 and again in August 2021, 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.

Chart

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Freshwater Ecology

Ÿ Stage 3 – Implementation of the ecological portion of the river monitoring network is underway.

Ÿ Comparison between macroinvertebrate community indices recovered by current NRC methods versus the draft NEMS (National Environmental Monitoring Standard) is being scoped.

COASTAL

Stormwater Litter Monitoring

Ÿ The results from the autumn audit of litter traps have been finalised. This is part of a multi-agency project to estimate the quantity of litter and plastic entering our estuaries and coast each year. NRC (in conjunction with NorthTec, Whitebait Connection, WDC, FNDC, KDC and NDHB) have installed 53 litter traps at stormwater grates throughout the region at a variety of different land uses.

Ÿ At the autumn audit, a total of 5,709 items were captured in just three months. This is a 17% increase on the number of items captured in the summer audit. This increase in litter may be due to seasonal patterns in how some sites are used or may be due to more rainfall in the autumn quarter, washing more litter into the stormwater traps.

Ÿ The data has also revealed that cigarette butts, which are made of a plastic called cellulose acetate, were again the most frequently captured item, with 2052 cigarette butts captured (36% of all items). Overall, the dominant source of litter was plastic (70%) followed by glass (8%).

Ÿ The results have continued to show that that there are big differences between different locations. A city centre car park in Whangārei had 379 items, while two sites (a residential street in Mangawhai and a commercial office in Whangārei) both had just four pieces of litter.

HYDROLOGY

Hydrology Projects

Ÿ Weather Radar, the storm tracking system, is due to go live on 1 October 2021. Training was carried out on 30 September 2021.

Ÿ There are 68 staff from the Territorial Authorities and Regional Council signed up to use the system.

Ÿ Another training session will be held on using the interface.

Rainfall

Ÿ September was a wet month for the region, with around 135% of typical rain overall. The Dargaville/Poutō Peninsula recorded above normal rainfall for the month. Several severe weather events occurred through September. Weather warnings were issued on
1 September 2021, 16 September 2021 and 22 September 2021, as well as a thunderstorm warning on 10 September 2021. The only notable flooding from these events occurred over SH1 near Rangiahua on 23 September 2021.

Ÿ Soil moisture remains close to field capacity and considerably wetter than this time of year over the previous two seasons. NIWA predict summer conditions to be similar to last year with the potential for dryness (see the latest Hydrology Climate Report for more details https://www.nrc.govt.nz/environment/environmental-data/hydrology-climate-report).

Map

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River Flows

Ÿ September 2021 was a month of high river flows. Recorded flows were nearly universally “Above Normal” for the region due to the frequent rain events mentioned above.

Groundwater Ÿ Most groundwater stations suggest above normal groundwater levels for September 2021 Ÿ Mangawhai groundwater remains “Very Low”, with this area being consistently dry for most of the year so far. Ÿ Taupā groundwater is also classified as “Low”.	Area	Status	Percentile
	Aupōuri	Above Normal	> 60^th
	Taipā	Low	10 - 25^th
	Russell	Above Normal	> 60^th
	Kaikohe	Above Normal	> 60^th
	Porotī	Normal	40 - 60^th
	Whangārei	Above Normal	> 60^th
	Marsden-Ruakākā	Normal	40 - 60^th
	Mangawhai	Very Low	5 - 10^th
	Ruawai	Above Normal	> 60^th

8.3.7 GOVERNANCE AND ENGAGEMENT

REGIONAL PLANNING

Proposed Regional Plan

The hearing on stock exclusion provisions (Topic 16) has been pushed back by the Environment Court to the first week of November due to COVID-19 restrictions in Auckland.

The court has issued consent orders resolving appeals relating to activities in beds of rivers and lakes (Topic 2).

Staff continue to liaise with parties to resolve minor appeal matters and the aquaculture appeals, although limited availability of key personnel representing parties to the appeals due to COVID-19 lockdown has slowed progress. Staff have also continued to work with parties to the appeals on agrichemicals (Topic 8) and water quality (Topic 5) to agree final wording that reflects the interim court decisions and submit these to the Court for final decision.

Council staff are in the process of engaging with iwi leaders via the Iwi and Local Government Chief Executives forum (ILGACE) at a meeting being held on 5 October, with hapū and iwi representatives at a Te Taitokerau Māori and Council Working Party (TTMAC) meeting on 14 October, and with tangata whenua parties to the appeals seeking their feedback on a proposed approach to mapping of Outstanding Natural Landscapes (ONLs) in the coastal marine area (CMA) (Topic 17). A report on this will be brought to the November council meeting.

Freshwater Plan Change

The Primary Sector Liaison Group (PSLG) meeting scheduled for 21 August 2021, which required a face-to-face meeting, was cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions. In the meantime, a Freshwater Plan Change strawman (broad outline of example vision, values and objectives) was provided to the PSLG and will provide a basis for discussion and feedback at the next meeting. Staff are progressing the attribute, baseline state, target state, rules and action plan components of the strawman.

The Tangata Whenua Water Advisory Group continues to develop its scoping work and held a one-day workshop on 13 September, with more workshops planned for coming months.

District Planning

The mediation set down for the appeals on the Kaipara plan change for Mangawhai has been postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions and parties are still attempting to find a date in November for mediation (face to face if possible or virtual if not) with the intent to resolve matters without a hearing. The Environment Court has already indicated that a hearing date would not be available until late 2022. Council is a party to the appeals, with the main interest of ensuring the development has a reliable source of water during droughts.

Kaipara District Council (KDC) have received council’s submission to their consultation documents on their proposed new District Plan. They received 38 submissions in total. A summary of the submissions is scheduled to be presented to KDC council meeting in mid-November, and this initial feedback will be used to inform their drafting of the new District Plan which will be released for public consultation in April 2022.

NATIONAL INITIATIVES

COVID-19 Response (Management Measures) Legislation Bill

Providing councils with more time or flexibility, these proposed legislative changes are intended to assist the country manage and recover from the impacts of COVID-19. The proposed changes include extending the deadline for the government to release its emissions budgets and reduction plan from December 2021 to May 2022, ability for council to defer local government elections, extension of the repeal of fast-tracking of consents legislation to 8 July 2023, extension of timeframes for initiating 10-year reviews of the Regional Policy Statement and Regional Plan by a year, and an additional two years for councils to comply with the National Planning Standards (now 5 years). The submission period was very short – the proposed changes were released on Thursday 29 September and submissions closed on 5 October. Staff did not lodge a submission as there were no major concerns with the proposed legislative changes.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Investment and Growth Reserve – Projects Report

Project	Update	Future developments/ reporting
Hundertwasser Art Centre	Project nearing practical completion (now end of October due to impact of COVID lockdown restrictions) with opening scheduled for mid-December.	Penultimate tranche payment to be made at practical completion under the funding agreement and final payment at opening.

Other Work Undertaken

Ÿ Joint Regional Economic Development Committee – met on Thursday 30 September. Quarterly workshop discussion with Northland Inc directors postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Ÿ COVID-19 – provided further analysis on the impact of the latest COVID-19 lockdowns on economic activity in Northland (varying alert levels, supply chain, tourism spending).

Ÿ Northland Economic Quarterly (NEQ) – September issue prepared, distributed and available online at https://www.nrc.govt.nz/resource-library-summary/newsletters/economic-quarterly/. The annual section reports on tourism data for the year ended June while the spotlight section examines some of the impacts of the latest COVID-19 restrictions on the Northland economy. The NEQ is available through council’s eNewsletter service, sign-up at: www.nrc.govt.nz/enewsletters.

Ÿ Oruku Landing Conference and Event Centre – continue to meet regularly with Whangārei District Council (WDC) and Northland development Corporation (NDC) representatives to progress the project. Work has focused on finalising the sale and purchase agreement for the land, undertaking further design work in conjunction with conference and event centre specialists, and narrowing down the project costings. WDC will be undertaking community consultation from mid-October to mid-November on whether to fund the project or not. The cost of the project is scoped at $123.3 million, requiring a $57 million contribution from WDC. This will be paid for via a proposed additional 4.5% rates rise to fund the debt repayment. WDC need to finalise their position by the end of November to meet Crown Infrastructure Partners’ (CIP) revised funding deadline. COVID-19 restrictions have made it difficult to undertake some of the on-site geotechnical investigations.

Ÿ The annual report of Northland Inc Limited for the year ended June 2021 was received on 30 September in conformity with the requirement of the Local Government Act 2002. An unqualified report was given by Deloitte as the independent auditors. In conformity with the LGA 2002, the report has been published on council’s website and is available at https://www.nrc.govt.nz/your-council/economic-development/northland-inc/.

ONLINE CHANNELS

Most popular content on Facebook: Most popular post for September was the “Aupouri Aquifer Consents granted: media release”. The post had a reach of 10,160 people with 1,033 people engaged. Posted Wednesday 1 September.

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

Key Performance Indicators	May-21	Jun-21	Jul-21	Aug-21	Sep-21
WEB
# Visits to the NRC website	35,400	34,100	36,300	29,700	34,900
E-payments made	9	9	54	38	29
# subscription customers (cumulative)	1,276	1,287	1,280	1,278	1,286
SOCIAL MEDIA (cumulative)
# Twitter followers	1,548	1,555	1,554	1,557	1,562
# NRC Facebook fans	10,400	10,441	10,454	10,500	10,500
# NRC Overall Facebook Reach	145,600	62,800	90,600	94,500	56,300
# NRC Engaged Daily Users	8,796	3,249	3,811	2,760	2,502
# CDEM Facebook fans	25,200	25,271	25,279	25,287	25,419
# CDEM Overall Facebook Reach	36,700	29,300	70,600	208,700	344,100
# CDEM Engaged Daily Users	2,416	1,410	3,324	23,000	27,400
# Instagram followers	1,383	1,399	1,408	1,422	1,422

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

ENVIROSCHOOLS / EDUCATION

More Early Childhood Centres to join the Enviroschools network

On 28 September, an online hui was held for teacher-led early childhood centres to learn about the Enviroschools kaupapa, programme and application process. Sixteen centres, from across the region, joined the hui and have now been invited to apply for the 10 available places.

Hikurangi Planting Day

On 22 September, an Enviroschools Facilitator joined with Hikurangi School students to plant approximately 800 riparian plants along the waterway adjacent to their school. The plants - harakeke, karamu, manuka and tī kōuka - were grown in the school’s nursery. Every student in the school planted at least four plants with the senior students helping the juniors.

Enviroschools Virtual Cluster Meeting

On 23 September, an Enviroschools Facilitator held a virtual cluster meeting to ‘unpack’ the Enviroschools resources – both hard copy and online. One result of the meeting is that Ōpua School is about to grow kumara based on the Enviroschools resource ‘Te Kūmara’, which features a book, DVD, CD and Tāpapa (photo book).

New Enviroschools Resource

During September, an Enviroschools resource entitled: “Supporting Transitions in Enviroschools: From Early Childhood Education to Primary School” was launched and ‘unpacked’ via an online hui. Matarau School’s Enviroschools lead teacher was integral in producing the resource and the Ruawai Enviroschools community is exhibited in a case study.

Enviroschools Communities Facilitated

Despite covid level restrictions, during September Enviroschools Facilitators had specific interactions with 58 school and early childhood communities.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL INFORMATION (LGOIMA) REQUESTS

Total LGOIMAs	Sep 2019 to Sep 2020	Sep 2020 to Sep 2021
Total LGOIMAs	197	205
Number of LGOIMAs not responded to within 20 working days		7

8.3.8 REGULATORY SERVICES

Consents in Process

During September 2021, a total of 74 decisions were issued. These decisions comprised:

Ÿ Moorings	3	Ÿ Land Use Consents	33
Ÿ Coastal Permits	19	Ÿ Water Permits	5
Ÿ Land Discharge Permits	6	Ÿ Bore Consents	8

The processing timeframes for the September 2021 consents ranged from:

Ÿ 377 to 2 calendar days, with the median time being 34 days;

Ÿ 129 to 1 working days, with the median time being 20 days.

Fifty-four applications were received in September 2021.

Of the 92 applications in progress at the end of September 2021:

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

Ÿ Awaiting additional information (including CIAs)	11
Ÿ Consultation with affected parties/stakeholders	4
Ÿ On-hold pending new rules becoming operative	5
Ÿ Other	5

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

Ÿ Fifty-eight less than 6 months ago (01-04-21 to 30-09-21)

Appointment of Hearing Commissioners

The following commissioner was appointed in September 2021 for one objection hearing:

Ÿ Ms Sarah Shaw for an objection under sections 357A and 357B of the Resource Management Act in relation to consents associated with a reclamation in Blacksmith Bay, Bay of Islands.

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

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

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

COMPLIANCE MONITORING

The results of compliance monitoring for the period 1 - 30 September 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	7	6	1	0	0	0
Bore Consent	3	3	0	0	0	0
Coastal Air Discharge	6	6	0	0	0	0
Coastal Discharge	23	18	1	1	2	1
Coastal Permit	21	19	1	0	0	1
FDE – Discharge Permit	116	96	0	16	4	0
FDE – Permitted Activity	47	38	0	5	2	2
Land Discharge	57	35	12	1	1	8
Land Use Consent	36	34	0	0	0	2
Water Discharge	52	32	5	13	1	1
Water Permit	29	27	0	1	0	1
Water Take	121	75	40	2	0	4
Total	518	389	60	39	10	20
Percentage		75.1%	11.6%	7.5%	1.9%	3.9%
Year to date	1519	1108	222	105	21	63
Percentage		72.9%	14.6%	6.9%	1.4%	4.1%

Coastal

The majority of consents monitored during the reporting period related to coastal discharges (treated municipal sewage, boat ramp maintenance and other industrial).

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 (5 less than last year). To date approximately 43% of farms have been visited and reported on. This is 138 less farms than this time last year because inspections were temporarily halted during the last COVID-19 Level 4 lockdown. Inspections re-commenced at Level 2. 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
199	229	36	88	6	41
83%	64%	15%	25%	2%	11%

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
78	87	15	15	1	9
81%	74%	16%	13%	3%	13%

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

Ÿ Contaminated Land Management

Five incidents involving the discharge of hazardous substances and 12 enquiries regarding contaminated land were received and responded to. 422 kg of hazardous waste was disposed of at the amnesty day, and 3 sites were added to the Selected Land-use Register.

Environmental Incidents

There were no environmental incidents reported in September 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.065941.01	1	IN	28-09-21	Stormwater discharge	Routine Monitoring
ENF.065966.01	1	AN	09-09-21	Burning and smoke nuisance	Incident
ENF.065967.01	1	AN	23-09-21	Burning and smoke nuisance	Incident
ENF.065968.01	3	AN	23-09-21	Burning and smoke nuisance	Incident
		IN	23-09-21	Burning and smoke nuisance	Incident
		AN	23-09-21	Burning and smoke nuisance	Incident
		IN	23-09-21	Burning and smoke nuisance	Incident
		IN	23-09-21	Burning and smoke nuisance	Incident
ENF.065972.01	1	AN	23-09-21	Sewage (domestic)	Incident
ENF.065973.01	1	AN	24-09-21	Other water discharge	Incident
ENF.065973.01	1	AN	24-09-21	Other water discharge	Incident
ENF.065976.01	1	IN	27-09-21	Burning and smoke nuisance	Incident
ENF.065978.01	2	AN	29-09-21	Farm dairy effluent	Routine Monitoring
		AN	29-09-21	Farm dairy effluent	Routine Monitoring
		IN	29-09-21	Farm dairy effluent	Routine Monitoring
		IN	29-09-21	Farm dairy effluent	Routine Monitoring
		IN	29-09-21	Farm dairy effluent	Routine Monitoring
		IN	29-09-21	Farm dairy effluent	Routine Monitoring
ENF.065979.01	1	AN	28-09-21	Farm dairy effluent	Routine Monitoring
ENF.065980.01	1	IN	30-09-21	Farm dairy effluent	Routine Monitoring
		IN	30-09-21	Farm dairy effluent	Routine Monitoring
		AN	30-09-21	Farm dairy effluent	Routine Monitoring
ENF.065981.01	1	AN	28-09-21	Farm dairy effluent	Routine Monitoring
ENF.065985.01	1	AN	30-09-21	Farm dairy effluent	Routine Monitoring
ENF.065985.01	1	IN	30-09-21	Farm dairy effluent	Routine Monitoring
ENF.065988.01	1	AN	30-09-21	Dead stock	Incident
ENF.065988.01	1	IN	30-09-21	Dead stock	Incident

Action Type	Number
Abatement Notice (AN)	14
Infringement Notice (IN)	13

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 has been scheduled for 4 November 2021.

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 new hearing date has been set for 17 November 2021.

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Nil

[1] In accordance with section 19V(2) of the Local Electoral Act the council, where appropriate, must ensure that each councillor represents approximately the same number of people. This is referred to as the ‘+/- 10% rule’.

[8] Which set out the proposed legislation for regulating three waters, including the setting up of national water regulatory agency Tuamata Arowai.

TITLE:	Confirmation of Minutes - Council Meeting 21 September 2021 and Extraordinary Meetings (Representation Review Hearings 28 September 2021 and Representation Review Deliberations 5 October 2021)
From:	Chris Taylor, Governance Specialist
Authorised by:	Chris Taylor, Governance Specialist, on 12 October 2021.

TITLE:	Receipt of Action Sheet
From:	Chris Taylor, Governance Specialist
Authorised by:	Chris Taylor, Governance Specialist, on 12 October 2021.

Constituency	2020 General Electoral Population Estimate	2020 Māori Electoral Population Estimate	Number of councillors	Fits +/- 10% rule
Far North General	21,500		1	Yes
Bay of Islands – Whangaroa General	21,100		1	Yes
Kaipara General	19,900		1	Yes
Mid North General	20,300		1	Yes
Coastal Central General	20,800		1	Yes
Whangārei Central General	22,300		1	Yes
Coastal South General	21,000		1	Yes
Te Raki Māori		47,610	2	N/A
Total	146,900	47,610

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	Far North	$100,000
May	2019	Single payment	Mangawhai Activity Zone	Kaipara	$500,000
February	2021	Single payment	Pohe Island Sports Hub Stage 1	Whangarei	$350,000
Feb and June	2021	$550,000 Feb 2021, $280,000 Jun 2021	Pohe Island Sports Hub Stage 2	Whangarei	$830,000
June onwards	2021	$350,000 Jun 2021, $700,000 due Dec 2021, $350,000 due Mar 2022	Te Hiku Sports Hub	Far North	$1,400,000
3 Years					$3,780,000
Unallocated					$205,600
Note: Rates Collected and Allocation as presented is GST exclusive.

TITLE:	Working Party Updates and Chairpersons' Briefings
From:	Sally Bowron, Strategy, Governance and Engagement Team Admin/PA
Authorised by:	Chris Taylor, Governance Specialist, on 13 October 2021.

TITLE:	Adoption of the 2021 Annual Report
From:	Simon Crabb, Finance Manager
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Bruce Howse, Pou Taumatua – Group Manager Corporate Services, on 05 October 2021

TITLE:	Financial Report to 30 September 2021
From:	Vincent McColl, Financial Accountant
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Bruce Howse, Pou Taumatua – Group Manager Corporate Services, on 07 October 2021

TITLE:	Representation Review 2021 Final Proposal
From:	Chris Taylor, Governance Specialist
Authorised by Group Manager:	Ben Lee, Acting GM - Governance and Engagement, on 12 October 2021

TITLE:	Draft NRC submission - Managing our wetlands
From:	Justin Murfitt, Strategic Policy Specialist
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Ben Lee, Acting GM - Governance and Engagement, on 11 October 2021.

TITLE:	Allocation of Remaining Regional Sporting Facilities Rates Collected 2018-2021
From:	Phil Heatley, Strategic Projects and Facilities Manager
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Bruce Howse, Pou Taumatua – Group Manager Corporate Services, on 07 October 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 05 October 2021

TITLE:	Chair's Report to Council
From:	Penny Smart, Chair
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Penny Smart, Chair, on 13 October 2021.

TITLE:	Receipt of Committee Minutes
From:	Chris Taylor, Governance Specialist
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Chris Taylor, Governance Specialist, on 12 October 2021.

Item No.	Item Issue	Reasons/Grounds
10.1	Confirmation of Minutes - Confidential Council Meeting Minutes 21 September 2021	The public conduct of the proceedings would be likely to result in disclosure of information, as stated in the open section of the meeting -.
10.2	Receipt of Committee Confidential Minutes	The public conduct of the proceedings would be likely to result in disclosure of information, as stated in the open section of the meeting -.
10.3	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).
10.4	Directors Renumeration	The public conduct of the proceedings would be likely to result in disclosure of information, the withholding of which is necessary to enable council to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations) s7(2)(i).
10.5	Rent Relief in Response to the 2021 Covid-19 Lockdown	The public conduct of the proceedings would be likely to result in disclosure of information, the withholding of which is necessary to protect information where the making available of the information would be likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied or who is the subject of the information s7(2)(b)(ii) 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).