UNCONFIRMEDKaipara Moana Remediation Joint Committee

21 February 2022

Kaipara Moana Remediation Joint Committee Minutes

 

Meeting held Remotely

KMR JC Formal Meeting – Part 1

KMR JC Formal Meeting – Part 2

on Monday 21 February 2022, commencing at 09.30am

 

 

Tuhinga (Present):

Tame Te Rangi (Chair),  Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua

Chair Penny Smart (Deputy Chair), Northland Regional Council

Amy Macdonald, Northland Regional Council

Daniel Newman, Auckland Council

Cherie Povey, Ngā Maunga Whakahī o Kaipara,

Greg Sayers, Auckland Council

Jane Sherard, Ngā Maunga Whakahī o Kaipara

Virginia Warriner, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua

 

I Tae Mai (In Attendance):

Justine Daw – Pou Tātaki, Kaipara Maurikura

 

John Hutton – Interim Strategic Business Manager, Kaipara Maurikura

Duncan Kervell - Land and Catchments Projects Contractor, Kaipara Maurikura

Stephanie Versteeg - Amo-Rautaki Pākihi                        Strategic Business Manager, Kaipara Maurikura

William Wright - Ringa-Hononga Mana Whenua |Mana Whenua Relations Lead, Kaipara Maurikura

Lisette Rawson - Amo-Rauora Kōawa | Catchment Remediation Manager, Kaipara Maurikura

Ilka Pelzer – Ministry for the Environment (Observer)

Ben Hope - Ringa-Pārongo | Communications Lead, Kaipara Maurikura

Tahiroa Bishop - Pūtohu – Rauora Kōawa |Catchment Remediation Advisor, Kaipara Maurikura

Robyn Stubbing – Note taker Kaipara Maurikura

Sandra Harris – Administrator, Kaipara Maurikura

 

 

The Chair declared the meeting open at 09.32am

Karakia Tīmatanga and Whakatau

Ngā whakapahā / Apologies (Item 1.0)

Moved ( Warriner / Smart )

That the apologies from Malcolm Welsh (Te Uri o Hau), Joce Yeoman (Northland Regional Council), Georgina Connelly (Te Uri o Hau), Danielle Hancock (Auckland Council) for non-attendance be received.

Secretarial Note: Member Povey acknowledged the opening mihi of Chair Te Rangi

Carried

 

Ngā whakapuakanga (Declarations of Conflicts of Interest)

It was advised that members should make declarations item-by-item as the meeting progressed.

 

Confirmation of Minutes - 13 December 2021 (Item 4.1)

Report from Sandra Harris, Administrator

Moved ( Sherard / Smart )

That the minutes of the Kaipara Moana Remediation meeting held on 13 December 2021, be confirmed as a true and correct record.

Carried

 

Action Tracker (Item 5.1)

Report from Sandra Harris, Administrator

Moved ( Warriner / Macdonald )

That the Action Tracker be received.

Carried

Secretarial Note: Joint Committee were informed, Item 5.1 was tabled to compile in one place, and ensure ongoing clarity on, actions stemming from joint Committee hui resolutions.  The Action Tracker will inform the ongoing Maurikura work programme, and will be submitted at each formal meeting (hui).  Joint Committee members welcomed the format of the Action Tracker, and the transparency this provided.   

 

Forward Workplan (Item 5.2)

Report from Justine Daw, Pou Tātaki

Moved ( Sayers / Macdonald )

That the indicative Forward Workplan for the Joint Committee be received.

Carried

Secretarial Note: The Joint Committee were informed that item 5.2 was tabled to compile in one place expected discussions with and decision-points by the Joint Committee.  It was anticipated that the indicative Forward Workplan will evolve as the Annual Plan is developed.  The Joint Committee welcomed the commitment from the Pou Tātaki, to more regular communications from the Maurikura, including a shift to six-weekly Pānui.  The Joint Committee were informed that the Maurikura was aiming to have two Whenua Whānui Fund contracts completed by 30 June 2022, acknowledging that most of the projects in development were at an early stage, and that more work needed to be undertaken with interested local groups to progress to funding.  In response to a question, the Joint Committee were informed that the Kōrero Tuku Iho strategy implementation was a priority for the Maurikura and that regular report-backs on this work programme would be provided, including at the next Joint Committee workshop

 

Kaipara Moana Remediation Programme Draft Six Month Report (Item 6.1)

Report from John Hutton, Interim Strategic Business Manager

1.             That the report ‘Kaipara Moana Remediation Programme Draft Six Month Report’ by John Hutton, Interim Strategic Business Manager and dated 15 February 2022, be received.

2.        That the ‘Draft Six Month Report’ document under Appendix One be approved in principle.

3.        Delegate to the Chair and Deputy Chair the power to approve a final draft of the Six Month Report for provision to the Ministry for the Environment, with the ability of the Pou Tātaki to make minor editorial changes prior to submission if required.

Moved ( Sayers / Sherard )

Carried

 

Catchment Reference Groups (Establishment) (Item 6.2)

Report from Lisette Rawson, Amo - Rauora Kōawa | Catchment Remediation Manager and William Wright, Ringa-Hononga Mana Whenua | Mana Whenua Relations Lead

1.             That the report ‘Catchment Reference Groups (Establishment)’ by Lisette Rawson, Amo - Rauora Kōawa | Catchment Remediation Manager and William Wright, Ringa-Hononga Mana Whenua | Mana Whenua Relations Lead and dated 16 February 2022, be received.

2.        Note that the Joint Committee has previously agreed the establishment of Catchment Reference Groups to support remediation activities in the wider Kaipara Moana catchment led by hapū and community groups who may not be represented by Kaipara Uri entities (A1437942).

3.        Note that funding to support Catchment Reference Groups was approved by the Joint Committee as part of the Year 2 Annual Plan, supported by $1,160,000 in total project value consistent with KMR investment objectives and Whenua Whānui grant funding criteria (A1437942; and resolution for item 5.2, 15 November 2021).

4.        Agree to establish three Catchment Reference Groups with the ability to allocate funding for remediation activities in the Wairua, Mangakāhia and Hōteo river systems respectively.

5.        Agree that the Kaipara Maurikura will convene a representative from each of the three river systems and a Joint Committee representative (acting as Chair) to co-design Terms of Reference for the Catchment Reference Groups.

6.        Agree that associated contracts would allow each Catchment Reference Group to self-organise to assess and fund relevant remediation project proposals in line with the Terms of Reference, reporting regularly to the Maurikura on progress and investment outcomes.

7.        Note that Joint Committee approval will be required for any proposed investments that are materially outside of the agreed grant funding criteria.

8.        That a report-back on progress to establish the Catchment Reference Group be provided to the Joint Committee in May 2022.

Moved ( Warriner / Smart )

Carried

Secretarial Note: The Joint Committee were advised that in line with previous decisions, the Maurikura were proposing to establish with urgency three Catchment Reference Groups for each of the named catchment areas, to operate independently but within the funding framework of KMR.  The urgency signalled was reflective of an intent to enable the allocated investment to be made speedily, so as to support ongoing activities in the wider Kaipara Moana catchment led by hapū and community groups who may not be represented by Kaipara Uri entities.

To achieve this aim, it was suggested that the Maurikura convene a representative of each of the three catchment areas, chaired by a member of the Joint Committee, to develop a Terms of Reference to guide the operations of each Catchment Reference Group. 

Discussion was had with the Joint Committee members present on resolution 5, leading to a recommendation to consider nomination of a Joint Committee representative.  The Joint Committee discussion also included a suggestion that the Chair be a Kaipara Uri representative. 

The subsequent discussion indicated strong tautoko for the proposed awa Catchment Reference Groups, led by representative members external to KMR. 

 

Surge Planting Initiative (Winter 2022) (Item 6.3)

Report from Duncan Kervell, Kaipara Maurikura Land Management Specialist and Lisette Rawson, Amo - Rauora Kōawa | Catchment Remediation Manager

1.             That the report ‘Surge Planting Initiative (Winter 2022)’ by Duncan Kervell, Kaipara Maurikura Land Management Specialist and Lisette Rawson, Amo - Rauora Kōawa | Catchment Remediation Manager and dated 16 February 2022, be received.

Moved ( Smart / Sayers )

Carried

2.        Note that many Kaipara Moana Remediation (KMR) activities have narrow seasonal windows, with the winter period critical for planting.

3.        Note that a number of landowners in the catchment are ‘planting ready’, but do not yet have an approved KMR Sediment Reduction Plan, running the risk of a second winter of lower-than-planned planting rates.

4.        Agree in principle that Planting Plans that meet KMR criteria can trigger approval to commence planting on ‘planting ready’ properties, with a view to significantly lifting planting rates and landowner engagement this winter.

5.        Agree that Full Sediment Reduction Plans for these properties must be completed by the time of the KMR post-planting quality assurance visit, which is a pre-condition of payment of any associated KMR landowner grants.

6.        That a report-back on progress in developing a winter planting pipeline be provided to the Joint Committee in advance of the Joint Committee workshop in May 2022.

7.        Note that if the JC approves this approach in principle, work will be undertaken with co-funding partners and investors (Ministry for the Environment, Auckland Council, Northland Regional Council) to ensure they are comfortable with the proposed approach and make any adaptations, as needed.

Moved ( Warriner / Macdonald )

Carried

Secretarial Note: Joint Committee members were informed there was an opportunity to maximise winter planting, and support local nurseries carrying planting stock, through a proposal to bring forward (‘front-load’) some planting in the catchment.  The Joint Committee was informed that while all of the usual KMR processes would apply, a Planting Plan was proposed for initial development, with the full Sediment Reduction Plan to be developed subsequently.  Note:  Normally the Planting Plan is a central element of a KMR Sediment Reduction Plan, so the proposed approach serves simply to reverse the order of Plan delivery and approval.

In terms of the potential local employment benefits from the proposal, a Joint Committee member commented that if local and/or marae-centred teams were to be developed and overseen by an accredited supplier/partner (an emerging idea at present), there was an expectation that tikanga would apply and that appropriate engagement would occur. 

A Joint Committee member commented that central government will take a lot of confidence from what this report shows, in terms of Maurikura focus on programme delivery and scaling this up, and that the overall success of the KMR programme will depend on many taking action.

 

Pou Tātaki Report (Item 6.4)

Report from Justine Daw, Pou Tātaki

1.             That the report ‘Pou Tātaki Report’ by Justine Daw, Pou Tātaki and dated 16 February 2022, be received.  

 Moved ( Sayers / Smart )

Carried

Secretarial Note: The Joint Committee was advised that the Maurikura team are now in two work bubbles to manage business continuity risk, and will be working at home from 28 February in line with NRC’s Covid-19 policy in order to manage growing Covid-19 risks.  A Joint Committee member thanked the Pou Tātaki for the report.

 

 

Karakia Mutunga

Whakamutunga (Conclusion)

The meeting concluded at 12.05pm.