Agenda of Council Meeting

Council Meeting item: 7.2

17 September 2019

TITLE:	Chief Executive’s Report to Council
ID:	A1232153
From:	Malcolm Nicolson, Chief Executive Officer

Recommendation

That the report ‘Chief Executive’s Report to Council’ by Malcolm Nicolson, Chief Executive Officer and dated 31 August 2019, be received.

7.2.1 Highlights

Northland - Auckland Line Investment

On 6 September the Government announced that it would invest $94.8 million from the Provincial Growth Fund to upgrade the 181km North Auckland rail line between Swanson and Whangārei. The work includes upgrading tracks, sleepers and ballast on almost one-third of the 100-year-old line, maintenance work on 13 tunnels and replacing five mostly wooden bridges.

The upgrades will make the line more resilient to weather events and reduce train travel times (it currently takes seven hours for a train to complete the journey from Kauri to Auckland). Investment such as this is important to ensuring a safe, resilient and efficient multi-modal transport system for the region.

A decision on whether to fund the 20km Marsden Point rail link will be made at a later date.

7.2.2 CEO’s Office

Council Property Update

A Sale & Purchase Agreement has been signed for Council to purchase a Whangārei CBD property, due diligence is underway.

ARCO Group Ltd, a Whangārei-based company, has been named the Head Contractor for the redevelopment at 8 Kensington Avenue. They have established on site and are beginning demolition and asbestos removal. Local kaumatua, council staff and Councillors took part in a blessing of the site prior to the work beginning.

All Mt Tiger Forest Management Plan targets were achieved for the 2018/19 financial year. Net revenue for the year’s harvest was $460,000. As at 30 June 2019 the forest valuation was $3,364,000 being a 1.3% increase largely as a result of tree growth. Council holds 17,460 NZ Units (ETS) valued at $404,199, a revaluation gain of 9.8%. For a copy of the report please contact the Strategic Projects Manager.

Current Legal Proceedings

Department	Description	Status
Consent decision appeal	Seventeen groundwater takes for horticultural irrigation at Houhora, Motutangi, and Waiharara	Court issued the final decision granting the consents on Friday 16 August 2019, which included the conditions for the consents.
Consent decision appeal	Replacement consents for, and new consents for, an expansion of Doug’s Opua Boat Yard in Walls Bay, Ōpua.	The applicant has appealed the Court’s decision to the High Court and will be seeking a stay on the Environment Court proceedings until its appeal to the High Court has been determined.

7.2.3 Corporate Excellence

Cyber Security

Council was the subject to an email phishing attack where approximately 20 staff received the scam email. Through quick alerting none of our staff actioned any of the emails. The breach was reported to the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT NZ www.cert.govt.nz) who work in partnership with government agencies to respond to cyber security threats. This quarter, CERT NZ reported that 45% of the incidents reported were made up of phishing campaigns.

Fraud Declaration

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

7.2.4 Regulatory Services

CONSENTS IN PROCESS

During August 2019, a total of 43 decisions were issued. These decisions comprised:

• Moorings	1
• Coastal Permits	17
• Air Discharge Permits	-
• Land Discharge Permits	7
• Water Discharge Permits	1
• Land Use Consents	7
• Water Permits	3
• Bore Consents	7

The processing timeframes for the August 2019 consents ranged from:

• 4,105 to 7 calendar days, with the median time being 29 days;

• 2,633 to 5 working days, with the median time being 20 days.

Thirty-seven applications were received in August 2019.

Of the 111 applications in progress at the end of August 2019:

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

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

• 52 less than 6 months.

Appointment of Hearing Commissioners

The following commissioners were appointed in August 2019 for one consent hearing:

• Mr David Hill and Mr Alan Withy for consents associated with a 37-unit residential development. The hearing is scheduled for 18 September 2019.

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

The current level of notified application processing activities at the end of August 2019 is (by number):

• Applications Publicly/Limited Notified During Previous Month	-
• Progress on Applications Previously Notified	3
• Hearings and Decisions	4
• Appeals/Objections	2

COMPLIANCE MONITORING

The results of compliance monitoring for the period 1 – 31 August 2019 (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 discharges	22	17	2	0	2	1
Coastal permit	26	23	2	1	0	0
Discharge permit	66	46	9	4	5	2
FDE - Discharge permit	78	57	0	14	7	0
FDE - Permitted activity	48	34	0	8	6	0
Land use consent	71	45	26	0	0	0
Water permit	114	48	50	6	1	9
Total	425	270	89	33	21	12
Percentage		63.6%	20.9%	7.8%	4.9%	2.8%
YTD	1,609	1,193	167	90	55	104
Percentage		74.2%	10.4%	5.6%	3.4%	6.5%

Coastal

The majority of consents monitored during the reporting period related to coastal discharges (treated municipal sewage, industrial and boat maintenance facilities), coastal structures and dredging. Dredging monitored included measurement using the new turbidity sensor for our water quality meter, allowing real-time interpretation. The meters also have GPS functionality to allow for mapping of results to provide a comprehensive analysis of compliance.

Waste Management

• 23 enquiries regarding contaminated land were received and responded to.

• One site was added to the NRC Selected Land-use Register (SLR).

• There were 18 incidents involving the discharge of hazardous substances.

• The collection and packaging of hazardous substances continued during the reporting period.

Water, Waste, Air and Land Use Compliance Monitoring

During the month of August compliance staff attended:

• A quarterly meeting of the RMA Northland Forestry Development Group. Attendees to these meetings include forestry operators, MPI representatives, NRC councillors and our district council colleagues. Environmental Monitoring Officer, Zivana Pauling, gave a presentation on how NRC processes and assesses notifications that are received for activities under the National Environmental Standard – Plantation Forestry (NES-PF). The presentation included a summary on what good forestry practice looked like during the previous quarter, and some examples of sites with less than satisfactory environmental controls and what was being done to remediate those situations. The presentation was well received.

• All compliance staff were involved in the annual Field Monitoring Group training day. This training day is compulsory for monitoring staff and included a large focus on health and safety in the field. Due to a number of new staff having joined the monitoring team, this training is invaluable and forms an integral part of the onboarding programme.

Farm Dairy Effluent (FDE) Monitoring

FDE inspections commenced on 22 July 2019, with the first inspections being made to winter milking farms. A total of 829 farms will be visited by the FDE contractor or council staff prior to Christmas – this is 47 less farms than last year. To date about 26% of these have been visited and reported on. The results for consented and permitted activity farms are tabled below and compared with those for the same period last year. It is too early to draw any conclusions.

• Consented FDE discharges

A total of 137 consented farms have been visited and reported on. This is about 22% of the total consented farms to be visited.

Full Compliance		Moderate Non-Compliance		Significant Non-Compliance
This Year	Last Year	This Year	Last Year	This Year	Last Year
89	134	30	58	18	34
65%	59%	22%	26%	13%	15%

• Non-consented FDE discharges

A total of 79 non-consented farms have been visited and reported on. This is about 39% of the total non-consented farms to be visited.

Full Compliance		Moderate Non-Compliance		Significant Non-Compliance
This Year	Last Year	This Year	Last Year	This Year	Last Year
56	68	13	14	10	20
71%	66%	16%	14%	13%	20%

Environmental incidents

There were no incidents recorded during the reporting period that resulted in a significant environmental impact.

ENFORCEMENT

Abatement notices, infringement notices and formal warnings

The following enforcement actions were taken during the period:

	Infringement Notice		Abatement Notice		Warning and Letter		Total
Nature of Offence	No. Offences	No. Notices	No. Offences	No. Notices	No. Offences	No. Notices	No. Offences	No. Notices
Boat maintenance	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1
Burning & smoke nuisance	1	1	3	5	0	0	3	6
Discharge to land	0	0	1	2	0	0	1	2
Earthworks/land use	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	1
Farm dairy effluent	16	32	22	29	0	0	25	61
Other air discharge	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	1
Other water discharge	1	1	2	3	0	0	2	4
Total	18	34	30	41	1	1	34	76

Other Enforcement

• Dumping and burning of demolition waste, Kaikohe

Charges have been laid against two companies and one individual (associated with one of the companies) and a land owner for the dumping and burning of demolition waste near Kaikohe. One of the companies and the land owner attended a sentencing hearing on 15 August 2019 in the Kaikohe District Court. The judge will deliver his decision from Auckland on 3 September 2019. The other company has elected trial by jury which is scheduled for November 2019.

• Enforcement Order – Paihia wastewater treatment plant

Following a pre-hearing conference/settlement conference held on 4 March 2019, the Environment Court issued Enforcement Orders against FNDC on 20 March 2019. The orders set out milestones to complete an upgraded WWTP. FNDC has met the first three milestones (notifying NRC and the Court of its resolution approving funding for the upgrade, providing the final design and confirmation of commencement of works). The next milestone is due on 27 December 2019.

• Farm dairy effluent – Waipū

Charges have been laid against a Waipū farmer for offending which occurred in July and December 2018. The offences related to discharges of untreated effluent from breakages in irrigation lines. The farm owner has a poor history of compliance with regional rules for animal effluent disposal. Guilty pleas to all charges were entered on 18 April 2019. A sentencing hearing was held on 15 August 2019 in the Whangārei District Court. The defendant was convicted and fined a total of $28,500 plus costs of $113 per charge (a total of six charges).

• Farm dairy effluent – Maungakaramea

Charges have been laid against a farm owner and his company, as well as the farm manager, for offences which occurred in September 2018. The farm has a poor history of compliance with regional rules for animal effluent disposal. The matter was brought before a judge on 14 August 2019 in the Whangārei District Court. The farm owner and his company intimated guilty pleas and asked for more time to agree on the summary of facts with NRC. The judge adjourned to a judicial teleconference; date to be set in late September/early October. We are awaiting a court date for the sentencing of the farm manager.

• Farm dairy effluent – Maromaku

Charges have been laid against a farm owner, his company and the farm manager for offences which occurred in September 2018. The farm has a poor history of compliance with regional rules for animal effluent disposal. The company has entered guilty pleas; the remaining parties have pleaded not guilty. A case review hearing was held on 14 August 2019. The Judge adjourned the case to a judicial teleconference; date to be set in late September/early October.

COASTAL/WATER QUALITY FIELD OPERATIONS

Coastal water quality sampling of the Whangārei, Bay of Islands and Kaipara harbours and southern estuaries (Mangawhai, Waipū and Ruakaka) was carried out.

The monthly river water quality, priority catchment, and periphyton sampling programmes were undertaken.

Monthly quality checks were undertaken at our continuous monitoring sites.

Quarterly lakes monitoring was carried out at our 27 routine sites, along with a number of new lakes monitored for the Freshwater Improvement Fund Dune Lakes project.

HYDROLOGY

Rivers/Rain situation

Rainfall recorded during August was well below the long term median for the month in the catchment along the eastern Hill from Bay of Islands down to Bream Bay. The winter 2019 rainfall map shows a very similar pattern to August 2019 with no easterly weather system delivering the winter rains. Rainfall was above the long term median in the Mangataniwha Ranges south to the Parataiko Ranges. NIWA is predicting a warmer, stormier September. The Hydrology Field Operations Manager will present to council in more detail on the dry weather Northland is currently experiencing and what to expect for spring and summer.

Hydrology Projects:

• The Coopers Beach groundwater station was upgraded with a new data-logger, water level and conductivity sensor.

• Two IOT water level sensors have been installed in Kaimaumau Wetland as a trial, alongside conventional sensors.

NATURAL RESOURCES DATA

• Coordinating LAWA requests (key dates for delivery across May – September 2019):

• LAWA Groundwater Quality Module (EMaR) – currently checking the LAWA staging site and data feeds. The module is expected to Go-live in December 2019.

• LAWA Annual Refresh of Lakes, Rivers, Can I Swim water quality, and Water Quantity data. All final datasets have been confirmed and loaded to LAWA for Rivers, Lakes and Macroinvertebrates. The module is expected to Go-live in September 2019.

• Survey 123 for electronic data collection: training sessions were organised in August 2019 in preparation for the first trial of the electronic forms for the river and coastal runs. Further work is still required connecting the spatial and environmental databases before the final release to the field operation teams.

• The Online Water Meter System is now live on NRC website. Consent holders can now enter their water use records via the NRC website. A number of additional consents have also been set up to provide their records via Telemetry. The records are saved automatically into the environmental database.

• A new proposal of the current Field Monitoring Group quality system has been submitted to align the quality system structure for monitoring with the data management lifecycle. The latest Telarc External Quality Audit highlighted that the re-development work in the field monitoring area was highly commended. Existing and new quality and quantity objectives are currently being defined.

• The team is currently recruiting a Data Management Officer and an Environmental Science Reporting Officer.

NATURAL RESOURCES SCIENCE

• Ambient PM10 monitoring results for July 2019 for the Whangārei and Marsden Point airsheds and Kawakawa township show that compliance was met with the National Environmental Standards for Air Quality (NESAQ). PM2.5 monitoring results for Whangārei were within the Ambient Air Quality Guideline value.

• A total of ten compliance assessments for air discharge consents were made during this period. Compliance assessments confirmed all consents were fully compliant with their consent conditions.

7.2.5 eNVIRONMENtal Services

Land Management

Environment Fund Update

Five projects (totalling $16,170) were approved by delegated authority in August, for Hātea and Coastcare projects. A general environment fund delegated authority approval is scheduled for 19 September 2019.

Farm Environment Plans (FEP’s)

Thirty-eight farm plans were completed in July and August, covering 4,080 ha.

Hātea Project

The four large planting projects have been completed and signed off. Smaller landowner managed planting projects are also now being signed off. The large sign for the Otuihau Reserve is nearing completion and a small ‘unveiling’ ceremony is being planned for 21 September to coincide with World Rivers Day on 22 September.

BIODIVERSITY

CoastCare

Another section of dune restoration work at Long Beach Russell was completed in August. Exotic weeds and rubble were removed, and the dune shaped. A week later the area was planted with wīwī and spinifex by the Russell Landcare Trust.

In collaboration with the Department of Conservation, the New Zealand Fairy Tern Trust and Waipū School, 900 pīngao were planted on Waipū Sandspit to help protect the New Zealand Fairy Tern nesting area.

Bream Bay Coastal Care Trust (BBCCT), Whangārei District Council contractors, and local residents have all been working to control acacia (wattle), an aggressive, salt tolerant dune weed on the Ruakākā Reserve and Wildlife Refuge. A need for consistent methods and communication between groups was recognized, so a site-visit and meeting was held with BBCCT, residents and agencies with council Biosecurity providing specialist advice on control methods. The next step will be development of a management plan and possibly field trials.

Following on from the successful Karikari Peninsula Kaitiaki Ranger programme run last summer, plans are underway for an expanded programme. Ministry for Business and Innovation (MBIE) funding has been applied for by the Far North District Council, in collaboration with the Department of Conservation and council.

FIF Dune Lakes Project

Herbicide treatment of three weedy Far North Lakes in late October is planned with the herbicide now ordered and being shipped from America.

The first Technical Advisory Group hui to be held outside of Whangārei was held in Kaitāia on 22 August 2019. This hui was hosted by Te Hiku iwi, with attendance from Te Roroa iwi representatives. The hui was followed by a workshop with kaiwhakahaere towards formulation of a lakes kawa via Mātauranga Māori.

Kaiwhakahaere representatives from Te Hiku and Poutō accompanied three Biodiversity staff to Hamilton for a field visit to NIWA freshwater plant aquaculture facilities and to the Lake Ecological Restoration NZ (LERNZ) symposium on 28-29 August.

Poutō Catchment Group

A meeting was held with Department of Conservation to discuss a joint bid to the One Billion Trees programme for planting around several Poutō lakes.

Wetland and Biodiversity Advice

Several site visits were made for Biodiversity Plans and Efund applications for wetland fencing, including Pāua and Rangi Stations at Pārengarenga.

Biosecurity

Biosecurity Highlights

• Northern Region Kauri Dieback Stakeholder Group

The second regional kauri dieback stakeholder meeting of the year was very successful with 22 key agencies and programme partner groups attending. The focus of these meeting is both to facilitate communication between these groups and provide updates on latest developments in science and kauri dieback management.

• Maunganui Bluff Community Pest Control Area (CPCA)

A new CPCA has been submitted to council staff for approval, with Department of Conservation (DOC) support by way of some funding for goat control and species surveys. There has been a lot of interest in seeing this project go ahead with Te Roroa, DOC, and the wider community all expressing concern that this rare ecosystem needs protecting.

• New AT220 Auto Traps

The new self-resetting trap is receiving good feedback from trappers in Bush Bay Action with one trapper reporting the ten traps he has in the Waitangi National Trust caught 61 possums, 28 rats and two mice in just one week. One trap alone caught 17 possums and two rats in that time.

• Inter-Regional Marine Pest Pathway Plan

The Inter-Regional Marine Pathway Plan (IRMPP) consultation has provided useful feedback on the issue of marine pest management. All four Top of the North (TON) councils have now approved staff (in collaboration with the TON partnership agencies) to undertake a detailed options analysis to identify a ‘preferred’ approach and report back in early 2020. This would include:

• A preferred option for marine pest management;

• An indicative cost / benefit assessment and rationale;

• An indicative implementation programme and associated costs; and

• An outline of the process should the preferred option be pursued.

Biosecurity Partnerships

• Kiwi Coast / Council Partnership

• The Council – Kiwi Coast partnership and the new pest control rate has made a tangible difference to the support and operating capacity of community led conservation projects in the region.

• Kiwi Coast’s momentum continues to grow. As at 30 June 2019, 129 entities have linked into Kiwi Coast. Collectively, these groups and projects manage approximately 155,000 hectares.

• Thousands of new traps have been added into Northland’s predator trap network over the last year. Kiwi Coast has run 44 skill building and trapper training workshops over the past six years to help ensure each trap is serviced to a high standard and achieves maximum results.

• 297,753 pests were trapped over the last six years with over 1,000 pests removed from the Kiwi Coast every week.

Pest	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Rodents	11,999	16,386	16,893	24,000	23,590	27,272
Possums	8,997	14,295	23,762	22,861	25,496	28,475
Hedgehogs	1,751	2,396	2,095	2,054	2,150	2,767
Mustelids	1,104	1,505	1,418	1,536	1,964	2,566
Wild Rabbits	657	618	2,309	1,855	1,724	1,441
Feral Cats	384	479	760	678	619	814
Feral Pigs	11	100	180	231	415	792
Pest Birds	68	261	4,538	3,175	3,612	4,024
Other Pests	not counted	not counted	136	239	71	605
TOTAL	24,971	36,040	52,091	56,629	59,641	68,756

• Kiwi Link CPCA landowners alone contributed over $130,000 of unpaid labour and in kind resources to their project during the year – just one example that the resources provided by funders, agencies and organisations to support community led projects is a worthy investment yielding good returns and results.

• Kiwi Coast has continued to assist with linking traplines of neighbouring projects into continuous trapping areas. As a result, predator trap networks within the Whangārei Heads – Tutukaka, Mid North and Piroa-Brynderwyns areas now span tens of thousands of hectares.

• Expanding populations of indicator species such as pateke and the continued upward trend of kiwi populations at many Northland sites signals that these trapping networks are yielding the desired results.

• Kiwi remain their own best ambassadors – winning hearts and minds, motivating action and inspiring improved dog control at public kiwi releases. 13,373 people have attended Kiwi Coast supported events over the past six years.

• The confirmed dispersal of transmitter labelled kiwi between the Whangārei Heads peninsula and the Kiwi Link CPCA indicates the first steps of a functioning kiwi corridor are in place

• Seeking efficiencies, maximising gains and ensuring upward trends of kiwi populations are sustained remain key strategic priorities of the Kiwi Coast Trust. Emerging opportunities to support communities towards predator free peninsulas and develop new technology will be explored further over the upcoming year.

• Tutukaka High Value Area

• Feral pig control: At least 12 known kills were made in during the month. Significant pig sign exists over a wide area, suggesting the pig population remains high despite the increased control effort.

• Kiwi Assessment: Tutukaka Landcare kiwi listening data has been collated and calling is occurring later this season – presumably because of drier ground conditions.

• Weed Control: Education and Advocacy was the key focus of the month, with engagement and support of volunteers to start small weed teams in their neighbourhoods through kick start events, letterbox drops, and social media. The Facebook campaign was maintained around the “dirty dozen” to continue to increase wider awareness. Regular weeding events were also held to encourage volunteers, while removing and controlling plant pests in the reserves/public spaces.

• Species Enhancement: Regular telemetry monitoring of introduced kiwi fitted with transmitters shows only Marohi sitting at this stage. Pateke ducklings were sighted for the first time since the initial re-introduction in 2006 in the Te Wairoa stream at the Clements Rd bridge, Matapōuri. This is a very special landmark event for the Landcare.

• Public Awareness and Education: Two expeditions were made to the Tutukaka Lighthouse Island to deploy and top-up bait stations and set up a new trail camera. 192 videos of petrels, thrushes and mice have been recorded and a selection of these were shared with the Ngunguru school interns who installed the petrel boxes – excellent feedback for their efforts. The Matapōuri Marae have planted an orchard of fruit trees and put in a chicken enclosure. Tutukaka Landcare has supplied them with rabbit proofing for the trees, rat traps, and a SA2 traps for possums, serving to deepen further Landcare’s good relationship with the Matapōuri hapū.

• Whangārei Heads High Value Area

• Kiwi Assessment: Kiwi call counts have been completed and data fed back for council audits. Call counts seem low this year (like other areas), again presumably due to drier than usual ground conditions. Most monitored kiwi are nesting.

• Western Northland Pest Control

• Te Toa Whenua Possum Control Te Roroa Iwi: This CPCA has been signed off and is awaiting confirmation of additional funding from other project partners to ensure the wider landscape can be managed beyond the immediate project boundary. Confirmation of co-funding is expected after September.

• Wekaweka Landcare – Native Forest Restoration Trust: Tracks have been cut and a helicopter drop of the traps into the forest is now complete. The Wekaweka Landcare group came out in force to get the job done.

Preparation of flying traps by the Wekaweka Landcare Group

• Mid-North High Value Area

• Predator Control: The mid north HVA has seen over 500 double DOC200 and 200 single DOC200 traps deployed. Toxins have been issued through July/August and into September. Two main areas of focus this month have been Purerua Peninsula and Waitangi with extra traps made available to Waitangi Treaty Grounds, Iwi Kiwi, and farmers adjacent to the Ōpua State Forest. SA2 traps have also been loaned to Landcorp to do a possum cull on Pāmu Takakuri in Kāeo.

• Public Awareness and Education: A funding opportunity has come from Princess Cruises, primarily for Bay Bush Action, with a donation offered for development of education resources for wider Northland. Z Energy “Good in the Hood” fundraising for the month of September has also been approved for Z Kaitāia and Z Taipā to support Mangatete Landcare and Doubtless Bay Landcare Groups respectively.

• Piroa-Brynderwyn High Value Area

· Predator Control: Professional toxin placement to over 600 ha of land behind Lang’s Beach Estate was highly successful with 7,000 feratox baits set out. Contractors reported that possum sign and bait up take was exceptionally high. Three new live feral pig traps have been deployed, with another two to be deployed shortly. Four trail cameras have been purchased to monitor activity around live traps.

GPS tracks of possum poisoning operation
recently conducted in Piroa-Brynderwyn HVA

• Weed Action: A number of neighbourhood groups are springing up in Waipū and at Mangawhai Heads to address the worst pest plants in their area. The Weed Action Piroa-Brynderwyn Coordinator is supporting these groups with health and safety, best methods, herbicide, tools, and waste disposal.

• Tiakina Whāngārei – Communities, Kaitiakitanga, Conservation

• Tiakina Whāngārei set up a stall at the Quarry Gardens on 17 August. Approximately 70 subsidised rat traps and tunnels were sold, while providing advice to over 100 people. Thirty-nine people signed up to Trap.NZ as a result of this event. Traps and tunnels are now being sold at council reception, with a further 28 people signed up to Trap.NZ over the month. There are now 106 people signed up for Trap.NZ (including people from the Grower’s Market in July). To date Tiakina has caught 266 rats, 80 possums and 12 mice.

Kauri DieBack

Northland Rugby Union

Work has continued with Northland Rugby supporting their three-year Kauri Dieback awareness programme. Two short videos using well known rugby identities to promote kauri dieback awareness and forest hygiene have been released via numerous media channels.

The partnership is a natural fit for Northland Rugby, who use the kauri tree as its emblem, and kauri dieback staff (along with other agencies and partners) attended the official launch of the campaign on 15 August.

Biosecurity officers, alongside Northland Rugby, also handed out kauri dieback boot bags containing hygiene equipment and other promotional giveaways to Northland junior rugby teams on 17 August.

The kauri dieback team ready to give out boot bags to junior rugby players.

Management Plans

Kauri dieback management plans continue to be developed for all positive sites as well as those that are identified as medium–high risk sites. All site occupiers receive advice and a basic management plan about how to best protect their kauri and forest from kauri dieback and other diseases.

Te Araroa Trail

Re-routing of a section of the Te Araroa trail in Matapōuri to avoid a grove of kauri has been completed.

Northland Pig Hunters

Biosecurity officers handed out hygiene kits at the annual Kāeo Pig Hunting Competition. The aim of council’s involvement in these competitions is to establish a positive ongoing relationship with pig hunters (a potential kauri dieback vector) which will enable the better uptake of hygiene practices and wild pig eradication.

Biosecurity officer Adrian Peacheys talking kauri dieback with a pig hunter at the Kāeo Pig Hunting Competition.

Kauri Dieback Awareness and Education

Kauri dieback staff continue to provide hygiene equipment and advice to schools undertaking various projects in kauri or forest areas. In August engagement with schools through projects and events has included:

• Find Your Future (Whangārei and Kerikeri): Students were provided with kauri dieback information as well as career advice.

• Te Kura o te Kauri: Te Kura o te Kauri is an education/outreach project aimed at children, their whānau, and communities. The project uses a repurposed mobile science laboratory (“lab in a box”) as a classroom. The “lab in a box” will be rotated around Northland during October and include Whangārei, Waipoua and Whangaroa. Kauri dieback staff are assisting the Whangārei project coordinator Te Kaurinui Parata with school engagement and soil sampling in preparation for the arrival of the “lab in a box”.

• Karanga O Tānemahuta: Kauri dieback staff attended this wānanga in Mitimiti at Mātihetihe Marae where they educated students and provided hygiene equipment. The Karanga O Tānemahuta project aims to reconnect rangatahi with the Warawara forest.

• Central Northland Science and Technology Fair: The kauri dieback team engaged with various schools in workshops over three days during the Central Northland Science and Technology Fair held at Forum North in Whangārei.

MARINE BIOSECURITY

Ōpua Sabella Incursion

The latest phase of diving in our eradication attempt for Sabella in Ōpua is underway; divers have systematically searched all structures in the marina and wider area, as well as a considerable area of the seafloor and a large number of moorings.

Progress has been exceptional, with a good run of favourable weather and visibility. It is expected that we will have adequate data following this next phase of diving to be able to create an appropriate decision tree for continuing the eradication attempt or changing focus to a long-term management programme.

In the meantime, we will continue working with stakeholders and local mooring owners with response updates, media releases, and encourage boaties in the area to be vigilant and limit any further spread.

Marine biosecurity officers monitoring
divers in the latest phase of Ōpua
eradication attempt for Sabella.

National Partnership Meeting in Nelson

On 16 August, an inaugural national partnerships meeting was held in Nelson. This was facilitated by Biosecurity New Zealand and attended by regional representatives working in marine biosecurity. The meeting was a chance to share information between individual councils and the major partnerships that are active in NZ: Top of the South (TOS), Top of the North (TON), and the inter-agency partnership working in Fiordland. This was productive in understanding the different rules being utilised across the regions and it is anticipated this will become an annual networking event.

NorthTec Student Practicum

The marine team is mentoring two second-year students from NorthTec studying towards a Diploma in Conservation and Environmental Management. This practicum gives the students an opportunity to experience the equivalent of employment with council and get a taste of the work we conduct in marine biosecurity. The students have been working with marine biosecurity officers to design an experiment to test different styles of crab traps and determine crab behaviour once caught. Charybdis japonica is an invasive crab species present in Northland that is subject to small-scale local management programmes.

PEST PLANTS

Eradication Plants – Kamo Reserves

Following the contract grid search for batwing passionflower of the Kamo reserves done in June, biosecurity officers are now planning further work to complete the bush block search area.

The results of the initial contract search highlighted the need to increase the surveillance and control in these bush blocks to ensure the full extent of the infestation area is under continuous management.

Ten adult plants were found in the search area, which is of concern given the rate of spread from these locations and the rapid growth rate of batwing to maturity. These areas will require searching twice yearly as a minimum to bring the spread under control.

One of the Kamo reserves (Granfield Reserve) is in close proximity to the only known Houttuynia site in Northland. Consequently, the exclusion species Houttuynia was included in the search brief for this reserve. No Houttuynia was found.

Maps showing area searched by the Te Ngahere contract team, and the known batwing locations following the contract. Also included are known sites in Kamo residential areas. The green triangles represent key infestation areas with adult plants.

Eradication Plants – Waikare Inlet

The four-monthy inspection of the Waikare Inlet batwing passionflower site was carried out on the 21 August, with a team of eight council staff.

The team included members from different departments both across council and the biosecurity team. This cross council cooperation not only assists in meeting our objectives, but also provides a good insight in the work Biosecurity does.

Cross council relationships like this were highlighted during a team strategy session as being important for maintaining relationships and information flow across departments as the organisation grows.

Manchurian Wild Rice Officer Trev Bullock
assisting the Pest Plant team in the
Waikare Inlet batwing passionflower inspection.

Sustained Control Pest Plants

Biosecurity officers have been undertaking an increased number of privet and gorse enforcements over the course of the last month. They have also assisted with community requests for advice and support for the marae community in Punaruku, Bream Bay Coastal Care, and Ruakākā coastal area.

Weed Workshops

The last weed workshop was delivered on the 2 August at Cooper’s Beach and received positive feedback from participants. A total of 61 people participated in this year’s programme of five workshops.

RIVERS

LTP Projects

Rivers	Comments
Awanui	Capex and Opex works are live on GETS. The tender closes on 13 September 2019.
Matangirau	A very strong turnout (46 people) for the working group meeting held on 30 August 19. The team will be working with the community and landowners to prioritize the preferred options.
Kawakawa – Taumārere	Additional modelling has been completed for the Kawakawa Stopbank options. Modelling outcome and further assessment of the stopbank is underway.
Whāngārei	Woods Road Flood wall is approximately 50% complete. We expect the contractor to complete by end of September.
Panguru	Detailed design is being finalised. The team has meet with some landowners and community to progress the archaeological assessment. The final modelling report is complete. A resource consent is scheduled to be lodged early in September.
Kaihu	The Kaihu River Maintenance Programme has been finalised.

NATURAL HAZARDS

Work Streams	Status	Comments
Awanui Flood Model	90%	Calibration of the hydrological model is completed and being peer reviewed. Flood maps incorporating the scheme design are expected to be completed by November 2019.
Coastal erosion flood mapping	Planning phase	The team are drafting the tender documents and expect to get quotes on works in early September.
Coastal flood hazard mapping	Planning phase	Tender documents are in preparation. A Request For Proposal is to be issued in September 2019.
Region-wide flood mapping	Planning phase	Tender documents are in preparation. A quote request will be issued in September 2019. An Australian consultancy is engaged to do modelling for a smaller area as a sample (free of charge).

Northland Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) Capture

Processing has been reported as 75% complete. The QA/QC workshop (a key contract hold-point) is booked for 11-13 September. The final deliverables date will hinge on the outcome of the workshop, but contractor RPS Australia Asia Pacific is confident for pre-December delivery. Discussion regarding change of datum from One Tree Point to New Zealand Vertical Datum, LiDAR data storage and information technology requirements will be discussed at the upcoming Land Information New Zealand workshop.

Climate Change Response

• Internal

The council steering group has met and is developing a new initiative funding application for annual plan 2020-21. Climate change will be reported on in the next Long Term Plan via an activity management plan.

• Regional

Council is a lead contributor to the Te Taitokerau Council’s Climate Change Adaptation Group. Current projects include:

• Regional adaptation strategy framework to prioritise risks and inform LTP funding 2021-31 (draft version underway)

• Risk and vulnerability assessments (methodology definition and data collation underway); risk assessment workshop planned 29 Oct

• Impacts on Maori and engagement methodology (being drafted with consultation)

• Communications and engagement plan (being drafted with consultation)

Sea level rise mapping

A new extreme sea level rise scenario has been consulted on with district councils with consensus reached to map extreme sea level rise under climate change (to 1.5 m at the year 2130) in council coastal flood and erosion hazard maps. A recommendation will be sent to Chief Executives forum.

7.2.6 STRATEGY, Governance And Engagement

2019 NORTHLAND LOCAL ELECTIONS

The four Northland councils have been working closely together to promote the election process; focussing on encouraging people to stand and vote in the 2019 local elections. A separate campaign led by the Electoral Commission is focussing on enrolment to vote.

NRC, in conjunction with the relevant district council, held a candidate information briefing in each of its seven constituencies. These sessions provided an opportunity for people who were considering standing to learn more about the functions of the district versus regional council, the role of elected members and the technical aspects of the election process (eligibility, nominations, timetable, induction and remuneration).

In parallel, the councils have developed a joint 2019 Northland Local Elections campaign. The stand phase focused on encouraging people to stand as candidates and getting prospective candidates to attend an information evening. The campaign slogan for this phase was “Arohaina tō hāpori? Tū mai. Kia tū rangatira ai.” Love your community? Show it. Stand as a candidate. Five videos were produced and disseminated via social media with over 30,000 views as at 9 August 2019. The videos were supported by radio and print advertising.

The vote phase is currently being finalised and focuses on getting people to learn about the candidates and vote for who they want to represent them. The voting slogan is “Arohaina tō hāpori? Tū mai.” Love your community? Show it. Vote. This phase will feature a hero video encouraging people to vote and another video about ‘how do you decide who to vote for’. The videos will be supported by radio and print advertising. A key message of this phase is reminding people it is postal voting and ensuring people get their votes posted in time. The four Northland councils are also participating in Auckland councils ‘vote-off ‘campaign.

PROPOSED REGIONAL PLAN

Mediation on appeals relating to council’s decisions on the Proposed Regional Plan (excluding GE/GMO’s) began on Monday 2 September. The mediation process is managed by the Environment Court and will involve all apellants and those registered as interested parties.

NATIONAL INITIATIVES

Council lodged submissions on the following central government consultations:

• Productivity Commission: draft report on local government funding and financing

• Action on agricultural emissions: discussion document

• Reassessment of Methyl bromide by the Environmental Protection Authority

These were circulated to elected members for comment prior to being lodged by the CEO on behalf of council under delegated authority.

A paper is included in this agenda (Item 6.2) which outlines various consultations central government are undertaking over the next two to three msonths, including the major reforms for freshwater management.

DISTRICT PLANNING

No district plan changes have been notified in the reporting period.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Investment and Growth Reserve – Projects Report

Project	August update	Future developments/ reporting
Resources Enterprise Limited (REL)	Letter sent to REL accelerating repayment of amount outstanding.	Work with lawyers to protect council investment.
Northland Water Storage and Use	Consultant appointed to undertake pre-feasibility demand and design work, and first meetings of Project Steering Group and Project Advisory Group held.	Work with consultant to provide all information needed to progress demand and design work, prepare for next governance group meetings, prepare for other components of the pre-feasibility phase.
Manea Footprints of Kupe	Proposal received from proponents for consideration.	Work with Trust/FNHL to agree resolution to finalise funding agreement.
Hundertwasser Art Centre (Whangārei)	Monthly progress report for July received.	Awaiting invoice for second payment of $500,000 (due at 50% completion).
Te Hononga / Kawakawa Hundertwasser Park Centre	Nothing to report.	Awaiting receipt of next progress report and third invoice.
Extension 350	The project is experiencing some difficulty.	Continue receiving progress reporting and invoicing as per funding agreement.
Extended Regional Promotion	Nothing to report.	Next report due for second six-months 2018/19.
Twin Coast Cycle Trail (TCCT)	Nothing to report.	Awaiting further progress report on remaining four easements to complete funding commitment.

Investment and Growth Reserve – Project Development funding by Northland Inc

No Project Development funding requests received from Northland Inc.

Other Activties

• Various pieces of economic information provided to assist with submissions, Ministerial meetings, development of plans, development of monitoring indicators for the Tai Tokerau Northland Economic Action Plan, etc.

MĀORI ENGAGEMENT

Cultural Advice & Support

The Kaiārahi – Tikanga Māori actively supporting across council key projects and work programmes including the Dune Lakes poject, water storage project, blessing of Countdown site for demolition and other key events for staff.

TTMAC

TTMAC governance review and recommendations were presented to Council as part of the wider governance review.

Staff and councillors attended a regional hui held at Waiora Marae in Ngātaki where issues were raised regarding water use and consents, GMOs and ongoing engagement with Ngātikuri hapū and Iwi.

Te Whāriki

A core cultural competency framework to build capabilities of council staff to engage with hapū and iwi has been developed to implement Te Whāriki – NRC’s Māori responsiveness strategy.

ONLINE CHANNELS

Most popular post on Facebook – a media release about the $15.5 million redevelopment of a high-profile former Whangārei supermarket site. The post reached over 6,000 people.

Key Performance Indicators	Apr-19	May-19	Jun-19	Jul-19	Aug-19
WEB
# Visits to the NRC website	26,100	25,200	23,100	23,200	25,900
E-payments made	4	5	2	24	16
# subscription customers (cumulative)	1,191	1,176	1,184	1,202	1,153
SOCIAL MEDIA (CUMULATIVE)
# Twitter followers	1,439	1,444	1,448	1,460	1,471
# NRC Facebook fans	8,130	8,515	8,641	8,756	8,955
# NRC Overall Facebook Reach	189,900	267,900	138,600	167,300	203,100
# NRC Engaged Daily Users	8,314	16,200	4,753	9,264	11,300
# CDEM Facebook fans	16,700	16,700	16,900	17,000	17,000
# CDEM Overall Facebook Reach	45,400	15,400	49,800	66,400	21,400
# CDEM Engaged Daily Users	2,710	1,172	6,514	6,317	2,154
# Instagram followers	736	755	802	853	890

ENVIROSCHOOLS / EDUCATION

Find Your Future events

On 14 and 15 August, two ‘Find Your Future’ events were held in Whangārei and Kerikeri, respectively. Council joined with the Whangārei Agricultural and Pastoral Society to run the interactive careers events focused on the professional primary industries. We were supported by Rabobank, Fonterra, Whenua Kura Trust, Maungatapere Berries, Marsden Estate and Pamu’s Kapiro Station. One hundred and twenty five students from 10 secondary schools participated in ‘Find Your Future’ where they listened to the career pathways of young professionals, participated in experiential activities and joined in a site visit. Members of council’s kauri dieback, Māori engagement and biodiversity teams all played a part.

Enviroschools celebrations

On 8 and 22 August, Tinopai School and Paihia Waitangi Kindergarten celebrated achieving Enviroschools Bronze.

School communities facilitated

During August, 22 school communities were visited by Enviroschools facilitators.

MARKETING AND ENGAGEMENT

Planting campaign

Over winter we have been running a planting campaign to highlight and showcase the amazing work happening across Northland (much of which the council is involved in) to get plants in the ground and improve our environment. The campaign was largely run through digital channels, with some support from other channels. These are some campaign statistics at the time of writing (at which time the campaign still had a few days to run).

• Reach (number of people who saw content related to the campaign) = 65,305

• Engagements (number of comments, reactions, shares and clicks on any content related to the campaign) = 3437

LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL INFORMATION (LGOIMA) REQUESTS

Month	LGOIMA requests received 2018/19	LGOIMA requests received 2019/20
July	15	15
August	20	22
September	7
October	5
November	10
December	9
January	11
February	15
March	9
April	12
May	19
June	11
TOTAL LGOIMA REQUESTS RECEIVED	143	37
Total LGOIMA requests not responded to within 20 working days*	1	3

* REQ.595754 – Request for any information regarding climate adaptation measures undertaken at Mitimiti Panguru. Due to a technical error this request was not responsed to within 20 working days. When the request was received by the appropriate staff member it was responded to on the same day.

REQ.595780 – Request for all resource consent applications in the north ward. Staff are now working with the requestor asking for clarification. No response received to date.

7.2.7 Customer Service – Community Resilience

CUSTOMER SERVICES

Telephone Inbound Call Statistics & Enquiries

	August 2019	Target
Call volume via Customer Services	2,445
Conversion rate	98.6%	>95%
Average wait time	5 sec
Calls answered in under 30 sec	97.5%	>90%

The volume of inbound calls through customer services for August was lower than July and lower in comparison to August last year. Although the number of rates enquiries have tapered off, district council related enquiries still make up over 20% of all new enquiries.

The lower call volumes have contributed to the customer services team achieving their best results to date for percentage of calls answered and time taken to answer.

Satisfaction Monitoring

• Feedback Cards, Compliments and Complaints

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

Compliments received	Total
Service provided by a specific person · K McGuire - Consents · M Hudson - Monitoring · June - Bus Driver, CityLink	4
Overall service · NRC generally · Transport - Bream Bay bus service (2x)	3
General · Monitoring	1
Total compliments recorded	8
Complaints received	Total
Standard of service provided	5
Disagree with decision or process	1
Lack of information or communication	1
Disagree with cost / value for money	1
Total complaints recorded	8

Three of the standard of service complaints were directly related to relief bus drivers not being familiar with the route. One other standard of service complaint and the lack of information complaint were also associated with bus services. The transport team have referred and responded to all complaints.

One standard of service complaint was lodged by the monitoring team. A resident complained they were not taking sufficient action to uphold the conditions of a consent.

One customer was unhappy he didn’t receive a copy of the tide tables with his invoice. This has not been the practice for several years, with most people happy to either drop in for a copy or request one be posted to them.

The remaining complaint was from a customer who disagreed with some of our dune restoration work. This is the only complaint received about our work on this project.

During the month of August, we have had several customers call to query the changes to the water take charges. These were referred to our monitoring managers who explained the new charging system.

Regional Offices

Increasing operational staff numbers in Kaipara and the Mid-North are putting pressure on our Waipapa and Dargaville offices. In Dargaville, our staff are accommodated within KDC’s building and KDC are also over-capacity so are unable to assist us with more space. When our new offices come on stream the situation will be resolved, however, there will be an interim period of between 18 and 30 months during which we will not have sufficient office and equipment accommodation for our staff in these two areas. A contingency plan is being developed.

CIVIL DEFENCE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

Warnings and Activations

MetService weather watches were monitored throughout the month. Although the central Auckland waterfront experienced widespread damage on the evening of 12 August, there were no significant weather-related effects in Northland.

Tsunami Siren Network

On the evening of 19 August, Northland CDEM Group staff were made aware of a ‘self-activation’ of a tsunami siren at Te Hapua in the Far North. The cause is as yet unknown; however during the same evening a car had hit a power pole in Kaitaia and separately, lines were arcing at nearby Ngataki. Te Hapua residents were reassured by direct communication, communication via the Community Response Group, and social media posts.

Both of Te Hapua’s sirens were replaced within a week by Top Energy and a hui will be held at a date chosen by the local community to review alerting procedures.

The six-monthly, region-wide test of the full Northland tsunami siren network will take place at the beginning of daylight saving on Sunday 29 September.

CDEM Group and Coordinating Executive Group (CEG)

The Northland CDEM Group and Coordinating Executive Group will next meet for their quarterly meeting on Wednesday 4 September.

Proposal to Establish a Multi-Agency Emergency Co-ordination Centre for NRC

The CDEM Group meeting on 4 September will consider a proposal to develop a joint agency Emergency Coordination Centre for the Northland region.

Multi-agency responses usually involve collaboration between police, fire, ambulance, health, emergency management, lifelines, welfare agencies and support agencies and government officials. The value of dedicated facilities was evident during the Pigeon Valley fires in Tasman and the response to the March terrorist attack in Christchurch, where multi-agency shared facilities enabled the establishment of effective coordination and management of both responses. The expectations and demands of communicating with communities, partners and stakeholders in emergencies are rapidly developing.

Historically in Northland, agencies have not come together in a single co-located facility or ECC; however, initial discussions with Fire and Emergency and NZ Police have been supportive of the development of such a facility and – along with WDC – are partners that may fund or provide assets.

Emergency Management System Reforms

Northland CDEM Group Manager Graeme MacDonald travelled to Wellington for an update meeting on the Emergency Management System Reforms, including a presentation by Carolyn Schwalger, who is leading the transition programme to the new National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). The programme sponsor is Brook Barrington, Chief Executive of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, who will chair the CE-level NEMA Transition Steering Committee.

Although no definite time frame was given, establishment of the NEMA is likely to occur within the financial year.

Meetings and Workshops with Partner Agencies

Northland CDEM Group staff participated in the annual Whangarei District Council CDEM exercise and were also invited to work alongside their Refining NZ counterparts and others from emergency services at an interagency exercise in mid-August.

The third Welfare Co-ordination Group meeting for the year was held on 9 August.

Northland CDEM staff are also assisting to co-ordinate a water safety initiative with the Operation Flotation charitable trust.

TRANSPORT

Regional Land Transport Planning

• Road to Zero

Submissions on the government’s draft national road safety strategy “Road to Zero” closed on 14 August 2019. Submissions were made by the Regional Transport Committee and the Northland Transportation Alliance on behalf of the Northland Regional Council and the three district councils.

Staff noted the relatively close alignment between the Guiding Principles and Focus Areas reflected in the draft Road to Zero compared to the Regional Problems and road safety issues that need to be targeted to achieve a reduction in deaths and serious injuries on its roads.

• Draft Regional Land Transport Plan

Staff tabled a report to the August 2019 Regional Transport Committee meeting detailing their involvement in a national review of the requirements for the compilation and approval of a Regional Land Transport Plan.

This review was implemented by the Transport Special Interest Group, which has representatives from all regional councils and unitary authorities, and reports to the National Chief Executive Group.

The desired outcome is for an easier, more streamlined less labour intensive and less expensive process.

Passenger Transport Administration

Total Mobility

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

	Total Clients	Monthly Actual Expend	Monthly Budget Expend	Variance	Year/Date Actual Expend	Year/Date Budgeted Expend	Variance
July 2019	1,522	$20,648	$25,000	-$4,352	$20,648	$25,000	-$4,352

Getting Out There Expo

On 23 August 2019, NRC staff attended the ‘Getting Out There Expo’ at Forum North. This event is to create more awareness around the Total Mobility Scheme and available public transport options for persons with disabilities and the elderly.

National Card for Total Mobility

Northland is taking the lead on designing a national Total Mobility Card. The Total Mobility Identification cards presently in circulation all different, causing problems when a Total Mobility Client visits another region. This move will bring a consistency in branding for TM.

Operational Statistics (due to the report deadlines, statistics are a month behind)

July 2019 (revenue ex GST)	Actual	Budget	Variance	Year/Date Actual	Year/Date Budgeted
City Link Passengers	29,578	29,331	247	29,578	29,331
CityLink Revenue	$39,671	$39,597	$74	$39,671	$39,597
Mid North Link Passengers	191	420	-$229	191	420
Mid North Link Revenue	$762	$1,560	-$798	$762	$1,560
Hokianga Link Passengers	62	78	-16	62	78
Hokianga Link Revenue	$623	$1,017	-$394	$623	$1,017
Far North Link Passengers	559	610	-51	559	610
Far North Link Revenue	$1,184	$1,748	-$564	$1,184	$1,748

BusLink Event

New Zealand’s “Random Acts of Kindness Day” is on 1 September. In recognition of this day, Council ran “The Lucky Seat Challenge” campaign from 26 August 2019 to 1 September 2019 on all the BusLink services leading up to this day. This included the Mid North Link, The Hokianga Link, The Far North Link, and the new Bream Bay Link service.

The outcome of the challenge was that one passenger who sat on the “lucky seat” won a $30 grocery voucher.

Road Safety Update

In the last two months the Government has been sought public feedback on their – ‘Drug Driving Consultation’.

A Discussion Document has been developed to facilitate a conversation about possible approaches to improving the drug driving system. The consultation seeks feedback about:

• How to better detect drug drivers and deterring drug driving?

• The circumstances in which drivers should be tested for drugs?

• How to decide which drugs to test for?

• What evidence is required to establish a drug driving offence?

• How to deal with people caught drug driving?

Based on the feedback received the Government will release the finalised documentation later in the year.

As at the end of August 2019 the number of deaths on:

• Northland roads was 19 compared to 23 for the same period in 2018; and

• National roads was 227 compared to 241 for the same period in 2018.

MARITIME

• One cruise ship called to the Bay of Islands.

• Fifteen incidents were recorded for August, including two oil spills of minor nature, and the usual speeding, light failures, and mooring issues

• Further meetings regarding the Tuia 250 were attended by staff

• Works have been completed on the council vessel Waikare. A few minor technical issues were discovered on the return voyage to Ōpua, however, these have been rectified.

• A number of staff have attended training, including Management Training, First Aid and Health and Safety.

• Rolling maintenance of aids-to-navigation (ATON) is on-going, and the Maritime Team provided on water monitoring services to other departments.

• Work is progressing to make the data from the wave rider buoy usable. Work is nearing completion for commissioning Hydro survey equipment.

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Nil

[2] Northland Regional Council. August 2019, Delegations Manual. Pg. 93.

LTI	Lost time injury	0
MTI	Medical treatment injury	0
FTI	First aid treatment	0
INC	Incident	3
DPI	Discomfort, pain and injury	2
HAZ	Hazard	1
SEC	Security	0
Near Miss		3
Nil	No injury but recorded	0
Year to date totals		9

Name:	Dave Tams
Title:	Group Manager, Corporate Excellence
Date:	02 September 2019

Name:	Chris Taylor
Title:	Governance Support Manager
Date:	03 September 2019

Name:	Chris Taylor
Title:	Governance Support Manager
Date:	11 September 2019

Name:	Ben Lee
Title:	Deputy Group Manager - Strategy, Governance and Engagement
Date:	11 September 2019

TITLE:	Health and Safety Report
ID:	A1233818
From:	Beryl Steele, Human Resources Manager and Jessica Babe, Human Resources Advisor

TITLE:	Confirmation of Minutes - 20 August 2019
ID:	A1234886
From:	Chris Taylor, Governance Support Manager

TITLE:	Receipt of Action Sheet
ID:	A1235476
From:	Chris Taylor, Governance Support Manager

TITLE:	Working Party Updates and Chairpersons' Briefings
ID:	A1197723

TITLE:	Financial Report to 31 August 2019
ID:	A1236128
From:	Vincent McColl, Financial Accountant

TITLE:	Continuity over council recess
ID:	A1153631
From:	Chris Taylor, Governance Support Manager

No.	Option	Advantages	Disadvantages
1(a)	Delegate authority to the Chief Executive Officer to make decisions in respect of urgent matters during the council recess period	Ensures measures are in place in the event an urgent decision is required during this time.	Nil
2(a)	Do not delegate authority to the Chief Executive	Nil	If an urgent matter arises during the council recess period there are no measures in place to address it.

Name:	Bruce Howse
Title:	Group Manager - Environmental Services
Date:	11 September 2019

TITLE:	Submissions on Government's Proposals - Delegated Authority for Approval
ID:	A1232074
From:	Ben Tait, Policy Specialist - Water and Justin Murfitt, Strategic Policy Specialist

TITLE:	Chair's Report to Council
ID:	A1233829
From:	Bill Shepherd, Chairman

Date	Addressed To	Subject
16.08.19	Sir John Goulter	Acknowledgement of service to the Northland community
19.08.19	Yvonne Sharp	Condolence letter
19.08.19	Kevin Robinson	Acknowledgement of leadership for both Māori and pakeha
22.08.19	Pete Turnbull	Acknowledgement of service to saving lives in Northland
26.08.19	Kiwi North	Letter of support for Kiwi North’s application for funding from the Provincial Growth Fund
29.08.19	Guardians of the Bay of Islands	Letter of support for Guardians of the Bay of Islands’ application for funding for Project Island Song

TITLE:	Updated report on Long Term Plan 2018-2028 Performance Measures for the Year Ended 30 June 2019
ID:	A1235207
From:	Kyla Carlier, Corporate Planning Manager

Ref.	Measure	Result
2.4.2	At least 90% of fish monitoring sites showing improved or maintained trend in their Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI).	100% - achieved
3.3.1	Increase in kiwi populations within council supported programmes by 2% annually – achieved	7.2 calls per hour - baseline established

Ref.	Measure	Previous result	New result
1.2.1	Ten meetings of the Te Taitokerau Māori and Council Working Party are held each calendar year.	Achieved	Not achieved – two meetings were cancelled due to tangi.
1.4.1	100% of Northland Inc's SOI key performance indicators are achieved by 30 June each year.	Not achieved 14 of 17 key performance indicators achieved.	Not achieved 15 of 17 key performance indicators achieved.
2.3.1	100% of consents for industrial, municipal sewage and farm discharges, and major water takes requiring monitoring, are monitored as per the council's consent monitoring programme.	Not achieved 92.8% of consents were monitored in accordance with the programme. This is attributed to high staff turnover.	Not achieved 92.9% of consents were monitored in accordance with the programme. This is attributed to high staff turnover.
2.4.2	At least 90% of sites monitored for macroinvertebrates showing improved or maintained trend in their Macroinvertebrate Community Indices (MCI).	Not achieved 83% of sites showed maintained or improved trend.	Not achieved 80% of sites showed maintained or improved trend.

TITLE:	Legislative compliance for the period 1 January - 30 June 2019
ID:	A1235566
From:	Kyla Carlier, Corporate Planning Manager

TITLE:	Receipt of Committee Minutes
ID:	A1235293
From:	Chris Taylor, Governance Support Manager

Item No.	Item Issue	Reasons/Grounds
9.1	Confirmation of Confidential Minutes - 20 August 2019	The public conduct of the proceedings would be likely to result in disclosure of information, as stated in the open section of the meeting.
9.2	Receipt of Confidential Committee Minutes	The public conduct of the proceedings would be likely to result in disclosure of information, as stated in the open section of the meeting -.
9.3	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).