Agenda of Council Meeting - Tuesday, 28 February 2023

No.	Option	Advantages	Disadvantages
1	Council approves the proposed changes.	Provides clarity for elected members, staff and the community what expenses and allowances elected members are eligible for and under what circumstances. Refines and updates the Policy to ensure it is relevant, consistent, clear and practical in application. Aligns allowances with those directly available to staff. Gives effect to guidance from the Remuneration Authority.	None apparent.
2	Council does not approve the proposed changes.	None apparent.	Misses an opportunity to refine the policy to ensure it is up to date, consistent, clear and practical in application. Leaves many areas unclear or open to interpretation. Does not align with allowances available to staff. Does not incorporate up to date advice provided by the Remuneration Authority.

No.	Option	Advantages	Disadvantages
1	Delegate to one councillor and GM Environmental Services for decisions that align with council direction. Delegate to four councillors where resolutions depart from earlier council direction	Reasonably nimble decision-making process to resolve appeals. Provides the ability for decision makers to confer with one another to ensure decisions are Appropriate and reflect wider view of council.	Decision-making process not as nimble as option 2. Low risk of decisions that wider council does not support.
2	Delegate to one councillor and GM Environmental Services for decisions that align with council direction. Delegate to two councillors where resolutions depart from earlier council direction	Nimble decision-making process to resolve appeals.	Greater risk (compared to options 1 and 3) of decisions that wider council does not support because only two councilors involved.
3	No delegation (full council consideration)	Ensures all councilors are evenly involved and decisions reflect the view of council.	Decision making is the least nimble of all the options and council may struggle to keep pace with the Environment Court schedule to resolve appeals. All councillors will need to come up to speed with the specific technical details of the relevant Plan provisions, background and appeals.

Topic / issue	Unresolved Provisions	Comments
Topic 1 – Coastal activities	Rule C.1.8	Discussions are ongoing and resolution without a hearing is likely.
Topic 1 – Significant ecological areas and significant bird areas	Rules: C.1.1.21, C.1.1.22, C.1.1.23, C.1.1.27, C.1.2.5, C.1.2.6, C.1.2.13, C.1.5.3, C.1.5.5, C.1.5.7, C.1.5.12, C.1.6.3 and C.1.6.5 (previously C.1.6.4) Policies: D.5.11 and D.5.24	All of these provisions relate to one issue, being: how Significant Ecological Areas and Significant Bird Areas are addressed in policies and rules. Resolution of that single issue will resolve all of these provisions.
Topic 1B - Vehicles on beaches	Rule C.1.5.1 and C.1.5.1(A)	Discussions are ongoing. The court has requested a progress report by 31 May. If appeals remain unresolved by July this matter will be set down for hearing.
Topic 10 - Infrastructure and energy	Policy D.2.9	Discussions are ongoing and resolution without a hearing is likely.
Topic 17 - Outstanding natural landscapes	Appeals seek inclusion of mapped outstanding natural landscapes on land from the RPS and mapping of ONLs in the CMA. Rules: C.1.1.12, C.1.2.5 and C.1.2.6 Policies: D.5.11 and D.5.24	Discussions with parties are ongoing. This issue has been set down for Judicial conference 13 March.

No.	Option	Advantages	Disadvantages
1	Undertake a competitive recruitment process for an Independent Risk Advisor	Test the market and recruit the best possible candidate for the role.	Nothing material.
2	Do not undertake a competitive recruitment process for an Independent Risk Advisor and undertake a direct appointment	Avoid having to go through the recruitment process, immaterial time and cost savings.	Are not able to test the market and may not find the best possible candidate for the role.
3	Do not recruit an Independent Risk Advisor	Cost savings.	Lack of independent risk advisory over council activities.

Risk	Residual risk score
Working with Contractors	16
COVID-19 pandemic	16
Extended workload/stress	12
Driving motor vehicles – accident related events causing injury or other trauma	10
Dealing with aggressive people – psychological harm	10
Workplace bullying and harassment Note: This due to potential risk, not high numbers	9
Sedentary work - working at computers and laptops (including both in the office, and at home)	8
Working under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol	8
Slips, trips, and falls	8

Council Meeting item: 8.2

28 February 2023

TITLE:	Chief Executive’s Report to Council
From:	Jonathan Gibbard, Tāhūhū Rangapū - Chief Executive Officer
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Jonathan Gibbard, Tāhūhū Rangapū - Chief Executive Officer, on 22 February 2023

Ngā mahi tūtohutia / Recommendation

That the report ‘Chief Executive’s Report to Council’ by Jonathan Gibbard, Tāhūhū Rangapū - Chief Executive Officer and dated 26 January 2023, be received.

8.2.1 Highlights

· Field Days

· Northern Region Young Farmer of the Year competition will be held in Kaikohe on February 17 and this year the Land Team has been asked to run an assessment module, which we have focused on new freshwater rules. Members of the Land Team will be onsite to run our module including marking and reporting our results. There will be 20 contestants and various other supports who we also hope to engage with over the course of the day.

· Dargaville field days, March 2-4, will have a large Land Team presence as usual, with a focus on soils, soil conservation, poplars and willows. We’ll also be prepared to answer freshwater regulation queries and will have regulatory services staff in our display area to help with those queries.

· Māori Partnerships

· NRC Biodiversity Team were hosted by Ngāti Kuri to explore our partnership beyond the FIF project. Ngāti Kuri goals, priorities, challenges, and solutions were discussed, and several site visits were undertaken. The visit successfully strengthened this important relationship, and some clarity was gained around future directions. Several Wetland Condition Index plots were also established, and training undertaken in measurement technique. This was the first in what will be an ongoing series of visits to continue to build the friendship and capacity for both Ngāti Kuri and NRC to effectively work together for positive biodiversity outcomes. The report can be found here: REPORT Ngāti Kuri and NRC Biodiversity Team Kotahitanga 2022.pdf. Ngā Roto Tapokapoka wānanga planned for February 2023 was cancelled due to capacity challenges in the NgāiTakoto taiao team.

8.2.2 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 Opua Boat Yard in Walls Bay, Ōpua	The council is waiting on further directions or a decision on the appeals from the Court.
Consent decision appeal	Irrigation of avocado orchards and horticulture crops	Parties have been in discussions regarding agreement to a set of conditions. A request is to be made to the Court for an extension until 1 March 2023 to provide a report back to the Court on progress with the conditions.

8.2.3 CORPORATE SERVICES

Enterprise Systems Update

Fraud Declaration

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

Council Property Report

· NIWA Kingfish Recirculating Agriculture System (RAS) practical completion was issued to CB Civil on Friday the 9th of December 2022. This was only in relation to the CB Civil contract works including the building and core infrastructure. There was a portion of the RAS fit out elements that were not part of CB Civils contract works that NIWA continued with, including installing and making operational the oxygen supply, vacuum air lifts and the permanent seawater supply. Fish stocking is expected in February 2023, and ‘facility operational’ March 2023. The official opening date is not confirmed at this stage, relying on communications and arrangements with central Government and local hapu Patuharakeke.

· The Property Team and the Engineer to the Contract (EC) had a walk through the Kaipara Service Centre (KSC) to inspect resolved defects in late February as the defect period ends in April 2023. Decisions are to now be made on $85,000 that has been held back in retentions. Council’s key tenant, Kaipara District Council had 18 workings days with no air conditioning during the recent summer months due to a failure in the system. Now resolved, consideration is being given to impacts on their ‘quiet enjoyment’ of the premises and a request for rent relief. The Property Team and Engineer to the Contract will be pursuing the contractor for costs. The Property Team, Emergency Management Team and KDC have agreed to co-fund an in-house generator for the KSC. Council’s contribution will come from existing budgets.

· The Chief Executive has approved unbudgeted expenditure for urgent roofing maintenance for Chambers and the CEO Office area of up to $30,000 + GST for the 2022-23 financial year.

· The Chief Executive approved unbudgeted expenditure for one new vehicle (4x4 Ute) for the Kauri Protection Project of up to $60,000 + GST for the 2022-23 financial year in December 2022 and for another (Hybrid) for up to $50,000 + GST in February 2023. The capital is being refunded through cost recovery from external parties.

8.2.4 regulatory services

Consents in Process

During December 2022 and January 2023, a total of 89 Decisions were issued. These decisions comprised:

December 2022 (53)		January 2023 (36)
Ÿ Coastal Permits	8	Ÿ Coastal Permits	7
Ÿ Air Discharge Permits	1	Ÿ Land Discharge Permits	4
Ÿ Land Discharge Permits	8	Ÿ Land Use Consents	25
Ÿ Land Use Consents	21
Ÿ Water Permits	11
Ÿ Water Takes	31
Ÿ Bore Consents	1

The processing timeframes for the December 2022 consents ranged from:

Ÿ 674 to 6 calendar days, with the median time being 35 days;

Ÿ 64 to 4 working days, with the median time being 20 days.

The processing timeframes for the January 2023 consents ranged from:

Ÿ 435 to 27 calendar days, with the median time being 71 days;

Ÿ 168 to 1 working days, with the median time being 24 days.

Thirty-eight applications were received in December 2022. Twenty-one applications were received in January 2023.

Of the 109 applications in progress at the end of January 2023:

Ÿ 38 were received more than 12 months ago;
Reasons for being more than 12 months old:
- Awaiting additional information (including CIAs)	14
- Granted recently or about to be granted	2
- Consultation with affected parties/stakeholders	7
- On-hold pending new rules becoming operative	3
- Other	12
Ÿ 11 were received between 6 and 12 months ago (most awaiting further information from the applicant);
Ÿ 60 less than 6 months.

Appointment of Hearing Commissioners

No commissioners were appointed in December 2022 and January 2023.

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

The current level of notified application processing activities at the end of January 2023 is (by number):

Ÿ Applications Publicly/Limited Notified During Previous Month	1
Ÿ Progress on Applications Previously Notified	7
Ÿ Hearings and Decisions	1
Ÿ Appeals/Objections	2

COMPLIANCE MONITORING

The results of compliance monitoring for the period 1 December 2022 – 31 January 2023 (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	36	35	0	0	0	1
Bore Consent	13	8	4	0	0	1
Coastal Discharge	31	20	8	2	0	1
Coastal Permit	97	69	21	0	0	7
FDE – Discharge permit	1	0	0	1	0	0
Land Discharge	125	102	9	7	0	7
Land Use Consent	78	69	3	0	0	6
Water Discharge	95	63	13	16	2	1
Water Permit	102	68	1	0	0	33
Water Take	88	68	7	2	0	11
Total	666	502	66	28	2	68
Percentage		75.4%	9.9%	4.2%	0.3%	10.2%
Year to date	3485	2557	325	321	65	217
Percentage		73.4%	9.3%	9.2%	1.9%	6.2%

Coastal

There were ongoing coastal permit inspections in the Bay of Islands.

Bacteriological monitoring was completed for Tutukaka and Marsden Cove marinas. Monitoring continues across all other marinas as weather permits. A follow-up meeting was held with Marsden Maritime Holdings to discuss non-compliances with its stormwater discharge consent for its industrial park development at Marden Point. A meeting was also held with Northport to discuss the planned forthcoming development of a fourth berth and compliance monitoring of the relevant resource consents.

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

Ÿ Contaminated Land Management

Fourteen incidents involving the discharge of hazardous substances and 22 enquiries regarding contaminated land were received and responded to. 960 kilograms of hazardous waste was disposed of at the amnesty days, and seven sites were added to the Selected Land-Use Register.

· Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants

WWTP/Consent Status	Issues	Enforcement Action/Response
Far North District
Ahipara Expires 2033	Regularly non-compliant with bacteriological consent limits since June 2022.	Under ANs (reissued in September 2022). Infringement notice issued in September 2022. FNDC investigating land disposal options and has advised it will install and test a UV disinfection unit before the end of April 2023.
Hihi Expired 30/11/2022 (replacement consent application received)	No recent issues. Fully compliant for most of 2022.	None currently.
Kaeo Expired 31/10/2022 (replacement consent application received)	No recent issues. Fully compliant for most of 2022.	None currently.
Kaikohe Expired 2021 (replacement consent application on hold)	Intermittent non-compliances with ADW flow, ammonia and bacteriological consent limits Moderately non-compliant for most of 2022.	None currently. Issues will be addressed in replacement consent.
Kaitāia Expired 2021 (replacement consent application has been received)	Compliance ranged from fully compliant to moderately non-complaint in 2022	Under AN (for reticulation overflows). Issues will be addressed in replacement consent.
Kawakawa Expires 2036	No recent issues. Fully compliant for all of 2022.	None currently.
Kerikeri Expires 2036	No recent issues. Fully compliant for most of 2022.	None currently.
Kohukohu Expired 2016 (replacement consent application on hold)	Compliance ranged from fully compliant to moderately non-complaint in 2022	None currently. Issues will be addressed in replacement consent.
Opononi & Omāpere Expired 2019 (replacement consent application on hold)	Compliance varied in2022 (from fully compliant to significantly non-compliant).	Under AN. Issues will be addressed in replacement consent.
Paihia Expires 2034	Plant upgraded 2019; alkalinity issues preventing optimal ammonia treatment. Moderately non-compliant for most of 2022	None currently. Alkalinity improvement project still in progress (to optimise ammonia treatment).
Rangiputa Expires 2032	Compliance ranged from fully compliant to moderately non-complaint in 2022	None currently.
Rāwene Expires 31/8/2023	System overdue for de-sludging. Moderately non-compliant for most of 2022.	None currently.
Russell Expires 2024	Occasional non-compliances with E. coli consent limit post UV. Compliance varied in 2022 (from fully compliant to significantly non-compliant).	Under AN. Infringement notices issued January and June 2022. Improvements underway.
Taipā Expires 2029	Compliance ranged from fully compliant to moderately non-compliant in 2022.	None currently.
Whatuwhiwhi Expires 2025	Elevated TSS levels (consent limit may be unnecessarily restrictive). FNDC to seek consent variation to address TSS levels – however this is not a priority. Compliance ranged from fully compliant to moderately non-compliant in 2022.	Under AN for odour from Tokerau Beach pump station. No recent odour complaints.
Whangarei District
Hikurangi Expires 2025	Intermittent issues with plant performance. Compliance ranged from fully compliant to moderately non-compliant in 2022.	Improvements to plant performance currently underway.
Ngunguru Expires 2035	No recent issues. Fully compliant for most of 2022.	None currently.
Oakura Expires 2025	No recent issues. Fully compliant in 2022.	None currently.
Portland Expires 2024	No recent issues. Fully compliant for most of 2022.	None currently.
Ruakākā Expires 2046	Occasional non-compliances with water quality conditions of consent Compliance ranged from fully compliant to moderately non-compliant in 2022.	None currently.
Tutukaka Expires 2024	No recent issues. Fully compliant for most of 2022.	None currently.
Waiōtira Expires 2030	No recent issues. Fully compliant in 2022.	None currently.
Waipū Expires 2030	No recent issues. Fully compliant in 2022.	None currently.
Whangārei City Expired 30/4/2022 (replacement consent conditions being finalised)	Compliance ranged from fully compliant to moderately non-compliant in 2022.	Under AN for odour from plant. Issues will be addressed in replacement consent.
Kaipara District
Dargaville Expired 30/6/2022 (replacement consent granted in January 2023)	Non-compliances with water quality and discharge volume consent limits. Moderately non-compliant for most of 2022.	Under AN. Issues addressed in replacement consent.
Glinks Gully Expires 2024	No recent issues. Minor non-compliances for most of 2022.	None currently.
Kaiwaka Expired 31/10/2022 (replacement consent application received)	Intermittent non-compliances with water quality conditions of consent (mainly bacteriological) Compliance ranged from fully compliant to moderately non-compliant in 2022.	None currently. Issues will be addressed in replacement consent
Mangawhai Expires 2042	Odour complaints and occasional exceedances of TDS consent limit Compliance ranged from fully compliant to minor non-compliance in 2022	Under AN. Wastewater being dosed with odour control chemicals.
Maungaturoto Expires 2032	Intermittent non-compliances generally due to high rainfall Compliance ranged from fully compliant to moderately non-compliant in 2022.	Under AN
Te Kopuru Expires 2044	Intermittent minor non-compliances with water quality parameters Compliance ranged from fully compliant to moderately non-compliant in 2022.	KDC investigating options for improvement

WWTP/Consent Status

Issues

Enforcement Action/Response

Far North District

Ahipara

Expires 2033

Regularly non-compliant with bacteriological consent limits since June 2022.

Under ANs (reissued in September 2022).

Infringement notice issued in September 2022.

FNDC investigating land disposal options and has advised it will install and test a UV disinfection unit before the end of April 2023.

Hihi

Expired 30/11/2022 (replacement consent application received)

No recent issues.

Fully compliant for most of 2022.

None currently.

Kaeo

Expired 31/10/2022 (replacement consent application received)

No recent issues.

Fully compliant for most of 2022.

None currently.

Kaikohe

Expired 2021 (replacement consent application on hold)

Intermittent non-compliances with ADW flow, ammonia and bacteriological consent limits

Moderately non-compliant for most of 2022.

None currently.

Issues will be addressed in replacement consent.

Kaitāia

Expired 2021 (replacement consent application has been received)

Compliance ranged from fully compliant to moderately non-complaint in 2022

Under AN (for reticulation overflows).

Issues will be addressed in replacement consent.

Kawakawa

Expires 2036

No recent issues.

Fully compliant for all of 2022.

None currently.

Kerikeri

Expires 2036

No recent issues.

Fully compliant for most of 2022.

None currently.

Kohukohu

Expired 2016 (replacement consent application on hold)

Compliance ranged from fully compliant to moderately non-complaint in 2022

None currently.

Issues will be addressed in replacement consent.

Opononi & Omāpere

Expired 2019 (replacement consent application on hold)

Compliance varied in2022 (from fully compliant to significantly non-compliant).

Under AN.

Issues will be addressed in replacement consent.

Paihia

Expires 2034

Plant upgraded 2019; alkalinity issues preventing optimal ammonia treatment.

Moderately non-compliant for most of 2022

None currently.

Alkalinity improvement project still in progress (to optimise ammonia treatment).

Rangiputa

Expires 2032

Compliance ranged from fully compliant to moderately non-complaint in 2022

None currently.

Rāwene

Expires 31/8/2023

System overdue for de-sludging.

Moderately non-compliant for most of 2022.

None currently.

Russell

Expires 2024

Occasional non-compliances with E. coli consent limit post UV.

Compliance varied in 2022 (from fully compliant to significantly non-compliant).

Under AN.

Infringement notices issued January and June 2022.

Improvements underway.

Taipā

Expires 2029

Compliance ranged from fully compliant to moderately non-compliant in 2022.

None currently.

Whatuwhiwhi

Expires 2025

Elevated TSS levels (consent limit may be unnecessarily restrictive). FNDC to seek consent variation to address TSS levels – however this is not a priority.

Compliance ranged from fully compliant to moderately non-compliant in 2022.

Under AN for odour from Tokerau Beach pump station.

No recent odour complaints.

Whangarei District

Hikurangi

Expires 2025

Intermittent issues with plant performance.

Compliance ranged from fully compliant to moderately non-compliant in 2022.

Improvements to plant performance currently underway.

Ngunguru

Expires 2035

No recent issues.

Fully compliant for most of 2022.

None currently.

Oakura

Expires 2025

No recent issues.

Fully compliant in 2022.

None currently.

Portland

Expires 2024

No recent issues.

Fully compliant for most of 2022.

None currently.

Ruakākā

Expires 2046

Occasional non-compliances with water quality conditions of consent

Compliance ranged from fully compliant to moderately non-compliant in 2022.

None currently.

Tutukaka

Expires 2024

No recent issues.

Fully compliant for most of 2022.

None currently.

Waiōtira

Expires 2030

No recent issues.

Fully compliant in 2022.

None currently.

Waipū

Expires 2030

No recent issues.

Fully compliant in 2022.

None currently.

Whangārei City

Expired 30/4/2022 (replacement consent conditions being finalised)

Compliance ranged from fully compliant to moderately non-compliant in 2022.

Under AN for odour from plant.

Issues will be addressed in replacement consent.

Kaipara District

Dargaville

Expired 30/6/2022 (replacement consent granted in January 2023)

Non-compliances with water quality and discharge volume consent limits.

Moderately non-compliant for most of 2022.

Under AN.

Issues addressed in replacement consent.

Glinks Gully

Expires 2024

No recent issues.

Minor non-compliances for most of 2022.

None currently.

Kaiwaka

Expired 31/10/2022 (replacement consent application received)

Intermittent non-compliances with water quality conditions of consent (mainly bacteriological)

Compliance ranged from fully compliant to moderately non-compliant in 2022.

None currently.

Issues will be addressed in replacement consent

Mangawhai

Expires 2042

Odour complaints and occasional exceedances of TDS consent limit

Compliance ranged from fully compliant to minor non-compliance in 2022

Under AN.

Wastewater being dosed with odour control chemicals.

Maungaturoto

Expires 2032

Intermittent non-compliances generally due to high rainfall

Compliance ranged from fully compliant to moderately non-compliant in 2022.

Under AN

Te Kopuru

Expires 2044

Intermittent minor non-compliances with water quality parameters

Compliance ranged from fully compliant to moderately non-compliant in 2022.

KDC investigating options for improvement

Farm dairy effluent (FDE) monitoring

FDE inspections commenced on 22 July 2022. NRC staff and the FDE contractor visited a total of 718 farms this monitoring season (40 less than last year). All farms have now been reported on. Comparisons of this season’s results against last season are given in the tables below. The rate of significant non-compliance has risen this year, compared with last year. This is largely attributed to the very wet weather that the region experienced over the latter part of the season, which put extra pressure on both effluent infrastructure and management. Follow-up inspections are currently underway to re-visit all the significantly non-compliant farms. The overall rate of significant non-compliance was 8%.

Consented farms (541 farms)

Full Compliance		Moderate Non-Compliance		Significant Non-Compliance
This Year	Last Year	This Year	Last Year	This Year	Last Year
379	467	128	90	34	18
70%	81%	24%	16%	6%	3%

Non-consented farms (177 farms)

Full Compliance		Moderate Non-Compliance		Significant Non-Compliance
This Year	Last Year	This Year	Last Year	This Year	Last Year
127	137	30	37	20	9
72%	75%	17%	20%	11%	5%

Environmental Incidents

No environmental incidents were closed in December or January that resulted in a significant environmental impact.

ENFORCEMENT

Abatement Notices, Infringement Notices and Formal Warnings

The following gives the total numbers of abatement and infringement notices issued:

Action Type	Number
Abatement Notice	44
Infringement Notice	26

Other Enforcement

· Breach of enforcement orders - Kaitaia

On 28 June 2022, NRC commenced prosecution against an individual for the breach of enforcement orders. The enforcement orders included remedial work on contaminated land which also required a resource consent. On 18 October 2022, the defendant pledged guilty. On 6 December 2022, NRC granted a resource consent for the remedial work. As the defendant needs time to undertake the remedial work, the Judge granted an adjournment to 18 April 2023 so that the parties can provide update if work has been completed and sentencing date can be allocated.

· Earthworks & vegetation clearance within a wetland – Teal Bay

Charges were laid in the Whangarei District Court on 7 December 2021 against four parties for offences relating to earthworks, vegetation clearance and discharge of sediment that occurred in December 2020. A joint memorandum was signed on 28 June 2022 regarding one issue - whether the wetland is a natural wetland or a constructed wetland. This issue is relevant for some of the charges. A Joint Memorandum was filed on 20 January 2023 seeking adjournment to allow time for both parties’ experts to consider the evidential statements and arrange a conference. The Registrar granted an adjournment to 18 April 2023.

· Farm dairy effluent - Hikurangi

Charges were laid in Whangarei District Court against four defendants for the illegal discharge of farm wastewater that occurred in November 2021. On 24 January 2023, both parties reported to Court that there will be a meeting between NRC and the defendants so that the defendants can discuss points of difference with NRC experts before entering pleas. The meeting is planned to be in February. The next appearance is 18 April 2023 for defendants to enter pleas.

· Discharge of contaminated water to stormwater - Whangārei

Charges were laid in Whangarei District Court against one defendant for offences relating to the discharge of contaminated water to stormwater network that occurred in September 2021. On 24 January 2023, the defendant pleaded guilty to one charge. Sentencing is set to be on 18 April 2023.

• Burning of tyres – Kaiwaka

Charges were laid in Whangarei District Court against an individual for the burning of tyres and burying the remains in January 2022. On 24 January 2023, the defendant pleaded guilty to all three charges. Sentencing is set to be on 18 April 2023.

• Unauthorised earthworks and discharges of sediment – Russell

On 1 November 2022, twelve charges were laid against an individual for offences relating to unauthorised earthworks, streamworks and discharges of sediment. The offences first became known on 2 December 2021. Court granted administrative adjournment to allow the defendant and the defence lawyer time to consider disclosure. The first appearance date is moved to 18 April 2023.

· Unauthorised reclamation and seawall – Kerikeri Inlet

An application for enforcement orders was filed on 20 January 2023 against an individual who built a seawall seaward of its consented position, resulting in unauthorised reclamation of land in the coastal marine area. Enforcement orders will require the individual to remove the unauthorised reclamation and relocate the seawall to its authorised position. The Court will allocate a date for a judicial conference via Teams.

8.2.5 ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES

LAND MANAGEMENT

Sustainable Hill Country and Regional Priorities

Milestones	Status
Soil Conservation Plans	The soil conservation plan target for the final year 2022-2023 is either 136 plans or a total of 34,030 ha covered by completed plans. Staff have completed 37 soil plans covering 13,609ha to date, with 21 covering 3779ha in progress. Meeting this target by June will be a focus for the team.

Poplar and Willow nursery

Objective

Status

Harvest

The nursery continues to go from strength to strength. The trees growing under a new “clear felling” regime are surging to the point that we will produce our first ever 2-year rotation poplar 3m poles this season, in addition to producing an abundance of 1m wands. However, the severe wet and windy weather has done significant damage to our new plantings (first rotation blocks) and many poles are leaning over having “socketed” during the high winds. Our established stool beds with good root networks have coped much better with little damage. We tried to save the poles by reducing some of the height/sail area, but in many cases we have had to coppice the first rotation poles to try and save the stool. Under this scenario we’ll still get wands off these stools. Part of the problem is sodden ground due to poor drainage and a lack of established shelterbelts makes the young trees susceptible to storm damage. Drainage work will begin once it’s dry enough to get machines on site, and more shelterbelts will be incorporated when replanting new blocks.

Whangārei urban awa project

There are 17 fencing jobs approved so far for Y3 with three completed and two awaiting sign off. Four planting jobs have been completed in Y3. The ongoing rain is a concern for fencing contractors to be able to complete the work.

The Y3Q2 report has been submitted to the Ministry for the Environment.

Environment fund progress

Sign-off progress so far this year has been slower than usual which is to be expected given the very wet weather during spring and early summer in Northland. So far only six projects have been completed and signed off (totalling $76,783.80), while three have withdrawn. We expect there could be a higher number of withdrawn projects than usual this year because of the impacts of the weather. Land Management Advisors are now following up with grant recipients to check on progress.

Upcoming events

· Further planting at the Kotuku Street dam property is planned, with news recently that our bid for grant funding for 9,900 native revegetation trees through the MPI Matariki Tu Rākau fund has been approved. Planning is now underway, including setting dates for a planting event in July with staff and a community/school event.

BIODIVERSITY

FIF Dune Lakes Project

Objective	Status
Aquatic weed control	Hornwort control was carried out in Lake Mt Camel North and two bays in Lake Karaka by kayak. By-kill surveys were carried out two days later as required. Approximately 130 dead common bullies were found at Lake Karaka, but none at Mt Camel North. 30 of the dead fish were collected, with the plan of testing them to determine the cause of death, but no lab has been found that can do this test. The likely cause of death is considered be natural causes (heat stress or post-spawning), although there is a possibility herbicide operation contributed. The EPA, DOC, landowners and tangata whenua have been informed.
Fencing	Fencing is underway at Rotokawau - Pōuto. Staff visited the landowner and came to an agreement on fence placement. The contractor is confident the fence can be completed by the 21^st of March. Once completed, the lake will be fully fenced on this landowner's property.

Left to right: James Ahi (mō Ngāti Kuri) using the toss and pull rake sampler to look at the composition and cleanliness of submerged vegetation, dirty hornwort and egeria, and Puarangi (Hibiscus richarsonii), one of two nationally critical native hibiscus species found in the Ngāti Kuri Rohe.

Above: Loren, Janie, James, Stephanie and Lisa on the boardwalk at the pristine Waitāhora lagoon.

Terrestrial Biodiversity

Biodiversity staff were approached to assist with bat monitoring on a landowners property that borders the Tahere river. This landowner has a long-term relationship with the biosecurity team and has extensive pest control on his property. Monitoring bats is one way to measure the success of this valuable mahi. Survey work was undertaken in December to locate good areas for the recorders and these were deployed in early January for one week. Yet again we have a new recording of long tail bats in the Whangārei region. Disappointingly, the recordings did not indicate a roost near-by but highlighted the need for further monitoring and continued pest control.

Our NRC Biodiversity Team Manager was formally recognized for her outstanding individual contribution to plant conservation in Northland at the New Zealand Plant Conservation Conference in December 2022. Significant contributions to the conference were also made by Winiwini Kingi and both our Biodiversity Team Manager and Winiwini delivered a presentation on successful partnerships.

COASTCARE

CoastCare work in December and January has included:

· Dune monitoring

· Seed collecting

· Publicity -CoastCare Newsletter sent out and media release on dune monitoring: https://www.nrc.govt.nz/our-northland/story/?id=76148

· Educational work -seed collection at Taupo Bay with Oruaiti School followed up by student run workshop on spinifex for teachers from other schools

· Preparation for events, including Seaweek

Above: Students from Oruaiti School learning how to collect and sort spinifex seed at Taupo Bay and collecting some litter at the same time!

Wetlands and Freshwater

Wetland plant identification training was delivered at Te Pūkenga/Northtec for staff from Biodiversity, Biosecurity, Compliance Monitoring, Land Management, Whitebait Connection and Ngāti Kahu o Torongare. Our botanical and wetland expert presented on wetland types in Te Taitokerau and participants got stuck in learning to use sedge and rush identification keys. A key outcome was identifying a need for skill development in this area and a wetland education series is being planned for March – June this year.

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Above: Participants soaking up the learning in the Northtec lab.

Content was created with the Community and Engagement team for World Wetlands Day (2 February). A video on the significance of wetlands and various posts for social media were scheduled to go out daily during the week of World Wetlands Day.

Three Wetland Condition Index (WCI) visits were completed, with a total of 9 plots surveyed this month. So far, on average, the vegetation plots have improved in score, with a score of 15.28 out of 20, compared to 15.05 in 2019. One more site visit is planned (5 plots) for February.

Two staff spent a day at Whananaki North surveying fish barriers, such as culverts and bridges, using the NIWA Citizen Science app. This work compliments that being done by the Environmental Monitoring team and each barrier that is assessed helps to improve the NIWA algorithm for prioritising fish barriers for remediation.

Biodiversity Team Partnerships

A Biodiversity team Māori partnerships workshop with NRC’s Kaiārahi Tikanga Māori – Māori Cultural Technical from the Māori Relationships team provided an opportunity to reflect on our teams’ successes, challenges and next steps for growing our capacity for excellence in this arena. A key outcome was continued skill development focused on several priority areas.

NATURAL RESOURCES

Hydrology

Rainfall

· Northland experienced extremely high January 2023 rainfall.

· The Northland region averaged 366mm for January 2023, compared to the long-term regional average of 79mm. This is 485% of normal expected rainfall.

· The highest rainfall for the month was recorded at the Hātea at Glenbervie Forest rainfall recording station with 709.5mm. The lowest rainfall was recorded at Cape Rēinga with 116.8mm.

· The highest percentage recorded was at the Whangārei Harbour at Marsden Point which received 977% (488.5mm) of expected (50mm) rainfall.

Whakapara at Puhipuhi recorded its second highest (only exceeded in 1989) January total since records began in 1905 and Hātea at Glenbervie Forest recorded its highest total for any month since 1947.

Rivers

· Due to high rainfall, all of Northland’s rivers experienced above normal flow for the month.

Groundwater

· All groundwater levels in Northland’s monitored aquifers are above normal for January.

Natural Resources Science

Freshwater Quality

· A final report and GIS deliverables for the high-resolution digital river network (DRN) model for Northland (based on regional LiDAR data) was received in January 2023. Having been derived from 1m-resolution LiDAR data, the DRN represents a significant jump in scale, accuracy and detail compared to the existing River Environment Classification (REC) a river network model at national scale. Science Freshwater will present the high-level details of this project to the Water Steering Group on 23 February 2023.

Freshwater Ecology

· Summer monitoring is carrying on as rain and water levels allow.

· The fishing team found both bluegill bully Gobiomorphus hubbsi and kōaro Galaxias brevipinnis in a small tributary of the Punaruku river on the east coast (photos below). Both species are listed as At Risk-Declining, kōaro are one of the main whitebait species, and it is likely these are the first physical records for both species on the east coast of Northland.

· The team also found a population of kōaro in the Peria river (photo below); again, this is likely a first record of this species for Doubtless Bay.

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· The contract with Pohe Environmental to sample for a nationally threatened freshwater insect (mayfly) in Mt Taika forest has not turned up the target species. However, 20% of the freshwater insect species found are of conservation interest – i.e. Threatened, At Risk, or Data Deficient. It is also possible two species are “new to science”. Pohe Environmental suggests their presence is good reason to look after the forest through policy and management.

Water Quantity

· An assessment of fluctuations in water level at Lake Taharoa has been published on our website: Link here. This assessment was undertaken in response to the low water levels recorded in the early months of 2022. The assessment indicates that the lake has little surface inflows and outflows but has a large surface area (approximately half of the lake catchment area) resulting in large amounts of water lost via evaporation. The assessment indicates that the water level in the lake is driven by patterns of rainfall and lake evaporation.

· Low lake levels have again been recorded this year. NRC’s rainfall station at the lake indicates that last year the site received about 28% less rainfall compared to the long-term median. This together with high evaporation rates is believed to be the reason for the low water levels. https://www.nrc.govt.nz/our-northland/story/?id=76148

Water Quality Field Operations

· Freshwater ecological monitoring has been underway since December, running through to the end of March. These programmes involve collecting state of environment fish, macroinvertebrate and periphyton data. The wet weather has been a challenge as these programmes have standdown periods following significant rainfall, however staff have done a great job to remain on schedule despite the weather. Along with data collection, it has been an opportunity for outreach - training for the Auckland Council ecology team and meeting tangata whenua.

· Staff have been liaising with the Lake Ōmāpere Trust and other stakeholders in response to the ongoing algae/cyanobacteria bloom and recent bird mortality at Lake Ōmāpere. Ongoing weekly testing for cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins continues to assist the District Health Board and other stakeholders manage the human health risks.

POLICY AND PLANNING

Freshwater plan Change

A revised timetable for workshops with Council/TTMAC on the freshwater plan change has been confirmed, commencing on 8 March. Staff are in the process of preparing papers and background information to support these workshops.

The Tangata Whenua Water Advisory Group (TWWAG) has continued to work on their case studies and recommendations to council on the content of council’s freshwater plan change from a tangata whenua perspective. TWWAG is due to present their reports to TTMAC on 23 February for endorsement.

An introductory meeting between TWWAG and the Primary Sector Liaison Group (PSLG) is arranged for 3 March 2023 and will provide an opportunity for the two advisory groups to share their reports that are providing recommendations and feedback on NRC’s freshwater plan change. TWWAG & the PSLG are scheduled to present their reports to a council workshop on 14 March 2023

A final communications push has been made to encourage the public to fill in the freshwater values and impacts survey (media release and social media).

Proposed Regional Plan Appeals

Staff continue to work to resolve the remaining appeals on the Proposed Regional Plan for Northland. Key points arising since the last report include:

· Topic 1 Coastal Activities - The bulk of the appeals on Topic 1 have been resolved. Parties continue to work towards resolutions for the remaining issues and are hopeful of resolving these without a hearing.

· Topic 1B Vehicles on beaches – Discussions with parties are ongoing to resolve appeals on the management of vehicles on beaches. Staff are seeking further ecological advice to inform the council’s position.

· Topic 14 Fishing Controls – In November the Environment Court released its decision resolving appeals on fishing controls/marine protected areas. The court confirmed no-take areas at Maunganui Bay / Te Oke Bay and Mimiwhangata, and has restricted commercial fishing in an area around Cape Brett. This decision left scope for the parties to seek minor corrections and consequential changes. Agreed wording is to be submitted to the court before 28 February and will be considered in the courts final judgement.

· Topic 17 Outstanding Natural Landscapes – Staff have been working with key parties and have secured agreement in principle to resolve appeals on this matter in line with the council’s direction. Subject to agreement by other parties, consent documents will be filed with the Environment Court before 28 February.

· Topic 14 General provisions and plan structure - All appeals on these provisions have been resolved. A consent order was issued by the Environment Court on 17 January 2023.

In January parties received direction from the court for the upcoming year. A Judicial conference has been set down in March for all unresolved topics, except Topic 1B Vehicles on Beaches. For Topic 1B the court directed council to report on progress by 31 May and provided an opportunity for further mediation, if required.

8.2.6 BIOSECURITY

Biosecurity “NETS” conference

The New Zealand Biosecurity Institute‘s National Education and Training Seminar (NETS) will be held in Northland this year - 26-28 July in Paihia. As a major sponsor of this event, we are working closely with organisers to ensure a successful event with a distinct Northland flavour that showcases the incredibly amount of Biosecurity action being taken by council, and our communities across the region.

INCURSIONS

Wallaby sightings:

Following the sighting last year in Waipoua forest a surveillance response was initiated with support from Tipu Matoro/Wallaby Free Aotearoa (MPI). A wallaby indicator dog that can detect wallaby droppings was used through the area, along with the establishment of a trail camera network of 25 cameras, which were deployed for six weeks. No sign of wallabies was found however bad weather and the lack of suitably qualified and available contractors impacted operations. The team is currently considering whether to expand the surveillance area.

Reports from the public from Glenbervie and Pukenui forest of a wallaby was also followed up however no further evidence has been found and surveillance involving the use of trail cameras will continue in Glenbervie Mountain Bike Park and Pukenui Forest for the next few months as a precaution.

WILD ANIMAL CONTROL

Wild Deer Management

Team has begun the operational planning for surveillance around several high-risk farms during the months of March and April and the roar when stags are vocal.

Multi-Agency Strategy

Staff from NRC and DOC are finalising a proposed program of work to deliver a Te Taitokerau Northland deer strategy. There is the opportunity now to access funding via central government and develop an efficient and sustainable programme with the aim of eliminating the current populations and preventing any further establishment of wild deer herds into the future.

Russell Forest

In preparation for the planned removal operations later in the year NRC contractors undertook additional animal control in the key sika habitat area with 21 goats, 2 pigs and 1 sika hind removed.

A working group will be pulled together to develop the sika eradication plan. This group will include representatives from NRC, DOC, hapū/Iwi with technical support from Manaaki Whenua, and eradication experts.

Feral Pigs

NRC team is still receiving a high number of requests for pig traps and all the NRC loan traps are currently deployed. The new “Pig Brig” Trap purchased end of last year is proving a success and has already caught 12 feral pigs on one property.

FRESHWATER PESTS

Koi carp

Presence absence surveys for Koi are continuing for reports at sites outside the current containment zones with no further spread detected at this stage. Planning has begun for site-based removal at locations within the containment zones.

Rudd

Following a report of Rudd in Lake Manuwai (Kerikeri) NRC participated in a joint agency netting operation with Fish and Game and DOC. No Rudd were caught but monitoring will continue as they have not previously been known from this location.

Above: Joint agency netting operation at Lake Manuwai. Pictured left NRC, Centre DOC and Far Right Fish and Game

KAURI PROTECTION

A record rainfall during January has presented challenges around contractor access to properties and higher than normal workloads which is affecting fencing programmes and track work. There has been an extended month of wet weather, and this is likely to increase the threat of the disease spreading in waterways and via footwear and staff are mindful that extra hygiene precautions are needed when working around kauri. Staff have also been assisting Whangarei District Council with advice and planning for their reserves. Around Whangārei the Parihaka track network is experiencing increased usage, and staff have observed increased use of the hygiene stations. One of these is the Whareora track hygiene station which is being upgraded. The Drummond Track is also closed due to a large slip.

A list of other actions underway in the last month follow:

· Kaiwaka – Mountain Rd - Goat Control

· Parekura Bay – Fencing Kauri Protection Completed

· Kauri Grove Track Upgrade Rawhiti/Whangamumu Area- Contract to be let this month.

· Upper Puketotara Track Upgrade – Work started on Boardwalk / Track Upgrade

· AH Reed Kauri Park – New MK111 Hygiene Station Installed - replaced old station.

· Waorahi – Langs Beach - Barrell and Grate Station Provided

· Bream Tail – Tuariki Rd – Te Araroa Trail Link- two prototype Hygiene stations supplied and installed

· Working with community groups to monitor sterigene usage at outlying hygiene stations.

· Mair Park – MK111 Hygiene Station Installation

· Parihaka – Whareora Track network Hygiene Station Upgrade.

· Eight Stations to be upgraded from 60 litre barrels to 125 litre barrels to cope with increased track usage. Counters to be placed on tracks to obtain accurate data on track usage.

· Kauri Mountain Track Upgrade – Request for quote in preparation

· Kaiwaka Domain – Fencing around Kauri Bush Reserve

PARTNERSHIPS

Northland Regional Council – Kiwi Coast partnership

A 'Know Your Dog' workshop was held with Mahinepua-Radar Hills Landcare in January and was well attended by keen and curious dog owners. Kiwi Coast have also been working on developing a Northland Ferret Free Monitoring Protocol. Fieldwork for this project has continued in partnership with Pāmu on their Omamari and Titoki blocks and the first two rounds of SD cards from trail cameras recording animal interactions with ZIP MotoLures – (an auto luring device) are now ready for analysis.

Above: Setting up ZIP MutoLure at Pamu Farm, Omamari.

High Value Area (HVA) and Community Pest Control Area (CPCA) Highlights

Along with all the usual mahi of predator control, monitoring trap catches, responding to landowner requests and recording/analysing data such as five-minute bird counts, some highlights from our HVAs in January include:

In the Kiwi Link HVA, monitoring for long-tailed bat presence using acoustic recorders was initiated in the Mt Tiger block. This will continue through January and February, which is the peak bat monitoring time. The Kiwi link community groups intend to work with bat experts at DOC and NRC to learn more and add these results to the regional database.

Above: Bat listening device set up alongside Upper Whareora Stream

In Tūtūkākā, a very recently hatched kiwi chick was found wet and cold by a local trappers daughter, and kept warm until it could be transferred to the Whangārei Native Bird Recovery Centre. Named ‘Kendrick’ this lucky survivor will remain in care for five-six weeks until he is ready to be released back into the wild.

This picture will be updated

Above: Kendrick the kiwi with Whangārei Native Bird Recovery Centre founder Robert Webb

In addition, two volunteer weed action events were held in January, with the main targets being Jasmine, Moth Plant, Wild Ginger and Tree Privet.

In the Piroa Brynderwyns HVA a range of exciting and innovative pest management projects are underway including a Kiwi presence survey and a ‘conservation in schools’ programme.

In the Mid-North, January has been spent following up on contacts made at the Waimate north A&P show with traps, bait, training, and advice being delivered. The Northland Correction Facility at Ngawha also delivered a further 100 trap boxes. This is a successful partnership which supplies much needed hardware to support local conservation efforts as well as teaching and adding value to those in the Corrections Facility.

In western northland, our staff are currently working with the Department of Conservation (DOC) and Te Roroa on a collaborative approach to control goat populations at Maunganui Bluff for the protection of the threatened locally endemic plant Roimata o Tōhe. This approach to goat control is also being applied in the Marlborough forest where there are several CPCA projects underway. Native Forest Restoration Trust and Pupurangi CPCA are working with DOC and neighbouring forestry to manage goats at a landscape scale to make a more meaningful impact on reducing goat browsing pressure.

Tiakina Whangārei – Urban Pest Control 

Our two summer interns have been working on a variety of projects within the city over the Christmas period. These include an urban waterway rat management project, installing self-setting predator traps in Parihaka Reserve, and supporting two urban community restoration groups.

Below: two biosecurity staff assist the trap layout in Parihaka

PREDATOR FREE

Predator Free Whangārei

The possum eradication project has re-established all their self-reporting live capture devices that were closed over the Xmas break. Landowner agreements are being obtained in advance of delivery in our next working block in Reotahi (60 +) and we are bolstering our interim barrier along Robinson Road and Ocean beach Coastal Strip, as progress is paused pending on the outcome of hui with Ngāti Wai.

The new year has started strongly for Predator Free Whangārei comms, with the project overview videos and Facebook page finally launched.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/predatorfreewhangarei

Videos playlist: Predator Free Whangārei

Predator Free Pēwhairangi (Bay of Islands)

Predator Free Pēwhairangi Whānui (PFPW) has progressed significantly in the last two months, with eradication strategies drafted for Predator Free Russell and Predator Free Mataroa being approved by all project partners and stakeholders.

Rakaumangamanga peninsula being developed by 3B2 Ahu Whenua Trust guided by hapū has presented their Eradication Plan (EP) which needs more adjusting to develop their eradication strategy effectively.

The PFPW project has refocused effort towards each peninsula, enabling each area to progress towards their eradication object, ensuring hapū and community can work collaboratively to achieve the objectives of their strategies.

MARINE BIOSECURITY

Hull surveillance

High rainfall over January which has led to poor visibility in some harbours has slowed survey work on vessel hulls however work has continued, and contractors are expected to complete the 2000 hulls required before the end of June. A table showing the number of hulls surveyed, level of fouling and vessels infected with marine pests will be available in the next report.

PEST PLANTS

Eradication pest plants

Cathedral Bells is a very invasive vine weed and is on the councils list of eradication species. A new site was reported by a member of the public last month. Initial control was undertaken by two staff within three days of the report confirmation. Vertical vines were cut to prevent further formation of fruit and further survey has been scheduled in the area to determine if any spread of the weed has occurred. Follow the link below to find out more about this aggressive forest invader. https://www.nrc.govt.nz/environment/weed-and-pest-control/pest-control-hub/?pwsystem=true&pwid=93

The Nassella tussock program was completed with only one site having active regrowth. Out of 28 sites inspected there was no regrowth found which resulted in six Matapōuri sites within the program being shifted to “Eradicated” status. Mexican Feather Grass survey resulted in finding three juvenile Mexican Feather Grass individuals regrowing on one site out of six that were inspected which was encouraging and hopefully further control will also see all plants at this site eradicated. Staff also attended the NRC stall at the Whangarei A&P show which received a lot of attention with well over 150 person engagements around weeds throughout the day.

8.2.7 GOVERNANCE AND ENGAGEMENT

Te Tiriti o Waitangi Partnership

The Māori Relationships Team have continued to support council to build effective partnerships with iwi and hapū in a number of areas over December and January.

Tu i te ora Scholarships

We now offer six Tu i te Ora scholarships of $4000 each and a paid full time work experience opportunity (summer internship). Three of the scholarship packages are dedicated to Māori who whakapapa to Te Taitokerau. From a total of 22 applications received, eight were from Māori and five were shortlisted for interviews. Māori applicants ranged from school leavers to mature, career change candidates, from those who had lived all their lives in Te Taitokerau to those looking to reconnect with their whakapapa, and from those aspiring to be urban planners and marine hydographers to those wanting to care for the whenua. We look forward to announcing successful candidates in the next few weeks.

Resource Management Act reform submissions

The Government’s resource management reform bills had their first reading on Tuesday 22 November. These bills have now been referred to the Environment Select Committee – and had an initial deadline of 30 January 2023 for written submissions. Despite timing difficulties, as most were looking to shut down for the Christmas/New Year period, the Māori Relationships Team were able to support our Mana Whakahono a Rohe partners to navigate the submissions process.

Te reo Māori interpreter services

We are proud to be able to offer a te reo Māori interpreter service for formal council and Te Taitokerau Māori and Council Working Party (TTMAC) meetings. We will have a certified interpreter and translator who will provide simultaneous interpretation using digital two-way technology.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Investment and Growth Reserve – Projects Report

Project	Update	Future developments/ reporting
Grow Northland	Reporting for work completed in period ending 31 December was due end of January.

Other Work Undertaken

Ÿ Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust – drafted loan agreement to support construction of the Kaipara Water Scheme. To be finalised in February.

Ÿ Northland Economic Quarterly – December issue prepared, distributed and available online at https://www.nrc.govt.nz/media/ev3nszm2/economic-quarterly-issue-36-december-2022.pdf. The annual section reports the results of the 2021/22 season for four key primary industries: dairy, forestry, kiwifruit and avocado while the spotlight section examines the latest business demographic statistics for Northland. The NEQ is available through council’s eNewsletter service, sign-up at: www.nrc.govt.nz/enewsletters.

Ÿ Freshwater Management Plan – Continued to work with the Policy and Planning Team to estimate the costings of various mitigation options and rules for improved water quality in Northland. Completed costings report for CLUES scenarios.

Ÿ Joint Regional Economic Development Committee (JREDC) – Prepared and distributed Handbook to appointed members; prepared for JREDC induction session; organised meeting schedule for 2023.

Ÿ Environmental Scan – began preparation of report to inform development and assumptions for Long Term Plan 2024-2034.

Ÿ Economic information – updated TTNEAP outcome indicators for 2022.

ONLINE CHANNELS

A wet January and the red alert weather warning/state of emergency declaration meant a jump in the number of pages viewed across the website. These increased from 61,700 in December to more than 122,000 in January. The environmental data hub, webcams and civil defence information were the most popular pages visited.

Most popular content on Facebook:

December 2022 – Environment Court establishes new no-take fishing areas in Northland (Media release) Thursday 15 December. Reaching 68,833 with engagement of 25,922.

January 2023 – If you live in an airshed around Taitokerau Northland, there are burning restrictions in place (campaign post regarding backyard burning) Friday 20 January. Reaching 8,416 with engagement of 1,433.

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

Key Performance Indicators	Sep-22	Oct-22	Nov-22	Dec-22	Jan-23
WEB
# Visits to the NRC website	24,318	41,197	31,528	38,081	48,053
E-payments made	25	17	12	11	8
# subscription customers (cumulative)	1,353	1,352	1,338	*N/A	1,316
SOCIAL MEDIA (cumulative)
# Twitter followers	1,595	1,601	1,595	1,594	1,620
# NRC Facebook followers	11,045	11,101	11,147	11,244	11,366
# NRC Overall Facebook Reach	43,071	134,778	163,619	105,583	108,407
# NRC Engaged Daily Users	2,800	5,098	6,074	21,571	8,159
# CDEM Facebook fans	27,186	27,231	27,280	27,314	30,047
# CDEM Overall Facebook Reach	64,756	36,666	53,163	32,996	341,031
# CDEM Engaged Daily Users	5,482	2,318	4,768	991	61,224
# Instagram followers	1,568	1,575	1,583	1,613	1,613

*Not available due to the Christmas/New Year break

ENVIROSCHOOLS / EDUCATION

During December, these four enviroschools carried out successful sharing and decision-making sessions:

Enviroschool	Stage
Kerikeri Kindergarten	Green-Gold – sustainability is fully integrated
Portland School	Silver – increasing breadth and depth of learning and action
Totara North School	Silver
First Ave Kindergarten	Bronze – laying the foundations

Cr Jack Craw and Casey Mitchell hold up First Ave Kindergarten’s new Enviroschools sign.

Portland School’s evidence that they are a Silver Enviroschool is displayed on their ngā maunga.

Cr Marty Robinson and the Totara North School Reflection team.

Cr Marty Robinson congratulates Kerikeri Kindergarten on becoming a Green-Gold Enviroschool.

January was a month of planning and preparation:

· Te Moana Enviroschools Encounter events – Pahi, Taipa and Whangārei

· Kauri dieback, Wild animals, Kaipara Moana Remediation, Predator Free Whangārei and Predator Free Te Taitokerau – mahi tahi

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Paparoa Show

Biosecurity pest animals and weeds were the main focus of Northland Regional Council’s stand at the Paparoa Show on Saturday 4 February. The show was very busy this year, with lots of pest animal enquiries received and a number of people wanting to buy traps.

Waitangi Day

Northland Regional Council’s stand at Waitangi Day on 6 February was primarily focused on safe boating, freshwater and the freshwater plan change process, and how people want us to communicate with them and involve them in what council does. There were plenty of people through the stand and good interest from and discussions with people throughout the day, particularly around freshwater.

Media liaison

In total, 14 Northland Regional Council media releases and three Civil Defence media releases were created and distributed to media throughout Northland during the two-month period of December and January. Topics included:

· Establishment of council committees

· Biodiversity manager winning national award

· Environment Court establishing new no-take fishing areas

· Kerikeri Kindergarten Enviroschools Green-Gold

· Whangārei’s Hopua te Nihotetea water detention dam

· Mangamuka repairs funding from Government

· Freshwater plan change

· Late January weather event

Combined, this activity helped generate 225 items mentioning Northland Regional Council as reported by media monitoring agency Fuseworks.

Top five sources of Northland coverage were:

1. Northern Advocate (53)

2. TVNZ (24)

3. Bay Chronicle, Northern News, Whangarei leader (19)

4. NZ Herald (11)

5. RNZ (8)

Content types were split as follows:

LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL INFORMATION (LGOIMA) REQUESTS

Total LGOIMAs	December 2021 to January 2022 (2 months reporting)	December 2021 to January 2022 (2 months reporting)
Total LGOIMAs	23	20
Number of LGOIMAs not responded to within 20 working days		0

CUSTOMER SERVICES

Telephone inbound call statistics and enquiries

	Nov	Dec	Jan 2023
Call volume via Customer Services	1535	1273	1303
Average wait time	9.2 sec	9.6 sec	9.6 sec
Calls answered in under 30 seconds	1515	1189	1206

Telephone call volume over the last three years

	2019-2020	2020-2021	2021-2022
Call volume via Customer Services	20812	30566	23669

Mailroom email processing performance

	Nov	Dec	Jan 2023
Mail processed	782	697	536

Satisfaction monitoring

Feedback cards, compliments, and complaints

Compliments received	Total
December	0
January
City Link security guard went above and beyond	1
Total compliments recorded	1

Complaints received December	Total
City link	4
Total Mobility	2
Total complaints recorded	6

The complaints have been resolved or referred.

Complaints received January 2023	Total
City link (request transferred)	1
Poplar pole (request open)	1
Funding (request closed)	1
Total complaints recorded	3

8.2.8 COMMUNITY RESILIENCE

TRANSPORT

Draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport

The Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS) sets the Government’s priorities for land transport investment. The GPS is reviewed every three years provides a 10-year horizon on how spending will be prioritised in the transport network.

On 13^th January 2023, the Ministry of Transport released the “Indicative Strategic Priorities – Developing the Government Policy Statement on Land Transport 2024 – Engagement Paper”. This document provides an early indication of the government’s strategic priorities of the Draft GPS 2024/2027, expected to be released in March 2023 for comment.

Regional Land Transport Plan 2021/2027

Section 13(1)(a) of the Land Transport Management Act 2003 states that “Every 6 financial years, each regional council must ensure that the relevant regional transport committee prepares, on the regional council’s behalf, a regional land transport plan”.

Section 18CA(1) of the Land Transport Management Act 2003 stipulates that “A regional transport committee must complete a review of the regional land transport plan during the 6-month period immediately before the expiry of the third year of the plan”.

The paper “Regional Land Transport Plan 2021/2027 - Three Year Review was presented to the RTC outlining the requirement to perform a three-year review of the existing Regional Land Transport Plan 2021/2027 in accordance with requirements of the Land Transport Management Act 2003.

A decision to undertake a review or a complete rewrite of the Regional Land Transport Plan 2021/2027 was not made at the first meeting held on 7 February 2023. The RTC has requested more time to make a decision on this.

Regional Road Safety Action Plan

The Regional Road Safety Action Plan (RSAP) is an evidence-based document aligning with relevant Government Policy Statements, National Safety Strategies (Road to Zero Strategy), Regional Land Transport Plans, district road safety plans and includes data from the Community Risk Register, hospital statistics, etc.

The above assists in determining the prioritisation of road safety focus areas in the region. Specific actions will be defined and implemented along with agreed indicators to track the results.

The RSAP will be updated annually with the issues, actions and indicators being modified as needed to maximize benefits.

Bus Services

*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 Nov 22/Dec 2022    (revenue excl GST)	Actual	Budget	Variance	Year / Date Actual	Year / Date Budgeted	Variance
CityLink Passengers	54,141	51,539	2,602	177,601	164,564	13,037
CityLink Revenue	$73,241	$66,485	$6,756	$227,424	$212,288	$15,136
Mid North Link Passengers	576	360	216	1,372	1,040	332
Mid North Link Revenue	$761	$1,596	$835	$3,618	$4,611	$993
Hokianga Link Passengers	147	108	39	414	312	102
Hokianga Link Revenue	$931	$751	$180	$2,401	$2,170	$231
Far North Link Passengers	774	750	24	2,193	2,190	3
Far North Link Revenue	$2,127	$2,100	$27	$5,658	$6,132	$474
Bream Bay Link Passengers	120	54	66	326	164	162
Bream Bay Link Revenue	$417	$389	$28	$1,577	$1,181	$396
Hikurangi Link Passengers	33	54	21	108	156	48
Hikurangi Link Revenue	$50	$141	$91	$193	$407	$214

Passengers Carried

· Farebox figures include actual fares taken, the government 50% fare top up subsidy allocation and the SuperGold funding allocated to each service. 

· The 50% fare subsidy is in place until 30 June 2023 when it will be replaced with Community Connect subsidy for Community Card holders. 

· Passenger numbers include Adult / Child /SuperGold (where applicable) 

Passengers Carried

The number of passengers carried on all services in November 2022 and December 2022 showed an increase with the exception of the Hikurangi Service.

For the Mid North Service, whilst passengers increased, the farebox revenue was below budget due to the increased number of SuperGold Card passengers carried at reduced fares.

Antisocial Behaviour

Antisocial behaviour continues to pose problem on urban buses mainly at peak times.

National Bus Driver Shortage

Whilst the bus driver shortage remains a serious concern country wide, councils contracted services have managed to continue normal scheduled services to this point.

The employment of new drivers is posing an ongoing problem due to both the national shortage and the ongoing anti-social behaviour experienced on public and school buses. This has had a detrimental effect on the implementation of the proposed scholar bus services in Whangarei.

Summer Beach Buses

Summer Beach Buses ran between Whangārei and Ocean Beach and Ruakaka Beach every Thursday from 22 December 2022 to 26 January 2023.

BusLink Christmas Promotion – Friday 23 December

Christmas shopping was made easier again this year with free bus travel on Friday 23 December 2022 on all BusLink and CityLink services, along with Northland Regional Council and bus operators.

Community Connect

Community Connect is a government driven national programme to make public transport more affordable for Community Services Card holders by providing a 50% concession on contracted public transport services. This initiative was off the back of the 50% offered to all passengers on contracted bus services.

Due to the government’s announcement that the bus fare subsidy, which was to expire at the end of January 2023, is to continue 1 July 2023, the Community Services Card initiative has been put on hold.

CityLink Facebook promotion

In an effort to increase the number of CityLink Facebook followers, a promotion campaign was run in November 2022 and December 2022 where respondents went into a draw to win a prize. This resulted in an increase from an average of 317 to 670 followers by the end of December 2022.

Total Mobility Scheme (TM)

Total Mobility Scheme 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 Budgeted Expend	Monthly Variance	Year / Date Actual Expend	Year / Date Budgeted Expend	Annual Variance
Whangārei
November 2022	1320	$34,331	$25,000	($9,331)	$154,741	$125,000	($29,741)
December 2022	1329	$29,073	$25,000	($4,073)	$183,814	$150,000	($33,814)
Far North
November 2022	147	$817	$5,800	$4,983	$6,058	$29,000	$22,942
December 2022	156	$1,109	$5,800	$4,691	$7,168	$34,800	$27,632

Total Mobility figures for Whangārei

The government announced in January 2023 that the half price Total Mobility fares have been extended indefinitely.

Current figures for Whangarei show a year to date overspend of $33,814. Whilst this is presently fully funded by the government, moving forward councils will have to discuss with Waka Kotahi on the process and extension and more importantly how this overspend will be funded/ managed.

Total Mobility Working Group Meeting

Transport Operators and agencies met on 1 December 2022 and discussed the following issues:

· Ridewise 1 (electronic payment system) enhancements and bug fixes

· Continuation of discounted Total Mobility fares and the resultant budget over-spend

· Accessible Strategy

· Recommended changes to the Total Mobility client assessment forms

· Challenges with taxis in the Whangarei district

Total Mobility – Far North

Council is continuing to try and source other Transport Operators to join the Total Mobility Scheme in the Far North.

Making Northland Accessible – 7 December 2022

A letter was sent to 1329 active Total Mobility clients, to have their say/ give feedback on the four councils Accessible Strategy: https://www.wdc.govt.nz/Whats-new/Have-your-say/Current-Consultations/Accessibility-Feedback-2022

Total Mobility – Hoist Vehicles

Approved provider Freedom Companion Driving have withdrawn their wheelchair hoist vehicle due to a lack of demand.

Total Mobility – Service Providers (Taxi Operators)

A1 Cabs and Kiwi cabs have stated that they are experiencing a driver shortage and are struggling to keep up with the demand in Total Mobility trips due to the governments discounted fares Scheme.

Road Safety Update – Year to date figures 2023

Fatalities	Far North	Whangārei	Kaipara	Northland	National
Local roads	3	8	1	12	173
State highways	13	7	2	22	167
TOTAL	16	15	3	34	340

For the four-year period 2019 to 2022, the following fatal numbers are reflected:

2019	2020	2021	2022
29	28	33	38

For the 2022 calendar year to date, there have been 34 deaths on Northland’s roads:

Drivers	Passengers	Motorcyclists	Cyclists	Pedestrians
3	2	0	0	0

The breakdown of ages in regard to the 2023 fatalities reflect:

< 14 years	15 – 19 years	20 – 24 years	25 – 39 years	40 – 59 years	60+ years
0	0	1	1	3	0

Motorcycle Safety - Ride Forever (R4E) Rider Training Year to date - Update

· 2019/2020 – 240 riders completed the Bronze/Silver/Gold courses.

· 2020/2021 – 186 riders completed the Bronze/Silver/Gold courses

· 2021/2022 – 182 riders completed the Bronze/Silver/Gold courses

· 2022/2023 – 135 riders have completed the Bronze/Silver/Gold courses for this financial year to date.

· Bronze Course – 48

· Silver Course – 42

· Gold Course – 45

Waka Kotahi & NZ Police Road Safety Promotion/Media

Road safety promotional and media related themes for the above-mentioned months were concentrated around:

· Alcohol

· Motorcycling

· Drugs

· Distractions

· Speed

· Seatbelts

· Fatigue.

At a local level, Northland produces radio messages, print messaging, bus backs messages along with other social media to promote road safety specific to Northland and complimenting the ‘Road to Zero’ and ‘Safe System Approach.’ Further discussions are continuing with other road safety partners including the Northland Rugby Union.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

Activations and emergencies

During January there have been a series of Metservice weather warnings, including heavy rain been a series of Metservice weather warnings, including heavy rain warnings and watches, thunderstorm watches and warnings and strong wind watches and warnings for Northland. All watches and warnings are monitored by the CDEM on call personnel.

As an indication of the rainfall for the month of January, Whangarei received 489 mm, which is more than six times its average, whilst Kaikohe had 527 mm or five times its average.

On 9 January the Metservice issued a heavy rain watch for the Northland area south of the Bay of Islands. The watch was later upgraded to a heavy rain warning (Ex-tropical Cyclone Hale).  Water levels in rivers were already high due to rain the previous week.

Several local roads, State Highway 1 at Ruakaka, and State Highway 15, were closed due to flooding or slips. Flights into and out of the Whangārei airport were also cancelled.  Agencies and stakeholders operated in enhanced BAU to manage the impacts.

On 26 January the Metservice issued a heavy rain warning for Northland for a period of 24 hours from 10:00 pm Thursday 26 January, to 10:00 pm Friday 27 January, as well as a thunderstorm watch for 16 hours from 6:00 pm Sunday 29 January to 10:00 am Monday 30 January. 100 to 130 mm of rain was forecast.

The CDEM Duty Officer and hydrologists monitored the event and provided situation update to key stakeholders.

This rain system brought significant and damaging impacts to the Auckland region overnight 27 and 28 January, resulting in a declaration of State of Emergency for the Auckland region late on the 27 January.

State Highway 1 at the Brynderwyns was closed due to numerous slips, and various other local roads were closed. Access into Northland was disrupted due to flooding and slips on the State Highway and alternate roads into the Northland region from Auckland.

Red Weather Warning and declaration of State of Emergency for Northland

Immediately following the Auckland weather emergency the Metservice issued an orange heavy rain warning for Northland for the 22 hours from 2.00 pm Sunday 29 January to 12:00 pm Monday 30 January, for 90 to 120 mm rain, along with a severe thunderstorm and strong wind watch.

On 29 January Metservice upgraded the warning to a red heavy rain warning, with a watch still in place for severe thunderstorms and a strong wind watch for Northland.

Red warnings are only issued by the Metservice for the most impactful events. This was Northland’s first red weather warning.

Metservice were forecasting rainfall of 120 to 170 mm in the north and east with the potential for localised areas to receive 170 to 270 mm, for a period of 27 hours from 3:00 am Tuesday 31 January through to 6:00 am Wednesday 1 February, with localised falls of 25 to 40 mm/h, or possibly more.

Key stakeholders were advised and across agency coordination commenced.

An Incident Management Team (IMT) was established at Kaitaia, and Fire and Emergency New Zealand, NZ Police, St John, NZ Defence Forces, the DHB, Councils, community groups, iwi, welfare agencies, and others began planning and preparations for flooding and evacuations, including bring in additional personnel and resources into the region.

At 9.00 am on Monday 31 January key agencies and others considered whether a declaration of Sate of Local Emergency was necessary for the Northland region. The decision to seek an emergency declaration was made in consultation with stakeholders and elected officials as a precautionary step ahead of the anticipated weather. The reason for doing it was to enable the use of the emergency powers to protect life and property which are available under the Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Act 2002

At 1.00 pm on 31 January the Chair of the Northland CDEM Group, Deputy Mayor Kelly Stratford signed a Declaration of state of Emergency for Northland.

A number of media releases, communications, interviews with radio and television networks, including live updates were made during the lead up to and during this emergency event. Of note is the reach of several of the Facebook posts with several posts reaching in excess of 55,000 users and one post exceeding 65,000.

As it eventuated the powers were not required, and the declaration was terminated at 10.00 am on 1 February.

An initial internal hot de brief has been held and a wider across agency de brief is scheduled for later in the month.

Note: Northland has had a total of 5 declared local emergencies since 1973. The recent declaration is the second under the current legislation since 2002.

Offers of personnel have been made to Auckland to assist in the response.

Tsunami Siren Replacement Project

The Northland Tsunami Siren Replacement Project continues to process and the project team is working through the final locations, building and resource consenting, tendering documents for installation along with a communications plan to engage with communities and others.

Installation of the sirens is estimated to commence mid-year.

Civil Defence National appointment

The Chief Executive of the National Emergency Management Agency has announced the appointment of John Price, ONZM, as the new Deputy Chief Executive Emergency Management and Director for Civil Defence Emergency Management.

John Price has been a member of the New Zealand Police since 1987 and is the current District Commander for Canterbury District. He will join NEMA on 13 March following his retirement from the NZ Police.

Roger Ball will continue to be Acting DCE and Director until this time.

Civil Defence Emergency Management Group and Coordinating Executive Group Meetings

The next meetings of the Northland CDEM Group and CEG are scheduled for Tuesday 7 March.

Vacancies and recruitment

There are currently two vacancies within the CDEM team, for an Emergency Management Specialist and a Welfare Specialist. Recruitment is underway for both positions.

MARITIME

There were 43 maritime incidents reported in December and January. This is very low for this time of the year. A major contributing factor to this was the severe weather during January which saw fewer vessels on the water.

The number of maritime safety patrols completed by the maritime teams were also reduced by half in response to the poor weather. Call outs for incidents at the same time increased over the holiday period. However, the contracted safety ambassadors based in the far north, and northeast coast have been actively working to provide safer boating advice and engaging with remoter communities. They are also scheduled to attend Waitangi Day to represent NRC.

11 mooring incidents mostly illegal occupation were also reported. There were 13 accident type reports from vessels sinking on moorings to capsizes. There were 6 speed related incidents. Three abandoned vessels were also disposed of.

Seven enforcement actions were undertaken: for obstruction of a navigation channel, excessive wake, failing to give way, mooring piracy, and three speeding offences.

Staff also dealt with numerous vessels dragging anchor, near misses, floating debris and groundings.

Twenty-eight cruise ships were scheduled into the Bay of Islands for December and January. Unfortunately, two factors affected shipping this season. MPI were carrying out strict hull clean checks that resulted in 5 ships been declined permission over this period to enter the Bay of Islands or Fiordland. The remaining 7 were cancelled due to cyclonic weather systems that created high winds and swell conditions. They either found other safe ports to stay in, or were declined entry by the Harbourmaster due to the weather. Overall, 12 ships were cancelled over this period.

Of the 45 ships scheduled to visit the Bay of Islands this season, 20 have so far been cancelled by MPI or weather conditions. This is the worst cancellation record we have had.

The Waikare II build continues at Circa Marine in Whangārei with the hull taking shape. Once the hull plating is completed the vessel is turned so interior work and the deckhouse can begin.

The engines have arrived, having been ordered in March 2022. Some gear is still on order such as gear boxes, some parts of which were previously manufactured in the Ukraine.

The circa project manager visited the Waikare in Opua and met with staff to discuss details on arrangements. Close liaison is ongoing to ensure the build meets requirements.

Hatea river dredging commences this week as part of scheduled work to keep the channel clear for vessel access to the town basin and repair yards. Staff are continuing to deal with sunken wrecks with the budget fully spent this year.

RIVERS

Work Streams	Status	Comments
Awanui Flood Scheme Upgrade	Year 3 of 3 year accelerated programme	Wet January weather has slowed our earthworks season. If this weather continues this will have a detrimental effect on completing our summer works programme. Dunn Street work is now largely completed. Northern Stopbanks (LHS) Site 16 near JNL sawmill is nearing completion and earthworks will continue downstream. Matthew’s Park Spillway & Bench; Wet weather has delayed the start to the Matthew’s Park Spillway. However, we are preparing for work at 69 SH-1 location directly downstream from SH-1 Bridge. Lower Whangatane SH10; work is continuing with importation of surplus material from other ASU worksites and overburden from the local quarry.
		Lower Whangatane Spillway SH-10 – Stopbank set-back to give ”Room for the River” and allowing for Climate Change projections.

Otīria/Moerewa Flood Mitigation Spillway and Bridge		We would like to share the video produce by Kanoa, for this project this was filed for stage 1 moving forward into Stages 2 & 3 Whenua Māori has been negotiated with our people to allow this spillway to happen, this has been strongly hapu lead and with Manaakitanga, knowing we don’t want to repeat grievance, it's been very game changing and learning for our NRC team, around Tangata Whenua concerns, and their Kawa. We are achieving momentum in this kaupapa with everyone being involved. https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/751071954 The dawn blessing for stage 2 bridge construction happened on the 19^th December, arriving at 4.30am to set up the site. We were joined by landowners, locals, kaitiaki, stage 2 contractors, the minister and a local horse to bless the site before earthworks begin. January saw the start of construction for the new Pokapu Road Bridge. Four piles have been drilled and set with the remaining four waiting until the river level has dropped from the recent rainfall. GKH – drilling the first of eight piles KCL earthworks at bridge site

CLIMATE ACTION OVERVIEW

Mitigation

NRC’s corporate Emissions Reduction Plan is in development and being led by Tonkin and Taylor. This will involve input from every aspect of Council’s business and will include updated science-based targets. The ERP will also identify a potential set of key actions that will reduce our emissions sufficiently whilst providing best ‘bang for buck’. It is likely some of these will need to be included in the forthcoming Long-Term Plan. The consultant’s final report is due end of April.

A survey has also been completed outlining the emissions footprint generated by staff in their travel to and from work. This will also be factored into our overall corporate emissions profile and included in actions under the ERP.

NRC has also achieved Toitu carbonreduce certification this year with last year’s total net emissions equalling 1,006.57 tonnes of CO2 equivalent (not including staff commute emissions).

Adaptation

· The Water Resilience Fund ($500k p.a.) is nearly fully allocated for the next two financial years. Staff continue to work with potential applicants for the remainder of the funds and seek additional funding mechanisms. The policy has been well received and shows a clear path from problem to on-ground action that could be extended into other climate action (refer summary below).

· A new round of funding is being stood up to enable Iwi Hapū Environmental Management Plans (IHEMPs) to be augmented from a climate action/climate change point of view. This is due to commence shortly and will provide the first phase of targeted funding to encourage climate resilience across Taitokerau communities. A second phase will occur in the middle of the year and will look to promote more on-ground planning and action.

· The contract to review the Regional Policy Statement (RPS) for climate action best practice has commenced. Final report is due end of March 2023.

· Staff continue to support and guide the development of Community Adaptation Planning projects with our district Council partners. Kaipara District is most advanced and are hosting a number of community panel and public meetings seeking to tease out how best to manage the Raupō/Ruawai flats over the next 100+ years. NRC’s support has been in programme design, guidance, engagement support and via a new model of the Raupō Drainage Scheme that incorporates the latest climate information. See: https://www.kaipara.govt.nz/adaptive-pathways

King tides Taitokerau initiative was made live in January 2023 and encourages locals to identify low lying spots that are already subject to coastal inundation, and will likely require some form of management response https://www.nrc.govt.nz/environment/climate-change/king-tides-taitokerau

Natural Hazards 

A temporary contractor is filling in the critical role of natural hazards advice as recruitment has proven difficult. This is a key role for council and fulfils a knowledge broker role between technical science (e.g. modellers) and end users (e.g. Civil Defence, the public, agencies).

Current key investigations underway include:

· Work is underway on developing a regional approach to flood risk management to inform investment and adaptive decision-making. Beca has been engaged to coordinate this work and is identifying current practice and best practice elsewhere. This work is intimately tied into the Long Term Plan and is due for completion in the middle of the year.

· A new detailed hydraulic model of the Raupō Drainage scheme has been completed and is contributing to Kaipara’s community adaptation planning project.

Policy, Research and Network Updates

Policy

· Final guidance on how Councils are supposed to ‘have regard to’ the National Adaptation Plan and Emissions Reduction Plan has been published https://environment.govt.nz/news/rma-guidance-note-for-local-government-on-the-national-adaptation-plan-and-emissions-reduction-plan/ .

· Direct engagement is occurring with MfE about the pros and cons of our joint mahi developed and set out in the Te Taitokerau Climate Adaptation Strategy (and to inform development of the Climate Adaptation Bill). This is expected to result in workshops in the early new year to review and ‘test’ new climate adaptation policy being developed by the government. A workshop with MfE staff is scheduled for end of March.

· The Environmental Defence Society has published a think-piece on the ins and outs of ‘managed retreat’. Their intent is to inform the Climate Adaptation Bill https://eds.org.nz/our-work/policy/projects/climate-change-adaptation/

· Staff remain involved in the ‘end user’ reference group to review and update the 2017 coastal hazards and climate change guidance. This work is ongoing and it is uncertain yet as to when it is likely to be finalised.

Research

Staff are involved in a number of national research projects that have direct connection to Te Taitokerau:

· Aotearoa’s Future Coast - https://niwa.co.nz/natural-hazards/research-projects/future-coasts-aotearoa

· Te Ao Hurihuri:Te Ao Hou – our changing coast https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/129837870/researchers-get-13m-funding-boost-to-better-understand-sealevel-rise-effects

· Extreme Wildfire: our new reality – are we ready? https://www.scionresearch.com/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/83746/ExtremeWildfireInfosheet.pdf

Network

Staff continue to provide thought leadership and critical networking links to the nationwide push for better climate adaptation work. This is being achieved through the Aotearoa Climate Adaptation Network (ACAN) and the newly formed Climate SIG.

8.2.9 KAIPARA MOANA REDMEDIATION

Current KMR programme performance

In its first full year of operations ending on 30 June 2022, sediment reduction projects worth $4.67m were contracted for and/or completed. In the first six months of this year (viz. the second half of 2022), $1.46m of projects were contracted for, with grants paid out to an additional $944k worth of projects. These figures will grow as new projects are contracted for and existing projects are verified (signed off for payment).

By the end of 2022, KMR was working with 432 landowners across the depth and breadth of the catchment (over 1 in 4 of the estimated 1500 landowners). A focus for the rest of the financial year is to continue to ramp up engagement at community, primary sector, rural and technical events across the catchment to recruit new landowners, building off the back of the successful summer media campaign and ongoing media articles and promotions.

KMR flood and storm recovery package

KMR landowners have been significantly affected by the wettest winter on record, a set of devastating storms, and what is expected to be the wettest summer on record. While cyclone Gabrielle impacts are as yet unclear at the time of writing, what is clear is that they will be significant. Anecdotal evidence suggests that landowners across the catchment have been severely affected. Both Auckland project sites visited by our governors in December 2022, for example, have been severely impacted by the storms. Stories of as much as ~40 acres of land being swept away or collapsing in landslides are not unusual (again, mostly in Auckland) but we expect widespread impacts on our KMR landowners in Northland, too.

To ensure that KMR landowners can continue to take action on their land in years 2 and 3 of what are usually multi-year contracts with KMR, we have a strategic interest to support the recovery of KMR landowners whose land and projects have been affected. As a Jobs for Nature investment with budget lines already set aside to support local employment, we will be talking to our governors in late February a proposal to ‘pivot’ that budget line (which is under-expended) to support accredited KMR providers to work with affected KMR landowners to restore and remediate fences, planting areas and wetlands, as possible. Such a response will both engender ongoing commitment and sediment reduction activity by our early adopter landowners, and support employment of our accredited providers, many of whom affiliate to local iwi groups.

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Nil

[1] Schedule 7 section 6 states that the Remuneration Authority must determine the remuneration, allowances, and expenses payable to mayors, deputy mayors, chairpersons, deputy chairpersons, and members of local authorities.

[2] Clarification was received that the Determination does not enable accommodation to be paid in lieu of travel time and the Chair’s use of a private vehicle to travel into and out of the office on a daily basis does not qualify as local authority business under the Policy.

[6] This refers to section 274 of the RMA which provides for parties to join appeals in support or opposition to an appeal.

TITLE:	Confirmation of Minutes - 13 December 2022
From:	Meloney Tupou, Maori Governance and Engagement Support Admin
Authorised by:	Chris Taylor, Governance Specialist, on 21 February 2023

TITLE:	Receipt of Action Sheet
From:	Chris Taylor, Governance Specialist
Authorised by:	Chris Taylor, Governance Specialist, on 21 February 2023

1.1 Science
1.1.1 Information on water quantity and water resources, including rainfall, river flow, groundwater and flood levels, is made available 1.1.2 Information on the life-supporting capacity of water (fresh and marine) is made available 1.1.3 Information on the standards for ambient air quality is made available
Percentage of time that flood-level monitoring is accurate (to enable flood warnings to be developed) and is made available to the community	100% compliance	100% – achieved
Percentage of time that continuous monitoring of air sheds is achieved, with any exceedances of National Environmental Standards reported and made available to the community	100% compliance	100% – achieved
1.2 Catchment management
1.1 Improved water quality is advanced through advice and funding to support sustainable land management
Number of subsidised poplar poles provided for erosion-prone land by the council-owned nursery	2021/22: 5,000 2022/23: 7,000 2023/24: 9,000 2030/31: 25,000	8440 – on track to achieve
1.2 Biodiversity
1.3 Indigenous biodiversity and ecosystems are maintained and enhanced, particularly around our rivers, lakes, wetlands and coastal margins
Number of plants provided through CoastCare programme	2021/22: 14,000 2022/23: 15,000 2023/24: 16,000 2030/31: 20,000	11,622 – on track to achieve
1.4 Biosecurity
1.4.1 Community involvement in pest management is promoted in both urban and rural environments through successful implementation of initiatives in the regional pest management plan 1.4.2 The introduction and spread of marine pests is slowed through inter-regional management
Increase in hectares of land under Community Pest Control Area Plans (CPCAs) per annum	5,000ha annually	Two new CPCA’s have been signed, Te Arai (1116ha) and Takahiwai Mataitai (size unknown at this point) – on track to achieve
1.6 Consents
1.6 Processing and administering of resource consents is efficient and effective
Percentage of all resource consent applications that are processed within the statutory timeframes	100% compliance	100% – achieved
1.7 Compliance monitoring
1.7 Compliance monitoring of resource consents, and response to reported environmental incidents, is timely and effective
Percentage of consents that are monitored as per the council's consent monitoring programme	90% compliance or more		57% – on track to achieve (Progress to date shows over half complete)
Percentage of environmental incidents reported to the Environmental Hotline resolved within 30 working days	80% or more resolved within 30 working days		91% – achieved

3.1 Governance
3.1 Council maintains effective, open and transparent democratic processes
Percentage of official information requests that are responded to within 20 working days	100% compliance	100% – achieved
Percentage of time that elected members attend council meetings	90% compliance	96% – achieved

TITLE:	Working Party Updates and Chairpersons' Briefings
From:	Chris Taylor, Governance Specialist
Authorised by:	Chris Taylor, Governance Specialist, on date 22 February 2023

TITLE:	Regional Rates Collection - update to 31 December 2022
From:	Simon Crabb, Finance Manager
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Bruce Howse, Pou Taumatua – Group Manager Corporate Services, on 21 February 2023

TITLE:	Financial Report to 31 January 2023
From:	Taka Skipwith, Financial Accountant
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Bruce Howse, Pou Taumatua – Group Manager Corporate Services, on 22 February 2023

TITLE:	Elected Members' Expenses and Allowances Policy Update
From:	Chris Taylor, Governance Specialist
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Auriole Ruka, Pou Manawhakahaere - GM Governance and Engagement, on 22 February 2023

TITLE:	Appointment of council Registrar - Pecuniary Interests Register
From:	Chris Taylor, Governance Specialist
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Auriole Ruka, Pou Manawhakahaere - GM Governance and Engagement, on 22 February 2023

TITLE:	Delegations for Proposed Regional Plan Appeals
From:	Michael Payne, Policy Specialist
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Ruben Wylie, Pou Tiaki Taiao – Group Manager Environmental Services, on 10 February 2023

TITLE:	Independent Risk Advisor Recruitment
From:	Bruce Howse, Pou Taumatua – Group Manager Corporate Services
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Bruce Howse, Pou Taumatua – Group Manager Corporate Services, on 22 February 2023

TITLE:	Health and safety report
From:	Tamsin Sutherland, Health and Safety Advisor and Beryl Steele, Human Resources Manager
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Bruce Howse, Pou Taumatua – Group Manager Corporate Services, on 22 February 2023

TITLE:	Reporting on Long Term Plan 2021-2031 Performance Measures for Quarter Two of the 2022/23 Year
From:	Robyn Broadhurst, Corporate Planning Specialist
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Bruce Howse, Pou Taumatua – Group Manager Corporate Services, on 22 February 2023

TITLE:	Receipt of Committee Minutes
From:	Meloney Tupou, Maori Governance and Engagement Support Admin
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Chris Taylor, Governance Specialist, on 22 February 2023

Item No.	Item Issue	Reasons/Grounds
10.1	Confirmation of Confidential Minutes - 13 December 2022	The public conduct of the proceedings would be likely to result in disclosure of information, as stated in the open section of the meeting -.
10.2	Human Resources Report - December/January 2023	The public conduct of the proceedings would be likely to result in disclosure of information, the withholding of which is necessary to protect the privacy of natural persons, including that of deceased natural persons s7(2)(a).
10.3	Introduction of Greenmount Capital Co-Investment Fund into the Long-Term Investment Fund	The public conduct of the proceedings would be likely to result in disclosure of information, the withholding of which is necessary to prevent the disclosure or use of official information for improper gain or improper advantage s7(2)(j).