Agenda of Komiti Māori - Tuesday, 25 August 2020



Report To:	Komiti Māori
Meeting Date:	25 August 2020
Report Authoriser:	Kataraina O’Brien, Kaiwhakaruru

Komiti Maori Chair Report

Executive Summary

The purpose of this report is to provide Komiti Māori members with a snapshot of current matters of interest from the Chair. The report includes:

1. Māori Economic Recovery and Taiao Projects.

§ Korehāhā Whakahau Project (Ngāti Awa)

§ Raukūmara Pae Maunga Project

§ Central North Island Mānuka Project

§ Jobs for Nature & Climate of Resilience (Toi Moana)

§ Economic Development Agencies - Toi Kai Rawa and Toi EDA

2. Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi and Bay of Plenty Regional Council Relationship Protocol.

3. RMA Training for Tangata Whenua – Omarumutu Marae

4. He Toka Tūmoana Scholarship – student recipients

5. Long Term Plan Update around pre-engagement

6. Komiti Māori Post Meeting Actions

Recommendations

That the Komiti Māori:

1 Receives the report, Komiti Maori Chair Report.

1. Māori Economic Recovery and Taiao Projects

1.1 Raukūmara Pae Maunga Project

The Raukūmara forest (200,000ha) is an ecologically and culturally unique landscape. It includes the Raukūmara Conservation Park (110,000ha) and forests on adjacent, predominantly Māori owned lands.

The Raukūmara represents a true ‘mountains to the sea’ landscape. Te Whānau-ā-Apanui and Ngāti Porou are the two iwi of the central and northern Raukūmara, and have occupied the Raukūmara for 800+yrs. Deer, goat, possums, rats and mustelids, have created an ‘ecological crisis’ across the Raukūmara. Large scale control of possum, rats and mustelid has never occurred.

The Raukumara Pae Maunga Project is funded for the next four years. Ora Barlow will talk about the Pae Maunga project, and how we now have an opportunity to work with private land blocks and Bay of Plenty Regional Council (BOPRC) to grow an exciting recovery of land and water within the rohe of Te Whānau-a-Apanui particularly including Climate Change and adaption mahi; Freshwater; Protecting and Restoring high biodiversity areas; Riparian Projects and Biosecurity.

1.2 Korehāhā Whakahau Project

The 5 year $7.6m project will be led and delivered by Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa. Key funding partners include Predator Free 2050 Limited and Jobs for Nature (DOC), Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Awa Group Holdings and Department of Conservation.

The project has benefitted from the Department of Conservation’s Jobs for Nature programme, which has a strong focus on employment.

Korehāhā Whakahau has an aim of eradicating possums, across a 4,700ha area covering Whakatāne and Ōhope, benefitting biodiversity and providing opportunities for boosting regional development and tourism. A key integral part of the project is installing a defensive line of modified and virtual fencing along the southern boundary – from Valley Road near Taneatua to the Burma-Wainui Road intersection. The latest trapping and detection methodologies will be shared to enable stakeholders and community groups to support the permanent removal of possums from the project area and to build local capacity in predator control operations. The Korehāhā Whakahau project covers both private, public and Ngāti Awa owned land.

The project will employ sixteen new staff within the Rūnanga to deliver the project, in roles such as communications and engagement, administration, and operations. The project will also be involved with local stakeholders and community groups including Toi Moana. An inaugural hui for stakeholders is scheduled for October 2020.

Korehāhā Whakahau is an important part of a kete of mahi that Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa is developing post Whakaari and Covid19. There are a suite of projects, which have been called POUA, encompassing existing and future projects like the Kāinga (a new visitor hub at the Whakatāne Army Hall), a new commercial boat harbour led by a Ngāti Awa Lands Trust, riverside revitalisation and other taiao projects.

POUA represents, Pou whenua (foundation posts) which signify our commitment to our rohe, our people and our future.

1.3 Central North Island Iwi Land Management Ltd – Alamoti Te Pou

Central North Island Iwi Land Management Ltd is progressing a project to plant land in mānuka to generate a sustainable and productive land use. Led by Alamoti Te Pou, General Manager, this project is an innovative way of responding to the challenges of converting marginal land to more productive and sustainable land uses. The project involves planting erodible gullies, steeper land, the margins of waterways and land under transmission pylons, and is being combined with pest control. The project will support regional recovery, but will put in place the basis for ongoing, sustainable economic opportunities based around mānuka plantings as a resource providing future options for honey production and oil extraction.

1.4 Jobs for Nature and Climate Resilience

Many of us have been applying to the government employment stimulus funds, enabled by the government’s budget 2020 in May. The BOPRC has been involved in several ways and we thought it might be useful to share how we have tried to add value by bring forward various projects. Others at this hui may also wish to share details about the projects they have been successful in bidding for. One of the main projects that the Regional Council is involved in is the Kia Kaha project, jointly delivered with the Whakatāne District Council and also want to acknowledge the funding from MBIE that has enabled this project to happen. This project concludes in November and has created over 100 new jobs in the short term.

Other funded projects including the recently announced flood resilience projects can be discussed further at the Komiti Māori meeting.

2.1 Toi EDA

Toi EDA is set up as a local Economic Development Agency (EDA) for the Eastern Bay of Plenty (EBOP). Toi EDA covers Kawerau, Ōpōtiki and Whakatāne.

Toi EDA Board is required to have the following representation:

· 2 representatives nominated by Mataatua

· 1 representative nominated by Whakatāne District Council

· 1 representative nominated by Ōpōtiki District Council

· 1 representative nominated by Kawerau District Council

· 1 representative nominated by Bay of Plenty Regional Council

· Up to 2 other board nominations

The Board is made up of volunteers, with the current board makeup as follows:

· Mataatua: Anthony Olsen

· Whakatāne District Council: Aaron Milne and Wiremu Doherty

· Ōpōtiki District Council: Ray Sharp and Arihia Tuoro

· Kawerau District Council: Vacancy

· Recently appointed by Toi Moana: Tina Ngatai

· Board nomination: John Galbraith

Toi EDA is funded through Ōpōtiki, Whakatāne and Kawerau District Council, with a level of funding provided by BOPRC.

Toi EDA attracts philanthropy funding, and funding through central government for specific projects.

Outcomes and Deliverables from 2019/2020

In August 2019 a refreshed strategy was approved by our board and our funders, this was, based on three key pillars:

1. Creating a Winning brand – To attract (and retain) businesses, investment & talent to the EBOP, and changing the narrative for the EBOP.

2. Economic Development – Support delivery of Provincial Growth Funding (PGF) & seek other opportunities for sustainable economic development. It is noted that Toi EDA will support strategic sectors, and not individual businesses.

3. Create Thriving Communities – Address constraints to growth in areas such as housing, workforce and infrastructure.

Throughout 2019 a large focus was around attracting PGF funding into the EBOP. Across the EBOP, $205 million has been secured in PGF funding which will result in 2327 direct jobs and 1466 indirect jobs, a total of 3793 jobs. These projects were community driven. This is an increase of 17% against the current workforce and does not include jobs created outside the sub-region. This is specifically the four clusters:

· Aquaculture (Whakatōhea, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui)

· High value horticulture (Te Whānau-ā-Apanui)

· Whakatāne Regeneration/Tourism/Marine (Ngāti Awa)

· Kawerau industrial development (Ngāti Tūwharetoa (BOP)

Toi EDA has proudly assisted, Whakatāne District Council, Te Rūnanga o Ngati Awa and the Ministry of Social Development together with the EBOP Chamber of Commerce, in the management of the Whakaari Recovery Fund Panel. This resulted in many businesses receiving direct support to ensure their on-going viability post-Whakaari, totalling $1.9M.

A Driver Operator Centre was set up in Kawerau to support training for rangatahi. This was a partnership approach with three training providers (Toi Ohomai, Axiom and Vertical Horizons). Over 90 students went through this training centre and of our two 18-24 week courses 90% of students went into full time employment.

Leveraging philanthropy funding, Toi EDA worked with schools across the EBOP to put 93 students across the EBOP through a licence to work programme. This is a national programme providing youth the skills to move from a learning environment into the work environment. Toi EDA ran multiple events to support key sectors in the EBOP such as construction, horticulture and engineering. This funding also supported local rangatahi to progress their class 1 driver licencing, and advocacy for changes to the Class 1 driver licencing system.

In March 2020 New Zealand went into Level 4 lockdown as a result of Covid19. Through Level 4 Toi EDA partnered with the EBOP Chamber of Commerce (CoC) to:

· Contact over 300 businesses, social service organisation, iwi and charity organisations who were classed as ‘essential’ to ensure they were able to operate. During this we identified issues around PPE, lack of staff, lack of transport. Leveraging our Facebook channels and our business contacts, we were able to support these businesses and organisations.

· Create a business database of over 1000 businesses in the EBOP and surveys were sent out to gather intelligence, which was used to support our response and provided invaluable information for the civil defence ministries as they structured their support packages.

As we moved into Level 3 and Level 2 we:

· Worked closely with councils to get info-metrics information for each of the three districts. This enabled us to gather a quick snapshot of the potential sectors that will be affected. The report highlighted across the EBOP that up to 1800 jobs will be lost as a result of Covid19 and re-confirmed the key sectors that we thought would be impacted (tourism, construction and logistics).

· Supported three councils to prepare one Crown Infrastructure Partnership (CIP) submission for the EBOP (over Easter break).

· Organised session with Stakeholder Strategies, to understand what we need to do to prepare for the future and how we position ourselves to pull in additional funding for the EBOP. This was well received and well supported throughout the EBOP.

· Prepared a Roles and Responsibility diagram which captures the roles of district councils, Toi EDA, Chamber of Commerce, BOPRC and Others for economic recovery.

· Facilitated a session with civil construction businesses in the EBOP to understand what they need and when, to minimise potential redundancies.

In June 2020, a work programme for 2020/21 was approved by the Toi EDA board. As noted above, each of our projects align with our three key pillars.

Winning Brand

Over the past year, a significant amount of funding has been secured through the PGF. Currently $207m has been secured for the EBOP, we need to leverage this significant opportunity to improve the branding for the EBOP. As part of this we are increasing our communications channels, promoting these opportunities through radio, print media and online media.

Through Covid19 we successfully launched a Facebook platform, and this has delivered some amazing results for linking employers with employees, and promoting training opportunities to our rangatahi. We will look to expand this throughout 2020/21.

Economic Development

Due to the significant PGF investment in the EBOP, the focus on economic development is on how we can best deliver against the approved PGF projects.

In addition there are large funding streams coming through to support Covid19 recovery. In addition there are large funding streams coming through to support Covid19 recovery. Ideally we would apply an EBOP lens to reimagine what we want for the EBOP in the future and supply a cohesive plan for the EBOP – similar to the Regional Growth Leadership Group Report that was very successful for our PGF funding approach.

There are continual funding streams coming out through central government and we need to position the EBOP to take advantage of this.

Thriving communities

This pillar will be a key focus for Toi EDA over 2020/21.

We will continue to work with rangatahi, leveraging our philanthropy funding and MBIE funding to:

• Deliver licence to work programmes and link up projects with schools.

• Support Class 1 driver licencing programmes across the EBOP.

• Deliver high quality training through our Driver and Operating Training Centre (August 2020 is nearly full with students).

We are working with partners to come up with a housing approach (short/medium and long term). This is actively being worked on currently.

Addressing the digital divide was highlighted through Covid19. A group is currently working on how best to address (i) Connectivity issues, (ii) access to devices and training, and (iii) affordability.

2.2 Toi Kai Rawa

Key highlights/milestones since May–July 2020

Toi Kai Rawa (TKR) has secured funding from several sources including BOPRC towards core and project funding. The BOPRC investment will assist to advance the prosperity of Māori across the wider Bay of Plenty, by Māori for Māori for the benefit of the wider region.

TKR will do this by enabling Māori entities, SMEs, and individuals to contribute to a prosperous region and prosperous Aotearoa New Zealand, through a focus on partnerships, investing in what works and designing solutions for the gaps.

The current focus has been on finalizing contracts, recruiting our team and building relationships.

The TKR team is growing with three new roles including a Regional Māori business coordinator to advance the connection of Māori businesses across the wider Bay of Plenty. The next role is a project coordinator who will support the Kaihautū implement the intensive TKR work plan and a Vocational Coordinator role whose main focus will be to support and connect rangatahi in secondary schools in the eastern Bay of Plenty into vocational educational and employment pathways.

Current activity/focus:

Our high-level priority areas are Whenua Ora (Māori land development), Rangatahi Ora (Māori youth), Pakihi Ora (Māori Business networks) and Tangata/Hāpori Ora (Māori Communities and we have extensive work plans sitting behind each of these areas.

· Engage and support Māori Land optimization at enterprise level to operationalize opportunities

· Energizing and connecting the Māori business sector by standing up sub regional Māori business networks across the wider Bay of Plenty region and connecting 1,000 Māori businesses up by July 2021.

· Growing leadership, career pathways and futures for rangatahi Māori.

· Activation of Innovation hubs embedded in communities – x5 kura Māori communities engaged to date with strong interest across the wider Bay of Plenty

· Delivery of 1 of 4 Ko Māui Hangarau events – Māori Tech and innovation Summit.

Upcoming activity/focus for the next 12 months:

· Delivering Māori STEAM discovery tours in the wider Bay of Plenty

· Whenua Māori Solutions lab – Scoping what the gaps are in whenua advisory services and funding.

· Social procurement - Scoping the demand and supply-side opportunities for Māori in the wider Bay of Plenty.

· Whenua Māori Innovation Summit – tentative date May 2021.

3. Relationship Protocol between Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiarangi and the Bay of Plenty Regional Council

BOPRC and Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiarangi have developed a relationship protocol to collaborate on mutually beneficial research and education opportunities.

The Protocol evolved from a former MOU. It is focused on sharing information and resources and aims to promote and advance Māori education.

The Protocol is an operational level document which will be led by the Chief Executives from BOPRC and Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiarangi.

4. Resource Management Training for Tangata Whenua

Staff have been facilitating resource management act (RMA) training over the past few years. RMA training workshops seek to build knowledge, understanding and confidence in navigating the resource management Act.

Staff recently delivered training with whānau from Ngāti Ira, Ngāti Rua and Ngāi Tamahaua over two days at Omaramutu Marae, Ōpōtiki.

The programme had a specific Wai Māori focus and covered Te Mana o Te Wai in the National Policy Statement for Fresh Water Management.

Local kaumātua Te Riaki Amoamo, pictured here with BOPRC Pou Ngaio Nathan Capper, is the oldest tauira to graduate from the RMA training.

Picture: RMA class of Whakatōhea August 2020

5. He Toka Tūmoana Scholarship

Since its establishment in 2017, Council has provided financial support to over 18 students from the Bay of Plenty for education, activities and projects that benefit or contribute to the Taiao.

We congratulate this years recipients of He Toka Tūmoana. The calibre of the applicants this year made it very difficult to choose and the decision was made to increase the number of successful students by reducing the scholarship amount given out. The 10 recipients are:

Name	Studies
Alethea Hikuroa	Bachelor of Environmental Planning in Te Ara Taiao
Ashleigh Ngow	Environmental Planning
Corey Ruha	Climate & Sustainable Policy
Harina Rupapera	Masters Applied Indigenous Knowledge in Te Ao Māori me ngā Tikanga
Matariki Bennett	Civil and Environmental Engineering
Megan Ranapia	Bachelors of Science with Honors (Biological Sciences)
Shavorne Sparham	Bachelor of Science, Major Environmental Sciences
Siobhan Nuri	Master of Science (Research) in Ecology and Biodiversity
Te Rua Wallace	Bachelor of Environmental Planning
Waka Paul	Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology (Masters)

6. BOPRC Long Term Plan Update

Long Term Plan 2021-2031 - Pre engagement

Council’s next Long Term Plan (LTP) 2021-2031 is currently being developed. The LTP will set out the work that Council plans to do over the next ten years, with a focus on the next three years. It will become operative on 1 July 2021.

Council have been carrying out early pre-engagement on the LTP through July and August 2020. Region wide online survey in July and early August (now closed) seeking early input from our community to help council set priorities, in particular around Climate Change and Community Participation.

Council’s formal consultation on the draft Long Term Plan 2021-2031 is planned for February/March 2021.

7. Māori Post Meeting Actions

At the last Komiti Māori meeting held at Rereatukahia Marae in Waihī on 30 June 2020, actions arose and required post-meeting follow up. Refer to Appendix 1 for the Post Meeting Actions table which gives an update around the status of each action

8. Implications for Māori

BOPRC has statutory obligations to Māori under the Resource Management Act 1991 and the Local Government Act 2002. These obligations require Council to recognise the cultural, economic, environment and social interests of Māori particularly with respect to their lands and associations with water bodies.

Council continually looks for opportunities to enhance its relationships with Māori, to assist with capacity building and support kaupapa that is mutually beneficial.

Many of the initiatives in this report provide direct and indirect support to Māori.

Tuhinga Tautoko
Attachments

Attachment 1 - Komiti Māori Actions June 2020 ⇩

Chairperson
Notwithstanding the Komiti Māori has an appointed Chairperson, Māori Constituency Councillors may host-Chair committee meetings that are held in the rohe of their respective constituency	Cr Matemoana McDonald
Deputy Chairperson	Cr Toi Kai Rākau Iti
Members
· Three Māori Constituency Councillors · Four General Constituency Councillors	Cr Bill Clark Cr Stacey Rose Cr Paula Thompson Cr Lyall Thurston Cr Te Taru White
Ex Officio	Chairman Doug Leeder
Quorum	Four members, being more than half the number of members
Meeting frequency	Two monthly