Open Minutes
Commencing: Tuesday 16 May 2023, 9.30 am
Venue: Council Chambers, Ground Floor, Regional House, 1 Elizabeth Street, Tauranga, and via Zoom
Chairperson: Cr Paula Thompson
Deputy Chairperson: Cr Kat Macmillan
Members: Cr Stuart Crosby
Cr Toi Kai Rākau Iti (via Zoom)
Cr Matemoana McDonald
Cr Jane Nees (via Zoom)
Cr Ron Scott
Cr Ken Shirley
Cr Lyall Thurston
Cr Andrew von Dadelszen
Cr Te Taru White
Cr Kevin Winters
In Attendance: Staff: Namouta Poutasi - General Manager, Strategy and Science; Reuben Fraser – General Manager, Regulatory Services; Kataraina O’Brien - General Manager, Strategic Engagement (via Zoom); Antoine Coffin – Manager, Spatial Planning; Julie Bevan - Policy and Planning Manager; Nic Newman – Climate Change Programme Manager; Jane Palmer – Senior Planner Climate Change; Stephen Lamb – Environmental Strategy Manager; Stephanie Macdonald – Community Engagement Team Leader; Nassah Rolleston-Steed – Principal Advisor, Policy and Planning; Samantha Pottage – Planner; Jackson Efford – Principal Advisor, Land and Water; Steve Groom – Governance Manager; Jenny Teeuwen – Committee Advisor
External: Liz Davies – SociaLink
Committee members and the public were reminded that the public section of the meeting was being livestreamed and recorded and that the recording would be available on the Bay of Plenty Regional Council YouTube channel following the meeting.
Recording link: Strategy and Policy Committee Meeting 16 May 2023 - YouTube
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That the Strategy and Policy Committee: 1 Accepts the apology from Chairman Leeder and Cr Campbell for absence, and from Cr McDonald and Cr Shirley for late arrival, tendered at the meeting. CARRIED |
2. Declaration of Conflicts of Interest
There were none.
Minutes to be Confirmed
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Strategy and Policy Committee Minutes - 14 February 2023 |
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That the Strategy and Policy Committee: 1 Confirms the Strategy and Policy Committee Minutes - 14 February 2023 as a true and correct record. CARRIED |
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Presentation - SociaLink Presented by: Liz Davies |
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Key Points · Provided overview of SociaLink’s composition and purpose. · SociaLink was co-governed. · Highlighted current social trends in Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty including: - a particularly high cost of living - housing affordability, lack of supply, and quality of houses - increased demand for mental health services - high number of child abuse and family violence notifications. · Highlighted the effect the cost of living and Covid lockdowns had on community organisations and how this impacted social sustainability.
In Response to Questions · It was difficult to get statistics from central government and mostly required official information requests. Information provided was not usually at a local level. · Social value achieved in the procurement of goods and services could be viewed as a win/win when social and environmental benefits and outcomes were taken into account. · A social lens to the mahi that Regional Council was doing could achieve more in terms of building cohesion and connections in communities. · SociaLink were not aware of any similar organisations in Rotorua or the Eastern Bay of Plenty. · SociaLink had allocated more resource for working with kaupapa Māori providers. · Poorer and more disadvantaged communities were also the most vulnerable to climate change. More resourcing would be needed. 9.57am – Cr McDonald entered the meeting.
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That the Strategy and Policy Committee: 1 Requests that information be provided to Councillors regarding what organisations similar to SociaLink, if any, were operating in the Rotorua and Eastern Bay of Plenty areas. CARRIED |
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Operating Environment Presented by: Namouta Poutasi - General Manager, Strategy and Science Julie Bevan - Policy and Planning Manager Nic Newman – Climate Change Programme Manager Jane Palmer – Senior Planner Climate Change Stephanie Macdonald – Team Leader Community Engagement 10.02am – Cr Shirley entered the meeting Key Points · The following updates since writing the report were provided: - The Environment Committee were now due to release their recommendations for the Spatial Planning Bill (SP Bill) and the Natural and Built Environments Bill (NBE Bill) at the end of June 2023, not May 2023. - Although it was advised that there was the possibility that the Climate Adaption Act might not be introduced into Parliament in 2023, subsequent information received from the Ministry for the Environment (MfE) stated that the Ministry was continuing to develop the Climate Change Adaptation Bill, which was expected to be introduced to Parliament this year.
· Cr Crosby, as the President of Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ), provided updates on Taumata Arowai, Future for Local Government, and Water Services reform. In Response to Questions · Regional Council had not received any information or direction from central government regarding the proposed budget cuts to climate change initiatives, and would continue to focus on the current climate change work programme. · The Ministerial Inquiry into woody debris (including forestry slash) and sediment in Tairāwhiti/Gisborne and Wairoa Report was location specific. Staff were reviewing the report and considering how best to bring information back to Councillors. · It was important to have as much clarity as possible around overlapping pieces of national direction, and Regional Council would continue to emphasize this to central government in its submissions to policy reforms. · The Climate Action Portal as signalled in both the Emissions Reduction Plan and the National Adaptation Plan was still being shaped up by MfE. There was currently no guaranteed funding for the portal. · Freshwater community engagement sessions were targeted to individual Freshwater Management Units (FMU) and the population for some FMUs was only around 1,000 people so a smaller turnout at those sessions was expected. It was still early in the programme and it was expected that momentum would build and the community would become more interested as a more tangible awareness of what this would mean for them developed.
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That the Strategy and Policy Committee: 1 Receives the report, Operating Environment. CARRIED |
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Update on Proposed Change 6: National Policy Statement - Urban Development (NPS-UD) to the Bay of Plenty Regional Policy Statement Presented by: Nassah Rolleston-Steed – Principal Advisor, Policy and Planning Samantha Pottage - Planner |
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That the Strategy and Policy Committee: 1 Receives the report, Update on Proposed Change 6: National Policy Statement - Urban Development (NPS-UD) to the Bay of Plenty Regional Policy Statement. 2 Confirms Mr Robert Scott as Chairperson for the Hearing Committee for the reasons set out in section 2.2 of this report. CARRIED |
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Draft Proposed Change 8 (NPS-HPL) to the Bay of Plenty Regional Policy Statement Presented by: Nassah Rolleston-Steed – Principal Advisor, Policy and Planning In Response to Questions · There was a requirement to consider interlinkages between the outcomes sought by the National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land (NPS-HPL) and the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM). An example of how that might be applied was provided by the operative Regional Policy Statement (RPS) policy for protecting versatile land, that stated in the Lake Rotorua catchment, land use change to achieve reduced nutrient losses may justify over-riding protecting versatile land. · The NPS-HPL contained specific clauses that provided for the operation, maintenance, and upgrade of specified infrastructure where there was a functional or operational need. · The RPS mapping criteria in the NPS-HPL allowed for small areas of highly productive land to be excluded. As an example, Ōpōtiki District Council had asked for lots of one hectare or less in size to be excluded from the RPS highly productive land mapping. · The threshold for identified future urban development was land envisioned as being available for development within ten years. · Exclusions for specified Māori land were intended to enable Papakāinga housing in rural areas. · Mapping highly productive land in the Bay of Plenty region would be based on Land Use Capability (LUC) classes one, two and three. · Staff did not propose mapping any existing productive areas (i.e. kiwifruit orchards) on LUC four or above unless requested by the landowners. · Regional Council was looking to engage an external consultant to proactively engage with Māori Land Trusts who had highly productive land so that they were aware of the work underway and its implications.
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That the Strategy and Policy Committee: 1 Receives the report, Draft Proposed Change 8 (NPS-HPL) to the Bay of Plenty Regional Policy Statement. 2 Approves the timeframes and process for developing Draft Proposed Change 8 (NPS-HPL) to the Bay of Plenty Regional Policy Statement up to the point of public notification for submissions. 3 Notes the draft proposed maps of highly productive land will be reported to the Strategy and Policy Committee for approval in the third quarter of 2023. 4 Approves staff to commence tangata whenua, community, landowner and stakeholder consultation for Draft Proposed Change 8 (NPS-HPL) to the Bay of Plenty Regional Policy Statement. CARRIED |
10.40am – the meeting adjourned.
11.00am – the meeting reconvened.
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Essential Freshwater Policy Programme Update Presented by: Julie Bevan - Policy and Planning Manager Stephen Lamb – Environmental Strategy Manager Stephanie Macdonald – Team Leader Community Engagement Jackson Efford - Principal Advisor, Land and Water Presentation - Essential Freshwater Policy Programme: Objective ID A4375028 ⇨ Key Points · Provided data from online engagement to date. · Provided update on drop-in sessions that had already been held and the dates for upcoming drop-in sessions and hui ā rohe. · Summarised the national regulations for freshwater farms plans and protection of drinking sources. · The dairy and kiwifruit industry were expected to play a key role in development and certification of farm plans in the Bay of Plenty but exactly how that would work was still being decided on by industry. This was an important issue to resolve and more certainty was required before agreeing on a farm plan phasing approach across the region. Regional Council were also considering requiring additional farm plan provisions. Ideally the phasing of farm plans ‘switching on’ would better align with the notification of the new Regional Plan requirements. · Provided options for responding to Mātauranga Māori into the Regional Plan. Incremental movements were recommended and proposed mechanisms to achieve this were outlined. Medium and larger movements would need further legal examination and would need to come back to council as a policy option. In Response to Questions · Hui ā rohe would be chaired and facilitated, where necessary, by the Māori constituency Councillors. · Engagement events had been scheduled for late afternoon/early evening to accommodate farmers and workers. Attendance numbers had been small but were expected to grow as people began to better understand what it meant for them. · Different catchments had varying areas of concern. · Iwi and hapū were beginning to realise the scale of current issues and that coming together on these issues mattered, and were looking for opportunities for collective action. · Mātauranga Māori was encased in storytelling and observation, and could be described as knowledge systems that delivered information.
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That the Strategy and Policy Committee: 1 Receives the report, Essential Freshwater Policy Programme Update. 2 Agrees that the plan development process will include a methodology based on incremental change to ensure the regional plan can accommodate tangata whenua information and data that becomes accessible in the future. CARRIED |
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Resolution to exclude the public 1 Excludes the public from the following parts of the proceedings of this meeting as set out below: The general subject of each matter to be considered while the public is excluded, the reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter, and the specific grounds under section 48(1) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 for the passing of this resolution are as follows:
CARRIED |
11.57 am – the meeting closed.
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Chairperson, Strategy and Policy Committee