Agenda of Eastern Bay of Plenty Joint Committee

Eastern Bay of Plenty Joint Committee

Membership

Chairperson Elected by the Joint Committee at its first meeting each Triennium	Cr Malcolm Campbell (Bay of Plenty Regional Council)
Deputy Chairperson	Mayor David Moore Ōpōtiki District Council)
Members Two representatives from each: Bay of Plenty Regional Council Kawerau District Council Ōpōtiki District Council Whakatāne District Council	Cr Jane Nees Cr Toi Iti (alternate) Mayor Faylene Tunui Deputy Mayor Aaron Rangihika Cr Steve Nelson Mayor Victor Luca Cr Andrew Iles Deputy Mayor Lesley Immink (alternate)
Quorum	Four members, being half the number of members
Meeting frequency	Quarterly

Purpose

To form, explore and make recommendations for strategic collaborative initiatives between the partner councils of Bay of Plenty Regional Council (BOPRC), Kawerau District Council (KDC), Ōpōtiki District Council (ODC) and Whakatāne District Council (WDC) for responding to and managing a range of Eastern Bay of Plenty issues.

For the purposes of the Joint Committee, “Eastern Bay of Plenty” is defined as the Territorial Authority areas of Kawerau District Council, Ōpōtiki District Council and Whakatāne District Council.

Role

The Eastern Bay of Plenty Joint Committee (EBOPJC) is guided by the Terms of Reference and the Eastern Bay of Plenty Joint Committee Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) as agreed by the partner councils.

To make recommendations on the following:

· Opportunities for joint collaboration on initiatives that support the needs of eastern
Bay of Plenty communities.

· Coordination of and encouragement of beneficial interrelationships and connections between activities/services across the eastern Bay of Plenty.

· Mitigation of adverse cross boundary effects of decisions, planning and activities on other regions, cities and districts.

· Resolution of differences and conflicts, and ensuring no surprises, where activities in one district may affect another.

· Sharing of information, expertise, databases and research where there is a mutual interest and benefit.

· Encouraging integration and consistency of planning across the eastern Bay of Plenty.

· Developing agreed positions as appropriate on matters of importance and major Government initiatives and, through each respective council, communicate these positions to Central Government and relevant national organisations.

· Investigating opportunities for achieving cost efficiencies by sharing responsibilities and services.

· Where appropriate and applicable, recommendations must be supported by cost-benefit analyses.

Joint Committee Procedures

· Eastern Bay of Plenty Joint Committee is established under the LGA and is therefore obligated to the requirements of the LGA and the requirements of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA).

· A meeting is duly constituted if a quorum is present, whether or not all of the members are voting or entitled to vote.

· Business may not be transacted at any meeting unless at least a quorum of members is present during the whole of the time at which the business is transacted.

· The quorum at a meeting of EBOPJC is half of the members if the number of members (including vacancies) is even, or a majority of members if the number of members (including vacancies) is odd.

· The members of the joint committee will engage with their respective councils on strategic issues under discussion and all councils will maintain their own operational inter-council relationships as normal.

· The Chief Executive, or the Chief Executive’s representative, of each partner Council shall attend meetings and will act as advisors to the Joint Committee.

· Meetings will be coordinated and recorded by staff from the partner Council as scheduled by the Joint Committee.

· Meetings may be attended by further staff support as considered appropriate by their Chief Executive.

· External speakers and participants, including mayors from territorial authorities who are not parties to EBOPJC, with specific interests in the items under discussion, may be invited to attend meetings.

· Meetings will be held at times and in places set out in an agreed schedule.

· Any formal public communications from meetings will be approved by the Joint Committee prior to release.

· The Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson shall be determined, on an annual basis, by the process as set out at Clause 25 of Schedule 7 of the LGA.

· Each Chairperson will have a term of one year.

· A member cannot be appointed as the Chairperson, if either of the previous two Chairpersons were representatives of that member’s constituent Council.

· Decisions on recommendations of the Committee shall be made in accordance with Clause 24 of Schedule 7 of the LGA – by vote of majority of members that are present and voting.

· The Chairperson will have a deliberative vote.

· In the case of equality of votes, the Chairperson does not have a casting vote and the status quo is preserved.

· A Deputy Chair shall be determined by the process as set out at Clause 25 of Schedule 7 of the LGA.

· The Deputy Chair shall act in the absence of the Chairperson.

· If a Chairperson resigns from their position before the end of their term, the Deputy Chair shall take their place and will serve out the remainder of the term as Chairperson.

· If a Chairperson resigns and the Deputy Chair becomes Chairperson, Clause 25, Schedule 7, of the LGA does not apply.

· Nothing in this Terms of Reference precludes the Joint Committee from appointing an independent Chairperson.

· If an independent Chairperson is appointed, they will also be appointed as a member and will continue to be a member until the end of their term.

Power to Act

To make all decisions necessary to fulfil the role of the Joint Committee subject to the limitations imposed.

Each Council participating in a joint initiative will fund its own proportion of that joint initiative as determined by the Joint Committee.

Power to Recommend

Eastern Bay of Plenty Joint Committee is a joint committee of councils that make recommendations to the constituent councils.

Eastern Bay of Plenty Joint Committee Minutes

15 September 2023

Eastern Bay of Plenty Joint Committee

Open Minutes

Commencing: Friday 15 September 2023, 1.00 pm

Venue: Tōtara Room, Whakatāne District Council, Ground floor, Commerce Street, Whakatāne

Chairperson: Cr Malcolm Campbell - Bay of Plenty Regional Council Toi Moana (BOPRC), as appointed at the meeting

Deputy Chairperson: Mayor David Moore - Ōpōtiki District Council (ODC), as appointed at the meeting

Members: Cr Jane Nees – BOPRC (via Zoom)

Mayor Faylene Tunui - Kawerau District Council (KDC)

Mayor Victor Luca - Whakatāne District Council (WDC)

Deputy Mayor Lesley Immink - WDC

In Attendance: Stace Lewer – Chief Executive, ODC, Stephanie O’Sullivan – Chief Executive, WDC, presenters – as listed in the minutes

BOPRC: Fiona McTavish – Chief Executive, Chairman Doug Leeder – BOPRC, Namouta Poutasi – General Manager, Strategy and Science, Amanda Namana – Committee Advisor

Apologies: Deputy Mayor Aaron Rangihika (Kawerau District Council)

1. Apologies

Resolved

That the Eastern Bay of Plenty Joint Committee:

1 Accepts the apology from Deputy Mayor Rangihika for absence tendered at the meeting.

Tunui/Moore

CARRIED

An apology was also noted for Russell George – Chief Executive, KDC.

2. Declaration of Conflicts of Interest

None declared.

3. Reports

Decisions Required

3.1

First Meeting Administrative Matters

Namouta Poutasi – General Manager, Strategy and Science opened the meeting and chaired agenda items 1 through 5 until a Chair was appointed. The remainder of business was resumed with the new Chair.

Key Points:

· Noted that the previous two Chairs of the Committee had been from Whakatāne District Council (2022) and Kawerau District Council (2021), therefore they would be ineligible to chair in 2023 as per the Terms of Reference.

In Response to Questions:

· The two key reasons why reducing meeting frequency was suggested were to address members’ workloads, given the newly formed Eastern Bay Spatial Planning Project Governance Group that met regularly, and the work programme over the past three years that had seen a number of scheduled meetings cancelled.

The resolution was taken in parts:

Resolved

That the Eastern Bay of Plenty Joint Committee:

1 Receives the report, First Meeting Administrative Matters.

2 Selects System B as the voting system to elect the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson;

Luca/Moore

CARRIED

3 Elects Cr Malcolm Campbell – Bay of Plenty Regional Council as the Chairperson for a term of one year;

Nees/Luca

CARRIED

4 Elects Mayor David Moore – Ōpōtiki District Council as the Deputy Chairperson for a term of one year;

5 Changes the meeting frequency for the Eastern Bay of Plenty Joint Committee to biannually, and/or as required;

6 Notes that meetings will include local site visits and guest speakers when available;

7 Notes that secretariat support will rotate on an annual basis, with Kawerau District Council administering support from January 2024, followed by Ōpōtiki District Council from January 2025;

8 Notes that the Terms of Reference will be updated to reflect the new Chair, Deputy Chair and meeting frequency.

Tunui/Moore

CARRIED

4. Presentations

4.1

Port of Tauranga, Connecting New Zealand and the World

Presentation: Port of Tauranga - Company Overview: Objective ID A4490502

Presented by: Leonard Sampson - Chief Executive, Port of Tauranga (via Zoom)

Key Points - Members:

· Highlighted the Ōpōtiki Harbour Development Project which had opened to fishing and leisure vessels that morning (15 September 2023), and would enable aquaculture growth within the Eastern Bay of Plenty. A collaborative approach was critical to the success of the project.

In Response to Questions:

· A future site visit requested by members was welcomed at any time it could be mutually scheduled. Agreed to providing introductions and connections for ODC to support their vision by providing contacts to international shipping lines, people in the supply chain and other beneficial opportunities

· The forecast timeline for the berth extension was presently unknown and dependent upon the Environment Court’s decision - once consent was granted it would entail a two year construction period to build the new berth. The consent application was for up to 385 metres extension - this would provide capacity for the port to increase from handling 1.2M containers annually, to up to 2.5M containers annually. This capacity was expected to suffice for a minimum of 20-30 years

· Average growth rate prior to the Covid-19 pandemic was 7%, no growth in terms of total volume was recorded due to capacity restraints

· Sources of PM2.5 were diesel particulates, whilst PM10 sources were mostly attributed to salt spray. New residential monitors would provide a greater level of detail.

Resolved

That the Eastern Bay of Plenty Joint Committee:

1 Receives the Presentation, Port of Tauranga, Connecting New Zealand and the world.

Luca/Tunui

CARRIED

5. Verbal Updates

5.1

Eastern Bay of Plenty - Jiangxi Relationship

Tabled Document 1 - Eastern Bay of Plenty - Jiangxi Update: Objective ID A4491854

Presented by: Simon Appleton - Chief Executive Officer, Eastern Bridge Global (via Zoom from Jiangxi)

Key Points:

· Please see Tabled Document 1 for the update presented to members, along with the prioritised project list and detailed responses to some of the questions raised.

Key Points - Members:

· Noted the change in membership of the Joint Committee and acknowledged previous relationships. Whakawhanaungatanga needed to be undertaken to rebuild a new relationship

· Considered it best to focus on one or two project options and complete them well, rather than undertaking too many to begin with

· Acknowledged that internationally there had been a general reluctance to travel following the Covid-19 pandemic, which had taken time to change.

In Response to Questions:

· Some political leaders in Jiangxi had changed, although many of the same staff remained

· It was unclear if the kapa haka group invitation included travel costs, although this was the case when the offer was first extended prior to the Covid-19 pandemic

· Overall, there was a positive feeling toward New Zealanders in Jiangxi, with the country having a good image and receiving largely positive media attention.

Resolved

That the Eastern Bay of Plenty Joint Committee:

1 Receives the Presentation, Port of Tauranga, Connecting New Zealand and the world.

5.2

Toi EDA Update

Presentation: Toi EDA Update: Objective ID A4490506

Presented by: Donna Perese - Chief Executive Officer

Key Points:

· A talent attraction campaign and branding was underway for the Eastern Bay of Plenty, aimed at creating hope and an environment of optimism, along with attracting talent and investment

· Developing the brand included partnership and collaboration with government departments, communities and iwi leaders

· Provided an update on driver operator training in the Eastern Bay of Plenty

· ‘Te Puawaitanga o Te Rangatahi’ was a collaboration between New World supermarkets and high schools to inspire youth and acknowledge achievements

· Toi EDA had been approached by Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to deliver part of the Cyclone Gabrielle relief fund, and was working with 54 Māori businesses affected to support resilience

· Outlined strategic aquaculture opportunities in the Bay of Plenty and the workforce development strategy

· Work had been undertaken with Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to support Māori land development, including macadamia and avocado orchards

· The focus moving forward was on collaboration, sustainability, meaningful transformation and resilience.

Key Points - Members:

· Considered there was an opportunity to review/develop an update for the Eastern Bay of Plenty economic development strategy to provide a clear vision and direction, and ensure alignment

· Acknowledged that some communities were not yet ready for tourism to return, particularly where issues remained relating to a lack of accommodation options following the Covid-19 pandemic e.g. Ōpōtiki.

In Response to Questions:

· There was demand for the driver operating training courses, although how and where they were being delivered was a key consideration.

Steph O’Sullivan – Chief Executive, WDC - In Response to Questions:

· The post-Whakaari tourism recovery fund from MBIE enabled a significant programme of work with WDC collaborating with different providers to strengthen small businesses or seek new product development. This included considering cycleways, adventure tourism, a network of Māori tourism operators, and other key tourism opportunities.

5.3

Opportunities for Shared Services

Presented by: Stace Lewer - Chief Executive, Ōpōtiki District Council and Fiona McTavish – Chief Executive, Bay of Plenty Regional Council

Key Points:

· Expressed the desire to look at opportunities to share services and knowledge, strengthen capability, capacity and resilience, whilst ensuring individual identity was retained. One option was a combined Building Consent Authority (BCA) - also noted that any potential shared service was a challenge, taking resourcing and time

· Options would be considered and potential coalitions identified, before opportunities were socialised through the Joint Committee as they arose

· This initiative aligned with the Future for Local Government Review

· A key consideration was when one of the membership councils was unable to obtain workforce for a particular activity

· Noted that BOPRC had a Long Term Plan (LTP) activity on shared services.

Key Points - Members:

· Supported shared services for efficiency and cost effectiveness, provided the purpose was made clear to the public

· Noted that the Joint Committee had a future opportunity to invite presenters from Ministry of Social Development, Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and/or Kāinga Ora

· Cautioned that Eastern Bay of Plenty businesses needed to keep an eye on potential developments around road pricing and the implications of this.

3.59 pm – the meeting closed.

Confirmed