MINUTES OF A meeting of the Maori Committee

unconfirmed

Date:                          Tuesday 4 December 2012

Time:                          10.40a.m.

Venue:

Kohupatiki Marae Farndon Road CLIVE

Present:                     M Mohi - Chairman

M Apatu

H Hilton

P Hohipa

A Manuel

T Gilbertson

E McGregor

L Remmerswaal

P Paku

BW Wilson

M. Hape

R. Puna

In Attendance:          F. Wilson – Chairman, Regional Council

L. Lambert – Group Manager External Relations

T.Sharp – Strategic Policy Advisor

G. Clode – Manager Engineering

S. Cave – Operations Environmental Manager

P. Whitesell – Environmental Engineer

E. von Dadelszen – Regional Councillor

V Moule – Human Resources Manager

1. WELCOME/APOLOGIES/NOTICES 

Chairman Mike Mohi welcomed those present, both members of the Maori Committee and tangata whenua and thanked the hosts for their forma powhiri, karakia and continuing hospitality. Mike also acknowledged the attendance of Chris Lester, Manager DOC Hawke’s Bay.

Fenton Wilson also thanked the hosts for their welcome and indicated he was looking forward to the hui and hoped the Council would be involved in more marae based meetings in the future.

MC25/12   Apologies: Fred McRoberts, Heitia Hiha, Liz Graham

Paku/Puna

CARRIED

2. CONFLICT OF INTEREST DECLARATIONS

None

3.	Short Term Replacements
	None

4. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES OF the Maori Committee held on 30 October 2012

MC26/12

Minutes of the Maori Committee held on Tuesday, 30 October 2012, a copy having been circulated prior to the meeting, were taken as read and confirmed as a true and accurate record. MacGregor/Remmerswaal CARRIED

5.       Matters Arising from Minutes of  the  Maori Committee held on Tuesday 30 October 2012

There were no matters arising from the minutes.

6.	Call for General Business Items
	1. Report on fracking by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment. 2. Economic Report on Oil and Gas Exploration. 3. Tangata whenua issues.

7.	Action Items from Maori Committee meetings
	There were no action items outstanding from 30 October 2012 Committee meeting.

8.	Ngati Hori Management Plan - Verbal Presentation
	Margi McGuire introduced the Ngati Hori Hapu Management Plan which she asked the Maori Committee  to endorse and refer to the Regional Council for their consideration. She indicated that the report had been written in 2008 and has been considered and refined by tangata whenua over four years. It was now felt to be an appropriate time to present it to the Regional Council and to do this through the Council’s Maori Committee. The Plan sets out a number of issues that it is hoped will result in a cultural and environmental partnership between the Council and tangata whenua of Kohupatiki. The hope is that joint strategies will be developed to address the issues identified. Fenton Wilson on receiving the plan indicated that he would ask Council staff to prepare a paper for Council on the Plan and report to the appropriate Council committee.
MC27/12	Resolution That the report be received and referred to the Regional Council for consideration. Mohi/ McGregor CARRIED

9.	Operation Patiki Findings -  11.15a.m.
	Tawhana Chadwick and Tom McGuire outlined the ‘Operation Patiki’ project that has been undertaken by tangata whenua from Kohupatiki to establish the numbers and condition of patiki (black flounder) in the nearby Clive River. Their early conclusions are that appropriate habitat is the key element to the survival and advancement of patiki numbers. They believe that the silted bottom of the stream are not the best habitat and that work on re-establishing  areas of shingle bottom are required to enhance the fishery. They would like to work with the Council to investigate what work can be done in respect of this issue. As part of the presentation Tawhana gave the gathering an overview of his time on Te Matau Maui waka which recently spent 18 months along with a number of other waka travelling the Pacific.
MC28/12	Resolution 1.      That the report be received. Mohi/Apatu CARRIED

10.	CE  Verbal Update on Current Issues - 11.45a.m.
	In the absence of the Council CE Fenton Wilson, Chairman of the Council gave a brief update of key issues facing the Regional Council at the present time.
	In relation to the present algal bloom problem at Lake Tutira it was pointed out that the community is looking to the Regional Council for leadership on the issue while acknowledging that it is not a straight forward issue to resolve.
	Resolution 1. That the verbal report be received. Mohi/Apatu CARRIED

11.	Regional Open Spaces
	Steve Cave Environmental Manager Operations outlined the proposal to create a Regional Parks Network Plan so that a range of ‘parks’ presently owned or administered by the Council can have a level of consistency applied to the management, planning and development of those areas for the betterment of the regional community. It will provide defendable policies to enable decision making on the appropriate use of the areas thus avoiding any conflicting usage. If the concept is approved by Council then a wider group, including tangata whenua will be involved in te development of the plan. It was indicated that the Maori Committee can add value to the process by assisting with cultural heritage issues and appropriate tangata whenua to consult. One important aspect of this process will be determining the appropriate name of different open spaces or parks. It was mentioned that broadening the concept to include open spaces controlled by DOC or other Council might be worth considering to provide a broader regional approach.
MC29/12	Resolutions That the Maori Committee: 1.      Receives the report on Regional Open Spaces, together with the Regional Parks Network Plan. 2.    Notes that Part 2 (Policies & Objectives) and Part 3 (Individual Park Plans) of the Regional Park Network Plan are yet to be completed. Apatu/Remmerswaal CARRIED Chairman Mohi and Barry Wilson left the meeting at 11.50 am. Peter Paku took the Chair.

12.	Statutory Advocacy Update
	There was no discussion on this topic.
MC30/12	Resolution 1. That the Maori Committee receives the Statutory Advocacy Update report. Remmerswaal/Puna CARRIED

13.

General Business

1&2     Cr Remmerswaal indicated that two important reports were soon to be available, The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s report on ‘fracking’ and the MoBIE report on east coast oil and gas development. She felt these may be of interest to the Maori Committee and may warrant further discussion. 3.       The tangata whenua present were offered an opportunity to raise any issues they may wish to have discussed. The importance of ‘co-existence’ between white baiters and Council operational requirements was highlighted and tangata whenua were asked to contact the Council if they felt there were ‘tensions’ arising. Council is very willing to look at specific issues and try and resolve them but can only do so if it is made aware of the problem. It was pointed out that there is the ability to ‘permit’ out of season white baiting for tangi or other specific hui and this sometimes causes concern to those observing the practice in the ‘closed season’ if they are not aware of the permitted practice. It is a practice strictly controlled by appropriate tangata whenua permit issuers. In relation to the Tutira algal bloom issue it was pointed out that NIWA has done extensive recent research on the carp in the lake and some of that research might help the Regional Council with the algal bloom problem.

Closure:

There being no further business the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 12.30 pm on Tuesday, 4 December 2012.

Signed as a true and correct record.

DATE: ................................................               CHAIRMAN: ...............................................