Minutes of Maori Committee

1. WELCOME/APOLOGIES/NOTICES

KARAKIA – H HIHA

Chairman Mohi welcomed all present to the meeting and extended the Committee’s sympathy to the Tareha family on the recent passing of Mr Tipu Tareha, a past member of the Māori Committee.

Chairman Mohi also welcomed Mr Peter Tilley from Bouygues Construction and Ms Renee Murphy from Opus.

Apologies were received from Mrs M Hape and Councillor F Wilson.

MC9/13

McGregor/Mohi

CARRIED

2. CONFLICT OF INTEREST DECLARATIONS

There were no conflicts of interest declared.

Short Term Replacements

MC10/13

Resolution:

That the Maori Committee agree:

That Mr Des Ratima be appointed as a member of the Maori Committee of the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council for the meeting of Tuesday, 25 June 2013 as a short term replacement on the Committee for Mrs Marge Hape.

Mohi/Apatu

CARRIED

4. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES OF the Maori Committee held on 30 April 2013

MC11/13

Minutes of the Maori Committee held on Tuesday, 30 April 2013, a copy having been circulated prior to the meeting, were taken as read and confirmed.

Mohi/Prentice

CARRIED

5. Matters Arising from Minutes of the Maori Committee held on Tuesday 30 April 2013

8. Receiving Hapū Management Plans

Mrs Lambert responded to a question about Hapū Management Plans and the Committee noted that the ownership and control of the Plan must belong to Hapū not Council. If there were amendments required in the future, there was not a requirement to seek approval from Council to do so. Council could also submit on a Hapū Plan if it was appropriate.

Call for General Business Items

.1. Cultural Advisor

2. Visit to Brazil Update

3. Science Wananga

4. Seminar

5. Ballance Award evening

Action Items from Previous Maori Committee Meetings

Mr Moule updated the Committee on the Action items listed.

MC12/13

Resolution:

1. That the Maori Committee receives the report “Action Items from Previous Maori Committee Meetings”.

Apatu/McGregor

CARRIED

Presentation re RWSS from Peter Tilley - Bouygues Construction

Chairman Mohi introduced Mr Tilley and Ms Murphy to the Committee. Mr Tilley is the Strategic Manager for Bouygues Construction one of the two companies currently involved in the Design and construction process for the Ruataniwha Dam project.

Mr Tilley gave a power-point presentation which illustrated the staff structures within Bougyues Company, photos of completed projects by the Company and the formations on which the Company is managed.

Mr Tilley also noted that Bouygues always took a special interest in the area where projects were undertaken and strived to be part of the region with a motto of “arrive as strangers, leave as friends’.

Mr Tilley emphasised the importance of employing local people for the project and advised that if Bouygues was successful in obtaining the project, it was hoped that after identifying the skills within the region, 300-350 local people would be employed on the project in various skill lines with 200 being employed for 2 of the 3 years of the building project. Training of employees would also be undertaken either on site or at a training institution. As a result of training, it was hoped that people would be able to continue in the work force following the completion of the construction phase of the dam but as its contract would not extend after completion it had no power to ensure this takes place.

In response to questions in regard to ecological issues surrounding the construction project, Mr Tilley advised that Bouygues would be proactive to mitigate any issues.

MC13/13

Resolution:

1. That the report be received.

Mohi/Apatu

CARRIED

Update on Current Issues by the General Manager - Operations

Mrs Lambert updated the Committee on current issues.

2013-2014 Annual Plan

Mrs Lambert advised that Council would consider the 2013-14 Annual Plan at its meeting on Wednesday, 26 June and if carried the rate increase would be 2.4%. This was also the second year of the Long Term Plan.

Plan Change 6

Plan Change 6 and the resource consent applications for the Ruataniwha Dam had now been called in by Government. The notification process for further submissions from the public would now be managed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and 6 July was the target date for notification with a hope that Council would have a much clearer picture of costs involved by September.

Mrs Lambert noted that a further special consultation process for public comment on whether Council should invest the remainder of its $80m in the scheme would occur once Council had received a recommendation from HBRIC.

MC14/13

Resolution:

1. That the report be received.

Mohi/Gilbertson

CARRIED

Messrs Paku and Puna left the meeting at 11.25am

10.

Update on Long Fin eel

Dr Uytendaal updated the Committee following a request at the last Committee meeting.

Concern was expressed at the lack of action by the Minister for Primary Industries to address the control of Long fin eel. Dr Uytendaal confirmed that control was now out of Council’s hands and it was now in the hands of Central Government.

Dr Uytendaal advised the Committee of work currently underway by Council with Long fin eel passage and barriers and mitigation works. Staff would also be attending a national workshop at the end of this year on fish passage/fish barriers. Several fish surveys in local catchments had recently been completed to determine what fish community values are.

The Committee noted that it was important that focus be placed on the local region and the local quota management area when seeking Government input.

The Committee agreed that a letter be prepared for the Chairman’s signature and then presented by Ngati Kahungunu at the forthcoming Leaders forum outlining the concerns around the control of Long fin eel.

Resolution:

That the Committee:

1. Receive the verbal report on Long Fin Eel

2. Agree that a letter signed by the Chairman of the Māori Committee be presented by Ngati Kahungunu at the forthcoming Leaders forum outlining Committee concerns around control of Long Fin Eel.

Prentice/McGregor

CARRIED

11.

Statutory Advocacy Update

Ms Bate presented the Statutory Advocacy report and outlined Council’s comments on the 3 latest activities listed. The Committee noted that these activities were only in draft at this time.

MC15/13

Resolution:

1. That the Maori Committee receives the Statutory Advocacy Update report.

Apatu/Ratima

CARRIED

12.

General Business

Item	Topic	Councillor / Staff
1.	Cultural Advisor A request was made that consideration be given to the establishment of a position of Cultural Adviser at Council. Further discussion was required before this request could be considered. However, Mr Prentice said the chairman’s support to the council in terms of cultural matters should not be under-estimated.	M Apatu
2.	Visit to Brazil Councillor Remmerswaal updated the Committee on her recent visit to Brazil where she was a member of a Forum which discussed Water and Sustainability in the World. There were over 1,000 participants from 30 countries and 200 different cities. Councillor Remmerswaal had virtually landed back in NZ and come straight to the meeting.	Councillor Remmerswaal
3.	Science Wananga The Wananga in conjunction with Otago University would take place over the weekend of 27/28 June. 30 Students would spend 2 ½ days at Matahiwi Marae to learn more about what the University offered for future career paths.	M Apatu
4.	Chairman Mohi advised a seminar would take place at EIT on 15 July with tangata whenua agencies to assist in a successful working relationship with Council and Government agencies.	M Mohi
5.	Councillor McGregor reported on a very successful Ballance Awards evening. It was unfortunate, however, that the HB participant Smedley Station was not successful.	E McGregor

Prior to the closure of the meeting, Mr Moule tabled a document Kahungunu ki Uta, Kahungunu ki Tai – marine and Freshwater Fisheries Strategic Plan which would be considered by the Committee at the meeting on 27 August.

Closure:

Closing Prayer – H Hiha

There being no further business the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 12.15pm on Tuesday, 25 June 2013.

Signed as a true and correct record.

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