Minutes of Maori Committee - 28 October 2014

1. Karakia – H Hilton

Welcome

Chairman Mohi welcomed all present and extended the Committee’s condolences to Mr Hilton on the passing of his 2 brothers in a very short time of one another.

Chairman Mohi advised that some agenda items would be discussed out of order to accommodate presenters.

MC23/14 Apologies

That the apologies from Mr P Prentice and Mrs J Maihi Carroll be received.

Mohi/McRoberts

CARRIED

Councillor Barker advised he would be leaving the meeting early due to a prior commitment.

2. Conflict of Interest Declarations

There were no conflicts of interest declared.

Short Term Replacements

Resolution

That the Maori Committee agrees:

That Councillor C Scott and Messrs R Spooner and B Blake be appointed as members of the Maori Committee of the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council for the meeting of Tuesday, 28 October 2014 as short term replacements on the Committee for Mr Piri Prentice, Ms J Maihi Carroll and Mr S Haraki.

4. Confirmation of Minutes of the Maori Committee Held on 26 August 2014

MC24/14

Minutes of the Maori Committee held on Tuesday, 26 August 2014, a copy having been circulated prior to the meeting, were taken as read and confirmed.

Mohi/Gregory

CARRIED

5. Matters Arising from Minutes of the Maori Committee Held on 26 August 2014

There were no matters arising from the minutes.

Follow-ups from Previous Maori Committee Meetings

Mr Viv Moule updated the Committee on the follow-up items listed.

MC25/14

Resolution

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

Mohi/Apatu

CARRIED

Call for any Minor Items not on the Agenda

1. Sale and export of Water Councillor Graham

2. Geese – Waipuka Stream Councillor Graham

3. Proposed Change of Name for Council Chairman Mohi

11.

Pakowhai and Waitangi Regional Parks - A Draft Plan Overview

Mr Stephen Cave gave a powerpoint presentation which showed an overview of Council’s Individual Park Plan review process covering Pakowhai, Waitangi, Pekapeka and Tutira Regional Parks and following a request confirmed the definition of a HBRC Regional Park.

Mr Cave advised that potential park developments were based on historical management objectives , ecological monitoring recommendations, anecdotal feedback and consultation where completed and described the proposed development for Waitangi Regional Park which included using a waka image as the park’s icon.

Mr Cave introduced Mr Piripi Smith of Te Matau Voyaging Trust who described the purpose of a celestial compass which works with 150 stars and the daily patterns of stars and moons The compass is proposed to be constructed in the Waitangi Park. Mr Smith advised that his group had taught many school groups from the region the ability to use the celestial compass and related activities over the last year.

In response to a query, Mr Smith confirmed that the night sky in Napier did suffer from light pollution particularly in the north of the area.

The Committee discussed the financial implications of the overall proposed development and suggested that a report be prepared for the Regional Planning Committee whose members would be extremely interested in the proposal. Mrs Lambert also confirmed that any funding proposals would be included in the Long Term Plan

Concern was expressed in relation to the ability of Council to collect accurate historical data applicable to the sites where the parks would be located in order for the knowledge to be included as part of the Parks’ development.

Mr Cave confirmed that the Park Plans would be an agenda item for the 10 December Environment & Services Committee and resolved at 26 November Council meeting.

MC26/14

Resolution

1. That the Maori Committee receives the “Pakowhai and Waitangi Regional Parks - A Draft Plan Overview“ report.

Apatu/Gregory

CARRIED

13.

Update on Tukituki River and Central Hawke's Bay Wastewater Discharges

Mr Derek Williams addressed the Committee on his concerns relating to the wastewater treatment plants at Waipukurau and Waipawa and the possible shock loadings following storm events that may occur. This could result in a reduction in treatment and subsequent discharge quality.

Mr Williams also expressed concern in regard to septic tanks through parts of HB and the contribution they can make to serious health and environmental issues.

Mr Iain Maxwell gave a powerpoint presentation and explained the reasons for the new CHBDC consent issued following a Council hearing and subsequent appeal and mediation.

Mr Maxwell outlined the conditions of the current consent and the reasons for CHBDC choosing a floating wetland system and the operation of the system which was installed at both Waipukurau and Waipawa and operational by September 2014. The reasons were largely based on cost.

Mr Maxwell noted that the PC6 proposal had set new water quality limits for the Tukituki and any existing discharges as had previously occurred would need to meet the new limits. Mr Maxwell confirmed that Council had recently served notice on CHBDC of a change of conditions for their two consents and these would bring the discharge in line with PC6 requirements. Continuous monitoring of all discharge flows would occur.

Mr Maxwell confirmed that groundwater data from 2007-2012 in the Ruataniwha Basin indicates that water is suitable for drinking although there were elevated iron and manganese levels which could place limitations.

The Committee noted that there was no evidence in the broader Tukituki catchment of contamination by failing septic tanks.

Responding to a query, Mr Maxwell advised at this time the systems would be unable to deal with the nitrogen levels in a peak flow situation as a result of high rain levels. However, the consent conditions did allow for exceedances although there was a set time frame in place for all problems to be fixed.

Mr Maxwell also confirmed that if the land based disposal system was in use, in times of high flow the effluent would have gone into the river. Resultant sludge from the processes was also removed as part of the overall process.

MC27/14

Resolution

1. That the “Update on Tukituki River and Central Hawke's Bay Wastewater Discharges“ report be received.

Apatu/Gregory

CARRIED

Councillor Barker left the meeting at 12 Midday

12.

Nature Central

Ms Sara Owen introduced Department of Conservation staff members Messrs Carl Baker, Dave Carlton and Mrs Joyce Reihana who then outlined their job responsibilities to the Committee.

Ms Owen explained that Nature Central was an initiative to achieve greater collaboration between Department of Conservation, Greater Wellington and Horizons and Hawke’s Bay Regional Council. The concept included effective collaboration and engagement between all organizations, shared visions, integrated planning and management, and operational efficiencies.

Ms Owen then outlined the Wilding Conifers joint project which Nature Central partner organizations have already worked closely together with North Island stakeholders to provide information to the MPI led business case to Treasury for wilding pine control.

Ms Owen also outlined changes in the Conservation Strategy Management Plan which included a more community based direction.

MC28/14

Resolution

1. That the Maori Committee receives the ‘Nature Central’ report.

Graham/Maaka

CARRIED

16.

Statutory Advocacy Update

Ms Esther-Amy Bate updated the Committee on the Statutory Advocacy report from 31 July to 30 September 2014.

MC29/14

Resolution

That the Maori Committee receives the Statutory Advocacy Update report.

Graham/Hilton

CARRIED

Science Report: Hawke’s Bay Biodiversity Inventory – Current State of Knowledge

Ms Keiko Hashiba provided the Committee with an update on the current status of the Biodiversity Inventory project and the findings to date. A powerpoint presentation was also given.

Ms Hashiba noted that there had been severe reductions in both species population size and distribution with the tally of extinct species continuing to rise. It was note also of the lack of information on taxonomic groups that consist of smaller organisms such as moss, lichens and insects with this being attributable to the difficulty of finding or identifying the species.

Ms Hashiba also outlined the key findings on habitats and confirmed that the Biodiversity Inventory contributes in a major way to the Hawke’s bay Biodiversity Strategy which is currently in draft form.

Councillor Belford as a member of the Biodiversity Strategy Steering Group updated the Committee on the current state of the Draft Hawke’s Bay Biodiversity Strategy and advised that public meetings were planned for late November/early December following Council endorsement of the draft strategy at its 29 October meeting.

MC30/14

Resolution

1. That the Maori Committee receives the ‘Hawke’s Bay Biodiversity Inventory – Current State of Knowledge’ report.

Gregory/Paku

CARRIED

Update on Current Issues by the Interim Chief Executive and HBRC Chairman

Mrs Liz Lambert updated the Committee on the Big Six project which was an initiative set by Council as part of the Long Term Plan to give the community the opportunity to comment on the priority topics for the Long Term Plan. The afternoon tea sessions for the public had been well attended and Council had already received written feedback on the issues.

Councillor Fenton Wilson gave a powerpoint presentation which explained the ‘Big 6’ issues - Energy future, Relationships with Maori, Regional economic development, Connecting our region (transport and communications) Wise land use and Climate change.

MC31/14

Resolution

1. That the Update on Current Issues by the Interim Chief Executive report be received.

Maaka/Gregory

CARRIED

10.

Enviroschools and Kura

Mrs Liz Lambert presented the agenda item which followed a request from Mr Shane Haraki for a report to be prepared on the respective role of Enviroschools and Kura Kaupapa Maori. The Committee noted that the main difference between the two groups was Te Ao Turoa had more of a cultural perspective whereas the EnviroSchools programme was focused solely around the environment.

MC32/14

Resolution

1. That the Maori Committee receives the report on Enviroschools and Kura Kaupapa Maori.

Apatu/Graham

CARRIED

14.	Biodiversity Strategy Report
	This agenda item was not presented at the meeting and an updated report would be prepared for the 16 December Maori Committee meeting.

15.	Update on Maori Agri-business
	This agenda item was not presented at the meeting

17.

Minor Items Not on the Agenda

Item	Topic	Councillor/Committee member / Staff
1.	Sale and Export of Water Expressed concern that various parties were wishing to sell and export water from the Heretaunga area. Requested further discussion by Council on this prospect	Councillor Graham
2.	Geese – Waipuka Stream During a recent visit to Waipuka Stream with Maori Comm members Gregory and Mohi, the geese numbers appeared to be lower than envisaged – this could be because the geese were nesting out of sight and the possibility that they would return in greater numbers after the nesting season.The geese have been identified as a source of stream pollution.	Councillor Graham
3.	Proposed Change of Name for Council A list of proposed Maori names for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council was read out to the meeting based on a request from Te Kaha Hawaikirangi. A workshop would be arrange in the future for further discussion to take place on the proposal.	Chairman Mohi

Closure:

Karakia: H Hilton

There being no further business the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 1.25pm on Tuesday, 28 October 2014.

Signed as a true and correct record.

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