MINUTES OF A meeting of the

Regional Planning Committee

 

 

Date:                          Wednesday 6 September 2017

Time:                          12.30pm

Venue:

Council Chamber

Hawke's Bay Regional Council

159 Dalton Street

NAPIER

 

Present:                     T Waaka – Chair Ngāti Pāhauwera Development & Tiaki Trust

                                    Cr R Graham – Co Chair

                                    Cr P Bailey

                                    Cr R Barker – Deputy Co Chair

                                    Cr P Beaven

                                    Cr T Belford

                                    K Brown – Ngāti Hineuru Iwi Inc (arrived late)

                                    Cr A J Dick

                                    Cr D Hewitt

                                    T Hopmans – Deputy Co Chair -Maungaharuru Tangitū Trust

                                    N Kirikiri – Te Toi Kura O Waikaremoana

                                    Cr Neil Kirton

                                    J Maihi-Carroll – Mana Ahuriri Trust

                                    M Mohi – HBRC appointee

L Munroe – He Toa Takitini

                                    P Paku – He Toa Takitini

                                    A Tapine – Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa Trust

                                    Cr F Wilson

 

In Attendance:          J Palmer – Chief Executive

E Lambert – Group Manager, External Relations

T Skerman – Acting Strategic Development Manager

B Hatami - Ngāti Pāhauwera

I Maxwell – Group Manager, Resource Management

G Ide – Manager, Strategy and Policy

C Edmonds – Planner, Strategy and Policy

J Smith - Team Leader/Principal Scientist Hydrology/Hydrogeology

J Buttery – Governance Administration Assistant

1.       Welcome/Apologies/Notices

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

 

RPC53/17

That apologies be accepted from Matiu Heperi Northcroft for absence and Karauna Brown for lateness.

Tapine/Graham

CARRIED

 

2.       Conflict of Interest Declarations

There were no Conflict of Interest Declarations.

 

3.       Confirmation of Minutes of the Regional Planning Committee meetings held on 2 August 2017 and on 22 August 2017

RPC54/17

Resolution

Minutes of the Regional Planning Committee meeting held on Wednesday 2 August 2017, a copy having been circulated prior to the meeting, were taken as read and confirmed as a true and correct record.

Graham/Maihi-Carroll

CARRIED

 

RPC55/17

Resolution

Minutes of the Regional Planning Committee meeting held on Tuesday 22 August 2017, a copy having been circulated prior to the meeting, were taken as read and confirmed as a true and correct record.

Beaven/Maihi-Carroll

CARRIED

 

4.

Follow-ups from Previous Regional Planning Committee Meetings

 

Cr Hewitt spoke to Item 3 on the follow-ups regarding Tukituki Implementation Matters and tabled a letter from Ricky Jensen (following). The rest of the follow-ups were taken as read and dealt with.

 

RPC56/17

Resolution

That the Regional Planning Committee receives the report “Follow-up Items from Previous Meetings”.

Munroe/Bailey

CARRIED

 

5.

Call for Items of Business not on the Agenda

 

Item

Topic

Councillor / Staff

1.   

TANK

Tania Hopmans

 

 

 

6.

Oil & Gas Plan Change Work Programme Update

 

Ceri Edmonds explained that the first part of the item was an update from Opus, with the second part the Draft Iwi and Stakeholder engagement plan as a suggested approach for consultation. Discussion covered the following points:

· That everyone should be consulted at the same level.

· Costs could be incurred at different stages of the project and in different orders of magnitude and RPC will be presented with the costs.

· Further technical advice may not be required until submissions were received.

· Plan Change only explore options to prohibit or to manage. RMA requires council to consider a variety of options.

· Over 8,000 water bores located in the region all give potential contamination risk.

· Oil and gas drilling was high pressure giving greater contamination risk.

· HB Chamber of Commerce to be added to the stakeholder list for consultation.

· Focussed on NZ Oil and Gas operations as they were more likely to be comparable to Hawke’s Bay.

· The costs of engagement, it was hoped to rationalise the engagement process and have group stakeholders together to help with costs and time restrictions.

· Any gaps in technical advice will be revealed in consultation.

· Information will be shared with stakeholders regarding the Oil and Gas process before consultation takes place. This information may be more technical in nature.

RPC57/17

Resolutions

1.      That the Regional Planning Committee

1.1.      Receives and notes the “Oil & Gas Plan Change Work Programme Update” staff report.

Graham/Bailey

CARRIED

2.      The Regional Planning Committee recommends that Council:

2.1.      Agrees that the decisions to be made are not significant under the criteria contained in Council’s adopted Significance and Engagement Policy, and that Council can exercise its discretion and make decisions on this issue without conferring directly with the community and persons likely to be affected by or to have an interest in the decision.

2.2.      Supports in-principle the attached ‘Iwi and Stakeholder Engagement Plan’ incorporating feedback arising from the Regional Planning Committee and Maori Committee meetings.

Waaka/Bailey

CARRIED

Karauna Brown arrived at 1.19pm.

7.

Regional Planning Committee 2016-17 Annual Activity Report

 

Ceri Edmonds spoke to the draft 2016-17 Annual Activity Report and asked the committee to go through the document page by page and let the staff know of any alterations. Several minor typographical alterations were noted. The objection to the fracking photograph was noted and a more appropriate photograph will be found.

TW reps support the video being updated and would like a report brought back to the November meeting. The RPC video should be more about the substance of the committee work and feature issues that the committee is working on.

During a recent review of communications, part of the review process was looking at resources, different types and ways of communication and how it needed to be relevant to people being targeted. Engagement methods were targeted to the audience the Council was trying to engage with.

The committee had not received any reply from either American Ambassador or the Minister of Climate change in response to letters sent.

RPC58/17

Resolution

The Regional Planning Committee receives and adopts the “Regional Planning Committee 2016-17 Annual Activity Report” for publication on the Council website, incorporating amendments that arose at the meeting.

Dick/Munroe

CARRIED

 

8.

Presentation of Experiences of an Applicant for Customary Recognition Under Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011

 

Bonny Hatami from Ngāti Pāhauwera gave a presentation to the committee, speaking of Ngāti Pāhauwera’s experience as an applicant for Customary Marine Title, Protected Customary Rights and wahi tapu under the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011. She spoke of the purpose of the act, the history and reasons for their application, including their desire for protection of the area. Their application required extensive research, collection of evidence, photographs and affidavits from Ngāti Pāhauwera people.

Mrs Lambert explained that the Act will provide greater clarity for HBRC as to who the affected parties were if there was an application for an activity in a particular location.

RPC59/17

Resolution

That the Regional Planning Committee receives and notes the verbal “Presentation of Experiences of an Applicant for Customary Recognition under Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011”.

Belford/Graham

CARRIED

Item 10 was taken before Item 9.

10.

Items of Business Not on the Agenda

 

 

Topic

Councillor / Staff

TANK

Concerned as to the frequency of report to the RPC regarding the TANK process and the nature of stakeholder groups

Decision makers of the RPC:

·      Are required to recognise and provide for the relationship of Māori with their waterways

·      Have obligations to Kaitiakitanga and then as Treaty partners.

Concerned with stakeholder groups and wonders about their knowledge of Māori and the rights that Māori have under the RMA.

The CE explained the level of investment in the TANK Plan Change. A Draft Plan Change for the TANK catchments will be brought to the RPC for its decision making processes. The stakeholder group is not the decision maker but is taking a deep dive into understanding the complexities of the catchments to then suggest policies arising from that knowledge.

RPC tangata whenua want to understand what the process that TANK has been going through to support the TW perspectives. Not meeting expectations at the present time.

The CE has undertaken to bring a report back to this table around engagement with Iwi/Hapu.

Tania Hopmans

 

 

 

9.

Verbal Presentation on the Science of the Heretaunga Plains Water Resource

 

Dr Jeff Smith gave a presentation, describing the Heretaunga Plans ground water resource, showing graphs including municipal, industrial, frost protection and irrigation water use across the Heretaunga Plains. The HBRC groundwater modelling investigations, concluded that when ground water and stream water takes are considered together, the Ngaruroro River is already over allocated.

RPC60/17

Resolution

That the Regional Planning Committee receives and notes the “Science of the Heretaunga Plains Water Resource” staff report.

Graham/Beaven

CARRIED

 

11.

Confirmation of Public Excluded Minutes

RPC61/17

Resolution

That the Council excludes the public from this section of the meeting being Confirmation of Public Excluded Minutes Agenda Item 11 with the general subject of the item to be considered while the public is excluded; the reasons for passing the resolution and the specific grounds under Section 48 (1) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 for the passing of this resolution being:

 

GENERAL SUBJECT OF THE ITEM TO BE CONSIDERED

REASON FOR PASSING THIS RESOLUTION

GROUNDS UNDER SECTION 48(1) FOR THE PASSING OF THE RESOLUTION

Ngaruroro Water Conservation Order Submission

7(2)(g) That the public conduct of this agenda item would be likely to result in the disclosure of information where the withholding of the information is necessary to maintain legal professional privilege.

7(2)(i) That the public conduct of this agenda item would be likely to result in the disclosure of information where the withholding of the information is necessary to enable the local authority holding the information to carry out, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations).

The Council is specified, in the First Schedule to this Act, as a body to which the Act applies.

Graham/Belford

CARRIED

 

11.

Confirmation of Public Excluded Minutes

RPC62/17

Public Excluded Minutes of the Regional Planning Committee held on Wednesday, 22 August 2017, a copy having been circulated prior to the meeting, were taken as read and confirmed.

Graham/Tapine

CARRIED

 

Resolution

RPC63/17  That the meeting moves out of Public Excluded session.

Waaka/Maihi-Carroll

CARRIED

 

The meeting went into public excluded session at 3.30pm and out of public excluded session at 3.38pm.

 

Closure:

There being no further business the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 3.39pm on 6 September 2017.

Signed as a true and correct record.

 

 

 

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