Minutes of Maori Committee - Wednesday, 7 September 2022

1. Welcome/Karakia /Apologies/Notices

The Chair, Mike Paku welcomed everyone to the final meeting of the Council term and Pieri Munro opened with a karakia.

The Chair requested that Item 11, Climate Action be presented first followed by the rest of the agenda.

Resolution

MC24/22 That the apologies for absence from Katarina Kawana, Peter Eden, Bill Blake, Dr Roger Maaka and Haami Hilton be accepted.

Robin/Lambert

CARRIED

2. Conflict of Interest Declarations

There were no conflicts of interest declared.

3. Confirmation of Minutes of the Māori Committee meeting held on 8 June 2022

MC25/22

Resolution

Minutes of the Māori Committee meeting held on Wednesday, 8 June 2022, a copy having been circulated prior to the meeting, were taken as read and confirmed as a true and correct record.

Ormsby/Sciascia

CARRIED

Take Ripoata ā Takiwā – Taiwhenua representatives' updates

Kahungunu Executive – Michelle McIlroy

· Attended the AFFCO non-consented discharge court case (which resulted in a $138,000 fine) to speak about the Cultural Impact Assessment. AFFCO has applied for a variation to their consent regarding stormwater and taiwhenua requested mana whenua are involved in discussions.

· Various plantings undertaken on the river bank by the sheet piling protection works as the first stage of work recommended by the Cultural Impact Assessment (CIA).

· Attended the first drop in session on Kotahi alongside other members of the community and received good feedback.

· Establishing the Terms of Reference of Taiao Komiti to be made up of representatives of the seven Kahui and all matters relating the taiao in the Wairoa area will be referred to this tepu which will make recommendations to the Board of Directors.

Te Taiwhenua o Tamatea – Marge Hape/Dianne Smith

· Current activities include the Tamatea social services hub where whanau can connect. There continues to be concern about the high demand for services.

· Te Mana Taiao o Tamatea reports that ‘Water’ is presenting major challenges for whanau including Tranche 2 applications, Three waters legislation and the Ruataniwha dam project.

· Kotahi meeting was recently held in Porangahau and whanau are excited for the road ahead.

Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga – Marei Apatu

· Acknowledgement of the work Tamatea Taiwhenua is doing in the rohe and the collaborative working relationship

· Point two of the report regarding the Environment Court proceedings on Outstanding Water Bodies is withdrawn.

· All consent conditions for the Gravel Extraction consent have been reviewed and resolved, and 2 tāngata whenua groups for the Tukituki and Ngaruroro rivers have been established.

Te Taiwhenua o Te Whanganui ā Orotu – Api Robin/Rose Hiha

· Finalising cultural assessment requirements for the future Mission Hills housing development in the Puketitiri Hills.

· Kāhui Ōhanga hui held 31 Aug 2022 with recommendations that members of Kahui Ōhanga (PSGEs) become the sole Iwi representative for mana whenua, excluding Taiwhenua representatives from future planning. The recommendations were strongly opposed as Taiwhenua reps are mandated by Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Inc.

· Te Taiwhenua o Te Whanganui ā Orotū will maintain their position on the All Governors group to fully support their respective marae hapu regarding new RMA reforms and the current Kotahi Plan.

MC26/22

Resolution

That the Māori Committee receives and notes the Take ripoata ā takiwā – Taiwhenua reports.

Ormsby/Barker

CARRIED

HBRC Chair and Chief Executive's verbal updates on current issues

The Chair, Cr Rick Barker highlighted:

· Acknowledge and thank the Māori Committee for their mahi over the years and councillors for embracing the partnership with tāngata whenua.

· Kotahi provides an opportunity for great success with inclusive input from all governors.

· Recent visits to Waikato and Tauranga, and to the House of Parliament to meet with the Speaker of the House confirmed that Central and Local Government interrelate with each other and need to work together.

· Discussions are underway with MfE to look at how to ‘scale up’ work in the mātauranga Māori space.

· Te Mana o te Wai funding is available, but has not yet been announced, to assist Iwi and hapu to build capability and capacity.

· There have been discussions with Dr Roger Maaka about Lake Whatumā potentially being a pilot location for transferring and monitoring powers. There have been similar discussions with Ngati Pāhauwera and Tātau Tātau o Wairoa regarding such possibilities.

· The Chief Executive noted that challenges the Council has experienced are easing back and operations have been restored following Covid-19.

· 2021-2022 Carry Forwards have been approved and three major consultations have been undertaken on Coastal Hazards, Possum Control, and the Regional Public Transport Plan.

· Currently awaiting the final decision on the TANK Plan Change

· The Chief Executive thanked the Māori Committee for their mahi over the years.

MC27/22

Resolution

That the Māori Committee receives the HBRC Chair and Chief Executive’s verbal updates on current issues.

Sciascia/Robin

CARRIED

Follow-ups from previous Māori Committee meetings

The item was taken as read.

MC28/22

Resolution

That the Māori Committee receives and notes the Follow-ups from previous Māori Committee meetings.

Paku/McIIroy

CARRIED

7.	Call for Minor items not on the agenda
	No minor items were raised.

11.

Climate Action

The Climate Action Ambassador, Pippa McKelvie-Sebileau, introduced the item highlighting:

· The IPCC reports on mitigation and adaptation contain dire warnings and show that there is an urgent need to act now to reduce greenhouse gases and support carbon sinks.

· Many climate change effects are already locked in. The effect of 1.2 degrees of warming (since pre industrialised times) is already playing out across the globe.

· Technical reports have been commissioned including a Community carbon footprint, Stats NZ Regional GHG emissions estimates and Regional Risk Assessment.

· Climate change awareness in the community is increasing.

· There is broad communication to raise community engagement and to motivate support for Council’s initiatives, and to change the behaviour of individuals.

· Council has recently provided the Environment Centre with a $50k relocation grant.

· Building internal capacity through Climate Fresk workshops to build awareness and engagement amongst Council staff.

· World car-free day is Wednesday 22 September 2022.

· Various community education programmes were held over the past few months. Future events include an outreach programme by U3A (University of the third age).

· A query asked whether marae are eligible for funding through the Sustainable Homes programme, particularly grants for solar panel installations.

· A regional climate resilience plan is being developed with tāngata whenua involvement. This will set values and aspirations, regional targets and actions and is expected to be in place by July 2023.

· Two public engagement events are being planned for December 2022 and March 2023.

· Emissions reductions must be considered as part of a bigger picture.

MC29/22

Resolution

That the Māori Committee receives and notes the Climate Action staff report.

Hape/Hiha

CARRIED

The meeting adjourned at 12pm and reconvened at 12.17pm.

Tāngata Whenua Representatives Remuneration Review

Te Pou Whakarae, Pieri Munro, introduced the item which was taken as read.

· Discussions had with the Tāngata whenua Deputy Chair and Co-Chair of the Regional Planning Committee as well as the Co-Chairs of the Māori Committee, who have verbally agreed that Strategic Pay be engaged to carry out the review.

· A proposed Terms of Reference for the review has been prepared.

MC30/22

Resolutions

That the Māori Committee:

1. Receives and considers the Tāngata Whenua Representatives Remuneration Review staff report.

2. Recommends that Hawke’s Bay Regional Council appoints Strategic Pay to undertake the independent review of remuneration for tāngata whenua members of the Māori Committee.

3. Agrees to the proposed Terms of Reference for the independent review as set out in the report.

Ormsby/Robin

CARRIED

2020-2022 Reflections and 2022-2025 Vision for the Māori Committee

Pieri Munro, Te Pou Whakarae introduced the item which was taken as read.

· This is the last Māori Committee meeting for the triennium and opportunity for the Committee to make recommendations to the incoming Council about re-establishment of the Māori Committee.

· Propose to include a Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated rep on the Māori Committee going forward. The Taiwhenua members agreed.

· The expectation is that the two new Māori Constituency councillors will be included on the Committee along with the HBRC Chair.

· Proposed to include a total of 12 representatives from the four Taiwhenua, Wairoa Kahungunu Executive, the two Māori Constituency seats and the HBRC Chair

· The Co-Chairs thanked Cr Rick Barker for his leadership and wished him well as he retires from Council.

MC31/22

Recommendation

That the Māori Committee:

1. Receives and considers the 2020-2022 Reflections and 2022-2025 vision for the Māori Committee report.

2. Recommends to the incoming Hawke’s Bay Regional Council that the Māori Committee is re-established as part of the Council’s governance structure for the 2022-2025 triennium, including membership comprising:

2.1. Twelve representatives nominated by each of the four Taiwhenua and Executive in Te Matau a Māui, being Heretaunga Taiwhenua, Tamatea Taiwhenua, Te Taiwhenua o Te Whanganui-a-Orotū, Wairoa Taiwhenua and Wairoa Kahungunu Executive.

2.2. One representative of the Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated Board

2.3 At least three elected members of the Regional Council, being the HBRC Chairperson and the two councillors representing the Māui ki te Tonga and Māui ki te Raki Māori constituencies, while retaining scope for additional councillor members should there be interest.

3. That the Māori Committee Charter is refreshed to enable agreement and signing by the Chair of the Regional Council and Chair of the Māori Committee by 30 March 2023.

Paku/McIlroy

CARRIED

10.

HBRIC Limited – Proposed name change and re-branding

Tom Skerman introduced Kate Cavanagh, Band Design Studio, who presented two preferred branding options for Te Matau Investments Limited (formerly HBRIC) for feedback. Discussions covered:

· Option 1 - tohu design integrates the abstract matau or hook into the typography. The interweaving of the matau and the wording gives the logo a distinctive feel which can become easily identifiable as the new HBRIC entity.

· Option 2 -the tohu visual design is inspired by modern hei matau – as opposed to traditional functional circular hooks used for fishing - or the jaw bone that Maui used. This allows the design to have a strong logo mark that a wide audience might identify and connect with, while paying homage the Te Matau-a-Maui pūrākau/story of Maui.

· The majority of the Māori Committee members preferred option 2.

· The final logo will be presented to Te Matau Investments for adoption.

MC32/22

Resolution

That the Māori Committee receives and notes the HBRIC Limited – Proposed name change and re-branding staff report.

Sciascia/Apatu

CARRIED

12.

Sustainable Seas project outcomes

Becky Shanahan gave a presentation and update on the operational activities relating to the Council’s collaboration with the Hawke’s Bay Marine and Coast Group (HBMaC), and the Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge case study for HB. Discussions noted:

· The HB case study is a two year, $300k investment in challenge research within HB and co-developed with HBMaC and other agencies also provided in-kind support and volunteer time

· Stage one (Socio-ecological systems approach) identified gaps between current and the desired state. The project focussed on two main stressors - land-derived sediments entering the marine environment and bottom contact from fisheries activities (trawling)

· The group discussed the stressors and trends of the two focal points and brainstormed what caused these factors of trends, explored how they influenced each other and discussed areas that needed refining

· Stage two investigated the impact of reducing the gaps between the current and desired state using existing tools developed in the Sustainable Seas programme

· The project highlighted some important connections between ecology of the coastal marine area and its effect on the community

· Next steps include how HBMaC plans to use this information.

MC33/22

Resolution

That the Māori Committee receives and notes the Sustainable Seas project outcomes staff report.

Sciascia/McIIroy

CARRIED

13.

Reports from Regional Council and Committee meetings

The report was taken as read. Matters discussed included:

· Currently no representative of Māori descent on HB Tourism Board. One of HB Tourism’s (HBT) KPIs from 2020-2021 was to align with the values of HB Māori Tourism with HBT. There is an expectation that HBT supports HB Māori Tourism and embraces regional whakapapa. HBT’s income includes $1.5m from regional rate payer funding with 70% of this coming from industrial and commercial rate payers, 30% from residential rate payers. HBT’s contract with Council ended in the Covid-19 lockdown period; re-focussed on domestic tourism during this period. A fresh contract is being drawn up for endorsement by Council, post-election. In the new triennium, Council needs to re-focus on how HBT is going to deliver on their contract KPIs. Committee would like to invite HBT to present on their activities and operations.

MC34/22

Resolution

That the Māori Committee receives and notes the Reports from Regional Council and committee meetings.

Robin/Hape

CARRIED

14.

August 2022 Statutory Advocacy update

Gavin Ide introduced the item which was taken as read. Discussions noted.

· National consultations currently running in tandem with legal processes.

MC35/22

Resolution

That the Māori Committee receives and notes the August 2022 Statutory Advocacy update.

Sciascia/Ormsby

CARRIED

15.

Verbal update on Kotahi Community drop-in sessions

Anne Bradbury and Nicola Nicholson introduced the item with discussions noting:

· Policy and Regulation team held 7 of the planned 12 meetings across the region with good feedback received. This feedback will be analysed and reported back to the All Governors Kotahi group early next year.

· Sessions will be running throughout September 2022 and the Council will have a site at the HB A&P show highlighting Kotahi.

MC36/22

Resolution

That the Māori Committee receives and notes the Verbal update on Kotahi community drop-in sessions.

Smith/Hiha

CARRIED

16.

Verbal update on TANK Plan Change decisions

Anne Bradbury and Nicola Nicholson introduced the item noting that a TANK Plan decision has now been made and the independent Commissioners will release the document 9 September 2022. Upon receipt the document will be uploaded to the HBRC website and an email will be distributed to all submitters on the plan and to all Council Governors advising of its availability.

MC37/22

Resolution

That the Māori Committee receives and notes the Verbal update on TANK plan change decisions.

Apatu/Sciascia

CARRIED

17.

Minor items not on the Agenda

Topic	Raised by
Acknowledged Councillor Rick Barker for his tenure and contributions to this committee and wished him well on his journey ahead during retirement.	Marei Apatu

The Māori committee sang a waiata to acknowledge Councillor Barker’s contribution.

Pieri Munro Te Pou Whakarae led the group with a closing karakia.

Closure:

There being no further business the Chair declared the meeting closed at 1.47pm on Wednesday, 7 September 2022.

Signed as a true and correct record.

Date: ............................... Chairman: ............................................... CE: ............................................