2 Apologies
At the close of the agenda no apologies had been received.
3 Declaration
of Interest
Members are
reminded of the need to be vigilant to stand aside from decision making when a
conflict arises between their role as a member and any private or other
external interest they might have.
4 Confirmation
of Minutes
|
That the Manukau Harbour Forum:
a)
confirm the ordinary minutes of its meeting,
held on Friday, 18 August 2017, as a true and correct
record.
|
5 Leave of Absence
At the close of
the agenda no requests for leave of absence had been received.
6 Acknowledgements
At the close of the agenda no requests for acknowledgements had been
received.
7 Petitions
At the close of the agenda no requests to present petitions had been
received.
8 Deputations
Standing Order 3.20 provides for
deputations. Those applying for deputations are required to give seven working
days notice of subject matter and applications are approved by the Chairperson
of the Manukau Harbour Forum. This means that details relating to deputations
can be included in the published agenda. Total speaking time per deputation is
ten minutes or as resolved by the meeting.
At the close
of the agenda no requests for deputations had been received.
9 Public Forum
A period of time (approximately
30 minutes) is set aside for members of the public to address the meeting on
matters within its delegated authority. A maximum of 3 minutes per item is
allowed, following which there may be questions from members.
At the close of the agenda no requests for public forum had been
received.
10 Extraordinary Business
Section 46A(7)
of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (as amended)
states:
“An item
that is not on the agenda for a meeting may be dealt with at that meeting if-
(a) The
local authority by resolution so decides; and
(b) The presiding member
explains at the meeting, at a time when it is open to the public,-
(i) The
reason why the item is not on the agenda; and
(ii) The reason why the
discussion of the item cannot be delayed until a subsequent meeting.”
Section 46A(7A)
of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (as amended)
states:
“Where an
item is not on the agenda for a meeting,-
(a) That item may be discussed
at that meeting if-
(i) That item is a minor
matter relating to the general business of the local authority; and
(ii) the presiding member
explains at the beginning of the meeting, at a time when it is open to the
public, that the item will be discussed at the meeting; but
(b) no resolution, decision or
recommendation may be made in respect of that item except to refer that item to
a subsequent meeting of the local authority for further discussion.”
11 Notices of Motion
There were no
notices of motion.
|
Manukau
Harbour Forum
20 October
2017
|
|
Approval of
Manukau Harbour Forum work programme
File No.: CP2017/19854
Purpose
1. To
approve funding for the Young Leaders marine education programme, and to
address the request for information on funding Seaweek or similar marine
organisatons.
Executive
summary
2. The
forum terms of reference notes its purpose as ‘strategic, not
operational’. However, alongside its strategic advocacy work programme,
the forum oversees a small operational work programme. This work programme
focuses on programmes that cross over board areas, and are not already
receiving local or regional funding.
3. A
total of $25,000 of the $69,000 funding of for the Manukau Harbour Forum work
programme is allocated to the communications programme, and a review of the
flagship sites, business to business education programme. The Manukau Harbour
Forum (the forum) reserved its decision on the remaining $44,000 until receipt
of advice on funding a marine education programme, and community organisations
delivering environmental projects focused on improving the Manukau Harbour
(resolution MHF/2017/11). This report addresses the request for funding of Sea
Week and similar organisations, and a marine education programme.
4. Establishing
a forum grants programme is not recommended. Such a programme risks duplication
and confusion with existing local grants programme. It is also not recommended
to directly grant funds to selected organisations without providing the
opportunity for other organisations to request funding, or without receipt of a
specific project proposal.
5. The
report recommends the forum fund a revised marine education programme for
secondary school students. Support for the programme will increase the profile,
and knowledge and understanding, of the Manukau Harbour. The report also recommends
continuing to work with industry to educate them on how they can support
improvements to water quality in catchment streams and the wider Manukau
Harbour.
|
Recommendations
That the Manukau Harbour
Forum:
a) approve
funding of $15,000 for the Young Leaders education programme, noting that
funding will support young people from around the Manukau Harbour to lead
environmental action.
b) approve
funding of $29,000 to enable the development and delivery of an industry education
programmes.
c) note
that funding for community groups is available through existing regional and
local grants programmes.
|
Comments
Funding of Seaweek and other
similar community organisations
6. The
forum requested advice on funding Seaweek as part of its work programme.
Seaweek is a nationwide event designed to connect New Zealanders with the
issues impacting on the marine environment.
7. It
is not recommended that the forum fund organisations directly, or set up a
grants funding programme at this time. Sea Week, and similar organisations, are
eligible to apply to local and regional grant funds. Sea Week has received
funding from two member boards in the past. Other organisations, such as
Sustainable Coastlines, have received funding from the Regional Environment and
Natural Heritage Fund.
8. The
forum terms of reference notes that the forum will not duplicate “what
already exists”. Local grant programmes already welcome applications from
groups and organisations committed to projects to improve the Manukau Harbour
and its catchment streams.
9. If
the forum decided to pursue funding of organisations, the preferred option is
to establish a grants programme rather than directly targeting organisations.
Organisations would be required to submit specific proposals outlining how
their projects supports the forum’s vision and objectives. A grants
funding programme enables transparent decisions on public expenditure.
10. Assessment
criteria and appropriate collateral would need to be developed for a grants
programme. It is unlikely that any grants programme could be established, and
applications approved, before the end of the calendar year. This may be too
late for organisations hosting events over Summer 2017/2018.
11. While the
forum decided not to host a symposium as part of its 2017/2018 work programme,
the forum could demonstrate its support of the organisation and event by
scheduling future symposiums to coincide with Sea Week. As noted in paragraph
14 below, one of the objectives of the proposed Young Leaders programme is to
develop events and activities for SeaWeek.
Young Leaders marine
education programme
12. Funding
of up to $15,000 from the forum will support students from each of the nine
board areas to attend the first workshop in the revised Young Leaders marine
education and sustainability project. As part of a recent review of
council’s education programme, the MAD (Make a Difference) Marine
programme and Green Jam targeting secondary school students were consolidated
into the Young Leaders project.
13. The
objective of the three year Young Leaders project is to empower young people to
lead the actions required to shift the world towards a sustainable and
resilient path. The focus of year one will be a series of workshops to build
competency, leadership capability and champion action for the United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals.
14. The
first workshop will be a three-day leadership lab focusing on sustainable
development goal 14: Life below Water. It is planned to link this workshop to
the Seaweek education programme, enabling participants to undertake actions
during Seaweek 2019 as well as grow their understanding of sustainability
issues, and tools to take action for the Manukau.
15. Intended
outcomes are to develop;
· students with increased action competency and leadership for
sustainability capability
· five community coastal clean-up events as part of Love Your Coast
Tāmaki Makaurau (10,000 litres of marine debris removed)
· five solutions in development to take action for sustainability
16. Students
participating in the programme will increase their knowledge of the Manukau
Harbour, and be encouraged to lead projects that support improvements to water
quality and the marine environment.
Industry education programme
17. Some
member boards fund industry pollution prevention programmes as part of their
local environment work programmes. This programme addresses potential pollution
of waterways at source through a proactive education programme. However, this
programme does not address the impact of sedimentation, runoff, and litter from
business and industry in the Manukau Harbour watershed.
18. Funding
of $29,000 will engage an ambassador to work with the developers of small sites
to educate them on appropriate sediment control measures. Small site
construction is often poorly run by people who are not experienced in this type
of work and consequently the risk to the environment is high. (For the purposes of this project, a small site is defined as a
residential or commercial site that does not require a regional consent. A
small site may have a land use consent, building consent or be a permitted
activity). This programme is currently being trialled
in the Flat Bush (Howick Local Board) area.
19. A
review of the flagship sites programme funded by the forum in the past term is
already approved as part the 2017/2018 work programme.
20. Funding
a site ambassador aligns with the forum objective to ensure appropriate
resourcing to deliver on its vision of a Manukau Harbour that is
“recognised and valued as a significant cultural, ecological,
social and economic treasure/taonga”. Industry education programmes
that address sediment runoff support intengrated management of the harbour.
Other options
21. Other
options investigated include graduate scholarships to encourage further
research on the Manukau Harbour, or supporting council’s research and
monitoring unit to undertake additional bird monitoring. These options are not
recommended at this time. Similar to the above discussion on direct funding of
organisations, providing scholarships directly to students raises issues of
transparency and accountability.
22. Further
information is required to determine the benefit of additional seabird monitoring.
However, in general, the forum should have a role in addressing gaps in
research in order to achieve its objective of ensuring a robust knowledge base.
It is recommended that the board consider commissioning research to identify
knowledge gaps as part of future work programmes.
Consideration
Local
board views and implications
23. The
establishment of the forum recognises that improving the Manukau Harbour would
benefit from joint advocacy of all nine local boards (Franklin, Papakura,
Ōtara-Papatoetoe, Manurewa, Māngere-Ōtāhuhu,
Maungakiekie-Tāmaki, Puketāpapa, Whau, and Waitākere Ranges)
surrounding the harbour. The nine boards agreed to re-constitute the forum in
early 2017, with funding approved in June 2017 as part of boards’ annual
work programmes.
24. Individual
boards fund projects impacting on the harbour through their local environment
or parks work programmes. As noted above, funding stream restoration and water
quality projects are criteria for local grant funding programmes. Draft local
board plans continue to highlight the importance of water quality, and the
Manukau Harbour, to local communities.
25. Local boards
were asked to consider funding of Sea Week in developing their 2016/2017
environment work programmes. The Whau and Waitākere Ranges Local Boards
agreed to funding the organisation and event. No consultation with Māori
was undertaken for the purposes of this report.
Māori
impact statement
26. Te
Mānukanuka o Hoturoa, the Manukau Harbour is highly significant to mana
whenua. Feedback from mana whenua received through previous council
consultations is strongly supportive of improving water quality in the harbour
and its catchment streams. This feedback also notes the importance of the
harbour as a source of kai.
27. Recognising
mana whenua interest in the harbour, in the last term the Manukau Harbour Forum
sought advice on how to appropriately engage with mana whenua around issues
impacting on the harbour. Advice was that co-option of mana whenua
representatives on to the forum itself was not appropriate, noting that treaty
settlement negotiations for the harbour are not yet complete. As such, the
forum agreed to host up to three hui per year with mana whenua to discuss the
mutual interest in improving the harbour.
28. As part of its
governance and advocacy work programme, it is recommended that the forum
investigate options to engage with mana whenua.
Implementation
29. If there are
any further delays in approving a work programme, it is unlikely that all
budget will be expended in the financial year.
30. Regular
reporting on implementation of this work programme will be through the
Infrastructure and Environmental Services’ contribution to local
boards’ quarterly performance reports.
Attachments
There are no attachments for
this report.
Signatories
|
Authors
|
Libby Caldwell – Senior Healthy Waters
Specialist
Bridget Glasgow – Sustainable Schools Team
Manager (South)
Dr Coral Grant – Principal: Integrated
Catchments
Emma Joyce - Relationship Advisor
|
|
Authorisers
|
Barry Potter - Director Infrastructure and
Environmental Services
Victoria Villaraza - Relationship Manager
|
