Agenda of Rural Advisory Panel - Friday, 5 August 2022

I hereby give notice that an ordinary meeting of the Rural Advisory Panel will be held on:

Date:

Time:

Meeting Room:

Venue:

Friday, 5 August 2022

12.30pm

Reception Lounge
Auckland Town Hall
301-305 Queen Street
Auckland

Ngā Hui a te Rōpū Kaitohutohu Take ā-Taiwhenua / Rural Advisory Panel

OPEN AGENDA

MEMBERSHIP

Chairperson	Deputy Mayor Cr Bill Cashmore	Auckland Council
Deputy Chairperson	Cr Greg Sayers	Auckland Council
Members	Brent Bailey	Rodney Local Board, Auckland Council
	Mike Bramley	Dairy New Zealand
	Alan Cole	Franklin Local Board, Auckland Council
	Trish Fordyce	New Zealand Forest Owners Association
	Annaliese Goettler	Young Farmers
	Fiona Gower	Rural Women New Zealand
	Shaun Hazelton	Federated Farmers
	Steve Levet	Rural Contractors New Zealand
	Greg McCracken	Fonterra Shareholders Council
	Andrew McKenzie	Beef and Lamb New Zealand
	Craig Maxwell	Federated Farmers
	Andrew Olsen	Rural Contractors New Zealand
	Wayne Scott	Aggregate and Quarry Association
	Geoff Smith	Equine Industry
	Peter Spencer	New Zealand Forest Owners Association
	Ken Turner	Waitākere Ranges Local Board, Auckland Council
	Keith Vallabh	Pukekohe Vegetable Growers
	Glenn Wilcox	Independent Māori Statutory Board

(Quorum 10 members)

Sandra Gordon

Kaitohutohu Mana Whakahaere Matua / Senior Governance Advisor

1 August 2022

Contact Telephone: (09) 890 8150

Email: sandra.gordon@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

Website: www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

Rural Advisory Panel

05 August 2022

Auckland Region Ballance Farm Environment Awards 2022

File No.: CP2022/10675

Te take mō te pūrongo

Purpose of the report

1. To congratulate Rick and Shirley-Ann Mannering of Waytemore Farms Paparimu, winners of the Auckland Ballance Farm Environment Award 2022, and to receive a presentation from them about their farm.

2. To congratulate the staff of Atiu Creek Regional Park, winners of the Bayleys People in Primary Sector Award at the Auckland Ballance Farm Environment Award 2022.

Whakarāpopototanga matua

Executive summary

3. Rick and Shirley-Ann Mannering have been farming in the Paparimu valley on Auckland’s southern-eastern boundary for 30 years. At the Ballance Farm Environment Awards evening in June they were announced as the winners of the 2022 Auckland Region Supreme Award.

4. In the lead up to this announcement, they received particular recognition on receipt of the regional Auckland Council Water Enhancement Award and three national awards. The DairyNZ Sustainability and Stewardship Award, Hill Laboratories Agri-Science Award and Massey University Innovation Award.

5. They have a mixed farming operation over 1455ha and have created a closed system with the Dairy Farms providing dairy beef calves that are raised on the Sheep and Beef farm. Amongst this are eight critically endangered forest ecosystems, 11 endangered, one vulnerable and 13 regenerating ecosystems. These include one Outstanding Natural Landscapes, three Special Ecological Areas and 120ha of forest remnants that are either protected with QEII covenants or are in the pipeline.

6. The judges commented specifically on their enthusiasm for conservation, sustainability planning, farm practices, business structure, staff relationships and unique employment structure.

7. Rick and Shirley-Ann will be on-line via Teams to present a video clip of the farm and its operations, and to answer any questions from Panel members.

8. Also of interest to the Rural Advisory Panel was the win by the farmers, shepherds, farm hands and park rangers at Atiu Creek Regional Park of the Bayleys People in Primary Sector Award.

9. “This award is recognition that we are a best practice example - both in farming and in our care for the environment. Our success is a combined effort of our business unit and the park ranger services,” said Garry Hewson, Manager Farm Business & Operations, Property and Commercial Business.

Ngā tūtohunga

Recommendation/s

That the Rural Advisory Panel:

a) congratulate Rick and Shirley-Ann Mannering for winning the Auckland Region Farm Environment Award 2022 and thank them for their presentation

b) congratulate the staff at Atiu Creek Regional Park for winning the Bayleys People in Primary Sector Award.

Ngā tāpirihanga

Attachments

There are no attachments for this report.

Ngā kaihaina

Signatories

Authoriser

Warren Maclennan - Lead Officer

Rural Advisory Panel

05 August 2022

Essential Freshwater update - Auckland Council staff input into regulatory instrument and guidance publications

File No.: CP2022/10573

Te take mō te pūrongo

Purpose of the report

1. To provide an update on central government’s Essential Freshwater programme and an overview of input from Auckland Council staff into its national and regional implementation and refinement.

Whakarāpopototanga matua

Executive summary

2. Central government’s Essential Freshwater programme had several regulatory instruments that came into effect from 3 September 2020. Relevant regulatory instruments include:

· the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 (NPS-FM)

· the National Environmental Standards for Freshwater Management 2020 (NES-F)

· the Resource Management (Stock Exclusion) Regulations 2020, and

· the proposed Resource Management (Farm Planning) Regulations.

3. Central government has been working with various interests to address implementation concerns with the 2020 regulatory instruments. Remedies have principally included regulatory amendment proposals throughout the latter half of 2021, further technical reports, and implementation guidance documents. Some Court decisions have also shed a light on interpretation issues. An update on these various initiatives follows. Several regulatory amendments are also due to be completed this calendar year, in addition to decisions on new national farm planning regulations.

Auckland Council feedback to central government

Managing our wetlands

4. On 31 May 2022 central government released an exposure draft encompassing amendments to both the NPS-FM and NES-F, principally as they relate to natural wetland provisions. These amendments are a result of central government’s September 2021 consultation on wetland provisions and consenting pathways, as well as technical issues and provisions that require clarification.

5. Auckland Council staff made a submission on the exposure draft. Staff also contributed to a regional sector submission focused solely on ensuring that the scope of the NES-F did not extend into the Coastal Marine Area, given the broader activities that occur in that environment. Should Panel members wish to sight these, both staff submissions are to be included in the Information Memorandum section of the Planning Committee agenda for August 2022. Subsequent regulatory amendments will hopefully be gazetted before the end of 2022.

6. Further informal regional sector staff technical feedback was provided to central government staff on initiatives covered by the Essential Freshwater package, including the following elements of the identified regulatory instruments.

Nitrogen cap national database

7. The regional sector’s information technology and regulatory staff are working with fertiliser companies on a national database to capture farmer’s use of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser, where the application rate (more than 190 kg / ha / year) is required to be consented (subpart 4, NES-F). Implementation of the national sector database will occur from 29 August 2022.

Fish Index of Biotic Integrity

8. The Fish IBI is a set of biological metrics used to assess the richness of fish species by comparing the species present at a site to the species that would be expected in the absence of human impacts. The Fish IBI was adapted for application in New Zealand in 2004. Fish IBI was incorporated as an attribute in the NPS-FM and requires councils to sample fish abundance to calculate Fish IBI scores, such that future target states for this attribute can be achieved.

9. The Ministry for the Environment (MfE) is due to publish a calculator app and user guidance to assist practitioners with determining Fish IBI scores. This follows its development by a scientific contractor, and review by regional sector specialists. There is no confirmed date for publication.

Guidance documents / reports published

10. Some new technical guidance documents and other items have been published by central government, the regional sector and Auckland Council since the last Rural Advisory Panel update in May 2022. These include:

a) MfE – a summary of submissions document on the Managing Intensive Winter Grazing regulatory proposals

· Managing intensive winter grazing: Summary of submissions (published 14 April 2022)

b) The intensive winter grazing satellite imagery baseline research from the 2021 winter, commissioned by the regional sector through Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, has been completed. There is a high level of confidence in the forage classification produced in this work for the most important regions (Canterbury, Southland, and Otago). However, it was recommended that field data be gathered throughout the North Island for any further mapping. Accordingly, regional sector and research staff are currently ground-truthing areas of focus based on the 2021 winter mapping and undertaking site visits to assess satellite imagery needs for winter 2022. See Attachment A for the national winter forage intensive winter grazing map for winter 2021 (published June 2022).

c) MfE – an intensive winter grazing factsheet

· Intensive winter grazing factsheet (published 13 June 2022)

d) MfE – amendments to intensive winter grazing regulations – section 32 report

· Amendments to intensive winter grazing regulations (published 16 June 2022)

e) MfE – updated look-up tables of nutrient criteria to achieve periphyton biomass objectives under the NPS-FM (contracted through Land Water People Limited and NIWA). This study updates our understanding of the dose-response relationship between nutrients and periphyton biomass

· Derivation of nutrient criteria for periphyton biomass objectives | Ministry for the Environment (published 13 May 2022)

f) MfE – additional guidance to be read alongside the above report. This guidance is intended to provide a starting point for deriving nutrient concentrations for managing the periphyton attribute, as required by the NPS-FM:

· Guidance on look-up tables for setting nutrient targets for periphyton: second edition (published 1 June 2022)

g) MfE – guidance on setting instream nutrient concentration thresholds for nutrient-affected attributes in rivers. This guidance will help councils set instream concentration thresholds (ICTs) for nutrient attributes DIN and DRP– these are needed to achieve targets for all nutrient-affected attributes in rivers.

· Setting instream nutrient concentration thresholds for nutrient-affected attributes in rivers - Guidance on implementing Clause 3.13 of the NPS-FM (published 19 July 2022)

h) Auckland Council website – updated to overview the regulatory instruments encompassed by the Essential Freshwater package, including information on proposed freshwater farm planning regulations and managing natural wetlands.

· Freshwater management policy and standards

Regulatory and planning updates

Specified Vegetable Growing Areas, as specified in section 3.33 of the NPS-FM

11. Auckland Council staff met with MfE, MPI, mana whenua (including Ngāti Te Ata, Ngāti Tamaoho, Waikato-Tainui), Horticulture New Zealand, and the Pukekohe Vegetable Growers Association on 14 July 2022, to discuss how an ‘integrated catchment management plan’ could be prepared across the Pukekohe ‘specified vegetable growing area’. Central government staff signalled that up to $10M of Jobs for Nature funding is potentially available for expenditure prior to June 2025.

12. The next meeting is likely to be convened before September 2022. A plan, which largely focuses on non-regulatory actions, will need to be finalised by June 2023 to enable procurement and undertaking of relevant work over the following two years. Progress may inform council planning and regulatory initiatives as part of the NPS-FM plan change notification required by the end of 2024.

Farm planning

13. As previously advised, the development of farm planning regulations through 2022 necessitated increased staff resources by central government, regional sector staff, and agricultural sector representatives. Central government staff advise that the intent is to gazette the regulations by the end of 2022 or early 2023, following further Cabinet decisions expected by August 2022. An exposure draft of the proposed regulations should be available to the regional sector and agricultural representative groups by the end of the year.

14. Auckland Council’s Regulatory Services division, fulfilling the environmental regulator role, is responsible for administering and communicating the statutory requirements associated with implementing farm plans provisions, and coordinating the input of other departments. The Compliance Monitoring Unit have started preparatory work to improve council systems and processes related to the administration of these future regulations and inter-relationship with related consenting requirements.

NPS-FM implementation update

15. Plans and Places have been undertaking NPS-FM first stage community engagement to identify values, long term visions and desired environmental outcomes that communities seek for freshwater within the region.

16. More broadly, the council’s NPS-FM first stage community engagement channels include:

a) an online questionnaire, information material, and an interactive Social Pinpoint spatial tool on the ‘AK Have Your Say’ website

b) online webinars to present the NPS-FM implementation programme and answer questions from the public

c) display sites in service centres and libraries, and library drop-in events to directly communicate with communities around the region

d) meetings with key stakeholder representatives including Federated Farmers and Horticulture New Zealand to obtain rural industry views on NPS-FM implementation.

17. More than 300 pieces of feedback were received from 13 June to 17 July 2022. Local board feedback will be provided by the end of September 2022.

18. Mana whenua engagement is being undertaken separately from wider public / community engagement and is ongoing throughout the development of AUP provisions.

19. An overview of regional and unitary council progress on NPS-FM implementation (Attachment B) up until June 2022 was recently provided to the Minister for the Environment for his information. This broadly illustrates the significant amount of preparatory work required by councils and other interests to implement the NPS-FM.

Court cases

Federated Farmers of New Zealand v Northland Regional Council [2022] NZEnvC

20. The Environment Court determined (17 June 2022) that the definition of an inanga spawning site is ‘the margins of rivers and estuaries that are inundated by spring high tides’, in the context of stock exclusion rules to be included in the Decisions Version of the Proposed Regional Plan for Northland Regional Council.

Otago Regional Council vs Minister for the Environment

21. The Environment Court reached a decision (Decision No. [2022] NZEnvC 101) on 14 June 2022 regarding the urban provisions of Otago Regional Council’s proposed water quality plan changes. A further decision (Decision No. [2022] NZEnvC 67) on primary sector provisions was made on 21 April 2022, following the original primary sector decision (Decision No. [2022] NZEnvC 6) made on 31 January 2022. These decisions can be found using the link below:

· Environment court decisions

Ngā tūtohunga

Recommendation/s

That the Rural Advisory Panel:

a) receive the council staff update on central government’s Essential Freshwater programme and refinements to the regulatory framework and its interpretation.

Ngā tāpirihanga

Attachments

No.	Title	Page
a ⇩	National winter forage intensive winter grazing map for 2021	17
b ⇩	Overview of regional and unitary council progress on NPS-FM implementation	53

Ngā kaihaina

Signatories

Authors

Ella Walsh - Analyst Natural Environmental Strategy

Dave Allen - Manager Natural Environment Strategy

Authorisers

Jacques Victor – General Manager Auckland Plan Strategy and Research

Warren Maclennan - Lead Officer

Rural Advisory Panel

05 August 2022

National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity - update on exposure draft release

File No.: CP2022/10646

Te take mō te pūrongo

Purpose of the report

1. To update members of the Rural Advisory Panel on the June 2022 release of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity exposure draft.

Whakarāpopototanga matua

Executive summary

2. An exposure draft of the proposed National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity (NPS-IB) was released for feedback. The Ministry for the Environment (MfE) is the lead department.

3. The NPS-IB aims to protect, maintain and restore indigenous biodiversity, recognising the threats and ongoing decline to our unique flora and fauna, and the importance our native habitats provide economically, culturally, and socially.

4. Following public consultation on the policy intent in early 2020, this engagement sought feedback on the workability of the updated NPS-IB exposure draft. Auckland Council’s submission noted general support for the NPS-IB and its intent. It also identified areas for further improvements to improve clarity and support NPS-IB implementation, and support Auckland’s existing approach to biodiversity management.

5. For Auckland’s rural sector, the NPS-IB broadly aligns with council’s current approach to indigenous biodiversity; many regulatory provisions align with those already in the Auckland Unitary Plan (AUP) and support council’s various operational programmes. Existing activities inside or near Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) are provided for, as well as cycles of pasture maintenance or improvement. Landowners will be required to avoid or manage the adverse effects of land use activities on indigenous biodiversity, both within and outside of SNAs.

Background

6. An exposure draft of the proposed National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity (NPS-IB) was released for feedback by MfE from 9 June to 21 July 2022. MfE sought feedback from practitioners, iwi / Māori, stakeholders, and those highly familiar with the NPS-IB to ensure the exposure draft’s provisions are workable. The exposure draft release package is available on the MfE website here: Draft National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity — Exposure draft.

7. The release package includes: an exposure draft of the NPS-IB, summary of the exposure draft, draft implementation plan, and draft summary documents targeted to iwi / Māori, urban development, and farming and forestry sectors.

8. Public consultation on the policy intent of the proposed NPS-IB occurred in early 2020. The exposure draft has been updated to incorporate feedback received during that public consultation round, including several changes that align with Auckland Council’s submission at that time.

Why is indigenous biodiversity important?

9. New Zealand’s biodiversity is unique on a global scale and is recognised internationally as a biodiversity hot spot. Safeguarding ecosystems and the services they provide is important for our future prosperity.

10. 49% of all assessed indigenous species in New Zealand are found nowhere else on earth. Of the 13,385 species identified under the New Zealand Threat Classification System in 2019, 7% are classified as threatened with extinction, and 23% are ‘At Risk’. Less than half of the land area of Aotearoa remains in indigenous vegetation cover. Wetland and duneland ecosystems have been reduced by at least 90% since human arrival.

11. Economic success relies on our natural environment. It gives us a competitive advantage that underpins two of New Zealand’s key industries, tourism and primary production. Indigenous biodiversity contributes to the success of farming, forestry and horticulture through ecosystem services such as clean water, nutrient cycling, pollination, and protection from flooding.

12. The Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) provides the main framework for maintaining and protecting indigenous biodiversity from adverse effects on private land (through sections 5, 6, 7, 30 and 31). However, these provisions do not provide detailed direction and are often subject to different interpretations. This has led to repeated litigation costs, confusion, uncertainty and undervaluing biodiversity in decision-making.

Overview of the NPS-IB

13. The NPS-IB aims to protect, maintain and restore indigenous biodiversity, recognising the threats to our unique flora and fauna. It also aims to halt the ongoing decline faced by indigenous species and habitats, while recognising the importance that native habitats provide economically, culturally, and socially.

14. The NPS-IB expresses three core concepts:

· the vision statement Te Rito o te Harakeke, recognising:

o the intrinsic value and mauri of indigenous biodiversity

o the bond between people and indigenous biodiversity

o the responsibility of tangata whenua as kaitiaki, and New Zealanders as stewards

o the connectivity between indigenous biodiversity and the wider environment

o the incorporation of te ao Māori and mātauranga Māori

o the requirement for engagement with tangata whenua.

· ensuring the maintenance of indigenous biodiversity – ‘…at least no reduction…’ in size, range, extent, properties and functions, connectivity, and resilience of indigenous species, ecosystems and habitats.

· implementing an effects management hierarchy for how impacts on indigenous biodiversity from land-use activities should be managed.

15. Changes were made to the proposed NPS-IB in response to public consultation in early 2020. These changes have been made to ensure that the NPS-IB:

· provides for activities that are important for peoples’ economic wellbeing, such as farming, forestry and the provision of infrastructure and energy

· identifies significant indigenous biodiversity, and clearly outlines the process for managing effects on it without requiring SNAs to be split into ‘high’ and ‘medium’ categories

· recognises tangata whenua as kaitiaki and allows for the development of Māori land in partnership with tangata whenua, including Māori landowners

· confirms provisions for geothermal areas and public land (previously had placeholders).

What does NPS-IB require councils to do?

16. The NPS-IB requires local government to undertake two categories of action: a) implement regulatory provisions to manage indigenous biodiversity, and b) develop strategic direction for managing biodiversity at a regional scale.

17. The regulatory provisions required under the NPS-IB include:

· implementing the vision statement Te Rito o te Harakeke – councils to work with tangata whenua to develop a local approach for giving effect to Te Rito o te Harakeke, identifying and protecting taonga species, and recognising te ao Māori.

· identify, map and protect Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) – councils to consistently identify areas with significant indigenous flora, fauna and habitats, and manage their protection through regional and district plans, and consenting processes.

· identify and protect taonga species and ecosystems with tangata whenua – setting out a framework to enable councils and tangata whenua (to the extent they wish to be involved) to jointly identify ecological taonga, and develop appropriate management controls.

· maintain indigenous biodiversity outside of SNAs – councils to maintain indigenous biodiversity and manage adverse effects through the effects management hierarchy. This includes ecological corridors, buffers, and specified highly mobile fauna.

· managing effects of particular land-use activities – NPS-IB includes specific management approaches that are different from SNAs in general. These include:

o pastoral farming – parameters for managing SNAs within pastoral farming systems, including requirements that allow for the maintenance of improved pasture

o plantation forests – parameters for managing SNAs in plantation forestry to ensure threatened or at-risk species are maintained while allowing for harvesting

o māori land – specific management provisions for local authorities to work in partnership with tangata whenua and Māori landowners to develop objectives, policies and rules which balance the maintenance and protection of indigenous biodiversity on Māori land, with the development of that land

o mining and aggregate activities and specified infrastructure – a more permissive effects management regime that recognises economic activity, as well as the fact that these activities are often locationally constrained

· promoting restoration – councils to promote restoration of degraded SNAs, threatened and rare ecosystems, important buffering or connectivity areas, wetlands, urban areas or other areas that align with national priorities. This includes setting targets for increasing indigenous vegetation in both urban and non-urban areas.

· information and monitoring – provisions for information collection by local authorities on indigenous biodiversity, and for regional councils to establish methods and timeframes for monitoring indigenous biodiversity.

18. The NPS-IB also requires all regional councils to prepare a regional biodiversity strategy to set out how restoration of the region’s indigenous biodiversity is going to be achieved. A regional biodiversity strategy must include:

· a landscape-scale vision for restoring indigenous biodiversity

· recognise and provide for Te Rito o te Harakeke

· recognition of the connections within and between land, water and coastal marine areas

· support national priorities and other objectives, including climate mitigation and resilience

· specify actions, milestones, and monitoring and reporting measures.

19. The NPS-IB also includes timeframes for implementing the regulatory provisions as follows:

· late 2022 – preliminary provisions of NPS-IB to come into effect

· within three years (2025) – regional biodiversity strategies to be initiated

· within four years (2026) – councils that have previously undertaken an SNA mapping exercise to demonstrate alignment and compliance with new SNA provisions

· within five years (2027) – all councils to have SNAs identified, mapped and notified, along with any provisions relating to SNAs

· within 8 years (2030) – regional and city / district policy statements and plans to be updated with NPS-IB provisions (or as soon as practical).

Summary of Auckland Council’s submission on the NPS-IB exposure draft

20. Key points from Auckland Council’s submission on the NPS-IB exposure draft include:

· alignment across environmental domains and regulatory tools – including lack of integrated management across domains (terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine), inconsistent management of biodiversity across different regulatory tools, missing relationship provisions with other regulatory tools generally missing, and misalignment of definitions across regulatory tools

· strengthening of the NPS-IB – including adding a hierarchy of obligations (in line with NPS-FM), the ability for councils to adopt more stringent measures, and recognition of regional threat status

· support and resourcing for Iwi/Māori – noting the significant role for tangata whenua to support implementation, funding and resourcing must be made available for iwi/Māori to support implementation of the NPS-IB

· capacity and capability gaps – further support needed for the availability of ecologists (for local government and private sector), and to address access and capacity needs for data and information

· guidance required to support the implementation of NPS-IB – including for demonstrating compliance of previous SNA mapping exercises, how to value indigenous biodiversity to support decision making, and for monitoring and mapping standards

· increased flexibility to use regional or district planning provisions for SNAs – to allow for those councils (including Auckland Council) who use regional planning rules for existing SNA provisions, and avoid barriers to urban tree protection under district planning rules

· new definition for significant ‘national or regional public benefit’ – to provide clarity of potential consenting pathways for significant infrastructure

· more prescriptive provisions for existing activities affecting SNAs – additional provisions detailing the types of existing activities that are allowed to continue, both within and outside of SNAs

· clarity on exceptions for plantation forests with SNAs – to provide clarity of the intention for differing requirements for Threatened and At Risk species within the productive parts of a plantation forest versus wider areas within a plantation forest that could qualify as an SNA

· clarity to information requirements for the provision of technical ecological information – to include a threshold for when an ecological report is required.

Key considerations for the rural sector

21. MfE have developed targeted summary documents of the NPS-IB for the farming and forestry sectors.

22. The NPS-IB broadly aligns with Auckland Council’s current approach to indigenous biodiversity. This includes:

· at a regulatory level, with many provisions aligning with those already in the Auckland Unitary Plan, and

· at an operational level, supporting our extensive programmes delivering protection, restoration and enhancement of indigenous biodiversity across the region including supporting landowners and community groups with advice and funding.

23. Auckland Council has already undertaken an SNA exercise with the Significant Ecological Areas (SEA) layer in the AUP). The process for SNA identification outlined in the NPS-IB is similar to that used for Auckland’s SEAs. The SEA layer in the AUP will likely be reviewed to ensure compliance with the NPS-IB before 2026 (the deadline councils to demonstrate compliance of existing SNAs with the NPS-IB).

24. The NPS-IB provides for existing activities to continue and provides for some specific new activities. New activities must fall within clearly defined parameters to ensure indigenous biodiversity can be protected. Existing activities occurring inside or near SNAs will be allowed to continue if there is not an increase in scale or intensity, and it will not lead to degradation of an SNA.

25. The NPS-IB contains a policy which recognises pasture renewal where it may affect an SNA. The NPS-IB sets out that a regular cycle of periodic maintenance or improvement is permitted, as long as certain conditions are met which address the environmental effects.

26. In most cases, the NPS-IB will not require landowners to actively manage and protect an SNA on their property. The NPS-IB will however require landowners to either:

· avoid the impacts of land use activities that have adverse effects on SNAs, or

· manage the impacts of land use activities through the effects management hierarchy for certain activities impacting on SNAs, and on indigenous biodiversity outside of SNAs.

27. The National Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry (NES-PF) and the NPS-IB are intended to work together, but at different levels of granularity. The NES-PF is more prescriptive, containing provisions to manage indigenous vegetation outside of SNAs and requires harvest management plans. It also mitigates the effects of forestry on threatened indigenous bird nesting, including four At Risk species found in forests. The NPS-IB plantation forestry provisions focus on council plan provisions regarding SNAs in the productive forest and in indigenous vegetation remnants. It aims to protect threatened indigenous biodiversity while recognising the productive use of the forest.

Ngā tūtohunga

Recommendation/s

That the Rural Advisory Panel:

a) receive this report on the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity exposure draft including summary points of Auckland Council’s feedback.

Ngā tāpirihanga

Attachments

There are no attachments for this report.

Ngā kaihaina

Signatories

Author

Simon Fraser - Senior Analyst Natural Environment Strategy

Authorisers

Dave Allen - Manager Natural Environment Strategy

Jacques Victor – General Management Auckland Plan Strategy and Research

Warren Maclennan - Lead Officer

Rural Advisory Panel

05 August 2022

Healthy Waters Three Waters Reform update

File No.: CP2022/10641

Te take mō te pūrongo

Purpose of the report

1. To provide an update on Healthy Waters’ operational contribution to Three Waters reform, particularly affecting rural catchments.

Whakarāpopototanga matua

Executive summary

2. Following the Havelock North drinking water contamination in 2017, central government has introduced changes to manage water in New Zealand. This includes the establishment of Taumata Arowai to regulate water safety, and the Three Waters Reform Programme to address the disparities of water management across New Zealand through better access to funding, better environmental performance of our water services, making it affordable for future generations, efficient and sustainable water services, and improved operating standards.

Auckland Council’s position on the Three Waters reform and proposed legislation

3. The council’s Governing Body and the Environment and Community Committee have passed resolutions on the Three Waters reform at key points in the reform programme since 2018 (ENV/2018/135, GB/2020/93, GB/2021/110). On 23 June 2022 the Governing Body endorsed the development of Auckland Council’s submission on the Water Services Entities Bill consistent with the resolutions of the 23 September 2021 Governing Body meeting and the Mayor’s minority report (GB/2022/51). These resolutions support the need for the reform to lift standards of water supply, quality and wastewater treatment across New Zealand. They do not support the current ownership and governance arrangements.

4. The government has mandated the reform, which is being led by the Department of Internal Affairs through their Three Waters National Transition Unit. A suite of legislation is expected to be introduced and passed in the next year to enable the reform of the sector to proceed.

5. The Water Services Entities Bill (Bill 1) establishes the new entities and their purpose, and the boundaries and constituent local authorities. Auckland Council is included in Entity A, Northern Water Services Entity and will come into effect on 1 July 2024. Auckland Council’s submission on the Water Services Entities Bill, reaffirms support for the need for change to the current water sector. It also highlights several concerns regarding asset control and governance. The full submission will be publicly available on the legislation website.

6. Bill 2, expected later this year, will set out how these entities will operate and their functions.

7. While legislation is pending, we are starting to prepare for what this change might mean for Auckland Council and Auckland. Auckland Council’s Chief Planning Office has established the Three Waters Transition Office to coordinate National Transition Unit and council activity to 2024.

Northern Waters working group

8. Healthy Waters, Watercare, their counterparts in the northern councils, and the Department of Internal Affairs have begun collaborating and focussing at an operational level on what work is needed to identify the transition needs for the shift to Northern Waters to minimise or avoid service disruption through the transition process.

9. The group has been working with the Three Waters Transition Office to respond to information requests by the National Transition Unit and better understand the assets and processes in each area.

10. To support this, the Northern Waters councils have established technical working groups to focus on operational requirements for asset management, commercial, capital delivery, customers and community, maintenance and operations, people, te wai ora, technology, and stormwater/coastal/freshwater planning.

11. Key outcomes of the work to date include joined up technical advice to Department of Internal Affairs, recognition of the importance of integrated catchment management, better understanding of assets and processes in each area, and engagement with staff that will be affected by the reform process.

12. Healthy Waters and Watercare are supporting this effort through virtual teams and joint project planning. This includes a joint Climate Action Plan and a One Water asset management plan.

Technical working group on rural supplies

13. The technical working group on rural supplies was established by the Department of Internal Affairs. They have released recommendations on how rural supplies should be managed. The full report is available on the Three Waters Reform website.

14. The key issues highlighted by the working group include ownership, governance, pricing and accountability.

15. The working group recommends that all council owned mixed-use rural supplies should transfer to the water services entities, with an ability in limited circumstances for user ownership. Auckland Council owns small supplies for public facilities and welfare water collection across urban and rural areas of the region.

16. Conversely, the recommendation is that “rural supplies which have no council ownership will not be affected by the current reform”. The working group recognises that new drinking water standards may impact these non-council supplies and there may be some instances where ownership needs to change. The recommendation is that this would be assessed on individual cases.

17. Regarding drinking water treatment standards, the working group advocates a risk-based approach for enforcing new standards, particularly as it may not be economical for small supplies to treat all water to new standards. They have therefore recommended provision for ‘end point’ treatment to allow for different requirements for potable and non-potable users.

18. Pricing remains a priority for all groups involved in the reforms, with the expectation that pricing will be as affordable or more affordable than under the status quo. The working group has recommended that subsidies should not cross water type (for example stormwater should not subsidise wastewater) or area (for example rural users should not subsidise urban users). Further, if averaging is to be used to set prices, these should be assessed based on use (for example domestic, agricultural, horticulture).

Next steps

19. Auckland and Northland staff will continue to work closely through discovery while legislation is progressed over the next 12-18 months.

20. Bill 1 is expected to become law in late 2022, after which point Bill 2 will focus on service delivery and asset management. The work being undertaken by the Three Waters Transition Office and Northern Waters working groups will assist the council in its submission on Bill 2 and in its engagement with the National Transition Unit.

Ngā tūtohunga

Recommendation

That the Rural Advisory Panel:

a) receive the update on Healthy Waters’ operational contribution to Three Waters reform, particularly affecting rural catchments.

Ngā tāpirihanga

Attachments

There are no attachments for this report.

Ngā kaihaina

Signatories

Authors

Elizabeth Johnson – Senior Specialist, Wai Ora Strategic Programmes

Andrew Chin – Head of Healthy Waters Strategy

Authorisers

Craig Mcilroy – General Manager Healthy Waters

Barry Potter - Director Infrastructure and Environmental Services

Warren Maclennan – Lead Officer

Rural Advisory Panel

05 August 2022

The review of Auckland's Future Development Strategy - feedback sought on rural trends

File No.: CP2022/10566

Te take mō te pūrongo

Purpose of the report

1. To provide information on the review of Auckland’s Future Development Strategy and request feedback on the key questions relating to rural issues.

Whakarāpopototanga matua

Executive summary

2. This report sets out the background to the review of Auckland’s Future Development Strategy (FDS), including the rural section.

3. The review of the FDS is required under the National Policy Statement on Urban Development 2020 (NPS UD) and will replace the existing Development Strategy in the Auckland Plan 2050. The purpose of the FDS is to provide the basis for integrated, strategic, and long-term planning. It sets out how, when and where growth is anticipated over a 30-year period.

4. The updated FDS will incorporate requirements of new national policy initiatives. It will also respond to new information on environmental, social, cultural and economic factors such as climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.

5. Ongoing engagement with Tāmaki Makaurau Māori and with relevant stakeholders is proposed over the course of the project. Public consultation on the proposed FDS is proposed in the first half of 2023.

6. An updated FDS is needed in time to inform the Long-Term Plan 2024-2034 (LTP). In order to provide strategic direction that will usefully feed into the LTP process it is anticipated that the FDS will need to be completed by mid-2023.

Tātaritanga me ngā tohutohu

Analysis and advice

Updates to the rural section of the Future Development Strategy

7. The current FDS applies a quality compact approach to accommodating growth, as part of this limited growth is anticipated in rural areas. This is intended to maintain rural values and support ongoing rural production.

The Auckland Plan 2050 Development Strategy states that the approach to rural growth is:

‘Only a small amount of growth is anticipated in the wider rural area. This growth is likely to relate to environmental enhancement and existing vacant lots.

This will ensure that Auckland’s rural, coastal, marine and natural environments can co-exist in a balanced way with the working activities (such as farming, forestry, fishing, tourism) that rely on them and help sustain the regional community.

To ensure that rural production can continue and develop, land fragmentation and reverse sensitivity must be minimised to safeguard Auckland’s land and soil resources, particularly elite soils and prime soils.

This will also support the resources and production systems, including water supply, that underpin working rural land.’

8. Information in the current Development Strategy provides an analysis of rural production land use changes between 1996 and 2016. This analysis covers dairying, forestry, horticulture, pastoral and specialist production. The document also identifies the key challenges and opportunities in rural Auckland, such as high levels of subdivision across rural areas, fragmentation of productive land, domestication and commercialisation of rural landscapes, introduction of sensitive land uses into working environments and changes in rural land use.

9. Several major changes and events over the last four years since 2018 have potentially impacted on rural productivity and the environment. As part of the review of the FDS, these impacts and any emerging new trends in rural productivity will be assessed, and consideration given to whether these changes will alter the previously identified challenges and opportunities in rural Auckland.

10. There are some key factors that are new or have become more significant since 2018 and need to be considered in the review in terms of rural growth, productivity and the environment. These factors include:

· legislative change including NPS UD

· new council strategies (such as Te Tāruke ā Tāwhiri, the Water Strategy)

· COVID-19 pandemic

· the impacts of climate change

· freshwater management

· new requirements on protecting, maintaining, and restoring indigenous biodiversity

· protecting highly productive land

· mitigating and responding to natural hazards.

11. Additionally, work will be done to understand the impacts of growth on rural settlements. This will include considering the character of individual rural settlements and the nature of the ‘network’ of settlements. It will also focus on infrastructure issues in rural areas.

Feedback requested

12. As stated above, it is anticipated that changes will have occurred within the rural sector due to COVID-19 and other local and global influences and that these may continue to have impacts on land uses and rural productivity in the future. The review of the Development Strategy will again consider rural productivity.

13. Key feedback requested from the Rural Advisory Panel is:

a. What trends have you seen in rural productivity over the last four years? Have these trends impacted your sector?

b. Do you think that climate change is having impacts on rural productivity (flooding, other), and what are the effects on rural productivity?

c. What role do you think rural productivity will have in Auckland’s future?

Ngā koringa ā-muri

Next steps

14. Staff will develop a draft FDS (including a section on rural Auckland) by the end of 2022.

15. There will be a public consultation process for the draft FDS in early 2023. This will provide an opportunity for stakeholders, including the Rural Advisory Panel, to provide formal feedback.

16. After consultation, a copy of the final FDS will be provided to the Rural Advisory Panel, including a summary of how the Panel’s feedback has been incorporated into the final document.

Ngā tūtohunga

Recommendation/s

That the Rural Advisory Panel:

a) receive the report on the review of Auckland's Future Development Strategy.

b) provide feedback on the questions included in this report, as well as any other feedback.

Ngā tāpirihanga

Attachments

There are no attachments for this report.

Ngā kaihaina

Signatories

Author

Eva Zombori – Senior Advisor, Growth and Spatial Strategy

Authorisers

Jacques Victor – General Manager Auckland Plan Strategy and Research

Warren Maclennan - Lead Officer

Author	Sandra Gordon - Kaitohutohu Mana Whakahaere Matua / Senior Governance Advisor
Authoriser	Warren Maclennan – Lead Officer