I hereby give notice that an ordinary meeting of the Environment Committee will be held on: Date: Tuesday, 13 February 2018 Time: 9.00am Venue: Tararua Room Horizons Regional Council 11-15 Victoria Avenue, Palmerston North ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE AGENDA MEMBERSHIP Chair Cr GM McKellar Deputy Chair Cr PJ Kelly JP Councillors Cr JJ Barrow Cr LR Burnell Cr DB Cotton Cr EB Gordon JP (ex officio) Cr RJ Keedwell Cr NJ Patrick Cr PW Rieger, QSO JP Cr BE Rollinson Cr CI Sheldon Cr WK Te Awe Awe Michael McCartney Chief Executive Contact Telephone: 0508 800 800 Email: [email protected] Postal Address: Private Bag 11025, Palmerston North 4442 Full Agendas are available on Horizons Regional Council website www.horizons.govt.nz Note: The reports contained within this agenda are for consideration and should not be construed as Council policy unless and until adopted. Items in the agenda may be subject to amendment or withdrawal at the meeting. for further information regarding this agenda, please contact: Julie Kennedy, 06 9522 800 CONTACTS 24 hr Freephone : [email protected] www.horizons.govt.nz 0508 800 800 SERVICE Kairanga Marton Taumarunui Woodville CENTRES Cnr Rongotea & Hammond Street 34 Maata Street Cnr Vogel (SH2) & Tay Kairanga-Bunnythorpe Rds, Sts Palmerston North REGIONAL Palmerston North Whanganui HOUSES 11-15 Victoria Avenue 181 Guyton Street DEPOTS Levin Taihape 11 Bruce Road Torere Road Ohotu POSTAL Horizons Regional Council, Private Bag 11025, Manawatu Mail Centre, Palmerston North 4442 ADDRESS FAX 06 9522 929 Environment Committee 13 February 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Welcome / Karakia 5 2 Apologies and Leave of Absence 5 3 Public Forums / Deputations / Petitions 5 4 Supplementary Items 5 5 Members’ Conflict of Interest 5 6 Confirmation of Minutes Environment Committee meeting, 12 December 2017 7 7 Presentation: Keeping New Zealand Beautiful (Approx 9.05am) Report No: 18-17 13 8 Freshwater & Partnerships Progress Report Report No: 18-05 15 Annex A - Freshwater & Partnerships Progress Report 17 9 Science & Innovation Progress Report (including a presentation from NIWA) Report No: 18-06 33 Annex A - Science & Innovation progress report 37 10 Biodiversity, Biosecurity & Partnerships Progress Report Report No: 18-07 71 Annex A - Biosecurity Animals Progress Report 73 Annex B - Biosecurity Plants Progress Report 83 Annex C - Biodiversity Progress Report 103 Annex D - Kia Wharite Pest Control 2017-18 114 11 Regulatory Management and Rural Advice Activity Report - December 2017 to January 2018 Report No: 18-08 115 12 Members’ Questions Page 3 Environment Committee 13 February 2018 AGENDA 1 Welcome/Karakia 2 Apologies and Leave of Absence At the close of the Agenda no apologies had been received. 3 Public Forums: Are designed to enable members of the public to bring matters, not on that meeting’s agenda, to the attention of the local authority. Deputations: Are designed to enable a person, group or organisation to speak to an item on the agenda of a particular meeting. Requests for Public Forums / Deputations must be made to the meeting secretary by 12 noon on the working day before the meeting. The person applying for a Public Forum or a Deputation must provide a clear explanation for the request which is subsequently approved by the Chairperson. Petitions: Can be presented to the local authority or any of its committees, so long as the subject matter falls within the terms of reference of the council or committee meeting being presented to. Written notice to the Chief Executive is required at least 5 working days before the date of the meeting. Petitions must contain at least 20 signatures and consist of fewer than 150 words (not including signatories). Further information is available by phoning 0508 800 800. 4 Supplementary Items To consider, and if thought fit, to pass a resolution to permit the Committee/Council to consider any further items relating to items following below which do not appear on the Order Paper of this meeting and/or the meeting to be held with the public excluded. Such resolution is required to be made pursuant to Section 46A(7) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (as amended), and the Chairperson must advise: (i) The reason why the item was not on the Order Paper, and (ii) The reason why the discussion of this item cannot be delayed until a subsequent meeting. 5 Members’ Conflict of Interest Members are reminded of their obligation to declare any conflicts of interest they might have in respect of the items on this Agenda. Page 5 Environment Committee 13 February 2018 Minutes of the sixth meeting of the tenth triennium of the Environment Committee held at 9.00am on Tuesday 12 December 2017, in the Tararua Room, Horizons Regional Council, 11-15 Victoria Avenue, Palmerston North. PRESENT Crs (Chair) GM McKellar, JJ Barrow, DB Cotton, EB Gordon JP (ex officio) (to 10.45am and from 12.20pm), RJ Keedwell, PJ Kelly JP, NJ Patrick (via audio visual link), PW Rieger, QSO JP, BE Rollinson, CI Sheldon, and WK Te Awe Awe . IN ATTENDANCE Group Manager Strategy & Regulation Dr N Peet Group Manager Natural Resources & Partnerships Dr J Roygard Committee Secretary Mrs B Gillespie ALSO PRESENT At various times during the meeting: Mr R Strong (Group Manager River Management), Ms A Matthews (Science & Innovation Manager), Mr L Brown (Freshwater & Partnerships Manager), Mr G Bevin (Regulatory Manager), Mr G Shirley (Group Manager Regional Services & Information), Mr R Smillie (Biodiversity, Biosecurity & Partnerships Manager), Mr C Davey (Environmental Programme Coordinator-Plants), Ms C Morrison (Media & Communications Manager), Ms P Tucker (Policy Analyst), Ms S Galley (Environmental Educator), Science Team staff, Mr W Anderson (Public Submission), and a member of the press. The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and invited Cr W Te Awe Awe to say a Karakia. APOLOGIES The Chair noted an apology from Cr Burnell. PUBLIC FORUMS Mr Warren Anderson was granted public speaking rights to address “Stabilisation of Manawatu Gorge south side (north and east facing) hillside with Pinus radiata forest”. Mr Anderson introduced himself and tabled his paper for Members’ information. He discussed points of interest regarding the history of slips in the Manawatu Gorge over many years and how planting of trees on the slip prone areas could stabilise those areas. He proposed that steep erodible slopes of the Manawatu Gorge would be stabilised by planting Pinus radiata which would grow anywhere, as long as light and water was available. He offered his assistance in providing the Council with evidence of that. In conclusion, Mr Anderson thanked Cr Sheldon for her assistance in progressing his ideas. Mr Anderson then responded to questions about long term management of large old trees, suggesting that the trees be harvested and rotated. Research indicated that some root structure would be lost, so harvesting would be on a rotational basis. Dr Peet (Group Manager Strategy & Regulation) advised that the current Government was aiming to plant one million new trees and there were opportunities for expanding the planting plan across highly erodible land. The Chair welcomed the idea and would be interested to see if it could be progressed further. Page 7 Environment Committee 13 February 2018 SUPPLEMENTARY ITEMS The Chair advised that a revised Annex A, Page 31 of the Agenda providing additional information was tabled for Members’ information. MEMBERS’ CONFLICTS OF INTEREST Cr Rollinson noted a possible conflict of interest regarding a Freshwater grant pending as identified in the map on page 92. Cr Keedwell noted a possible conflict of interest regarding discussion around AFFCO NZ Ltd contained in Item 12 , Report No 17-250. She was a hearing commissioner for the AFFCO NZ Ltd hearing held in November. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES ENV 17-47 Moved Kelly/Cotton That the Committee: confirms the minutes of the Environment Committee meeting held on 10 October 2017 as a correct record, and notes that the recommendations were adopted by the Council on 25 October 2017. CARRIED ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION Report No 17-245 The purpose of this item was to provide Members with an Environmental Education progress report for the period from 2 October – 2 December 2017. Ms Morrison (Media & Communications Manager) introduced the paper. Ms Morrison noted with pleasure that Ms Galley had now been appointed to the Environmental Educator position as a permanent employee and highlighted the excellent feedback from schools and community groups she had contact with. She highlighted her work and initiatives with the Land Management team. Ms Morrison encouraged Members to view Horizons Regional Council Facebook page which had the detail of some great initiatives. Ms Galley took the report as read, noting that the number of schools involved in Enviroschools had increased and noted that the Challenge day 2017 was a success with eight teams entered. She recently took a group of students and Geography Teachers to the Manawatu River to identify projects they could undertake on improving water quality. “Seedlings” newsletter would be issued four times a year from 2018. Ms Galley responded to a question regarding participation by schools in the Challenge Day event. She said in future the event would be held earlier in the year to allow more teams to enter. Regarding Kohanga Reo involvement, Ms Galley advised she had been in talks with Iwi and hoped to have more involved next year. Cr Kelly acknowledged the generous contribution by MDC in providing the prizes for the Challenge Day at Totara Reserve. Members were welcome to invite their regions to join the programme. ENV 17-48 Moved Keedwell/Kelly That the Committee recommends that Council: a. receives the information contained in Report No. 17-245. CARRIED Page 8 Environment Committee 13 February 2018 BIODIVERSITY, BIOSECURITY & PARTNERSHIPS PROGRESS REPORT Report No 17-246 This item updated Members on the progress made in the Biosecurity activity over the period 1 September to 31 October 2017.