Revamped deal spells out iwi role in resource consenting
Cr Birchfield has argued that the intention was to consult the rūnanga on matters important to them, rather than require their approval for every resource consent, which he claims is happening now.
The original agreement says the council will process resource consents in a way that appropriately recognises the effects of activities on Poutini Ngāi Tahu.
The revised clause goes further.
'The parties agree that to ensure timely, efficient and cost-effective resource consent processing, applicants and planners must both recognise and provide for the rights, interests and values of Poutini Ngāi Tahu as manawhenua.'
That is consistent with the principles of the Resource Management Act (RMA), the draft says.
'As such, the council will treat Poutini Ngāi Tahu as an affected party for all applications for resource consent where there is potential for adverse cultural effects, unless it is demonstrated otherwise.'
A new clause, added to the agreement, states that the Council will strongly encourage consent applicants to consult the rūnanga early on, through their environmental entities, Poutini Environmental or Pokeka Poutini Ngāi Tahu.
'Where consultation has not occurred, and a written approval letter has not been supplied, the Council will need to consider limited notification ... to Poutini Ngāi Tahu which can result in increased processing time and costs for applicants."
The draft also spells out how the Council will support monitoring by manawhenua.
'Achieving a culturally relevant monitoring programme will require dedicated and consistent resourcing for Pokeka Poutini Ngāi Tahu Limited ... a specific funding agreement dedicated to environmental cultural monitoring will be needed before this programme can commence."
WCRC chief executive Darryl Lew said last month the agreement and its protocol document, Paetae Kotahitanga ki Te Tai Poutini, were still fit for purpose and needed only minor changes.
Because the council had been through some turbulent times with changes of leadership, key pieces of work had not been done including its practical implementation and the five year review was the opportunity to do that, he said.
Cr Birchfield has argued that the agreement effectively gives iwi a sign-off right that was not intended by the RMA and has added to the delays and costs of obtaining resource consents on the West Coast.
In a supplied statement he said the changes were far from minor.
'The role of Ngāi Tahu is strengthened to having, effectively, the same functions and powers as local government in certain areas.'
However, Ngāi Tahu was not accountable to West Coasters in the same way as local government was, Mr Birchfield said.
A particular issue in the agreement was the use of the term, "joint planning' which elevated Ngāi Tahu to the same level as the council, Mr Birchfield said.
The changed proposal moved the region towards co-governance, and if Ngāi Tahu were to have a greater role in regional government, West Coast electors should be consulted on the changes by way of a referendum, Cr Birchfield said.
The Regional Council says the changed wording in the agreement confers no additional powers on Ngāi Tahu but clarifies the existing rights of manawhenua under the RMA and the Treaty of Waitangi, and operational processes for council staff.
During a meeting in May, Ngāti Waewae representative Francois Tumahai defended the iwi's current role in resource consenting.
[www.teaonews.co.nz/2025/05/08/iwi-defends-role-in-west-coast-consent-process/]
Tumahai said the rūnanga were required to give feedback on consent conditions.
'The decision is still made by the consents team on council. We don't make a decision on it,'
The new document with the changes outlined, is available on the WCRC website in the agenda for today's council meeting.
The Council this morning agreed to hold some clauses over for further advice and clarity, and the meeting continues this afternoon.
- By Lois Williams, Local Democracy Reporter
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
an hour ago
- NZ Herald
Rate hikes and reforms force councils into tough decisions
The sector faces unprecedented fiscal pressure – and ratepayers are running out of patience. This is not business as usual. Come October, newly elected mayors and councillors will inherit this perfect storm. But unlike their predecessors, they are running out of road – growth in debt is becoming unsustainable and the Government is taking an ever-closer interest in council performance. The next three years will demand brutal choices: which services to cut, which projects to abandon, and how to navigate the most sweeping government reforms in decades. Those who succeed will need more than management skills. They will need the political courage to tell their communities hard truths. The financial reckoning is stark. Department of Internal Affairs benchmarks published last week reveal dramatic disparities between councils in rates per household, debt per capita and capital spending. In many cases, debt is rising faster than revenues. Some councils face massive infrastructure deficits while pursuing new facilities. Others watch transport and water project costs blow out while basic maintenance gets deferred. Across the country, councils with grand ambitions are being mugged by grinding reality. Making matters worse, the 2025-28 council term coincides with multiple central government reforms that will reshape local government's foundations. First comes the Resource Management Act replacement. The new system will shift responsibilities from individual councils to regional entities and national standards. While potentially streamlining planning processes, the transition will demand new skills and complex co-ordination, along with significant upfront costs. Then there is water reform. The coalition's 'Local Water Done Well' leaves councils responsible for delivering viable water services alone or through shared entities. By September, every council must produce a Water Services Delivery Plan that satisfies the new water regulator and the Commerce Commission. Some councils are pursuing joint ventures with neighbours, hoping to achieve economies of scale. Others are establishing at-arm's-length, council-controlled organisations, seeing it as the best way to maintain local control while meeting new standards. Still others plan to soldier on in the status quo, somehow convinced they can manage the regulatory burden in-house. Each path has its challenges. The Local Government (System Improvements) Bill adds another layer of change. It scraps councils' broad 'wellbeings' mandate – the ability to promote spending on loosely-asserted social, economic, environmental and cultural benefits – in favour of the Prime Minister's 'doing the basics brilliantly'. The bill prioritises core services, introduces new financial performance measures, mandatory disclosure of contractor and consultant spending and standardised codes of conduct. Most controversially, it opens the door to rates capping, which the minister says is being developed 'at pace'. Capping rates is appealing to angry ratepayers, but international experience shows it can be a blunt instrument. Councils in capped jurisdictions often defer maintenance, cut core services or find creative workarounds that cost more. Ratepayer referendums on major non-core projects could prove more effective, giving communities direct say over expensive projects while preserving councils' ability to fund essentials. Newly elected mayors face tough choices on services and projects due to unsustainable debt growth. Photo / NZME Democratic decay compounds these challenges. Voter turnout at local elections barely reaches half that of national elections. Despite last-minute surges, some councils couldn't fill all seats. Several mayoralties attracted just one candidate. This reflects decades of centralisation that have hollowed out local government's relevance. Why would talented people seek office when councils control less and matter less? Why would voters care? The erosion shows in public discourse. Councillors face increasing criticism and abuse, much of it personal and vitriolic. Social media amplifies every rates increase, every pothole, every perceived failure. Yet councils desperately need capable people who can absorb regulatory complexity, scrutinise multi-million dollar infrastructure proposals, and communicate financial realities to their communities. Those elected in October face three immediate priorities. Cost growth must be controlled without gutting essential services, a delicate balance requiring financial acumen and political skill. Reforms will test their ability to shape change rather than resist. Most importantly, they must rebuild trust with communities exhausted by rate hikes and service failures. Ratepayers being mugged by reality should be watching closely. They should not accept more empty promises, excuses, delays or double-digit rate increases. Success in the next council term will require a different kind of leadership. The old model, where councils could muddle through and keep hiking rates, is dead. The new environment demands leaders who can make hard choices quickly, communicate them clearly, and stick to them despite the inevitable backlash. This means not making their own costly promises, being prepared to say no to others' dreams and schemes, and telling uncomfortable truths about what councils can and cannot afford. The question is whether enough of them have stepped forward – and, crucially, whether enough voters will notice and reward them.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Push for a pause on Masterton town hall demolition
Councillor Tim Nelson hopes his motion to pause demolition work on the Masterton Town Hall finds favour. Photo: LDR / Emily Ireland A final attempt to pause the demolition of Masterton's Town Hall will be floated at a council meeting on Wednesday. Councillor Tim Nelson has presented a Notice of Motion, backed by councillor Brent Goodwin, calling for an immediate pause on all physical and administrative work on the Town Hall project and the Waiata House extension. It also asked for the council to suspend the tender process and any further procurement, planning, or demolition activities relating to the town hall "until the council has reconsidered its long-term plan priorities and consulted further with the community". Nelson said he had submitted the Notice of Motion in light of community feedback and concerns around cost, heritage preservation, and strategic priorities; the need for fiscal prudence; and the council's responsibility to ensure all major capital works reflected current and future community needs. "A pause will enable council to review both projects thoroughly, without incurring further unnecessary costs or binding contractual obligations, and to engage in transparent consultation with the public on next steps," he said in his Notice of Motion. He told Local Democracy Reporting that the motion would show "who is determined to press on with the project despite the costs and the uncertainty around water infrastructure". "It will be great if it passes, but I think that it will be tough to get it through. "I am glad that it's in place before the election so that people will need to take a position either way." As part of the 2024-34 Long-Term Plan, a majority of Masterton councillors voted to demolish the earthquake-prone town hall and municipal building and build anew on the same site for a cost of no more than $25 million. They also voted to expand the existing Waiata House to accommodate Civil Defence, customer services, a council chamber, public meeting rooms, and a lab, at an estimated cost of $8.7million. At the end of May, an independent commissioner granted resource consent for the council to demolish its century-old civic buildings, and a tender for demolition was currently out with the request for proposals closing on 5 August. A concept plan has been received for the new build, along with planning advice which would need to be reviewed by a quantity surveyor for costing. In June, it was revealed that the council was exploring alternative options for the Waiata House extension than what was previously approved in the Long Term Plan after initial pricing did not fall within the approved budget. Councillors would discuss this on Wednesday in public excluded due to it being commercially sensitive information. - Local Democracy Reporting is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
Scoop
2 days ago
- Scoop
Water Services To Be Managed And Delivered By Council Controlled Organisation
Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) has confirmed a Water Services Council Controlled Organisation (WSCCO) will be specifically created to deliver water services in the district, after the matter was considered at the Full Council Meeting on Thursday 31 July 2025. The decision follows a proposal put before the community in May and June 2025 to manage and deliver drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater services, as part of central government's Local Water Done Well plan to address Aotearoa New Zealand's water infrastructure challenges. Mayor of the Queenstown Lakes District, Glyn Lewers said the decision reflected analysis that a WSCCO would be the most effective at providing these services under the new legislative and regulatory regime, and enabled Council to begin preparing to create an organisation to deliver future water services. 'Key themes arising from feedback centred around the costs to households, costs to implement and operate a potential WSCCO compared with the in-house model, along with comments around accountability, transparency, and managing a separate entity effectively,' said Mayor Lewers. 'The decision to progress with a WSCCO last week was undeniably a challenging one to make, but considered that this model will provide a range of advantages in accountability, independence, and lower household costs in the long term when compared with the in-house model.' Now decided on, the future WSCCO will be fully owned by QLDC, but the organisation will be governed by its own independent specialist board and management. QLDC will be the only shareholder and will appoint board members based on the skills and experience needed for proper governance of the new organisation. Intended legislation by central government will prevent any WSCCO from being privatised which means that the WSCCO will remain wholly owned by QLDC. Council will set the organisation's strategic priorities and establish measures to ensure it performs to expectations, while the Commerce Commission will use various regulatory tools to ensure water charges are fair, cost-reflective, and transparent. The other shortlisted option evaluated was for QLDC to continue to deliver water services in-house, recognising that changes would need to be made to enable Council to respond to the new regulatory environment if such a model was progressed in-house model would have been similarly subject to the Commerce Commission regulatory requirements. Letters and emails were sent to all ratepayers in the Queenstown Lakes District, along with supporting communications material shared in local papers and on a range of online platforms, all detailing the opportunity to share feedback on the WSSCO and in-house models. Over 120 submissions were received during the consultation period, the majority of which were in favour of the option to retain water services in-house. Mayor Lewers said given drinking water, stormwater, and wastewater services all cost ratepayers a significant amount of money that would increase regardless of which approach to water services was taken, it was imperative Council took a long-term view to ensure those services were reliable, sustainable, and future-proofed. 'I acknowledge that while the majority of submitters opposed a change to how water services are delivered, Council's role is to consider community views alongside legal and technical perspectives, and many of the genuine concerns raised have since been addressed by evolving legislative changes,' said Mr Lewers. 'Any potential WSCCO must consult with the community on matters of significance, and proposed changes in the resource management space will require the integration of urban development and infrastructure planning between Council and WSCCO – both of which address potential disadvantages of proceeding with this model,' added Mr Lewers. 'Ultimately, after careful assessment of the two models, public input, the recent legislative changes, and debate on the matter, we can now provide certainty to residents of the Queenstown Lakes District around how their water services will be delivered in the future.' QLDC will now begin to establish a WSCCO under new water legislation. Responsibility for the district's water services, along with ownership of QLDC's water assets and associated debt and liabilities, will be transferred to the WSCCO once established. The WSCCO will be responsible for planning, funding, and delivering water services in accordance with new legislative and regulatory requirements. A Water Services Delivery Plan (WSDP) will be prepared and submitted to Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) by Wednesday 3 September, describing the current state of QLDC's water assets and services as well as the future arrangements for delivery of water services.
