Latest news with #ThamesCoromandelDistrictCouncil
Scoop
4 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Tauranga City Council Postpones Decision On Water Services Delivery
Tauranga City Council has postponed its decision to confirm a preferred delivery model for future water services. While Council was expected to make a decision on Monday, it opted instead to leave the report on the table to allow time for further discussions with the community prior to making a decision. The decision comes after Thames Coromandel District Council signalled it wished to progress alongside Tauranga City Council and Western Bay of Plenty District Council in a multi-council CCO at the end of April when Tauranga City Council's public consultation had already concluded. Tauranga City Council Mayor, Mahé Drysdale says Council has been very open to working with any Council that provides mutually beneficial outcomes. 'Western Bay of Plenty District Council has always been our preferred partner, but we have had conversations with a number of councils and worked through different scenarios. 'Off the back of that scenario modelling, we now have two councils that we could progress with, Western Bay of Plenty District Council, whom we consulted alongside in April, and more recently Thames Coromandel District Council.' 'The involvement of Thames Coromandel District Council is a relatively recent development and before making a decision, and moving to due diligence, we need to update our community about our potential new partner and ensure the community is fully informed,' Mahé says. 'Although a delay could compress the time required for submitting a Water Services Delivery Plan by 3 September, it is important that we get this right." 'We look forward to continuing to engage with all of our people and appreciate any feedback on how we can make Tauranga better.' A decision on Council's preferred delivery model is now expected on 5 August 2025. If a multi-council CCO was preferred, Council would also need to approve a Commitment Agreement, which would allow councils to work together and undertake a due diligence process that assesses a joint operating model. The establishment of any multi-council CCO would be subject to all parties being satisfied with the outcomes of the due diligence process, and any council could choose to withdraw if it was dissatisfied with its findings. Te Awanui Ward Councillor Hēmi Rolleston says it was appropriate to postpone the decision. 'This is one of the most important decisions this Council will make. Therefore, to leave this decision for a further three weeks is a practical decision, based on feedback from Iwi that they require more time, particularly with the relatively late inclusion of Thames Coromandel District Council.' Community event The Mayor and Councillors will be holding an information and Q&A session with the community about Local Water Done Well on Thursday, 24 July from 5-6pm at the University of Waikato in the Te Manawaroa Room. Free parking will be available from 4.30pm on the day at the council parking building on Spring Street. Notes: Local Water Done Well is the New Zealand government's plan to reform how water services are managed and to tackle the country's significant water infrastructure challenges. During public consultation in April 2025 a total of 726 people provided submissions addressing 'Why wai matters: Local Water Done Well', via council's online submissions form.
Scoop
6 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
From Cyclone Response To Policy Change: How Indigenous Research Transforms Systems
Government has ended climate buyouts and expects communities to manage their own risks. Our research into 'Hauraki Māori Weathering Cyclone Gabrielle' shows what happens when they already have to. The Policy Shift Climate adaptation experts have told government to stop buying out flood-damaged properties. Communities are now expected to assess their own risks and make their own decisions. Government will focus on protecting infrastructure rather than individual homes. Across the media, ministers are saying they cannot keep rescuing people from climate disasters while maintaining their own luxury lifestyles. Political leaders return from golden getaways and turn their backs on flood-affected communities. While the privileged retreat to higher ground, the rest are left navigating rising waters without support. This is exactly what happened to Hauraki Māori during Cyclone Gabrielle. Their communities were cut off for 15 days. Helicopters flew over them carrying generators and supplies to wealthier places. The abandonment they experienced then is now becoming government policy. Responsibility is being shifted to communities while wealth and comfort are protected from above. At the same time, councils are being handed more responsibility for climate adaptation without funding to deliver it. Catherine Murupaenga-Ikenn wrote in E-Tangata that this is not real decentralisation. It is a transfer of risk. The pattern is familiar. Those with power pass the burden onto others while guarding their own interests. What Our Research Found When emergency services could not reach them for over two weeks, Hauraki Māori communities mobilised their own systems of care. They moved through manaakitanga. They looked after each other because that is what Hauraki whānau do. One participant said it clearly: "It began because they did nothing. I mean, seriously, absolutely nothing. We did our own emergency management planning." Whānau set up evacuation centres at a kura. They turned marae into coordination hubs. They kept each other warm, fed and safe. No one was turned away. Everyone was looked after. Meanwhile, Thames Coromandel District Council said it experienced communication gaps and resource allocation challenges. A different participant told us: "We've been reading these weather patterns for generations, but no one listens." The truth is that communities already have ecological wisdom and effective response systems. They just do not exist inside official frameworks. Government systems did not even know they existed. This is the reality behind the policy shift. Communities are already managing climate risks on their own. The danger is that these same communities are being left with fewer options as property values drop and flood risks grow. Lower-income families are being concentrated in the most vulnerable areas. In Hauraki, half of the housing stock is owned by wealthy Aucklanders who visit two to four weeks a year. The Māori median income is twenty-three thousand dollars. For non-Māori, it is twenty-six thousand. With the few available rentals around five hundred dollars a week, many whānau can only afford housing in high-risk zones. Research That Changes Systems When we presented our 'Hauraki Māori Weathering Cyclone Gabrielle' research to all three Hauraki district councils, they did not push back. They did not defend their systems or question our methods. They said they would act on our recommendations. They said they wanted to work alongside us. This is unprecedented. This matters because it shows the strength of Indigenous-led, community-based research. This research does not clock out. It stays in the community and works with whānau to build solutions while foregrounding their voices and documenting what is already happening. When councils said they could use our recommendations straight away, they were recognising that communities had already created effective approaches. They saw that this research captured real-life responses that could be integrated into official planning. That change is crucial. Government policy now expects communities to carry the responsibility for climate response. Our research shows they already do. Communities know how to move through crisis using their own systems of care and connection. The real question is not whether they can. It is how we support and resource this work when it happens. Scaling What Works Our next research project will take what worked in Hauraki and turn it into practical tools. These tools will show other communities and services how to prepare when formal systems fail. We will create resources that explain how to activate marae as emergency health hubs. We will document communication methods that worked when the power was out and mobile service was patchy. We will provide templates for coordination based on existing whanaungatanga. We will offer guidelines to help official agencies support community responses rather than take them over. This work is needed. Because in Hauraki, we are still mobilising. Whether it is a natural crisis or colonially constructed, we keep caring for our people. That is who we are. The new study will record how this care is sustained over time. It will offer frameworks that other communities can adapt. Because we know this. When the storms come and systems collapse, our people are the first responders. Government can choose to support this. It can invest in what already works. Or it can keep funding systems that fail at the worst possible moment while blaming the gap on communication issues. The councils' response shows that system change is possible. When research is led by whānau and grounded in lived experience, it creates real solutions. When agencies listen, they can build systems that hold during crisis. Our research proves that integration is possible. Not just possible, but essential. Communities move through manaakitanga and relationship networks when formal responses fail. They need systems that move with them. Not around them. The knowledge already exists. The relationships already exist. The only question is whether this Indigenous-led approach will reach communities in time to meet the risks now being passed down to them. Author Bio Paora Moyle (KSO) is Director of Research at Te Whāriki Manawāhine o Hauraki. They lead kaupapa Māori research that centres Indigenous wisdom, data sovereignty and system change. Their latest report is 'Hauraki Māori Weathering Cyclone Gabrielle,' co-authored with Lesley Kelly and Denise Messiter (ONZM).
Scoop
08-05-2025
- Climate
- Scoop
Stormwater 2025: Tackling Flooding And Storms To Build A Climate-Resilient Future
Protecting communities from flooding and ensuring a sustainable and climate resilient water future will be a key focus at a major stormwater conference in Rotorua next week. The Water New Zealand Stormwater Conference and Expo 2025 brings together more than 500 delegates, presenters and exhibitors from across Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally to discuss latest challenges and solutions to stormwater management. 'We have major challenges ahead and we need innovative and affordable solutions to address the growing risk of more intense rainfall events and flooding, says Water New Zealand chief executive Gillian Blythe. Keynote speakers at the conference include Climate Change and Local Government Minister, Simon Watts, Insurance Council chief executive Chris Faafoi and the programme manager for South Dunedin Future, Jonathan Rowe, who's heading an adaptation plan for low lying and flood affected South Dunedin. Other keynote speakers are: Nicki Green – Thames Coromandel District Council, Shari Gallop – PDP and University of Waikato, Mike Adams – Stantec USA, Allan Leahy – Auckland Council. The conference will also showcase collaborative bicultural stormwater management solutions between councils, communities and iwi. 'We need to ensure all communities, including hapu and iwi, work together to ensure we're adopting the best of international knowledge and home-grown solutions. 'We know we can't just hard engineer, or pipe our way, out of many of the problems facing us. 'That's why stormwater management is increasing about adopting nature-based and water sensitive urban design solutions as well as traditional piped networks.' The conference starts on Tuesday, 13 May, with pre-conference workshops on Monday 12 May.
