Purpose / Objective:
To oversee and monitor the development of the Kaituna River and Maketu Estuary Management Strategy and ensure work is progressing within the agreed timeframes.
Membership:
Environment Bay of Plenty – three elected members
Tauranga City Council – one elected member (and one alternate)
Western Bay of Plenty District Council - two elected members
Rotorua District Council – one elected member (and one alternate)
Western Bay of Plenty District Council appointed Councillors Michael Jones and Kevin Marsh.
Environment Bay of Plenty appointed Councillors Raewyn Bennett, Ian Noble and Karen Summerhays.
Voting:
Each member of the Joint Governance Committee has one (1) vote.
Quorum:
Five (5) members of the Committee.
Lower Kaituna Urban Pressures
Rotorua District Council will not be involved in discussion on urban pressures in the lower Kaituna River catchment.
Standing Orders:
The Joint Committee shall follow NZS 9202:2001 standing orders as revised to comply with the Local Government Act 2002 and as may be amended by a Quorum of the Joint Committee membership.
Chair:
The Joint Committee shall elect a Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson at the first meeting after the Joint Committee appointment.
Frequency of Meetings:
Meetings will be held every three months or as required.
Term:
This committee will have effect until the strategy is adopted by the four participating councils. At this time the need for the committee and the terms of reference will be reviewed as implementation of the strategy will need to be considered.
Administrative Authority:
Environment Bay of Plenty will be responsible for the administration of the Joint Committee.
Roles and Responsibilities:
The Kaituna Maketu Joint Council Committee:
- Is the sponsor of the project to develop a management strategy
- Is responsible for overseeing this project
- Has an overall monitoring role in terms of timeframes and deliverables
- Is responsible for reporting back to the strategic partners
Delegations:
The Kaituna Maketu Joint Council Committee will:
- Approve the project structure and any adjustments to the project content and the timetable
- Adopt and recommend both a draft and final strategy to each participating council
- Oversee the resolution of all the strategic and policy issues to ensure continuance of the project
- Seek sufficient resources to support the completion of the strategy development by making recommendations through the constituent local authority budgeting processes
- Seek community understanding and buy in, in respect of the project and the strategy
- Will receive advice from the Chief Executives from each participating council and the project team
The Kaituna Maketu Joint Council Committee may:
- Consider and make decisions on submissions on the draft Strategy, staff recommendations and proposed changes to the strategy where the Joint Committee forms or is part of a hearings committee for the Strategy
- Be involved in applications for activities in relation to significant issues
lobby central government on significant issues particularly where the
- Lobbying central government resources is considered appropriate. Such lobbying from the joint committee of the four participating councils is considered to be more effective than lobbying from individual councils
- Pass resolutions which embody an opinion of the joint committee or address a matter relevant to the working of the committee for reporting to the constituent local authorities
- Consider and recommend additional representation on governance committee or changes to existing members for approval by the respective councils
In order to determine whether a particular issue is significant, the joint committee will need to be satisfied that at least one of the following criteria apply:
- A major adverse effect on the Kaituna River and Maketu Estuary which is irreversible, difficult to reverse, or reversible only over long periods of time
- An activity that was not anticipated by the strategy or a statutory plan or has the potential to create a precedent effect
- The scale of actual or potential cumulative adverse effects is significant
- A proposal or decision has the potential to significantly impact the community, including tangata whenua, in the Kaituna River catchment (including Maketu Estuary)
It is not considered that any financial delegations are required. The costs of attendance at committee meetings should lie where they fall. The actions to give effect to the strategy itself and costs associated with reporting to the committee are proposed to be funded from within the budgets of participating councils.
Other resolutions required and not covered above will be by way of a recommendation to the relevant or all participating councils.