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Judging by the demand to speak in public forum, Hamilton City Council’s newly established Environment Committee is a welcome addition to its governance structure.

After the Committee was introduced by Mayor Paula Southgate following the 2019 election, this triennium marks the first time the Council has had a governance arm solely dedicated to the wellbeing, protection, enhancement and sustainability of the city’s natural environment.

At the Committee’s inaugural meeting yesterday, seven individuals and organisations requested to speak during the public forum, extending the session’s standard 30-minute duration to almost an hour.

The public presentations were primarily focused on the meeting’s General Manager Report, which updated Committee Members on the progress of the Council’s Climate Change Action Plan, and a draft submission on a proposed National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity (NPS-IB).

In August 2019, Elected Members (under the previous Council) directed staff to develop a Climate Change Action Plan for Hamilton by April 2020.

The Committee’s first call to action was to extend the timeline for the plan to June 2020 so an assessment of a citywide carbon footprint could be incorporated.

The Committee’s Chair, Councillor Margaret Forsyth, acknowledged the need to balance a call for urgency from the community with ensuring the plan meets best practice.
“We need to take the time at the front end to ensure we’re being thorough,” she said.

“I hear the [community’s] frustrations but I’m also mindful of good process and making sure we make the right decisions in a timely way, so we get the result we want in the end.”

In the meantime, staff will report back to Elected Members next month on actions to reduce the Council’s carbon emissions in the 2020/21 financial year.
Actions already underway to reduce the Council’s carbon emissions, and other environmental initiatives, featured in what will be the final Sustainability Stocktake Report, presented at the meeting.

The actions included an upgrade to Waterworld’s air heating system, reducing natural gas usage by 20%, and the continued rollout of LED streetlights, reducing power use by 2,700,000kWh. These projects combined are saving an estimated 536 tonnes of C02 equivalents per year.

Future sustainability updates will now be included in the new Wellbeing Outcomes Report.

The Committee approved the submission to the Ministry for the Environment on the proposed NPS-IB.

An NPS sets the Government’s objectives and policies for matters of national significance which promote the sustainable management of natural and physical resources. The proposed NPS-IB seeks to address a decline in indigenous biodiversity, in part because local authorities have not had a consistent approach to meeting their Resource Management Act (RMA) responsibilities.

The proposed NPS-IB has an overall objective of maintaining indigenous biodiversity and includes proposals to create a standard set of ecological criteria for councils to identify significant natural areas (SNA), avoid adverse effects on these areas from development, and place joint responsibility on regional and local councils to identify and monitor some types of fauna outside the SNAs.

The Council’s submission supports the proposed NPS-IB but seeks further clarity and includes recommendations for some minor changes.

For the full draft submission and the meeting agenda and minutes, go to www.hamilton.govt.nz/agendas

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