Water zone works on budget focus

There is some work still to be done by the Ashburton Water Zone Committee to finalise its action plan budget.

The committee has been allocated $50,000 by Environment Canterbury to support its plan initiatives in this financial year, ending June 30.

A workshop on the action plan budget allocation was held before its public meeting on Tuesday, but those in attendance were unable to finalise the plan.

“It’s been agreed we need to do a little bit more work on our strategy so we are going to set up some more workshops in February,” ECan zone facilitator Dave Moore said.

“We need to have everything pretty much in place by the end of April so we can make sure we have all our funding agreements and all our administration done to get it in by the end of the financial year.” and community board members after last year’s election.

The committee provided significant investment to support the establishment of the Mid Canterbury Catchment Collective last year which it stated “had paid huge dividends and that the MCCC is now quite self-sufficient”.

This year the committee was looking to focus on Ō t ū whar ekai/Ashburton Lakes, river margins, mahinga kai and community engagement/education, while also maintaining some momentum with Wakanui hāpua.

The Ashburton District mayor and councillors were part of an historic hui at Arowhenua Marae recently.

Te Rūnanga o Arowhenua chairperson Fiona Pimm said it was the first time all four district councils and Environment Canterbury that operate within the Arowhenua takiwā (area) had been welcomed to Arowhenua Marae as a roopu (group).

Representatives from the Ashburton, Mackenzie, Timaru, and Waimate district councils, as well as ECan, attended the hui on a Saturday in the first step in forging a collaborative partnership.

Ashburton Mayor Neil Brown said it was good to get mayors from the region together and agree to work collaboratively to honour the treaty.

“Arowhenua were delighted with the positive response from the councils and it was a great opportunity for us to get to know our local governors and to hear their aspirations for the communities within our takiwā.”

Pimm said in the past, some agencies have either engaged retrospectively with mana whenua on issues of significance or not at all.

“Mana whenua are keen to engage with councils around a broad range of community wellbeing matters.

“Councils have largely been good at engaging with mana whenua on te taiao (environ- living within our takiwā.” ment) related matters, but Arowhenua is just as interested in collaborating with councils about economic development, tourism opportunities, health, education, and all things that contribute to whānau and community wellbeing.

Arowhenua and the Ashburton council have partnered on a range of projects over the years with Arowhenua’s operational arm, Aoraki Environmental Consultancy (AEC), in regular six-weekly hui with council officers.

Arowhenua and all five councils will meet quarterly moving forward to discuss mutual priorities, such as social wellbeing, improving economic wellbeing for whānau, and job creation alongside environment and water related kaupapa (policy).

“We believe by working more collaboratively we can share resources, consider different perspectives, and improve outcomes for the betterment of all whānau

“We look forward to continuing to work together in partnership kanohi ki te kanohi (face to face) to achieve better outcomes for all,” Pimm said.

Hekeao/Hinds Water Enhancement Trust (HHWET) have submitted a biodiversity funding request towards its planned native planting and maintenance at NRR1 (South Hinds) and MAR17 (Lennies Road) sites.

The zone committee has tabled the request and will address it once it has finalised its action plan budget.

The committee is jointly organising Ōtūwharekai Open Day on February 25 with the Ōtūwharekai Working Group to share the work under way to address water quality issues within the Ashburton lakes and give people the chance to ask questions and learn more.