We are moving towards the six-month mark in our post-cyclone recovery. There is still a lot to do although significant milestones have been reached. This includes the wastewater treatment plant coming back online with miliscreens and biological trickling filters now operational again. The devastation at the plant is hard to comprehend. When I visited last month I was reminded of the height floodwaters came to, I was even more astounded by the work that’s been accomplished. Sometimes we do need to look back at what we’ve been through to realise how far we have come.
Senior council officers have currently been working very hard on recovery work that involves complex negotiations with central government. Reminding ourselves regularly of what our community has been through since 14 February has given us the fortitude required to engage in these discussions with as much strength as we can. The stamina needed by our community to keep going inspires us daily to do our part with renewed vigour.
Another major milestone for Napier, is the completion of the War Memorial restoration. The rededication of the site is open to the public and it’s fitting that it is truly a community event.
It has certainly been a community endeavour to restore the memorial elements back to their rightful place in the centre of our city. As we celebrate its completion we must also look back over the work, frustrations, triumphs and achievements we’ve been through to get to this point. It has had its challenges but perhaps that makes its completion even more poignant.
The site is one of remembrance for the fallen but over the years I trust it will become a space our community can come to as a sanctuary. I hope our young people and future generations will appreciate it as much as those for whom it is imbued with meaning.
The work we do now is not just for now. In all we do, we must remember we are contributing to the city, the places and spaces, the environment – built and natural – that our children and their children will call home.
At the core of Council work, and for many of us –officers and councillors – the reason we work for local government, is the drive to plan for and help deliver a city, district and region that fits the needs of the future, as well as the needs of today. To do that we need to take a look back, reflect on where we’ve come from, what’s important and the work required to move forward.
Ngā mihi nui, Kirsten Wise
Te Kahika o te Kaunihera o Ahuriri, Napier Mayor
AUGUST 2023
Ka hoki nei au ō tātou mana. Māhu Tāpoanui. Hānui, Hāroa, Hāpouri, Hāpotango, Hāpokere, Hāmaitawhiti, Te Orotū, Whatumāmoa, Nōna te kiri pango e mau i a tātou nei. Tihei Te Whanganui a Orotu! Tēnā koutou katoa. Acknowledgement to the mana of Te Whanganui a Orotu, Greetings to you all.
Kia ora koutou.
Thank you for the warm and generous welcome I have received since joining Napier City Council in March this year. For those that have yet to meet me I look forward to sharing time with you over the coming months. I started my New Zealand Journey in 2013 when I arrived in Tauranga with my family to take up a role with the city council; this was our first experience in New Zealand having spent my life in London and Cambridge.
My journey then took me to Northland to become the Chief Executive at Kaipara District Council.
My two sons, Charlie and Jacques, keep me busy with their very different passions of trains/planes and rugby respectively. Despite their very different interests and personalities we learned to work together as we backpacked around Europe during my three month break between leaving Kaipara DC and joining Napier CC.
I am privileged to be part of continuing to build stronger relationships based on transparency and respect.
Ngā mihi, Louise Miller Tumu Whakarae, Napier City Council
We are getting ready to notify the Proposed District Plan for Napier
What is the District Plan?
The District Plan is like a rule book for development in Napier. The District Plan is required under the Resource Management Act 1991 and sets out a framework for land use in Napier. It will help us balance the community’s development needs while protecting our important natural and built environments for future generations. This includes topics like Ahuriri’s Natural Features and Landscapes, Coastal Environments, Light, Earthworks, Ecosystems and Indigenous Biodiversity and Special Purpose Zones.
Why are we notifying a Proposed District Plan?
Our current rulebook, the Operative District Plan, is dated and needs to be reviewed to ensure the rules still suit our community and reflect the
changes in our environment and priorities over time. Under the Resource Management Act 1991, a District Plan must be reviewed every ten years. We are approaching the next phase of our review process, which is providing a Proposed District Plan. This will give our Mana Whenua partners and our community an opportunity to review any proposed changes or existing ways of managing land use.
What does this mean?
We are getting ready to notify the Proposed District Plan in late September. Once we notify, anyone can view the Proposed Plan and make submissions to either request changes to rules or to support rules. If you would like to find out more about the review process and key dates, go to www.napier.govt.nz/district-plan-review or email districtplanreview@napier.govt.nz
Kia ora Jackie Irihuia Ham!
Jackie Irihuia Ham of Ngāti Porou, Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngā Puhi, Kāti Māmoe joins Te Waka Rangapū.
Jackie has worked in radio, as a translator, an actress in a range of te reo Māori productions, kapa haka tutor, Ngāti Kahungunu Secondary Schools
Kapa Haka and Manu Kōrero adjudicator, reo Māori tutor and Senior Cultural Advisor at Health Hawke’s Bay. She is also a graduate of the elite programme, Te Panekiretanga o te Reo Māori.
Jackie is passionate about building cultural capability within the organisation along with supporting the building of relationships between local iwi and Napier City Council.
Water Services Reform
Over the past six years central and local government have been considering solutions to challenges facing the regulation and delivery of three waters services (water, wastewater and stormwater). In 2020, a reform programme called ‘Three Waters Reforms’ was launched, to address challenges in the water sector such as:
• The need for better collaboration and partnership with mana whenua and tangata whenua
• Historic underinvestment in water infrastructure and assets nearing their end-oflife
• Incidents and concerns related to water quality and safety (like the 2016 Havelock North contamination incident), and
• Inconsistency in service and standards across the motu.
Originally, the reform programme was working towards the establishment of four new entities from 1 July 2024. These four entities were to take over the day-to-day delivery of water services from the 67 councils that currently manage it. You’ve probably heard and read coverage of this in the media over the last few years.
In April this year, while most in Hawke’s Bay were focussed on cyclone recovery, a ‘reset’ to the programme was announced. Instead of four entities, the Department of Internal Affairs and its dedicated National Transition Unit are now working towards the establishment of ten entities with rolling go-live dates between 1 July 2024 and 1 July 2026.
Practically, that means the water services currently delivered by Napier City Council will transfer over to a Water Services Entity that covers Tairāwhiti, Wairoa, Ahuriri, Heretaunga and Central Hawke’s Bay. The naming has also shifted from ‘Three Waters’ to ‘Water Services Reforms’ for those of you scratching your heads about the changes in language.
As at August 2023, we’re still awaiting clarity about what date the Hawke’s Bay entity will be established, along with details like who will head up the local establishment unit, where the entity will be based geographically, and exactly how services will be split between the new entity, councils, contractors and our partners. We will update you as we learn more. In the meantime, if you want to understand more about what’s involved and how this will impact iwi, hapū and PSGEs, check out the reforms webpage: waterservicesreform.govt.nz
Wastewater Treatment Plant Update
Work to bring Napier’s Wastewater Treatment Plant back to pre-cyclone operational condition is well under way and progressing on schedule with both biological trickling filters (BTF) now up and running.
Flooding from Cyclone Gabrielle resulted in most of the treatment plant’s equipment being significantly damaged. Since April, the site has been treating wastewater using its miliscreen process rather than the full operation, which includes two biological trickling filters commissioned in 2014.
Russell Bond, Napier City Council’s Executive Director of Infrastructure, says bringing the BTFs back online has been a major focus.
“There’s a big team dedicated to making it happen. It’s rewarding to see them commissioned and put into operation again.”
Now the BTFs are operating, it will take a few weeks for the bacteria inside the filters to regrow to its pre-cyclone levels. Odour beds that were damaged during the cyclone have been cleared and repaired and will soon receive new bark to ensure they can work in tandem with the BTFs. Other current work at the Wastewater Treatment Plant includes completion of the Power Distribution Centre refurbishment and ongoing silt removal.
War Memorial Opening Napier Youth Grants
Applications for youth grants are now open to Napier residents aged 12 to 24. Apply by 11 August to help reach your big goal. To apply visit napier.govt.nz
The official rededication of the Napier War Memorial, including reinstatement of the Rolls of Honour plaques, Eternal Flame and Floral Clock opened to the public at 9am Sunday, 6 August.
Ko te tohu rangatira ko te manaakitāngata.
Let’s measure our outcomes by how well we care for our people.
Nā Piri Prentice
