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By local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
Visitor numbers are back to 80% of pre-Covid levels on the West Coast, but a tourism operator says challenges remain.
Scenic Hotel Group operations manager Karl Luxon told the Te Tai o Poutini Plan panel the West Coast visitor economy had bounced … View moreBy local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
Visitor numbers are back to 80% of pre-Covid levels on the West Coast, but a tourism operator says challenges remain.
Scenic Hotel Group operations manager Karl Luxon told the Te Tai o Poutini Plan panel the West Coast visitor economy had bounced back to 80% of pre-pandemic numbers.
However, reduced international flights into the country restricted the tourist numbers.
Luxon also detailed the impact of the Airbnb sector and the challenge of attracting hotel staff and housing them in remote settlements like Punakaiki and Franz Josef Glacier.
The bottleneck in getting international tourists back had also coincided with a prominent "anti-flying" lobby focused on the carbon emissions of international tourism, he said.
Scenic was involved in lobbying to get airlines to return, but Luxon said airfares prices "are too high".
A return to the pre-Covid tourist numbers - upwards of 3 million people - was unlikely, he said.
However, the country remained "high on the radar" of overseas travellers, even if visitor volumes were "quite small" in the global context.
Scenic was now taking a longer view of having fewer tourists but higher value offerings for visitors to the region, he said.
The West Coast visitor market remained very seasonal, Luxon said.
Scenic's Punakaiki site had an annual occupancy rate barely over 60%, but it was marked by huge seasonal variation from 100% in summer to about 10% in winter.
Effort were being made to "flatten out" the visitor economy in the South Island.
This included leveraging off the new Christchurch Convention Centre, where visitors would say, "I have come this far" and decide to take a trip west.
"The reason we're interested in that sort of business is that it is year round."
Commissioner Paul Rogers asked what Scenic foresaw in the long term for tourism to return to pre-pandemic levels.
Luxon said it would take another two years dependent on the Asian market and China.
The West Coast tourism sector, including food servicing, was still contracting in some areas, Luxon said.
This was due to "a massive amount of debt" caused by disruptions in the past few years.
While the sector was now "catching up" some businesses in the region were beginning to fall over, he said.
"Covid for tourism has a very long tail."
Scenic had seen many changes in the 43 years it had been in the region, Luxon said.
The traditional service of only providing beds was moving to an all-encompassing experience, keeping visitors longer than one night.
But, even with this change, the West Coast remained reliant on international visitors visiting for just a few days, he said.
"We're really positive about the West Coast. We wish to expand. We made the submission on the basis of maintaining the current activities while growing new activities as well."
In this respect the new TTPP planning framework should enable this aim, Luxon said.
Scenic needed to redevelop its Franz Josef sites by replacing buildings dating back to the 1950s.
The company foresaw a modular relocatable building approach, given the natural hazards of the area and the underlying uncertainty.
The Alpine Fault avoidance zone at Franz Josef Glacier restricted development in the current built-up area, which he said was "a bit problematic".
Under the plan they would only be able to redevelop their sites at Franz "within the same footprint", which was not necessarily desirable or efficient, Luxon said.
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It's that spooky time of year and while there are some streets that welcome Halloween and set themselves up for trick or treating, there are other houses where you're more likely to get an earful than Halloween lollies. Do you think there's a place for Halloween in NZ?
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By local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
The high profile West Coast mining sector can no longer be just characterised as coal and gold but as a linchpin to the region's economy and vital services.
That's the view of Te Tai o Poutini Plan principle planner Loise Easton who … View moreBy local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
The high profile West Coast mining sector can no longer be just characterised as coal and gold but as a linchpin to the region's economy and vital services.
That's the view of Te Tai o Poutini Plan principle planner Loise Easton who offered her opening statement on day one of the formal hearings into the proposed ‘one district plan’.
The all-encompassing plan will eventually replace the current three district plans that operate across the West Coast.
She noted the region had the largest coal mine in New Zealand, at Stockton – with an historic footprint bigger in area than the city of Christchurch.
At the same time “a plethora” of other resources in the ground such as rare earth minerals were coming into prominence thanks to international demand for high tech components for the likes of electric cars and solar panels.
“Often it’s a case of many of those things people haven’t paid much attention to in the past, but now are part of the potential economic future of the West Coast.”
Easton told hearing commissioner Paul Roger that while employment numbers at Stockton were lower than historically, the region was largely dominated by many small mines employing from two to three people.
Easton said even though the domestic coal market was being pared back the necessity for high quality thermal coal exported from the region for steel manufacture "can't be replaced" yet.
At the same time gold mining in the region remained significant.
The mainly alluvial gold sector was not in decline as evidenced in the Reefton area with significant investigation of new permits underway.
“Mineral extraction is what the West Coast has been built on. With the decline in coal, it does not mean the end of mining on the West Coast,” said Easton.
A big question for the TTPP planners had been what happened when current mine licences expired, and this had partly driven the designation of a Minerals Zone within the proposed plan, she said.
Currently much of the region was subject to Crown Mineral Licence system, with the likes of Stockton still operating under that system after decades rather than through the newer RMA regime.
However while Stockton's licence was due to expire in 2028, the footprint was huge with significant parts of the Stockton Plateau subject to extensive and ongoing rehabilitation, including over areas that had historic acid mine problems dating from 19th century mining.
“All of these are in the wider Stockton area, operating under the mining licence system.
“While stuff may not be coming out of the ground, rehabilitation is going on.”
This had seen “huge impact” in the improved health of some Buller waterways by dealing with a legacy of leaching from aggregates exposed through mining back to the 19th century.
Easton said while mining drove a "huge strategic direction" the other reality was the region also had five national parks within its boundary, with 84% of the land area under Crown agency control.
Alongside that much of the private land in the region - to be subject to the SNA process - had significant biodiversity along a long and significant coastline.
As such, the recently promulgated West Coast Policy Statement "does set a very strong direction for the natural environment."
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From local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
Greymouth is the only West Coast town considered an urban area under new national planning standards, the first day of regional plan hearings heard.
The Te Tai o Poutini Plan (TPPP) hearing opened on Monday with a powhiri at the West Coast … View moreFrom local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
Greymouth is the only West Coast town considered an urban area under new national planning standards, the first day of regional plan hearings heard.
The Te Tai o Poutini Plan (TPPP) hearing opened on Monday with a powhiri at the West Coast Regional Council chambers before a panel of five commissioners including chairperson Dean Chrystal.
It comes after four years of developing the draft plan, which began in July 2019.
Principal TTPP planner Lois Easton said the plan would outline the “strategic direction” for the regional economy, such as primary production and mining.
Combining the current three district plans, dating from the 1990s, made the new plan complex, she said.
The TTPP was the first district plan to be developed under the new National Planning Standard (NPS), and is therefore the first to emerge under the new rules of the Resource Management Act (RMA) reforms.
Under the NPS urban development guideline, only the greater Greymouth area with about 14,000 people fitted the definition of being a significant urban area.
Much of the rest of the West Coast's population areas were between 50 and 5000, she said.
Easton said the plan had been developed “under significant resource constraints".
It meant the draft plan had at times only drawn on past “technical advice”, rather than undertaking new research specific to the plan.
Easton said the “big issues” for the region related to primary production, mineral extraction, preservation of bio-diversity, and, significantly, the new requirements to recognise natural hazards.
“The focus on natural hazards is very new for the West Coast as the present (district) plans largely don’t focus on it at all.”
The Government directed the West Coast to combine its current three district plans after the Local Government Commission began investigating ways “to streamline” the region's approach in 2015.
The outcome was “one plan”, which would be developed under a joint committee of the three district councils and the regional council – which was ordered in 2019 to rate for the TTPP.
The joint group overseeing the plan included Poutini Ngāi Tahu, with support from planning staff from the four councils.
Easton said the focus since July 2019 had been “on strategic direction” for the region, while recognising its current plans were “very old”. It looked at developing strategic directions for land use controls.
Feedback on the changes received 534 submissions on 14,000 submission points.
There had also been work with key stakeholders in the region, which generated a high level of community engagement, she said.
“I would note there has been very significant coverage in the local news papers throughout.”
Easton said at its heart, the TTPP was a plan specific to the region, rather than a big urban centre like Christchurch.
Notably, under the new National Planning Standards driving the TTPP, there had to be strategic directions for urban development, primary production, mana whenua, and natural hazard resilience.
Easton, who hails from Gisborne, noted the whole of the West Coast was smaller than her home town – which might be considered small.
However, a lot of work was being done across the other towns to “maximise the existing infrastructure” in support of the core primary economic activities in the region, like tourism, farming, and mining. This was recognised in the plan.
The first week of hearings will be held in Greymouth until Thursday and then the process will run at least monthly, a week at a time, according to each topic chapter contained within the proposed plan.
At 96, Logan Campbell resident Russell Parrish has achieved an incredible feat - ‘knocking off’ the summit of One Tree Hill 30 times over 30 consecutive days. Plus, it was all for a great cause — raising money and awareness for Alzheimer’s in honor of his late wife Mary.
Every single day… View moreAt 96, Logan Campbell resident Russell Parrish has achieved an incredible feat - ‘knocking off’ the summit of One Tree Hill 30 times over 30 consecutive days. Plus, it was all for a great cause — raising money and awareness for Alzheimer’s in honor of his late wife Mary.
Every single day of September, come rain, shine or blustering gale, Russell set off from his home at Ryman Healthcare’s Greenlane village to walk to the top of the iconic mountain set in the heart of Cornwall Park.
The idea also coincided with Ryman Healthcare’s annual Walking for Wellness challenge, which this year aptly had an Everest theme.
Watch Russell's story and click to read the full story.
youtu.be...
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By local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
A frustrating 15-month delay in finalising a flood resilience scheme for the town of Westport, devastated by a record flood in July 2021, is the result of bureaucracy, a councillor says.
The Government agreed in the May Budget to co-fund a $22.9m … View moreBy local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
A frustrating 15-month delay in finalising a flood resilience scheme for the town of Westport, devastated by a record flood in July 2021, is the result of bureaucracy, a councillor says.
The Government agreed in the May Budget to co-fund a $22.9m scheme to secure Westport from future flooding as well as ready it for climate adaptation, including future retreat from some areas, after the devastating flood of July 2021.
However, West Coast Regional councillor Frank Dooley says a Department of Internal Affairs review of the technical engineering aspects of the Kawatiri Business Case, presented to the Government on June 30 2022, has held up progress for almost 15 months.
The case for a co-funded resilience scheme was sought from the West Coast Regional and Buller District councils by then Minister of Local Government Nania Mahuta in February 2022. It was seen as a 'test case' for the Government to co-fund future flood resilience schemes and was submitted to deadline, in June 2022.
No decision was announced until 11 months later.
On October 16 this year, the West Coast Regional Council said in a statement the original engineering concept design for the Kawatiri Business Case was "sound".
This came after the council sought an expert technical review of the Government-commissioned review by engineering firm Tonkin and Taylor.
Tonkin and Taylor raised questions on several technical proposals in the business case. They included,
* Heightened risk to life if the proposed flood protection walls were breached.
* Flood level risk at the Buller Bridge in Westport.
* Seismic risk and seepage concerns.
The Department of Internal Affairs commissioned the Tonkin and Taylor review in July 2022, but it was only provided to council in June this year.
Council said while there would be further design refinement before the final flood bank options were pinned down, it could now proceed to the preliminary design.
The Government co-funding in the May Budget for the resilience work came almost a year after council met Cabinet's deadline.
Westport-based regional councillor Frank Dooley said the Government review work has effectively caused a 15-month delay.
"My frustration with that is that they requested the councils to have their business case presented by 30 June 2022.
"Unbeknown to anybody, DIA went out and got an independent review."
A Department of Internal Affairs spokesperson said the delay and their decision to seek a peer review were justified.
"While we all want to see progress on this work, it is necessary that the councils, the Westport community and the Government take the required time to get this right."
The department said the delay in swearing in the new Government now meant access to funding for Westport cannot be approved in meantime.
However, Dooley said the extra work sparked by DIA had caused a "massive delay", meaning they had to wait over a year to consult with those affected in Westport.
The issues raised in the review would have been pinned down in the final design stage anyway, he said.
"There is no excuse for it, and at the end of the day, all of the issues raised by Tonkin and Taylor would be raised as you go through the design phase.
"That was always going to be the case," Dooley said.
The Kawatiri Business Case authors -- experts paid for by the Government -- were also not consulted in the peer review process instigated by DIA, Dooley said.
"As a result they put together a report that has delayed the process."
"Their report was in September 2022. The DIA never released [their] report until June 2023. "In June 2023, that's when they advised the regional council you can't draw down any of the money because of the discrepancies raised."
As a result the council in July engaged NZ Rivers Managers Group members Graeme Campbell and Peter Blackwood to reconcile the matters raised by Tonkin and Taylor.
It confirmed council "is on the right track".
The Department of Internal Affairs was asked why it commissioned the peer review, who was consulted, and to explain the timing, given the business case was submitted in June 2022.
It did not directly answer the question around timing or if Cabinet was consulted first, but said the business case was "reviewed by officials, including a technical review by Tonkin and Taylor".
The decision was based on Treasury's Better Business Cases requirements and Cabinet principles for the Government's role in improving resilience to flood risk, a department spokesperson said.
"The Tonkin and Taylor technical review did not delay Cabinet decisions on the business case."
The subsequent technical advisory report commissioned by the regional council in July built on what Tonkin and Taylor found, which had built on the Kawatiri Business Case, the spokesperson said.
"A robust review process was important for this project as it builds confidence in the reliability of the design of flood walls for the community.
"Resolving technical issues is one of the requirements of meeting the [Government] expectations before further funding for the structural elements of the package can be drawn down."
--------------------------
The Campbell and Blackwood review for the West Coast Regional Council looked at the Kawatiri Business Case flood protection concept design, following the Government-commissioned Tonkin and Taylor peer review. This is what it found:
* The concept design "was sound" for the development of the Kawatiri Business Case but it needed further refinement before achieving the final design.
* All 18 'technical matters' raised by Tonkin and Taylor were either resolvable through "additional information" or could be addressed in subsequent project phases -- mostly at preliminary design.
* None of the technical matters raised should result in the withholding of funds and/or slow progression to the next phases.
* A Government decision not to protect Carters Beach due to perceived "significant effects" on flood levels at the Buller Bridge in Westport was found to be incorrect. Protection of Carters Beach will now be revisited.
* Some refinement of other elements of the flood risk management strategies in the business case was required to ensure consistency with the Protect, Avoid, Retreat, Accommodate approach used, and to ensure the strategies cover all elements of the flood management approach for Westport.
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By local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
A fresh call by the Ombudsman for council workshops to be open to the public by default has received a cautionary response on the West Coast.
Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier made the demand following his investigation into the way some councils have … View moreBy local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
A fresh call by the Ombudsman for council workshops to be open to the public by default has received a cautionary response on the West Coast.
Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier made the demand following his investigation into the way some councils have excluded the public from meetings.
None of the West Coast's four local authorities were formally scrutinized by the review.
The investigation followed complaints about councils "undermining local democracy" by holding secret meetings.
Boshier dismissed some of the reasons councils gave for closed-door meetings -- including being able to ask "silly questions".
West Coast Regional Council risk and assurance chairperson Frank Dooley said there was "no such thing as a silly question" and it should not be "an excuse" for closing the door to public scrutiny.
Everyone had "a right to understand" council business, but workshops were useful to inform elected members for later formal decision making, he said.
"It's getting your ducks in a row," Dooley said.
However, the council had conducted seven closed door workshops on the council's next 10-year long-term plan alone this year. Some of those workshops lasted several hours.
"I don't think there is anything to be gained by having those workshops in the public forum because we've got to debate where we go [later] from a strategic point of view," Dooley said.
Although, he said there was "greater scope for communication" around the purpose of the workshops.
The Westland District Council's use of workshops has been contentious at times, since the local body elections in October 2022.
Westland mayor Helen Lash said she had been upfront about the need for them, while acknowledging council discourse should primarily be in public.
A closed meeting invariably fuelled poor perception, but it was not necessarily a case of "hiding anything," Lash said.
"I have not doubt there have been workshops around the country held to hide information. It's something I despise from my previous tenure at council."
But the new Westland council had required a high level of briefings after the local election.
Closed workshops had been mainly on the commitments made by the council's predecessor, and to guide new councillors in their governance role, she said.
"Primarily, workshops were to develop the skills of the new council."
Lash said they had been deliberately called "workshops" instead of "training days" because they provided context for future decisions on urgent issues, including a "state of play" on the district's assets.
At the same time, workshops helped avoid "quick, rash decisions" by council only based on a summary report or sketchy information provided just days before, she said.
"If you don't understand the detail behind it, to me it's irresponsible in making decisions."
Dooley said it was sometimes necessary to brief councillors informally, such as with the 2022-23 annual report.
"I think it's really important for councillors to go through the annual report and understand and ask questions on it before putting it into the public [domain].
"Some of the other workshops we've had have been really technical."
These included expert briefings on the Westport flood resilience scheme and the 10-year Waiho River Management Strategy.
The later briefing was prior to the public presentation to the Franz Josef community a fortnight ago.
This ensured "everyone understood" what was coming in order to respond to constituents, he said.
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