‘Big omission’ in West Coast mine application — DOC
By local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
The lack of a lighting plan in a West Coast mine application near the breeding colony of the critically endangered Westland petrel "is a big omission", the Department of Conservation (DOC) says.
However, a DOC expert told a Grey District and West Coast Regional councils hearing on Monday that not every potentially fatal grounding of the nocturnal Westland petrel (tāiko) can be attributed to light attraction.
Mining company TiGa has reapplied for a resource consent for an open-cast mine at Barrytown, north of Greymouth.
During the hearing, DOC legal counsel Ceri Warnock said tāiko groundings are known to result in death "in half of all cases" and TiGa needed to engage an independent lighting expert to understand the risk posed by the mine.
The lack of a lighting plan in the TiGa application was "a big omission" and should be provided before any decision was made, she said.
However, DOC's Kate Simister told the hearing other factors can contribute to the death of the diving seabird including age, eyesight, nutrition, and the risk of commercial fishing by-catch.
But Simister said mitigating all the environment risk factors - including light interference - are critical to ensuring the tāiko does not become extinct.
The bird's survival rate is also threatened by increasing climate-driven erosion or landslips along the Punakaiki Coast, which can collapse onto breeding colonies, and the impact of marine heat waves in the past few years, she said.
TiGa proposes to extract heavy mineral concentrate (HMC) through sand mining 63 hectares of a Barrytown Flats farm.
HMC is in demand in the technology sector and for industrial use.
A previous application from the mining company was rejected two years ago.
Warnock said the department was "surprised" that TiGa had still not come forward with evidence from a lighting expert after four years.
This was fundamental to assess the impacts any light impact from the mine will have on the nocturnal tāiko as it flies to and from its breeding colonies in the Barrytown area.
TiGa's proposed mitigation measures did nothing to remove the "real risk" of the petrel groundings in and around the proposed mine site, Warnock said.
"I can't make any concessions until we see the lighting plan," she said.
While TiGa has already conceded it will only operate in daylight hours, how a lighting plan would operate during shift changeovers needed to be more specific, she said.
The department also noted 29 at-risk bird species within 10km of the proposed mine site including tāiko, Pacific reef heron, grey duck, and bittern.
The tiko was first identified as a distinct species in the 1940s and predominantly breeds in bush-clad colonies along the Punakaiki Coast including the Barrytown Flats.
Simister said grounded adult birds reported to the department by the public could be found as far north as Westport and as far south as Hokitika - although grounded juveniles were primarily found in the Barrytown area.
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Since submissions opened TiGa has undertaken to:
* Restrict truck movements and mining to daylight hours.
* Enhanced penguin surveys and conservation efforts to avoid effects on korora.
* Investigate a fence to protect penguins from site.
* No dogs on site except conservation dogs.
* The processing plant to be fully housed in a building with strict exterior light restrictions.
* An updated avian management plan to address tāiko (Westland petrel) interactions on site, including shutting down the processing plant if two interactions are recorded in a four-week period.
* Bird surveys of areas surrounding the site for duration of the mine to inform any management plan for threatened and at risk bird species at the adjacent lagoon.
* Installing wildlife cameras to detect Korora and tāiko.
The proposal also involves reinstatement of planting along the adjoining Collins Creek, and the edge of its lagoon.
In addition, a fenced off 1.9ha wetland will be established in the northwest corner of the site when mining is finished.
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Coast council LTP submissions ‘fairly low’
By local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
Just six of 25 submitters to the West Coast Regional Council 2024-34 long-term plan (LTP) will appear at a hearing in Greymouth on Tuesday.
The proposed 10 year plan proposes an average 27% general rates increase in 2024-25 to partly fund a proposed budget of $25.2 million for the next financial year.
The other option in year one - to increase general rates by 44% - was based on rates alone funding.
However the preferred option in the proposed LTP is to reduce the full annual budget impact on ratepayers in the first few years by borrowing.
Engagement in this LTP has been relatively low compared to the previous two LTP processes in the past seven years.
A report for Tuesday's hearing notes previous LTPs received "moderate to high" submissions.
The current 2021-31 LTP received 621 submissions while the previous LTP in 2018 saw 73 submissions.
"Compared to the 22,000 rating units on the Coast, it's a fairly low turnout," West Coast Regional Council chairperson Peter Haddock admitted on Monday.
But he believed the low submissions in 2024 was a positive reflection on what the current council had moved on in the past year.
"It shows clearly that people understand that there has been clear change at council for the better.
"No-one wants rates increased but I think that it shows that change was necessary.
"The council was in a pretty broken state and it needed money spent on it right across the board."
Haddock cited the council's less than fit IT system, and accounting system linked to the "rates error" late in 2023 as an example, aside from the governance upheaval.
He said the LTP strategy was to invest in staff and systems to ensure "a well oiled machine".
At the same time the regional council general rate, compared to the three district councils was "relatively low," he said.
People still needed to watch their targeted special rating district levies, above the general rates and uniform annual general charge.
Significantly the proposed LTP ushered in special rates for Westport residents (a 539% bump) for the first time to pay for the already budgeted share of their Government co-funded $22.9m flood resilience scheme.
Yet there was apparently little kickback on it, Haddock said.
"I think it shows that people accepted that they want that for the betterment for their community.
"It's unfortunate it does cost … let's not forget they are being subsidised."
Haddock compared the future benefit for Westport to that of the Greymouth Floodwall scheme via special rates for 30 years, "for the betterment of the town".
Under the proposed LTP "balancing the budget" and whether council should shoulder the Predator Free Te Kinga project were the two main consultation topics.
Ratepayers were also asked to comment on the LTP financial and infrastructure strategy, policies, and user fees and charges.
Comment was also sought feedback on the planned transfer to its ownership of the Grey District Council owned Greymouth Floodwall, and the Westland District Council-built Havill Wall protection bank at Franz Josef.
Under the first general rates increase option all properties in the Grey District will pay the following per $100,000 of capital value:
* General rate, a $14.70 increase from $50.26 to $64.96 in 2024-25,
* Emergency management levy increase from $10.17 to $4.58,
* The one district plan (Te Tai o Poutini Plan) decreases from $15.22 to $3.99 in 2024-25,
* The Uniform Annual General Charge in 2024-25 increases $36.31 to $192.59.
It means a Grey District dwelling worth $300,000 will see their total general rates bill increase to $443.70 in 2024-25.
This is made up of:
* General rate, $194.89
* Emergency management, $4.27
* Te Tai o Poutini Plan, $11.96
* Fixed UAG charge, $192.59
That excludes any special rating district levy, such as for the Greymouth Floodwall area.
$700,000 mistake left to fester at Coast council for three years
By local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
A billing mistake that saw a debt of just over $701,000 sit on the West Coast Regional Council books for three years should never happen again, according to the head of its finance committee.
Council this week congratulated itself on the recovery of long standing debt in the past few months, the ongoing rebuild of its finance management system, and a pending report back on four internal audits driving the rebuild.
However, Risk and Assurance Committee chairperson Frank Dooley (pictured) said the error made back in 2021, leaving a $701,718 debt on the council's books, still needed to be cleared up through the council's annual reporting.
Caused by a "clerical error", the debt was indicative of the council's previous dysfunction where a billing mistake was left to fester instead of being proactively followed up, he said.
"It was a double up in an invoice.
"You just don't follow up three years later," Dooley said.
A public outcry in late 2023 spurred a flurry of activity by council to sort out its rates and debt systems after some ratepayers were overcharged by up to 300% in the first installment for 2023-24.
It has already adopted a new system to chase up external debt and internal audit reviews are currently underway into:
* cash handling
* credit card and fuel card expenditure
* procurement (capital and operational)
* rates setting and charging processes.
Chief executive Darryl Lew said the findings should be reported directly to the committee by June.
He said it reflected "a significant body of work" with new actions out of it needing to align now with the 2024-34 long-term plan and a planned revision of council's committee structures, he said.
Councillor Peter Haddock said council's commitment to do a fix up had been quite a resource commitment when it was "running low".
But it was essential to rebuild the organisation.
Councillor Peter Ewen said that was significantly helped by changes at the top in the past year, with the chair replaced and a new chief executive.
"A lot of the progress that has come about is because we now have communication between the chair and the chief executive.
"It's made a hell of a difference," Ewen said.
On May 16, Dooley told LDR the $701,718 dated back to a claimant being invoiced twice and the amount then being carried over in council's debtors' ledger.
He said there had been no inquiry until recently about it when it became clear the amount was disputed.
The "mistake" had made a $700,000 impact on council's bottom line.
"The impact of that $700,000 reversal will probably be in the annual report."
Dooley said at this point he was unsure if that particular mistake could have been repeated.
"I don't really know but that's why you have to drill down debtors on a regular basis - that's when you pick it up.
"Errors have to be investigated and corrected, and that hasn't been happening," he said.
Council was now working with its auditors to build new systems including ensuring accurate rendering of rates debt.
"We're starting to drill down, asking are they accurate or not?
"I've got a lot of confidence now … we're putting in place the appropriate procedures and controls so we can manage this on a day to day basis and make it effective."
Dooley said part of the issue had been inadequate staff numbers - despite some question around an increase in staff at council.
"If you don't have those people doing the right job, it creates inefficiencies, and creates a massive cost to the ratepayers - every time we make a mistake it costs.
"I'm really pleased about the progress."
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