Sustainable Tairawhiti, and nation

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Oh what a night! Election 2020 has been intriguing, argumentative and, due to covid, a rather drawn out affair. The finale on Saturday night however was a real showing of winners and losers, and perhaps the overall winner was participatory democracy with such a great turnout of voters this election.

So, first, congratulations to all who voted.Second, congratulations to all the winners. And third, commiserations to those who lost.

It was evident that Prime Minister Ardern's management of covid was a catalyst for the landslide victory. It will be interesting to see what her leadership style will mean for the forming of a new government. With no NZ First “handbrake”, I hope there is transformative green thinking and a strong emphasis on action in health, housing, climate change, transport, employment and equality.

This region has had significant investment pre- and post-covid, but just how sustainable this investment is will depend on governance wisdom.

At 13,768sq km, according to parliamentary statistics, the East Coast is the largest general electorate in the North Island. It extends from the outskirts of Te Puke, through Whakatane and encompasses the entire East Cape including Gisborne. Compared with other electorates, East Coast has the highest proportion of Maori (48.3 percent), Maori speakers (15.2 percent), regular smokers (20.9 percent) and those who look after a child who does not live in their own household (19.6 percent).

There is still a lot of work to be done within our region, so having a local MP who understands these challenges and has committed to representing us will certainly be an advantage.

This week the council has our Sustainable Tairawhiti Committee, which has a focus on developing a vision and pathway for the future of the district.

With the Long-Term Plan discussions in front of us we will be considering how to sustainably manage resources in the region, identify and promote community aspirations, define and deliver on the council's roles, integrate an all-of-wellbeing approach to strategy, plan and policy development, and have effective statutory plans and bylaws to protect community and environmental needs.

The agenda isn't a large one, however we have a decision paper around freedom camping that was previously left to lie on the table. The paper seeks a decision to remove a draft report on the Freedom Camping Bylaw 2020 and statement of proposal for consultation from the committee's work programme, and asks for committee feedback on the options for the next steps to manage the issues surrounding the freedom and summer camping activity. Obviously with summer fast-approaching, we will need to ensure a robust discussion on this matter.

We also have a couple of information reports from staff, one regarding the Enviroschools programme. Enviroschools provide a holistic framework for developing connected, resilient and sustainable communities. Enviroschools operates a nationwide sustainability programme supported by Toimata Foundation, founding partner Te Mauri Tau and a large network of regional partners (over 80 percent of all councils). Enviroschools is co-ordinated in Tairawhiti by Gisborne District Council.

Another report informs the council of an initial assessment of the woody waste deposited on Tikapa Beach south of the mouth of the Waiapu River following stormy weather in July 2020. This continues to be a challenge for us as a region and we will have an opportunity to hear from the wood council in this meeting.

The last report is an overview of submissions regarding the future of the Endeavour models following public consultation.

The general election can move over, now we have a by-election.