|
Question
|
Answer
|
|
What are the financial costs to these initiatives?
Who pays?
What will be the ongoing costs?
What are the specific financial commitments of each party?
|
At this stage in the process, there are no additional or specific costs to the council for the three initiatives currently being discussed.
The relationship agreement focuses on working together in a values-based way to benefit the Whanganui community, emphasising open communication and transparency. The direct costs to ratepayers are expected to be very small.
Statutory Reserves Board Setup: The Whanganui Land Settlement Negotiation Trust (WLSNT) is providing a $500,000 setup fund for the Board. In the immediate term, there will be no changes to the council’s costs for reserve management. The council will continue to maintain the reserves as it does now, ensuring the cost to ratepayers remains minimal. Reserve management planning will flow into long term and annual budgeting processes, as it currently does. The cost of any appointees to the Board will be worked on later after the negotiations process is complete and once the Board is established. What we can confirm is that the Board fees will not be significant.
Toitū te Whānau: The costs for this entity are still being determined as WLSNT are still in the early stages of developing and shaping this concept in partnership with the Crown agencies. Much like the Statutory Reserves Board, in the immediate term the Crown agencies who will work with this initiative, will bring their own resourcing, and cover their own costs. The WLSNT will also make a financial contribution to the establishment costs.
|
|
What are the impacts on ratepayers?
How will upkeep of reserves be funded?
|
As reserves are shared public spaces, their maintenance will continue to be funded through rates to benefit the entire community now and in the future. Moving the administrator status from the council to a joint Statutory Board will not result in any change or additional impact on ratepayers for reserve management.
|
|
What is the status of the reserves land?
How will management of reserves change?
Difference between governance and administration?
|
The underlying ownership of the reserves remains with the Crown. The only change being proposed is that the administration of these specific reserves under the Reserves Act will shift from the council to a joint statutory board. This decision has been made through the Treaty settlement process by the Crown, not the council. The administrator acts as the governance body and guardian of the land's wellbeing but does not own the reserves.
Through the Treaty settlement process, the Pākaitore Moutoa Gardens Historic Reserve will be transferred from Crown ownership to Whanganui Land Settlement PSGE, Takapau Whāriki ownership. This reserve will be administered by the joint board.
|
|
Who owns the buildings on the reserves that will be administered by the joint board?
|
The Council (and/or community groups) will continue to own and maintain the buildings at Pukenamu Queens Park and at the Gonville/Tawhero Domain.
|
|
Why hasn’t the proposed relationship agreement with the council been made available to the public?
Will the full agreement be made public and when?
|
A relationship agreement between the Hapū/Iwi of Whanganui Land Settlement and the council is designed to foster collaboration, not control. Its purpose is to ensure both parties work together in a values-based way, with mutual respect, open communication, and shared goals for the benefit of the community. It’s about building a strong, cooperative partnership to address issues and opportunities effectively. The concept of the relationship agreement has been in the public arena since negotiations began and were outlined in the WLSNT Agreement in Principle (signed on 30 August 2019). The draft relationship agreement negotiations are ongoing, for this reason we are unable to share the draft agreement. Any early release would cause prejudice to the goodwill of the parties and the collaboration described above, it could also affect the progress of the negotiations. The relationship agreement will be publicly available soon, we expect it to be released to the public as part of the Council meeting agenda on 13 February 2025.
|
|
Why are you engaging over the holiday period and why are the timeframes so tight?
|
This is a Treaty settlement negotiation and as part of this process, timelines and decisions are guided by the Crown and Whanganui Land Settlement’s timeline. The council's role is to support and facilitate engagement on the decisions council has to make, but the overall timeline and key decisions are outside of our control. Council has been advised the Treaty settlement negotiations are nearing their conclusion. We understand a deed of settlement is likely to be initialed in early 2025. That means council needs to make decisions on 13 February 2025 ahead of the settlement process being finalised.
|
|
Why is the council getting involved when this is not its core business?
|
The opportunities Whanganui Land Settlement Iwi and Hapū have integrated into their settlement bring benefits to our community as a whole. It's clear that a one-size-fits-all approach from central government is not working. By partnering with Whanganui Land Settlement, we are leading a shift towards local solutions for local issues, which is a positive and necessary step. As community leaders, we have a deeper understanding of our people’s needs, challenges, and strengths, enabling us to create tailored, effective solutions that central government cannot. Together, we can develop approaches that truly reflect the unique needs of our community.
|