LWAG follow progress on future options for Lake Taupo Protection Project - October 2020 Update

Anomalies between the resolutions of the Waikato Regional Council and Taupō District Council mean that despite the agreed options going forward to consultation, WRC will only fund the lowest cost option. TDC are therefore considering picking up any shortfall if the community are in support of the continuation of the Trust.

The recommendations of the Lake Taupō Protection Project Joint Committee are as follows –

That TDC and WRC adopt in principle, and subject to consultation in their respective long term plans:

i. Retention of a joint committee with two representatives each from the Crown, TDC, TMTB and WRC as the preferred governance structure for the Lake Taupō Protection Project (LTPP) post June 2021 and with ongoing administration and management of the joint committee undertaken by TDC or WRC

ii. Retention of the Lake Taupō Protection Trust (LTPT) – an existing council controlled organisation (CCO) with charitable status - as the preferred management structure for the LTPP

iii. Provision of accommodation and administrative services for the LTPT via a service level agreement with a project partner (partner to be determined at a later date).

b. That TDC and WRC adopt in principle the following options for consultation purposes (in order of preference) as the principal alternatives to the preferred option (ie. joint committee with the LTPT – a CCO - housed by a partner organisation):

i. Joint committee (status quo) as the governance structure with management undertaken by the LTPT with independent administration (status quo)

ii Joint committee (status quo) as the governance structure with management undertaken by a partner organisation (new)

LWAG hosted Lake Taupo Protection Trust (LTPT) Chair, Clayton Stent, at their October 15 meeting.

Mr Stent gave on overview of the Project, the Trust’s formation, structure, economic approach and achievements in regard to its mandate to remove 170,300 T manageable Nitrogen using a public fund.

The Trust currently manages the N Reduction Agreements for compliance and deals with any breaches. It processes variation requests and enters into Deeds of Covenants for new landowners. Fulfilling CCO & Charitable Trust requirements means annual audits and reporting to the Joint Committee currently comprising WRC, TDC, Central Government and Tuwharetoa representation.

Mr Stent reiterated the benefits of having the LTPT operating independently of the regulator. He believes that the enduring success of the project is dependent on robust monitoring of TAND & contract management to ensure protection of the public fund and water quality. “Decisions must be focused on what is best for the Lake” says Stent.

Ongoing risks are understood to be primarily due to the uncertainties of a regularly changing political environment.

Project transition planning currently underway will bring changes to the future funding, project governance and management of the contracts. LWAG discussed this at their October meeting and are looking to support the continuance of the Trust in some form in their forthcoming submission to the WRC & TDC long term plans.

The independence of a body managing the contracts was agreed to be of value to the Project. In this regard they are in accord with Taupo District Council and the Tuwaretoa Maori Trust Board who are similarly concerned that the integrity of the Project may be compromised without the continuity of expertise and procedural knowledge held by the Lake Taupō Protection Trust.

LWAG wrote to Minster for the Environment re; concerns for future of the Lake Taupo Project and the Trust (30th October) See here

‘Council move muddies water’ - Waikato Times, 13 Oct 2020 (also Taupo Times) - Chris Marshall

The Lake Taupo¯ Protection Trust is at a crossroads.

It’s been credited with slowing the degradation of the lake yet has already outlived a sunset clause once, with a two-year extension to June 2021 and is operating on residual funds.

Now its future is up in the air, with different signals coming from the Waikato Regional and Taupo¯ District councils.

While the two councils will be presenting the same preferred option for the future management of the trust, additional material the WRC has included within its consultation muddies the waters on the option it really prefers.

It had already refined its stance based on information from Audit New Zealand that it could not have a ‘‘no preferred option’’.

How to save money the trust spends on administration plays into its potential future – with eventual annual savings of between $35,000 and $180,000 if administration shifts to one of the partner authorities, or an authority takes over its duties.

But there are concerns from within the trust and environmental advocacy groups that too much watering down of the trust’s role or even its dissolution would mean a loss of future environmental gains. The trust had one job – the reduction of nitrogen entering the lake, and it achieved this spectacularly well and ahead of schedule, Kylie Leonard told

The chair of the Lake Taupo¯ Protection Project Joint Committee, which has a governance role over the trust and is made up of representatives from the Crown, Tu¯ wharetoa Ma¯ ori Trust Board (TMTB), TDC and WRC – said there was nothing to stop the joint partners coming up with other tasks.

‘‘It’s a charitable organisation so that can lead to different funding options that might not cost the ratepayers so much but if the trust gets dissolved I don’t think we’d ever get another such organisation again.’’

It would be a loss to forgo the trust of landowners and established relationships, she said, built up by people with passion and knowledge.

Founded in 2007, the trust has administered a fund of $80 million, entering into 999-year contracts, or nitrogen discharge reduction agreements (NDRAs), with rural landowners which it continues to monitor.

‘‘The leg work is already done,’’ Leonard said.

‘‘In other catchments five contaminants are looked at, we’ve looked at one. Carbon is coming our way, the environmental space has changed dramatically. It’s not just about doing one thing, it’s ongoing.’’

Leonard, one of two TDC representatives on the joint committee, said the TMTB was also supportive of the trust.

‘‘They want to see it maintain its political independence and not be restricted by a three-year term of governance.’’

Minutes from committee and WRC meetings show differences have developed between WRC representatives and the TDC and TMTB, particularly in regard to funding and how to present options for the trust’s future in long term plan consultation documents.

Three options were proposed following a two-year review of the trust and while the WRC will indicate that the preferred structure post June 2021 is the retention of the joint committee for governance, with ongoing administration and management to be undertaken by either the TDC or WRC, it has also said it will reduce its funding to the trust to meet the lowest cost option and will include a full costbenefit analysis of the different management options in its consultation document.

The lowest cost option, which features a single partner responsible for the management of the NDRAs, however was placed as the third preference, even below the status quo.

In budget projections done as part of the review the lowest cost option would in 10 years’ time be making savings of around $180,000 annually while the preferred option is projected to save some $40,000 from the status quo’s annual running costs of more than $400,000.

Neville Williams, WRC director community and services, said the council had effectively capped its ongoing contribution towards any of the future management options to 50 per cent of the estimated cost if one of the partners performed the role.

‘‘This has been clarified with all parties associated with the project,’’ he said.

‘‘Should the preferred option be chosen then either Taupo¯ District Council will need to fund the difference or the trust will need to reduce its costs.’’

While advocates Lakes and Waterway Action Group acknowledged there were different opinions on the best future form of the trust, chairman Paul White said he believed community engagement was essential in advocating for long term water quality protection.

‘‘Maintaining the integrity of the Lake Taupo¯ Protection Project is pivotal to achieving certainty in this.’’

‘‘Maintaining the integrity of the Lake Taupo¯ Protection Project is pivotal to achieving certainty in this.’’

The public consultation and submissions period for the WRC Long Term Plan is likely to take place during April 2021, while consultation for the TDC’s Longterm Plan 2021-31 will be March 15 to April 16, 2021. Hearings are likely to follow in early May.