Supplementary Reports Agenda of Ordinary Te Kuaka - Te Ao Māori Committee Meeting

Ordinary Te Kuaka - Te Ao Māori Committee Meeting Agenda

19 June 2025

7 Ngā Pūrongo Taipitopito / Information Reports

7.1 Review Towns and Community Names for Geographic Board

File Number: A5187006

Author: Llani Harding, Pouhautū Te Hono - Manager - Te Hono

Authoriser: Jacine Warmington, Group Manager - Strategic Relationships

TAKE PŪRONGO / Purpose of the Report

To note and review the Towns and Community names submissions to Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa – New Zealand Geographic Board.

WHAKARĀPOPOTO MATUA / Executive SummarY

This report provides an overview of the official Māori place names that have been developed for the Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa New Zealand Geographic Board (the Board).

TŪTOHUNGA / Recommendation

That Te Kuaka – Te Ao Māori Committee receive the report Review Towns and Community Names for Geographic Board.

tĀHUHU KŌRERO / Background

Thousands of place names throughout New Zealand are not official, even though most have been shown on maps and charts for many years. Making place names official is important as it means there is one agreed and correct name for a place. This is especially important for identifying where you are in an emergency and to recognise New Zealand’s unique culture and heritage.

In 2023 the Board altered the programme that began in 2020 because the number of recorded (unofficial) place names was too high for some iwi to process. The Board decided to focus on processing recorded (unofficial) Māori place names first, adding macrons where appropriate and giving mana whenua more time to respond if needed. The Board will continue to approve recorded Māori names as official, as long as they meet the criteria.

As part of the programme, the Board will review the existing official Māori place names to ensure they are consistent with any newly approved names that have macrons.

If a Māori place name made official through this process needs to be corrected in respect of macrons, we can publish an amendment in the New Zealand Gazette or a formal proposal can be made, which this Board would publicly consult on.

Spelling changes to any place name, whether recorded or official, will require a proposal that goes through public consultation. These cannot be processed through this programme.

To support this work, the Board identified 1,783 unofficial Māori place names within the Far North District Council’s jurisdiction. Of these, the Board’s expert translator, Te Haumihiata Mason, advised that 1,389 are spelled correctly or only require macrons and could therefore be made official.

The remaining 394 names could not be verified and were referred to Kahika-Mayor Moko Tepania for review.

The fast-track process does not require public consultation, but the Board are seeking feedback/comments from mana whenua and the council on whether there would be any issues that would prevent the names that are orthographically correct from being made official.

To this end, Council staff have undertaken a thorough analysis of all 2,177 place names and recommend the following for approval by Te Kuaka.

MATAPAKI ME NGĀ KŌWHIRINGA / Discussion and Next Steps

Staff recommend Te Kuaka approve the distribution of the attached names back to Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa New Zealand Geographic Board (the Board) for their end of year Board meeting as per the recommendations

PĀNGA PŪTEA ME NGĀ WĀHANGA TAHUA / Financial Implications and Budgetary Provision

There are no budgetary implications for this paper.

Āpitihanga / Attachments

1. Review Towns and Community Names. - A5236358 ⇩

Ordinary Te Kuaka - Te Ao Māori Committee Meeting Agenda

19 June 2025

7.2 Update on a Regional Deals for Northland

File Number: A5234991

Author: Roger Ackers, Group Manager - Planning & Policy

Authoriser: Guy Holroyd, Chief Executive Officer

TAKE PŪRONGO / Purpose of the Report

To provide Te Kuaka Te Ao Māori Committee with an update on Northland’s proposal for Regional Deals.

WHAKARĀPOPOTO MATUA / Executive SummarY

· Regional Deals is the Government’s initiative for establishing long-term agreements between central and local government. The programme aims to unlock funding and resource opportunities to support councils to make improvements in their region, for example to roads, infrastructure, and the supply of quality housing.

· The government initiated the establishment of regional deals with local government by inviting local government bodies to submit a regional deal proposal to government in early 2025.

· On 11 December 2024 Te Kuaka – Te Ao Māori Committee resolved not to support the regional deal framework

· On 12 December 2024 Council endorsed the preparation of a Regional Deal proposal for submission to Central Government and approved Northland Inc as the lead organisation responsible for coordinating the development of the Regional Deal proposal with support from all Councils.

· On 28 February 2025 Northland Inc submitted the Northland Light Touch Proposal to the Department of Internal Affairs

· The Joint Regional Economic Development Committee alongside Northland Inc has been preparing for the possibility that Northland will be invited to progress to a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government for Northland Regional Deal.

· At the time of writing the report no announcement had been made on which regions will be invited to progress to a Memorandum of Understanding with the government for a regional deal.

TŪTOHUNGA / Recommendation

That Te Kuaka – Te Ao Māori Committee receive the report Update on a Regional Deals for Northland.

tĀHUHU KŌRERO / Background

On 21 November 2024, Hon Simeon Brown, Minister of Local Government sent a letter to the mayors/chairs of all local authorities inviting them to submit a regional deal proposal. As per the letter, regional deals are focused on delivering connected and resilient infrastructure, building economic growth and improving the supply of affordable housing.

The intent as communicated from the Government in 2024 was for each regional deal to;

· cater to local priorities while sharing the following foundational components:

· based on a 30-year vision for the region

· have a 10-year strategic plan with clear outcomes and actions required to achieve them

· rely on existing resources to achieve shared goals over new funding

· establish a framework through which new funding can be allocated as it becomes available.

In terms of boundaries, Regions for Regional Deals can include regional, sub-regional, or other suitable areas, as long as they are clearly defined economic and geographic areas with functioning local authorities.

On 11 December 2024 Staff recommended the following as part of a wider set of recommendations to the Te Kuaka – Te Ao Māori Committee;

That Te Kuaka recommend that Council:

a) endorse the preparation of a Regional Deal proposal for submission to central government.

b) agree to collaborate with the other three local authorities, Kaipara District Council (KDC), Whangārei District Council (WDC), and Northland Regional Council (NRC) as a single “region” for the purpose of the Regional Deal.

c) approve Northland Inc as the lead organisation responsible for coordinating the development of the Regional Deal proposal, with support from all four councils.

d) approve the Joint Regional Economic Development Committee as the governance entity overseeing the development of the proposal

e) approve the amendment to the Joint Regional Economic Development Committee Terms of Reference

f) agree that the Chair of the Northland Mayoral Forum be the spokesperson of the Regional Deal programme on behalf of the region

g) approve the Registration form being submitted by Northland Inc. on behalf of Northland Local Authorities (by 18 December 2024), following review by the Chief Executive

h) notes that the Joint Regional Economic Development Committee may be required to meet outside of the normal council meeting cycle during the traditional Christmas recess period

i) notes that similar recommendations are being presented to KDC, WDC, and NRC at their December 2024 meetings to ensure regional alignment and collaboration.

Te Kuaka – Te Ao Māori Committee resolved the following from the above staff recommendation.

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The same set of recommendations as made to Te Kuaka – Te Ao Māori Committee on 11 December 2024 were made to the 12 December 2024 Council meeting with the following resolution.

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Northland Inc confirmed the Northland Region’s intention to submit a proposal for a Regional Deal by lodging a registration form with the Department of Internal Affairs before the cut-off date of 18 December 2024. The registration included the following:

In order to develop our initiatives, we have reviewed the councils’ key strategic documents and the work of Northland Inc (regional economic development agency) and have used these to develop draft initiatives that we expect our light touch proposal to be based upon. We have both a role in enabling our key sectors to be more productive and to create a new future fuels cluster which aligns with Government objectives for a regional deal.

1. Marsden Point Future Fuels Cluster – bio refinery, sustainable aviation fuels, hydrogen, methanol

2. Marine Manufacturing Cluster (Dry Dock, Inshore Fishing, Navy – maintenance & training)

3. Primary and Associated Manufacturing Sector Development – value added processing, Ngawha Innovation Park; land utilisation; mussel & oyster spat, new horticulture products

4. Tourism – quality accommodation development, road and air connectivity

However, given the timeframes for expressions of interest the focus areas are yet to be worked through with Council’s governance. They are therefore in draft and will be explored further through the light touch proposal and are subject to change through that process. We will be working with key stakeholders in the region (including Private sector & Iwi) during the process of drafting the light touch proposal.

Northland Inc led the development of a light touch proposal with input from staff from KDC, WDC, NRC and FNDC over the course of December 2024, January 2025 and February 2025. This included workshops with the Joint Regional Economic Development Committee on 19 December 2024 and 31 January 2025.

Input and feedback to the chair of the Joint Committee Regional Development on the first draft was sought from Far North District Council Elected Members and the CEO via email on 29 January 2025. This explained the decision-making process in place to meet the timeline for the approval of a lite touch to be approved by the Joint Regional Economic Development Committee on 21 February 2025.

The Joint Regional Economic Development Committee met in a publicly excluded meeting on 21 February 2025 where a draft Lite Touch Proposal was approved for submission to the Department of Internal Affairs. This was a publicly excluded meeting because confidentiality was requested by the Department of Internal affairs as part of their guidance for developing a Regional Deals proposal.

On 28 February 2025 Northland Inc confirmed to staff at the Far North District Council that they had submitted The Northland Light Touch Regional Deal Proposal (Attachment 1)

On 29 April 2025 The Joint Regional Economic Development Committee commenced, in public exclusion, to consider what preparation is required if Northland is selected to enter into a negotiation for a regional deal with the government. At the time of this agenda item to the Joint Committee the Department of Internal Affairs had communicated that the government intended to announce the three successful regions on 26 May 2025 (one region for negotiation in 2025 and two for 2026).

No announcement has been made at time of writing this report.

MATAPAKI ME NGĀ KŌWHIRINGA / Discussion and Next Steps

The Joint Regional Economic Development Committee is considering a negotiating structure in the event that Northland is invited to enter a negotiation with the government for a regional deal. This includes iwi/hapū/Ahuwhenua representation across the sector priorities put forward in the regional deal application being

1. Future Fuels

2. Marine Manufacturing

3. Primary Industries

4. Visitor Economy and

5. Infrastructure which has been included to underpin the other four priorities

The committee is also considering a wider negotiating team that includes representatives of Māori Economic Development.

As per the department of Department of Internal Affairs website at the time of writing this report the following is the timing and sequencing for Regional Deals.

Milestone	Date
Cabinet decisions on first regions to progress into MOUs	June 2025
MoU Signing	July 2025
Deal negotiations with selected regions	August – September 2025
Local Government Elections	October 2025
Final deal negotiations	November 2025
First regional deal finalised	December 2025
Two additional regional deals finalised	By October 2026
Process for future rounds of proposals and deals (TBC)	2026 onwards

As per the Department of Internal Affairs website on Regional deals under the heading ‘The role of private and Iwi/Māori organisations’

“City and Regional Deals primarily involve partnerships between local councils and central government. There is significant opportunity for collaboration from the private sector and Iwi/Māori organisations. Local government is responsible for identifying opportunities for involvement and engaging with private sector entities and Māori organisations.

All deals are required to honour pre-existing Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations.”

Administration staff at Northland Regional Council are preparing for the possibility of an extraordinary Joint Regional Economic Development Committee meeting in June if Northland is invited to enter the Memorandum of Understanding process for a regional deal as identified above.

The next scheduled Joint Regional Economic Development Committee meeting is on Friday 25 July 2025.

PĀNGA PŪTEA ME NGĀ WĀHANGA TAHUA / Financial Implications and Budgetary Provision

There are no financial implications and budgetary provisions associated with this report

Āpitihanga / Attachments

1. Northland Regional Deal Proposal Full Document - A5234998 ⇩