The March Golden Bay Community Board meeting was held in Collingwood and began with the public forum as always.
The first speaker was from EPOD – a company that sells emergency and disaster relief pods which can be used in a natural disaster. The pods are in a shipping container and can be tailored to community needs. Part of the company’s role is to support communities to find funding. The pods start at $30,000.
Bill Wallis spoke next about the lack of a floating launching dock at Port Tarakohe. Bill would like the community to build a floating dock and has asked the Community Board to pressure the Council to provide this facility for the community.
Forest and Bird representative Cynthia McConville was the last speaker and she raised concerns about jet skis speeding in and around the Waitapu bridge area and asked that signs be erected to remind people of the speed limits.
As always, these items will be discussed at the next meeting.
Items from the February public forum were discussed, the first being the Friends of East Mohua regeneration project. We have requested a report from staff to help decide the best support for the project.
A report has also been requested from the Reserves and Facilities team regarding the request for us to create and promote dog walking tracks around Tākaka as an alternative to taking dogs to the beach or river.
Public forum is a good way to bring issues to the Council and get answers and support.
The Golden Bay Community Board met in February and had a busy agenda, with three presentations and two public forum submissions. As always, the meeting began with public forum.
The first speakers were from Friends of East Mohua who were asking for the Board’s support to develop wetlands along Abel Tasman Drive. Secondly, Golden Bay Forest and Bird want to further develop and advertise the shared pathways to encourage dog walkers to use these paths, rather than our beaches, so that the shore birds can remain undisturbed by dogs. These items will be discussed at the Board’s March meeting.
The first presentation was about the restoration of the Te Kakau Stream, the development of community involvement, and the growth of the project.
Port Tarakohe was next with an update on the Structure Plan. The Council has recently been seeking community feedback on the Port Tarakohe Issues and Options Report. While feedback has now closed, you can read more about this work at shape.tasman.govt.nz/port-tarakohe-structure-plan.
The final presentation was from the Council Reserves Team, updating the Board on past projects which included the repair of the Pōhara Tennis Pavillion, and a major upcoming project – the expansion of the Collingwood Cemetery.
It was a very positive meeting, and the Board appreciated hearing about all the initiatives and projects happening in the Bay.
The Golden Bay Community Board is excited for 2024 and looking forward to a great year of supporting our community. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year; it was great to see Golden Bay so busy.
Our first job is to say a massive thank you to our Tākaka Volunteer Firefighters who did an amazing job of stopping the fire at ITM and preventing it from spreading to other buildings and homes in Commercial Street. We are lucky to have such great people in our community.
It was also fantastic to see the support that ITM and PGG Wrightson have received from the community. A big shout out to all the staff at these two businesses for all their hard work and for ensuring that they were back up and running as quickly as possible. You are awesome.
In what was an extremely stressful and emotional time, you all kept community at the heart. We appreciate you all.
We can’t believe it’s December already, this year has gone by so fast. It’s getting busier in Golden Bay, with tourists and families arriving for summer, so please be patient and understanding.
The Community Board would like to acknowledge all the great staff at Tasman District Council, who work hard for the Tasman District, with a special mention to our fabulous Tākaka office team. They always have a smile on their faces and go the extra mile for our community. Golden Bay is lucky to have such a great service centre team.
We would also like to mention Janine, our fantastic CEO who is leaving the Council in January. It has been wonderful working with you, and we have very much appreciated your support for the Community Board, and the respect, kindness, and empathy that you have shown during your time at Tasman District Council. We wish you all the best for your future.
The Board wish everyone a Meri Kirihimete, and we look forward to 2024.
As a board, we have been having conversations about community, what this means and how we can have meaningful engagement and connections with the diverse range of individuals and groups who make up our Golden Bay community.
A community is a group of people who share something in common, such as a place, a culture, a religion, or an interest. Communities can provide a sense of belonging, support, and identity to their members, and to communicate with them effectively, we need to understand their values, norms, and expectations.
This understanding is vital, and something that is of great importance to the Board. At our recent strategy planning, a large part of the meeting was devoted to how we achieve this in our community.
We know that change is hard and that we are never going to please everyone.
When we are asked to make decisions that will affect our community, we don’t make these lightly, or in isolation. We get information from Council staff, community members, and in some cases, independent experts.
We ensure that we have clear and factual information and that we are focussing on the long-term benefits or impacts of our decisions.
We believe that transparency is important, and we are always open to talking to members of the community about the decision or the process we used to reach it – email us at gbcb@tasman.govt.nz or give us a call if you have any concerns or questions.
The Golden Bay Community Board is pleased to let residents know we are reinstating our meetings in Collingwood.
On Monday 11 September and Monday 11 December, we will be convening at the Collingwood Fire Station on Elizabeth Street. As with all our regular monthly meetings, we begin at 1.00 pm and everyone is welcome to attend.
Staff have investigated options to enable digital access to meetings and a portable meeting solution has now been acquired. This also enables the meetings to be recorded for those unable to attend, and for remote attendance.
We plan to hold more GBCB meetings in Collingwood in 2024.
On another note, NIWA is predicting a hot, dry summer for Golden Bay so please think about your fire safety.
Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ) and Civil Defence are encouraging people to ensure that their properties are fire safe – clear old dead trees from around your house and property, and ensure that if you are planting trees, you check out the FENZ or Council website for low-risk trees and plants.
It’s also a good time to ensure that emergency services have access to your house – is your driveway clear of low-hanging branches that might slow them coming to your aid?
As you may be aware, there has recently been a ‘Stop Co-governance’ tour traveling Aotearoa and they recently held an event in Golden Bay.
As a Board, we were sad to see the ‘Stop Co-governance’ tour happening and coming to Golden Bay. However, we were also happy to see our community pull together, and stand up and say, no, this is not who we are, this is not what we want.
We as a Board do not condone, support or give any weight to the claims being made by the ‘Stop Co-governance’ movement. We will continue to foster and have strong links to local iwi and see the benefit, and the role, of local iwi/Māori into its decision-making and service delivery processes.
As individuals, it is everyone’s responsibility to educate themselves and to have an understanding of what co-governance is, and what it will mean for Aotearoa. It is our responsibility to stand up and say, no, we won’t listen to scaremongering and untruths.
Co-governance means partnership, equality and positive change for Aotearoa. We encourage everyone to find out more and have informed conversations.
There is lots of information to be found on credible sources – check out the Newsroom articles or Democracy Action on the net.
Waiho i te toipoto, kaua i te toiroa – let us keep close together, not wide apart.
At our June Community Board meeting, we talked about the need for the Community Board to be more proactive within our community. We discussed the importance of being effective in our community and how we can really get to know the people.
We would love to know more about community projects and groups that need advocacy or support, so please get in touch with us.
We will be holding a strategic planning day where we will discuss all these things and how we can achieve them. It is important to us that we really know and understand our community so that we are well-placed to meet their needs and plan for a sustainable future.
We will be looking to identify gaps within our Board and the contacts we have, and to ensure that we are well-connected. We will be seeking community input into identifying issues and priorities for the Bay, and we are always open to discussing them.
As part of our strategic plan, we will be consulting closely with the community to ensure we have as much input as possible.
If there is anything you think your Community Board could help with, please reach out to us.
This month we are introducing Henry Dixon. Since Henry joined the Golden Bay Community Board at the end of 2022, he has been rapidly getting up to speed with the ins and outs of the Board operations, the wider functioning of the Council, and local governance in general.
He is taking opportunities to upskill through training sessions and workshops whenever they are offered. He particularly enjoyed attending hui at the marae around the region learning about local history and Te Ao Māori.
For Henry, being an effective board member means engaging with a range of groups and individuals in the community. Henry has an interest in youth wellbeing in Golden Bay and has met with school staff and youth representatives to discuss ways the Board can best support the needs of young people in the Bay.
He is also keen to see Golden Bay grow and prosper sustainably. This means ensuring key infrastructure is made fit for purpose and is futureproofed for the environmental, social, and economic challenges that lie ahead.
The future development of Port Tarakohe and aquaculture in Golden Bay, and the provision of sufficient affordable housing options for residents are two areas Henry is particularly interested in.
He is looking forward to continuing to serve the residents of Golden Bay over the rest of his term. A big part of his role is to advocate on your behalf so don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’d like to chat.
This month we are introducing Robert Hewison, who lives in Tākaka with his wife, Holly, and their four children.
Robert joined the Golden Bay Community Board because he felt that he had something to offer back to the community. This is his first term on the Board. While it has been a learning curve, he has brought his experience with running a business, being a father, a property owner, and his involvement in the not-for-profit and disability sector.
Robert sees some key themes and focuses. He is not here for himself but for the generations to come after us – our children and their children. Our decisions now affect their lives, and that weighs on him. That is how long-term we need to look and plan for – five to 50 years, not six to 12 months.
Robert has seen that organisations, departments and people often fail to look at the bigger picture. “We need to look at how one decision fits in within the picture as a whole, and how each part is just as important. Often you cannot do something in isolation, and when it does happen, it isn’t as effective.”
“When we consider things, we must ensure we give people enough time to digest information and provide feedback. We need to give those making the decisions enough time to take that information in and make an informed decision. The focus shouldn’t be the deadline – the focus is making sure we get there.”
We would like to introduce Grant Knowles, who is the deputy chair of the Golden Bay Community Board. This is Grant’s third term as an elected Golden Bay Community Board Member.
Grant says he has learnt so much during the past six years and has a good understanding of how local government operates and what role the Community Board plays.
He says the experience of the local government commission process to explore if we should be a local board, allowed us to be a better community board.
“The Council gave us more opportunities to have a say in some of the day-to-day runnings and engage the community through planning and consultation, and we can really make a difference.”
This year we are consulting with the community on how we shape our future.
The Council does this every three years to create Tasman’s 10-Year Plan. This time, the community boards along with iwi are leading part of the process and engaging with our community.
We should all think carefully over the next few months about what we need for our community to thrive and what we want our community to look like.
Whether you live in Golden Bay, Waimea, Murchison, Richmond or Motueka, we can all make a difference. Now is the opportunity for everyone in Tasman District to have their say.
Community boards are the voices at Council for their communities; boards are elected to advocate on behalf of their communities. We maintain an overview of Council services within our community and communicate with groups and individuals within our ward. Community boards are separately elected advisory bodies and not Council committees.
Golden Bay has the first column, and as a Board we want to use this opportunity to talk about what’s happening in Golden Bay, what’s coming up that’s important for the community to have a say in, and how people can get involved.
Our Community Board meetings are the second Monday of each month, starting at 1.00 pm, at the Tākaka Service Centre, and everyone is welcome to attend.
Our meetings always begin with a public forum, which is an opportunity to bring any issues to the Board for support and information. It’s best to register to speak at the public forum, which you can do online or by calling into the Tākaka Service Centre any time before the meeting.
Meetings take place in person and via Zoom. Public forum presenters can speak in person or online as they prefer. Visit this page for criteria around speaking and presenting at meetings.
Our first meeting for 2023 was on 13 February and we covered a wide range of topics. One item from the public forum was a request from the Golden Bay MenzShed asking for support for their proposed shed at the Rec Park. The Board provided a letter of support for this project.
We are always keen to hear about new projects that will benefit our community so please get in touch.
Membership of the Golden Bay community board is voted for by residents during the local government elections, held every three years. Golden Bay ward councillors are also part of the Golden Bay community board.
Contact details for the Golden Bay community board are as follows:
| Name | Phone | Mobile | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abbie Langford (Chair) | 03 525 9557 | 027 624 0680 | Abbie.Langford@tasman.govt.nz |
| Grant Knowles (Deputy Chair) | 03 525 7974 | 027 256 0566 | Grant.Knowles@tasman.govt.nz |
| Robert Hewison | robert.hewison@tasman.govt.nz | ||
| Henry Dixon | henry.dixon@tasman.govt.nz | ||
Golden Bay councillors |
|||
| Cr Celia Butler | Celia.Butler@tasman.govt.nz | ||
| Cr Chris Hill | ChrisP.Hill@tasman.govt.nz | ||
Community boards are separately elected advisory bodies and are not Council committees.
Their main role is to represent, and act as an advocate for the interests of their community.
A community board's role is to:
Email: gbcb@tasman.govt.nz or use the form to contact us.
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