Media Release
21 January 2016

Greater Heretaunga and Ahuriri group gets refresh

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s latest arrival will be taking a fresh look at the group collaborating to develop a plan change for Heretaunga Plains and Ahuriri water resources.

James Palmer, HBRC’s new Group Manager for Strategic Development started in the role on Monday. One of his first priorities is to review the role of the TANK Group process and the best way to move forward.

The TANK group - known for its focus on the Tutaekurī, Ahuriri, Ngaruroro and Karamū catchments - has struggled to make headway in the face of RMA (Resource Management Act) reforms, how best to connect with community in the changing landscape of hapū and iwi enterprises, the possible lodgement and effects of a Water Conservation Order on the Ngaruroro River, and even the best group structure to achieve its objectives.

Mr Palmer will review the TANK group process and return his recommendations on its future operation to HBRC’s next Regional Planning Committee meeting on 3 February 2016.

“Collaborative processes involving a wide range of stakeholders are invariably challenging. Experience elsewhere has shown that such processes require exceptional goodwill and commitment from all participants to finding common ground. It is also vital to have solid and agreed science on which to make decisions. Most importantly the participants need to be prepared to make both ‘gifts and gains’ to accommodate diverse interests, says Mr Palmer.”

“What we need to determine is whether the conditions for success exist and if they don’t what we need to do differently to make progress. If a collaborative approach is not likely to succeed, then council can revert to a traditional consultative plan change process. That may end up being more adversarial and litigious than is desirable. The Heretaunga Aquifer is one of the region’s greatest assets and so we can’t afford for our efforts to manage it sustainably to become stalled,” he adds.

Mr Palmer’s will also be engaged in planning for a Water Symposium, addressing water allocation concerns, and water quality issues in light of HBRC’s current plan change implementation for the substantial Tukituki catchment. He is more widely responsible for regional policy and planning and economic development strategy.

“I am excited to be given the opportunity to bring what I have learned working nationally and internationally back to the region where I grew up. I am also very aware that there is no quick fix for land and water management in our region given most of our issues have been decades in the making. Collectively we have a lot of work ahead of us to get the best economic, environmental and cultural value from our natural resources today and long into the future,” says Mr Palmer.

James PalmerBACKGROUND
Mr Palmer comes to HBRC from the Ministry for the Environment where he was the Deputy Secretary for Sector Strategy (responsible for the strategic direction of New Zealand’s environmental management system). He has extensive experience in public policy matters related to environmental and natural resource management, energy and climate change, and primary production and innovation. Mr Palmer was Director Strategy, Systems and Science Policy at MPI (Ministry for Primary Industries) and Director Strategy at MAF (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry). Between 2005 and 2008 James served as Chief of Staff to the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries and Biosecurity, and in the early 2000s was an Advisor and Senior Private Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister.

Mr Palmer holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Studies from Otago University and was awarded a Chevening Scholarship by the British Government in 2003 to attend the London School of Economics and intern in the British Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit. Subsequently, he spent 2 years as a Research Fellow on a Government-funded study of ‘Institutions for Sustainable Development’, has participated in the US State Department’s International Visitors Leadership Programme studying food security and sustainability, and attended a Prince Of Wales Business and Sustainability Programme run by Cambridge University.

Mr Palmer is a former chair and trustee of ECCT (Eastern and Central Community Trust), has previously served two terms as a trustee of Hawkes Bay Power Consumers’ Trust, and is a former director of Esk Hydro Power Ltd.

ends