Forum workshops

Workshop 22, 8 & 9 June 2022, Te Rau Aroha Marae, Bluff

Regional Forum Chair Fiona Smith said it felt quite emotional to go back to Bluff's Te Rau Aroha Marae last week, where the first workshop was held in 2019.

This last workshop was to finalise the recommendations that will go in the report setting out ways to drastically improve freshwater in Murihiku Southland.

“We were back at Te Rau Aroha Marae for our final get-together, which felt like we’ve come full circle after more than 20 workshops all around the region and online over the past three and a half years,” she said.

The Regional Forum will deliver its report and recommendations to Environment Southland and the Te Ao Marama Inc board in the next few weeks. That report will help with the development of the first plan change to the Southland Water and Land Plan, known as Plan Change Tuatahi.

The Southland Regional Forum is a group of farmers, scientists, business people, students, environmentalists, and mana whenua.

“The 15 members have come together with our different perspectives and experiences, and gone into this process with the best of intentions. And we are now sure that our recommendations will mean a significant step forward to bridging the massive gaps between current water issues and where we should be. We must be able to use our water to drink, swim in, fish and engage in mahinga kai, and for farming and other businesses.

“Forum members have been so generous with their time and professionalism in working together to reach agreement,” she said.

They have been gathering information, hearing from experts, scientists, stakeholders and mana whenua with the challenge of coming up with recommendations for how to improve Southland’s freshwater over the next 25 years.

The big issues impacting freshwater and Te Mana o te Wai (the vital importance of the water) in Southland include: extensive loss of wetlands; the amount of sediment and nutrients in some rivers, lakes & estuaries; risks to human health (from recreation and drinking); issues with quantity of water in some areas affecting the health or hauora of the water; and the inability to use freshwater for mahinga kai purposes.

Included as part of last week’s workshop was a half day with Environment Southland councillors and Te Ao Marama Inc board members discussing the forum’s work and recommendations.

“We’ve been through a really thorough, tough process and it’s fair to say that hard work will continue when we hand the report to Environment Southland and Te Ao Marama Inc. It’s their role to lead the region into a better future with freshwater that will help our communities to thrive.

“This will not be easy and we recognise there are many challenges for our communities. But as one forum member has said – ‘we can’t keep kicking the can down the road.’ If we want our children and grandchildren to have good water, now is the time,” Fiona said.

Forum members are Bernadette Hunt, Cain Duncan, Darren Rewi, David Diprose, Estelle Pera-Leask, Ewen Pirie, Fiona Smith (Chair), Hayden Slee, Kelsi Hayes, Lisa Pearson, Michelle Roberts, Paul Marshall, Phil Morrison (Deputy Chair), Sean Bragg and Vaughan Templeton.

Mahinga kai – refers to the traditional and cultural value of food resources and their ecosystems, as well as the practices involved in producing, procuring, and protecting these resources.

Notes of the workshop can be found here

Workshop 21, 12 & 13 May 2022, Zoom

Notes of the workshop can be found here

Workshop 20, 12 & 13 April 2022, Zoom

Notes of the workshop can be found here

Workshop 19, 15 & 16 March 2022, Zoom

Notes of the workshop can be found here

Workshop 18, 15 & 16 February, Zoom

Notes of the workshop can be found here

Workshop 17, 8 & 9 December 2021, Te Anau

Key messages

Input from the groups involved in the Waiau River, and the manner in which they engaged, enabled us to make good, informed decisions about our recommendations on the same day. It was particularly important that the forum heard the voice of a younger generation.
We're now moving on from consultation with interest and stakeholder groups to drafting advice. There may still be some sense-checking with individuals and selected stakeholders in the new year.
We're really focused on hauora and what it means for our waterways. For us in the regional forum, it means resilience and the ability of the waterway to take a knock and recover, that the waterways are life-sustaining for the ecosystem and for the people who live with the waterway. And we're looking across the region so it's multiple waterways we need to deal with.
2021 has been another challenging year with the likes of Covid-19, and new forum members joining us. I think we can feel very proud of how far we've come.
The forum has been well-served by the science advice, the work of our independent facilitator and the excellent support and co-governance advice from Te Ao Marama and Maria Bartlett in particular.

Workshop 16, 11 November 2021, Winton

Read the notes from the workshop here

Workshop 15: 19 & 20 October 2021, Invercargill

Workshop 14: 28 & 29 July 2021, Mataura

Workshop 13: 1 & 2 June 2021, Invercargill

Read the notes from the workshop here

Workshop 12: 13 & 14 April 2021, Gore

Read the notes from the workshop here