Invitation Evaluation – Minister of Conservation Name of requestor and
24-I-0096 Lucy Baragwanath, Hauraki Gulf Forum -
reference #
INVTP-630
Due to Office
30 July 2024
Priority
Low
Medium
High
[How important is it for the Minister to
attend?]
☐
☒
☐
Type of audience
Private
Public/Media
Iwi
[What is the nature of the people and/or
individual
organisations attending?]
☐
☐
☐
NGO
Business
Other
☐
☐
☒
Nature of meeting
Standard
Event/Visit
Political
[Is the meeting public, political, private,
meeting
and wil the media be involved?]
Note: DOC wil not provide meeting
☐
☐
☒
advice for political meetings.
Meeting purpose
The Hauraki Gulf Forum wishes to discuss with you its
four priorities for the restoration of the Hauraki Gulf. In
particular the Forum seeks your support to advocate for
protecting 30% of the Gulf in marine protected areas by
2030. The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection
Bil and the Government’s response to the exotic seaweed
Caulerpa are likely to be key topics of discussion.
Recommendation
We recommend that you accept the request to meet.
The Hauraki Gulf Forum is an important DOC stakeholder.
The Forum leadership sought to engage directly with you
soon after your appointment as Minister of Conservation
(
23-I-0015 and
CORM-1113 refer), and subsequently
invited you to attend the Forum’s meeting on 4 March
2024 which you had to decline. We are aware that you
have had informal contact with Nicola Macdonald (Co-
Chair Tangata Whenua).
As the Minister responsible for the Hauraki Gulf Marine
Park Act 2000, and as one of the three Ministers
represented on the Forum, the Forum is especially
interested in engaging with you.
You are represented on the Forum by Alex Rogers. He
was formerly the Forum’s CEO/Executive Officer and
since May 2024 is DOC’s Director Regional Operations
Auckland.
The Forum leadership would be wil ing to meet with you in
Auckland, Wellington or at another venue to suit your
schedule.
Minister/SPS/Advisor/Press [For office use only – Office comment / Further actions
Sec comment
requested / Calendar conflicts i.e. House leave request
required]
Accept / Decline
Comment:
[i.e. alternative actions / decline for now but wrap into
future regional visits etc]
Opportunities
The Forum and the Hauraki Gulf are very relevant to your
Conservation portfolio. The relationship is also very
important for progressing DOC’s priorities in the Gulf.
We expect that the meeting wil primarily be about seeking
support from you to address four priorities that the Forum
has adopted for the Hauraki Gulf. These are:
• Preventing the spread of exotic Caulerpa and
eradicating it from the Gulf.
• Banning bottom contact fishing methods in the Gulf,
such as trawling.
• Establishing 30% of the Gulf as marine protected
areas by 2030.
• Funding a survey of the RMS Niagara wreck to assess
how much oil may stil remain in it and undertake a risk
assessment.
They wil also be seeking an assurance that the Hauraki
Gulf is an important area of focus for the Government.
The Forum is very interested in the progress of the
Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bil , for
which you are the responsible Minister. The Forum lodged
a submission on the Bil and appeared before the Select
Commit ee. You have indicated publicly your support for
progressing the Bil .
The Forum has advocated for a more urgent and joined up
response to the threat to the Gulf posed by the invasive
seaweed exotic
Caulerpa. Nicola Macdonald is a Co-Chair
of the newly established Exotic Caulerpa National
Advisory Group. Biosecurity New Zealand (BNZ) is the
lead agency for the biosecurity response to exotic
Caulerpa. DOC is working collaboratively with BNZ on the
response, as appropriate.
Risks to consider
We have not identified any significant risks from you
accepting the request to meet.
You are not the lead Minister for three of the four priorities
the Forum has identified, being the response to the
invasive seaweed exotic
Caulerpa (lead is Minister of
Biosecurity), the proposals for bottom fishing access
zones (trawl corridors) in the Gulf (lead is Minister for
Oceans and Fisheries) and the risk posed by a potential
sudden release of oil from the wreck of the RMS Niagara
(lead is Associate Minister of Transport).
DOC can provide you with advice and talking points on
likely topics the Forum wil raise if you choose to meet with
them.
Under the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park Act you appoint the
six representatives of the tangata whenua of the Hauraki
Gulf and its islands. The terms of the representatives all
expired on 15 March 2024. You have appointed five of the
six representatives (
24-B-0030 and
24-B-0207 refer) and
we have submit ed a paper for you to take to APH for the
sixth appointment (
24-B-0316 refers). The length of time it
has taken for the appointments could be raised at the
meeting.
Background information
We administer the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park Act 2000
under which the Forum is constituted. The Forum does not
itself undertake operational activities but rather its role is
to foster collaboration and integrated management of the
Hauraki Gulf.
The Forum comprises 21 members, three of whom are
representatives of central Government Ministers
(Conservation, Fisheries and Māori Development).
The remaining membership comprises twelve local
government representatives and six representatives of the
tangata whenua of the Hauraki Gulf and its islands. There
are 29 iwi with interests in the Hauraki Gulf and its
catchment.
DOC has a close working relationship with the Forum
through its leadership. We attend the quarterly meetings of
the Forum.
We meet regularly with the Forum’s CEO/Executive
Officer. The author of the letter to you, Lucy Baragwanath,
has recently taken up this role. Nicola Macdonald, Co-
Chair Tangata Whenua of the Forum is also the Chair of
the Auckland Conservation Board and CEO for Ngāti
Manuhiri, so we engage with her regularly. The other Co-
Chair is Toby Adams, Mayor of Hauraki District Council.
Al three may potentially attend a meeting with you.
The members of the Forum are listed at this link:
https:/ gulfjournal.org.nz/the-hauraki-gulf-forum/
