Option 2 was to transfer the investment assets into a trust with a council-controlled corporate entity as trustee to hold the assets on behalf of the beneficiaries. The beneficiaries would be whatever organisation took over the responsibilities of regional councils if new local government legislation is passed.<\/p>\n
Option 3, the regional council\u2019s current preferred \u201chybrid model\u201d, involved splitting the assets into separate entities for port assets, non-port assets and special purpose assets, to allow for tailored management approaches for each type of asset.<\/p>\n
Option 4 was to create a partnership with an existing community trust that has a proven track record of operating an intergenerational fund for community benefit.<\/p>\n
\u014cp\u014dtiki District Council supported option 2, while Whakat\u0101ne Council supported option 3, with some modifications. <\/p>\n
The submission said a trust-based Council-Controlled Organisation was the most effective and future-focused structure for managing the regional council\u2019s significant investment assets.<\/p>\n
Transferring Quayside\u2019s portfolio to a trust-based CCO provided greater long-term legal certainty.<\/p>\n
\u201c[The council] supports the need to restructure BOPRC\u2019s investment portfolio, particularly considering increasing uncertainty arising from ongoing local government reform and the potential restructuring or disestablishment of regional councils,\u201d its submission said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese system-wide changes create a real risk to the long-term stability of regional investment arrangements. To remain resilient in this environment, a modernised and durable investment framework is essential.\u201d<\/p>\n
The council acknowledged the regional council\u2019s $20m contribution to \u014cp\u014dtiki\u2019s harbour development and the 2024\/25 dividend of $48m from the portfolio, which accounted for about 23% of the regional council\u2019s income.<\/p>\n
It did not support the hybrid model, suggesting it introduced unnecessary complexity without improving alignment with regional priorities. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt risks diluting accountability and complicating governance at a time when clarity and resilience are essential.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whakat\u0101ne District Council supported the hybrid model with some modifications.<\/p>\n
\u201cDecisions on the distribution of returns for regional and community outcomes should be separated from investment decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The regional council also sought submissions on whether it should establish a Regional Benefit Fund of up to $20m in its annual plan to support councils or other organisations to deliver large-scale infrastructure projects of regional benefit.<\/p>\n
\u014cp\u014dtiki and Whakat\u0101ne councils were in favour of such a fund, but \u014cp\u014dtiki advocated for an allocation of $50m a year to ensure it could support projects of true regional and national significance. <\/p>\n
Developer Chris Peterson, on behalf of \u014cp\u014dtiki Marina and Industrial Park, was also in favour of the fund.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Eastern Bay is recognised as an area in desperate need of economic growth. A Regional Benefit Fund can kick-start this development.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peterson felt the maximum amount of $20m a year would be \u201ca sustainable figure but also enough to be of real benefit\u201d.<\/p>\n
The regional council also asked for feedback on whether it should increase or decrease the amount of funding it invested in protecting and maintaining the region\u2019s indigenous biodiversity. <\/p>\n
\u014cp\u014dtiki\u2019s council strongly supported increasing investment in indigenous biodiversity, recognising that continued success relied on stable long-term resourcing.<\/p>\n
Kawerau District Council did not make a submission.<\/p>\n
Former regional council chairman and Eastern Bay constituency representative Doug Leeder advocated for continuing with the status quo for investment assets until legislative protection was no longer forthcoming, in which case, option 2, creating a trust, would be his choice.<\/p>\n
He was not in favour of a regional benefit fund, saying the regional council should only invest where there is market failure. <\/p>\n
\u201cCouncil borrowing and encumbering ratepayers to pick winners or satisfy the whims of local authorities is not your role,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Leeder was in favour of the regional council continuing its \u201clong history of investing in indigenous biodiversity\u201d.<\/p>\n
Hearings will be held in Whakat\u0101ne, Tauranga and Rotorua next week for submitters intending to speak on their submissions.<\/p>\n
The Whakat\u0101ne hearing will be held at the regional council\u2019s Whakat\u0101ne chambers in Quay St on Wednesday from 10.30am and livestreamed via the council\u2019s website and YouTube channel.<\/p>\n
\u2013 LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Option 2 was to transfer the investment assets into a trust with a council-controlled corporate entity as trustee…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":382528,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[94938,95,1561,5205,295,111,43,139,69,1118,90,2170,29268,9643,8692,1130,1227,21539],"class_list":{"0":"post-382527","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-3b","9":"tag-and","10":"tag-bay","11":"tag-council","12":"tag-fund","13":"tag-new-zealand","14":"tag-news","15":"tag-newzealand","16":"tag-nz","17":"tag-of","18":"tag-on","19":"tag-plan","20":"tag-port","21":"tag-spark","22":"tag-split","23":"tag-stake","24":"tag-tauranga","25":"tag-views"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=382527"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382527\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/382528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=382527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=382527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=382527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}