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Home / Gisborne Herald / Opinion

No time left for window dressing

Gisborne Herald
18 Mar, 2023 10:45 AMQuick Read

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Bob Hughes

Bob Hughes

Opinion

In a recent What's on in Council column, councillor Pat Seymour mentioned the following Wednesday's Audit and Risk Committee meeting. Aware that climate change was mentioned but not listed, despite the recent adoption of a 2030 net-zero emissions target, I was prompted to contact a few councillors.

Deputy Mayor Josh informed me of the lack of climate change impacts, implications and mitigations as they would feature at the Zoom meeting, and councillor Seymour later gave me the video link to view the complete proceedings.

Earlier that day was the main council meeting where our Mayor, getting her priorities right, said the council “could not fall asleep at the wheel” with all the reforms going on through to 2024 — including Three Waters, resource management and emergency management reforms, and the Climate Adaptation Act.

Looking at it all together, we are talking climate change.

Although the Audit and Risk Committee plays no role in policy-making, our GDC's strong climate change commitment convinces me it should feature high with Audit and Risk also.

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This committee includes independent chair Bruce Robinson, councillors Cranston, Foster, Seymour and Sheldrake, the Mayor and Deputy Mayor and chief financial officer Pauline Foreman, with input from other staff as well.

During the meeting, Pat Seymour raised my concern that climate change was not listed and also highlighted its importance — citing the previous week's council decision to target zero-carbon emissions by 2030. She asked if we could expect a report to appear in future, or the public see commentary from the council on its climate change activity.

Pauline Foreman said it was in the council's risk report . . . wasn't on the topic . . . it would be recorded in reports as a separate specific item.

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Chairman Bruce agreed that climate change was an important cog, and explained his role and limitations. Mentioning me simply as the concerned person, councillor Seymour said I would not see it as a specific item and I would surely follow up.

I now better understand the role of the Audit and Risk Committee and its function. However, I was cheered up when I heard in the closing report there was an appetite to bring climate change into the risk management framework. Also, that already last year climate change had been identified as one of the major risks awaiting entry, and a further report is due in six months.

Then councillor Seymour also reminded us that setting a zero-carbon target to 2030 in itself is a cost issue, quite separate from the natural environment, and concluded that we need to be sure we weren't talking about two different things.

She is right. With big decisions like this, we all need to be on the same page.

I appreciate the assurance that climate change will be included as a risk for the Audit and Risk Committee. However, there was also talk about the appropriate way of reporting climate change — whether or not it be separate from the natural environment, and definition, risk, mitigation, minimisation of impact etc.

I know the committee is duty-bound to get everything right. But now the GDC is aiming for zero-carbon by 2030, there is no time left for window dressing.

Already high on council policy priorities, climate change needs to take top place on the Audit and Risk management list also.

During the meeting, several times the words “events beyond our control” were uttered.

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Realistically: at this late stage, success in stopping global warming and worsening climate events are a long way off.

Our GDC, along with all organisations and individuals, will face big changes.

Thankfully our GDC at last is facing up.

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