Horizons Regional Council's Rachel Keedwell: We need your views on buses and freshwater

Horizons Regional Council wants to understand and embrace its communities' shared knowledge and experiences of freshwater to look after it better. Photo / Horizons Regional Council

OPINION:

What do buses and freshwater have in common? Usually not much, but right now these are key issues Horizons wants your feedback on. I will talk about buses first and then let you know how you can contribute to the future of freshwater management in our region.

Horizons runs the bus services in urban centres such as Palmerston North and Whanganui and a range of commuter services that run between our main centres. Until Covid came along, in excess of 1.3 million trips were made on these bus services each year.

Although those passenger numbers have dropped substantially, the bus network still forms an important transport network for many people, and given the region's greatest source of carbon emissions is from transport, getting more travel on buses across the region has multiple benefits. With increasing petrol prices, it is even more important we ensure our bus networks are fit for purpose, accessible and affordable.

The Regional Public Transport Plan guides our decisions in determining the types of bus services we provide. The RPTP sets out the framework for how we plan and deliver public transport services and infrastructure over the next 10 years. Over the past six months, the plan has been rewritten significantly and we want to know if you think we have got it right. We have set strong targets for increasing passenger numbers, reducing carbon emissions and improving our bus services to provide a viable alternative to travelling by car.

Freshwater is the other topic we are consulting on. The Government's essential freshwater package means things have moved on a long way from the debate about whether our rivers should be swimmable or wadeable. Regional councils have an important role in implementing this package because regional plans outline how water quality is to be managed in a region.

For the Horizons region, this means our One Plan needs to have a new freshwater plan by the end of 2024. To do this, we need to know what our communities want in that plan because, ultimately, the new part of the One Plan will be to ensure outcomes for water quality that not only affect this generation but those to come.

To understand communities' views, we will be carrying out multiple rounds of engagement as we formulate the plan. Right now, we want to know what your goals and visions are for freshwater in our region and guiding principles we should use to establish these visions.

You can find links to both lots of consultation on our website horizons.govt.nz or call 0508 800 800 for more information. Consultation on the public transport plan closes on May 12, and the current round of freshwater consultation closes May 24.

• Dr Rachel Keedwell is chairwoman of Horizons Regional Council.