Policy adopted by Council
Policy has been adopted
The Policy and Regulatory Hearings Panel considered public feedback and deliberated on the proposed Policy on 4 December 2024.
We received 30 submissions with one speaker presenting. All written and verbal submissions were carefully considered and the feedback received helped shape Council’s final decisions.
The final adopted Significance and Engagement Policy 2024 can be found on our website:
www.waikatodistrict.govt.nz/policies
Decisions following consultation
1. Neighbourhood vs district-wide significance
Following consultation, we have acknowledged that a Council decision or proposal can be of ‘low’ or ‘medium’ significance at a district-wide level but can hold ‘high’ significance within a specific community or neighbourhood.
This change was to reflect the feedback from consultation which said that issues can be of high significance to a community or neighbourhood, even if the impact to the wider district is relatively low
2. Engaging with Waikato district's communities
Following consultation, we have included new clauses within the policy to acknowledge that meaningful engagement can involve face-to-face conversations with those affected by a proposal.
Additionally, the Policy now notes that for decisions of high significanceto a particular community, we will consider methods to directly engage with the affected community.
This change was made to reflect the feedback received that ‘direct conversations’ with affected parties was the preferred engagement tactic for decisions of both low and high significance.
Any questions?
Email consult@waidc.govt.nz
Background
We want to hear from you! Let us know how you’d like Waikato District Council to engage with you on important decisions and share your thoughts on the changes to our Significance and Engagement Policy.
You can provide your feedback by completing this quick 5-minute survey.
Read more about proposed changes to the Policy below.
What is the Significance and Engagement Policy?
Council is responsible for making decisions on behalf of the district.
The Policy provides clarity about the ways we do this.
Some decisions, like long-term plans, bylaws, and other plans require consultation by law. For other matters, Council considers the significance of the decision to decide if community engagement or consultation is needed.
This Policy describes two key things:
- How Council determines the “significance” of decisions or proposals.
- How the community would like to be engaged on different types of decisions or proposals – depending on their “significance”.
Tell us what you think!
We want to hear from you about the best ways to engage with you, so we can connect with the community and gather feedback in the most effective and meaningful way moving forward.
We also want to know what you think of the proposed changes in the draft policy.
What will happen with the information you share?
Your submissions will be summarised for review by councillors, and a full report of all submissions will be provided for Council's consideration. A hearing panel of five councillors will also hear submissions from anyone who wishes to speak to their submission in person.
This feedback will inform any changes to the draft policy as Council prepares to adopt the final Significance and Engagement Policy.
Any questions?
Email consult@waidc.govt.nz
Table 1: Proposed changes to the Policy
Current practice | Proposed change |
New engagement framework (and getting rid of the old one) | |
The current policy lists five ways to engage with the community. | We are replacing this with a table that is simpler and shows what type of engagement is needed for decisions with low, medium, or high significance. |
Changes to How Important Decisions Are Assessed | |
Right now, there are 10 criteria Council use to decide how important (or “significant”) a decision is. | We are introducing a new guide called “Schedule 1 – Determining significance”. This will explain what “low”, “medium” and “high” significance looks like, for each criterion. |
Looking at strategic assets as a whole | |
The policy currently lists strategic assets individually, e.g. reservies, pensioner housing, water plants, roads, and more. | The change we are making is to change a “whole-of-asset” approach. We look at strategic assets like networks (e.g., water, roads), decisions about small parts of the network won’t be treated as a major decision unless they affect the entire service. This change allows Council to make smaller decisions about strategic assets without needing to include every decision in the Long-Term Plan. |
New definitions | |
The current policy doesn’t explain the difference between “engagement” and “consultation” or who maataawaka and mana whenua are. | We want to define these terms:
We’ll also define maataawaka (Maaori living in the Waikato district without ancestral ties to the land) and mana whenua (Iwi/hapuu/marae with ancestral ties). This will help Council know when it’s legally required to consult with mana whenua. |
