1Karakia Tīmatanga / Opening Prayer — Meeting opened with karakia.
2Ngā Whakapāha Me Ngā Pānga Mema / Apologies and Declarations of Interest — Members declare apologies and conflicts of interest.
3Ngā Tono Kōrero / Deputation — No deputation requests received.
4.1Confirmation of Previous Minutes — Confirms minutes of the 9 September 2026 Te Kūkupa meeting as true and correct.
5.1Amendment to Resolution 2026/40 – Correction of Legislative Reference — Corrects an incorrect statutory reference in the Local Alcohol Policy resolution from section 147B to section 79 of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012.
5.2District Wide Spatial Strategy: Foundation Report — Seeks endorsement of the DWSS Foundation Report (Milestone 4), including Vision, Principles and Objectives to guide scenario development.
6.1Te Kūkupa Committee for Strategy, Policy and Regulation - Open Resolution and Actions Update Report — Information report providing status of outstanding open resolutions and introduces a new action points tracking mechanism.
7Karakia Whakamutunga / Closing Prayer — Meeting closed with karakia.
8Te Kapinga Hui / Meeting Close — Formal close of meeting.
1. What's tracking or delivered
He Kāinga Mana Housing Strategy adopted by Council following Te Kūkupa recommendation at 9 September 2026 meeting — open resolution marked complete (item 6.1, p.124)
Climate Adaptation Planning briefing paper on Minister's letter regarding climate scenario assumptions provided to Committee in July 2026 — action marked complete (item 6.1, p.128)
Terms of Reference updated to confirm Cr Arohanui Allen as Deputy Chairperson following 12 August 2026 Committee resolution — action marked complete (item 6.1, p.127)
District Wide Spatial Strategy (DWSS) Foundation Report (Milestone 4) completed through evidence-based process incorporating technical analysis, Iwi and Hapū input, and two elected-member workshops — presented for endorsement (item 5.2, p.22) 📜 District-wide Spatial Strategy commencement committed for 2024; brief does not confirm whether the programme started on time or what the original 2024 start date meant for the current Milestone 4 timeline.— FNDC Long Term Plan 2024-27
2. What's at risk
Resolution 2026/40 (Local Alcohol Policy approval) cited the wrong statutory provision — section 147B instead of section 79 of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012; the error was not caught before the resolution was carried and now requires formal correction under Standing Order 23.6 (item 5.1, p.18) 🕐 Resolution 2026/40 was passed at 9 September 2026 when Committee approved Draft LAP for public consultation.
Kerikeri Urban Design Framework project paused due to a staff departure; no reporting timeframe confirmed; the June 2026 status update required by Resolution 2026/18 was not delivered and remains on hold (item 6.1, p.123)
Action item from 9 September 2026 meeting requires staff to state reasons when the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) has not reviewed a report — compliance schedule field shows CFO did not review the DWSS Foundation Report (item 5.2, p.35) and did not review the Resolution 2026/40 amendment report (item 5.1, p.20); the action to address this practice is still open with no due date (item 6.1, p.127) 🕐 CFO non-review first flagged across all four decision reports at 12 August 2026 meeting.
DWSS endorsement enables progression to Milestone 5 scenario development; staff warn that non-endorsement would introduce programme delays and risk misalignment with the Regional Spatial Plan work programme, which is tied to resource management reforms expected to be enacted September 2026 (item 5.2, p.31) 🕐 July 2026 brief: local government reform (Head Start) flagged as affecting all upcoming FNDC reviews and strategies.
Three Waters Baseline Assessment identifies ageing assets, capacity constraints, and climate-related risks (flooding, sea-level rise, drought) across district infrastructure; 'substantial investment in asset renewal, system upgrades, resilience improvements and network expansion will be required over coming decades' — no dollar quantum or funding pathway stated in the Foundation Report (item 5.2, p.43)
Transport assessment finds more than 90 percent of freight is carried by road and the transport system has limited redundancy in the event of network disruption — no alternative transport investment timeline or funding identified in the Foundation Report (item 5.2, p.42)
Development Contributions Policy action — governance workshop on connections policy/internal connection process (including what other councils do and whether they have an objections process) was reassigned on 31 August 2026 to Head of Infrastructure; no updated due date recorded (item 6.1, p.126) 🕐 September 2026 brief: briefing paper on panel selection due 4 September 2026 — status unconfirmed at printing. 📜 Development contributions suspended for the full LTP term; the governance workshop on connections policy/internal connection process has no updated due date — no signal on whether the objections-process review will affect this suspension assumption.— FNDC Long Term Plan 2024-27
Significance and Engagement Policy workshop action from 12 August 2026 remains on hold — staff are 'looking to schedule towards the end of 2026' with no confirmed date (item 6.1, p.126) 🕐 Same 'on hold, end of 2026' status recorded at 9 September 2026 meeting; no progress in intervening period. 📜 Significance and Engagement Policy workshop on hold with no confirmed date; the policy sets the 2.5% operational / 10% capital significance thresholds that govern when consultation is required — no date means the thresholds remain unreviewed.— FNDC Long Term Plan 2024-27
District Plan status report action has no set date — update is contingent on the outcome of a Council meeting in September 2026 and the appeals management framework; the action originated from the adopted work programme with no fixed deadline (item 6.1, p.127)
Climate Adaptation Programme and Spatial Planning/Reserves and Placemaking six-monthly reports — both deferred from their scheduled August and September 2026 committee dates to November or December 2026 (p.7)
Regulatory Performance Dashboard (July 2026 item) — status recorded as 'Delivery and Operations team to comment on'; no confirmed completion or updated reporting date shown in the work programme (p.6)
🕐 Not on today's agenda — GHG emissions 34% above base year; no emissions reduction plan adopted.
🕐 Not on today's agenda — Halls and Facilities Strategy Q3 2026 research report was due this committee.
3. What's unmeasured or missing
DWSS Foundation Report names five objectives and eight decision-making principles but provides no metrics, baselines, targets, or thresholds against which progress toward any objective can be measured; the report itself acknowledges objectives 'provide a framework for monitoring progress' but no monitoring framework is presented (item 5.2, p.25)
No budget, cost estimate, or funding pathway for the DWSS programme is disclosed anywhere in the agenda pack; the report states only that the recommendation 'is budgeted for within the DWSS work programme budget' without stating the budget figure (item 5.2, p.32) 📜 $9,505,000 budgeted for Planning and Policy operating funding in 2026/27; brief states DWSS budget exists but gives no figure — councillors cannot verify whether the undisclosed DWSS budget sits within this allocation.— FNDC Long Term Plan 2024-27
The compliance schedule for item 5.2 leaves the 'State the financial implications and where budgetary provisions have been made to support this decision' field blank — no response is provided against this mandatory compliance line (item 5.2, p.35)
The open resolutions register carries no per-resolution due dates for the two 'on hold' actions (Kerikeri Urban Design Framework and Significance and Engagement Policy workshop) — no accountable owner deadline is visible for either (item 6.1, p.126)
The action item requiring staff to explain CFO non-review in compliance schedules (raised 9 September 2026) has no due date, no accountable owner named, and no status other than the bare action text — it is not marked complete or in progress (item 6.1, p.127)
Early engagement for the DWSS surveyed 237 respondents; the report acknowledges 'traditional consultation methods can produce participation that is not fully representative of the wider community' but provides no assessment of whether the sample is representative or what communities are under-represented (item 5.2, p.62)
Several Iwi entities indicated interest in meeting but were unavailable during the early engagement window; no timeline or plan for completing outstanding Iwi engagement before Milestone 5 scenario development commences is stated (item 5.2, p.66) 🕐 August 2026 brief: Significance and Engagement Policy identified gap against section 81 LGA and Treaty obligations — still unresolved.
4. Questions to ask
Resolution 2026/40 was carried with an incorrect statutory reference and is now being corrected — what quality-assurance process failed to catch the error before the resolution was passed, and has that process been reviewed? (item 5.1)
The CFO did not review the DWSS Foundation Report and the compliance schedule financial implications field was left blank — given the programme has a budget, what is the total DWSS budget and why was CFO sign-off not obtained? (item 5.2)
The Kerikeri Urban Design Framework has been on hold since a staff departure with no confirmed restart date — how long has the project been paused, what is the cost to date, and when will a timeframe be provided? (item 6.1)
The Foundation Report sets five objectives but provides no performance measures or baselines — before endorsing, what monitoring framework will be in place to assess whether the strategy is delivering intended outcomes at Milestone 6? (item 5.2)
The Three Waters assessment identifies 'substantial investment' required over coming decades but no dollar figure or funding pathway is stated — what is the estimated capital requirement and how does it compare to current Long Term Plan (LTP) infrastructure budgets? (item 5.2)
The action requiring staff to explain CFO non-review in compliance schedules has no due date or owner — who is responsible for implementing this, and by when will it be in effect across all committee reports? (item 6.1)
Several Iwi entities were unavailable during early engagement — will their input be sought before spatial scenarios are finalised at Milestone 5, and if not, what is the risk to the strategy's Treaty partnership obligations? (item 5.2)
5. What you're endorsing by accepting
Correcting Resolution 2026/40 to cite section 79 (not section 147B) of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 — confirming the Local Alcohol Policy public consultation proceeds under the correct statutory authority (item 5.1)
Endorsing the DWSS Foundation Report Vision, Principles and Objectives — locking in the strategic framework that will govern evaluation of all future spatial growth scenarios at Milestone 5 and inform Far North District Council's (FNDC's) position in the Regional Spatial Plan process (item 5.2)
Endorsing the Foundation Report enables Milestone 5 to commence — committing the DWSS programme to scenario development and public engagement on a timetable aligned with resource management reform, with no stated contingency if reform timing shifts (item 5.2)
Receiving the Open Resolutions and Actions Update — normalising the new 'Action Points Update' mechanism as a standing item at future Committee meetings, including actions that do not arise from formal resolutions (item 6.1)
Coverage
Analysed: Ordinary Te Kūkupa Committee for Strategy, Policy and Regulation Meeting — 7 October 2026 — Source ⓘ Dense formatting in this document means some details might not have made it in. Check the source PDF to be sure.
Reference plans checked: FNDC Long Term Plan 2024-27 — Source; FNDC Annual Plan 2026/27 — Source
Latest Annual Report checked: FNDC Annual Report 2024/25 — Source ⓘ Unqualified audit opinion (Deloitte on behalf of the Auditor-General, dated 31 October 2025). Auditor's Emphasis of Matter: the financial impact of council's decision to join a multi-owned water services CCO with Whangarei and Kaipara District Councils under Local Water Done Well (from July 2027) is not yet known.
Prior briefs checked: Ordinary Te Kūkupa Committee for Strategy, Policy and Regulation — 9 September 2026; Ordinary Te Kūkupa Committee for Strategy, Policy and Regulation — 12 August 2026; Ordinary Te Kūkupa Committee for Strategy, Policy and Regulation — 8 July 2026
