Rivers play a critical role in our region and touch on everyone’s lives in one way or another. We all benefit from river management work and flood protection in Murihiku Southland.

Background

During last year’s 2024-34 Long-term Plan consultation process the community asked the Council to reconsider how river management activity is funded (excluding the Waiau rating area due to contract obligations). In response, the Council decided to further consult the community on funding options.

Long-term Plan decisions

Our 2024-2034 Long-term Plan focused our activities on three groups: a healthy environment, resilient communities, and a thriving region. We reviewed our funding choices to support these outcomes, meaning that our funding is now regionally focused, recognising the benefits and risks to the whole economy, environment, and people. It is important that we regularly review how we fund our activities to ensure fairness and equity, efficiency, and futureproofing.

Current situation

The Council believes that past approaches to river management funding are no longer in the region’s best interest. Southland’s rivers have been repeatedly tested during recent decades and have stood up well, but they are coming under increasing pressure due to more enduring and severe weather.

In the past, the prevailing belief was that those nearest the rivers benefitted from river maintenance because it protected their properties, but we all benefit from river management and flood protection. Our roading and rail network is key to our economy. It provides the links for people to move around and to transport goods to fill our supermarket shelves, replenish hospital medical supplies, shift raw and processed products, move stock, and enable services to operate efficiently and effectively.

The proposals

We are proposing a more equitable allocation of the costs of maintaining Southland’s rivers, taking a whole-of-region approach to protect everyone in Southland from the potentially severe consequences of adverse weather events affecting our rivers. This will increase the region’s resilience to flood risk and includes all those who conduct their business in Southland.

The cost of river management activity in 2024/25 is $3.5M and is currently funded by a 50% general rate (capital value) and 50% in 140 targeted rates (land value). The proposed rate system changes would reallocate the costs of river management activity across more ratepayers. All ratepayers would now contribute, with some paying more and others paying less due to this reallocation. What is proposed aligns with the Council’s priority of maintaining a socially and economically resilient region that is spared the full impacts of flooding and can recover quickly. It would provide for greater flexibility of investment and inclusion of the whole region as contributors to fund investment where it is needed most.

2025 River Management Statement of Proposal

The options

1. Regional rate – 100% targeted regional rate (set on regional capital value excluding Waiau) – this is Council's preferred option
2. Regional/Local rate – 70% targeted regional rate (set on regional capital value excluding Waiau), 30% targeted local rate (set on capital value of regional/local).
3. Status Quo - current rating policy –50% general rate (capital value), 50% targeted catchment rate (land value and benefit) - please note Option 3 would require a change to the Council's decision made during the LTP process to move to 100% CV rating in year 2 of the LTP. This was a transitional system intended for one year only,