Dr Kate Fulton

Great good news story for Nelson! Alongside Wellington we are leading the way in reducing our household emissions. We should be particularly proud to have decreased our household transport emissions by 25%! However we also need to remember the production of emissions for goods we consume such as coal and gas for electricity or meat and dairy for food are being measured in other regions, such as Waikato or Canterbury. Into the future sustainable housing and sustainable food consumption are going to continue to be key in reducing our emissions profile as a country and to globally play our part. 💚🌏🌎🌍💚

Nelson and Wellington tie for the lowest carbon footprint But one region's emission tally is falling, while the other's is on the rise.

Today our Council meeting took place via Zoom. We had an item on our agenda which looked at whether to formally review our Gambling Venues Policy. We are required to consider whether there is a need to review our policy on the basis that it’s not achieving what we want it to achieve every three years.

To be clear. I’ve been trying to get the words “sinking lid” into the gambling venues policy since 2012.

The policy is reviewed every three years but to balance the work involved in undertaking a review against other important work streams we have opted to go through the Special Consultative Process and amend the policy every six years. The existing policy was reviewed and amended through this process in 2018 and it effectively works as a sinking lid.

The evidence for this is no new venues have opened in a decade. That’s because there’s a rule which restricts new venues from opening in our suburbs or within 100m of ATM, schools, playgrounds, places of worship etc. This rule was introduced in 2012 and resulted in a drop in venues and machines from 273 machines in 2012 to 162 machines in 2018.

Another even more restrictive rule was added in 2018 restricting the number of machines from 9 to 5 in any new venues. This has also resulted in no new venues opening and the existing venues in operation have decreased from 11 to 9 which has further resulted in a decrease in the number of machines from 162 machines in 2018 to 140 machines currently.

So whilst the words might not be written both these rules effectively work as a “sinking lid.” If you look at the maps where you could put a new venue there’s only 1-2 options.

To rework this policy now (and not wait until 2024) would mean potentially loosing other important work streams such as the climate change strategic framework, Smokefree policy development (which we’ve been waiting nearly three years for), good food cities and other pieces of work which I believe are more important because they will result in positive change right now. We don’t even have an alcohol policy and that’s been delayed for 8 years.

Finally I can’t begin to describe what a highly emotional and fraught process this is go through. Two sides of the community who should be aligned in their values opposing each other. Last time we went through the process in 2018 there were very few submissions from the problem gambling community to support the sinking lid because they were still recovering from the process in 2012. With the stress of Covid on our community organisations, now is not the time to go through this process again.

Another exciting proposal for our City centre. Kainga Ora have an extraordinary vision to build social and affordable housing utilising land currently owned by NCC.

Their design statement is bold and visionary.

🏡 It considers our local environment and sunlight for apartments and the street scape.

🌎 It includes utilising low carbon building materials and striving for high thermal efficiency as well as many other climate response initiatives.

💚 It also considers how important communal spaces are for creating connections and enhancing wellbeing outcomes.

Exemplary model of what housing for our future should look like. So impressed!

💚 Check out the bold visionary thinking in our new draft Spatial Plan.

💚 Love the Pou Forest visual design!

Big ticks for:

✅ Bridge Street Linear Park
✅ Hardy Street Art and Eats

It’s proposed both streets become one way creating more space for people and plants.🌱🌳

A few options out for consultation aren’t quite so forward thinking or sustainable as solutions including a car parking building which would have a massive carbon footprint.

Please share your feedback during the consultation period

My Councillor’s Comment for the most recent Our Nelson… Lots of stuff has been happening!

The Decade of Change in Nelson.

Having just completed my fourth Long Term Plan deliberations at Council, I have been reflecting on the past decade and my experiences striving to create positive change.

There have been many obstacles and setbacks. I have learned to be more patient. I have also learned tenacity requires perseverance, passion and the courage to stay true to having your voice heard, while remaining open and respectful towards those with differing views.

These past few months I have felt jubilant about our successes and excited for our future. It appears there has been a paradigm shift and 2021 feels like the start of a new decade when our hard work is coming to fruition. I have some highlights to share.

In April, I participated in the first release of a reintroduced species into the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary. Forty South Island Tīeke (Saddleback) were translocated from Motuara Island in the Marlborough Sounds. For 12 years I have supported the Sanctuary to realise this dream. This is an absolute highlight of my time on Council.

I have always passionately advocated for the inclusion of Māori at our governance table. In 2011, we were successful in voting to establish a Māori ward. However, to my dismay, a petition was signed and a referendum held. Ten years later, the legislation that existed to maintain this colonial power structure has been dismantled.

It was an honour to vote on this decision again, restoring the mana of our iwi, who have waited far too long to participate in our local government decision making processes.

Declaring a climate emergency two years ago set the scene for the most important issue of our time to sit at the centre of our decision making.

When thinking about solutions, we need new ways of thinking about our future economy. Project Kōkiri creates opportunities to consider new regenerative economic narratives, which embrace environmental restoration, care for our societal wellbeing and a zero carbon future.

After many years of waiting for the outcomes of the Nelson Future Access Project, we are now able to progress Rocks Road Walkway and Cycleway.
It is reassuring to observe Waka Kotahi prioritising emissions reductions when considering our region's future transport solutions.

Finally, I’m extraordinarily excited about the proposed Library and Climatorium, and Science and Innovation Precincts. These are intergenerational investments promoting the values of curiosity, creativity and life-long learning.
Collectively, they will create many opportunities to grow regional prosperity, which celebrates our kiwi ingenuity and knowledge potential.

Nelson Mail Article for those wanting to better understand the importance of being an ally to our transgender community.

Controversial women's group granted use of Nelson council venue A divisive group barred from speaking in Christchurch libraries has been allowed to use a Nelson City Council venue, a move which has “embarrassed” and “disappointed” some councillors.

Some of you will be aware of the Speak Up for Women’s (SUFW) booking request for Trafalgar Hall next Wednesday evening. I have been emailed by staff to say that at an operational level this meeting has been authorised.

It’s not clear to me exactly why this has happened.

I feel upset and I feel embarrassed.

This is a highly emotional issue for many because this group promotes transphobic ideology. They do not recognise trans women are women. Cis or trans - we are all women.

We should all be aware of the detrimental divisiveness that occurs when we give a platform to views based on bigotry which discriminate against minority groups.

Whilst I appreciate it’s a decision that has been made at an operational level I am struggling to comprehend how we are walking the talk as a Council based on our values and being seen to be an ally to the LGBTQIA+ community with this decision.

We have a choice over the booking and use of Council owned venues and should ensure that those using them align with the kind of society we want to foster.

Yet here we are knowingly providing a platform which promotes a narrative which compromises the mental health, physical health and safety of gender minorities.

Plus we can understand freedom of expression and human rights should also give regard to the rights of the group who are being discriminated against (which in this case are trans people).

Does a policy need to be developed to address this issue? If for example there was a group wanting to promote homophobic or racist ideology is Council comfortable with these conversations also taking place in Council venues? Do we need to develop policy to ensure this doesn’t happen into the future?

As elected members our job is to advocate for the communities that have elected us.

As a cis woman and feminist I have always been a strong voice for women’s rights and minority gender rights including the recognition and rights of trans women (and trans men). They go hand in hand and as such cis women should never use their voice to marginalise other gender minorities.

South Island Tīeke (Saddleback) release into the Brook Waimarama Sanctuary. April 2021. Photos Andy MacDonald.

Last day to submit on our Long Term Plan. Let us know your thoughts on the climate change initiatives we are proposing 💚🌎✅

Key Issue: Climate Change | Long Term Plan 2021-2031 Responding to climate change is our biggest global challenge.

Feeling like we are riding on a wave of change at present. Lots of possibilities and opportunities being created as climate focused solutions for our future. It’s an exciting time.

Focus on climate change in 'most ambitious' long term plan Climate action is all about lifestyle choices, but local government plays a role in enabling those choices. And council is asking: is the plan ambitious enough, or should it be more cautious?