Draft Annual Plan 2023/24 / Mahere ā tau tuhinga tautahi

The region continues to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We have all felt the impacts in the way we live, work and travel around the region and beyond.

Although COVID-19 has been in our lives for three years now, there is still much uncertainty, and longer-term effects on community wellbeing and makeup that remain to be seen.

In the short term we have seen changes in immigration to the region and a skill shortage. One direct impact of this has been bus driver shortages resulting in a temporary reduction in frequency of buses on some routes. The pandemic has also had an impact on the resource consenting part of our business. In 2022 we experienced delays in processing resource consent applications partially due to staffing challenges, along with the increasing complexity of applications. This resulted in a backlog of applications to process, which will take some time to clear.

Patronage across our public transport network has continued to increase following COVID-related disruptions during the first half of 2022 and has been supported by the government’s half-price fare campaign.

In May 2022, Council approved the implementation of a 2-year trial of a new flat fare structure for all Metro bus services in the Greater Christchurch area. The new fare structure is currently scheduled to be implemented when the 50% fares initiative comes to an end, currently planned for 1 April 2023.

Like other regions in New Zealand, Canterbury has faced challenges over the past year due to a national bus driver shortage. In October 2022, we announced a wage increase to $28 an hour for Metro drivers in the Greater Christchurch Area and have engaged with the Central Government on initiatives to recruit more drivers.

Also in October 2022, the Minister of Transport announced that Canterbury would be the first region in New Zealand to roll out a National Ticketing Solution which will make it easier for all customers to pay for and use public transport. We will continue to work closely with Waka Kotahi, operators, and regional councils from around Aotearoa as we enter the planning stage of this project.

At the end of 2022, we introduced 16 new electric buses to the Metro network, meaning 20% of our urban bus fleet is now zero-emission. MyWay for Metro in Timaru will also be receiving three low-floor vehicles in the near future to boost overall passenger capacity.

New Zealand’s inflation rate (7.2% in December 2022) is the highest it’s been for three decades. This is putting significant pressure on our plans and work programmes because our budgets for these were based on a 2.5% inflationary position.

Despite the challenge this is posing, we aim to find ways to absorb the extra costs associated with a high inflation rate rather than passing this on to you in the form of a rate increase. We are committed to delivering our work programmes within the existing budget projections.

Examples of how we could absorb these extra costs include reducing and reprioritising expenditure across our work programmes. While these reductions will not change our overall commitments in the Long-Term Plan, some projects may be scaled back, delayed or deferred. Any disruptions will be carefully managed to minimise impact on our service delivery and commitments to the community.

We take our leadership role in advocating for the region with Central Government very seriously. In the past year we have engaged with them on the major reforms impacting us including the Resource Management reform and the Future for Local Government. This work will continue to be a focus for the coming year.

We are also continuing to progress the development of an integrated regulatory framework in partnership with Ngāi Tahu and Papatipu Rūnanga, taking a ki uta ki tai approach and involving the review of Canterbury's Regional Policy Statement, Regional Coastal Environment Plan and Land and Water Regional Plan.

Our Long-Term Plan, and subsequent modifications included in each Annual Plan, set out the rates revenue needed to fund our activities.

Relatively high increases in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 years stemmed from the need to meet new statutory requirements, respond to COVID-19 and pursue the priorities identified by stakeholders and the community during Long-Term Plan consultation.

However, during consultation on the Long-Term Plan and Annual Plan 2022/23, concerns were raised about the ongoing impact on rates, especially with increasing financial pressures and the economic uncertainties linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are acutely aware of the impact a rates increase has on household budgets. We are constantly looking for ways to reduce the direct cost to ratepayers.

The total rates revenue for 2023/24 has been impacted by new public transport initiatives, flood recovery funding and maintaining reserves.

A 4.6% increase in total rates revenue was indicated for Year 3 of the Long-Term Plan 2021–31, when it was adopted in June 2021.

In the Annual Plan 2022/23 we committed to improving public transport services, repairing flood protection assets and replenishing reserves. We are also managing the backlog of consents and other financial pressures which are detailed above/below.

The addition of these costs gives us a revised starting position of a 10% increase which is proposed for 2023/24.

The draft Annual Plan we’re proposing is based on Year 3 of the Long-Term Plan 2021–31, which was adopted in June 2021.

Our vision for the next 10 years is taking action together to shape a thriving and resilient Canterbury, now and for future generations'/toitū te marae o Tāne, toitū te marae o Tangaroa, toitū te iwi.

The Long-Term Plan highlights the breadth of our work from meeting new statutory requirements and Government legislation to taking transformational opportunities for the environment.

Priorities for the next decade are freshwater management, climate change resilience, emissions reduction, pest control, and the regeneration of biodiversity. As well as building community engagement and sharing the information and data we collect to improve transparency and decision-making for the region.