Vote Environment - Environment - Estimates 2014/2015

Summary of the Vote#

Overview#

The Minister for the Environment and Minister for Climate Change Issues are responsible for appropriations in Vote Environment for the 2014/15 financial year covering the following impact areas:

Improving the quality, flow and availability of fresh water

• a total of nearly $14 million to provide advice and implement tools for water management
• a total of nearly $10 million in funding and grants to third parties for water initiatives as part of the Fresh Start for Fresh Water programme

Improving the resource management framework

• a total of nearly $18 million to provide advice and implement tools to improve resource management

Improving the relationship with Maori

• a total of just over $1 million for the Ministry for the Environment to negotiate and implement fair, durable and fit for purpose deeds of settlement and environmental accords
• a total of nearly $4 million in funding for Iwi to engage in the co-management arrangements

Achieving better solutions to environmental problems

• a total of just over $3 million to manage environmental obligations and programmes
• a total of nearly $9 million for grants to third parties for domestic environmental management and education programmes, and contributions to international institutions

Reducing harm from natural, chemical and biological hazards and from waste

• a total of just over $5 million to provide advice and implement tools to mitigate environmental hazards and waste
• a total of nearly $5 million for services provided by third parties for the investigation, management and remediation services relating to contaminated sites
• a total of around $17 million for waste minimisation initiatives to fund projects that reduces waste, encourage waste minimisation and decrease waste disposal and find more effective and efficient ways to reduce, reuse, recycle or reprocess it
• a total of nearly $14 million in payments to territorial local authorities for their proportion of the Waste Disposal Levy as prescribed in the Waste Minimisation Act 2008
• a total of nearly $19 million in funding provided to the Environmental Protection Authority to undertake existing functions including $3.200 million of additional funding for compliance and enforcement activities in the Exclusive Economic Zone

Decrease New Zealand's net emissions of greenhouse gases

• a total of just over $4 million for the development of a national carbon accounting system
• a total of just over $7 million for policy advice in relation to the domestic and international climate change programmes and contributions to international programmes
• a total of around $165 million for the allocation of New Zealand emission units to the New Zealand economy
• a total of just over $15 million for administration, implementation and operation of the Emissions Trading Scheme including the impairment of debt

Enabling the organisation

• a total of $621,000 for capital expenditure mainly for the development and purchase of new software
• a total of just over $3 million for Ministerial Servicing.

Details of these appropriations are set out in Parts 2-4.

Estimates of Appropriations#

Details of Appropriations and Capital Injections#

Annual and Permanent Appropriations

Multi-Year Appropriations

Supporting Information#

Part 1 - Vote as a Whole#

1.1 - New Policy Initiatives

1.2 - Trends in the Vote#

Summary of Financial Activity#

Note - where restructuring of the vote has occurred then, to the extent practicable, prior years information has been restated as if the restructuring had occurred before the beginning of the period covered.

Adjustments to the Summary of Financial Activity table due to Vote Restructuring#

The prior year information in the Summary of Financial Activity table has been restated to reflect the current Vote structure.

1.4 - Reconciliation of Changes in Appropriation Structure#

Explanations of the reasons for changing the appropriation structure are noted in the details of each appropriation in Parts 2-4.

1.5 - Relationship between Individual Appropriations and the Work Programmes#

For further information on the intended impacts, outcomes and objectives of the departmental output expense appropriations please see the Statement of Intent for the Ministry for the Environment.

Part 2 - Details of Departmental Appropriations#

2.1 - Departmental Output Expenses#

Carbon Monitoring Programme (M12)

Scope of Appropriation

Expenses and Revenue

Comparators for Restructured Appropriation

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation

This appropriation ensures New Zealand meets its reporting requirements under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol by tracking and quantifying changes in New Zealand land use. This information is also critical to informing our future international climate change negotiations and commitments.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements

End of Year Performance Reporting

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Reasons for Change in Appropriation

This appropriation has reverted back to an annual appropriation due to the completion of a Multi-year appropriation, Land Use and Carbon Analysis System MYA. The decrease in 2014/15 represents lower costs associated with data sets related to the first commitment period (CP1) than 2013/14.

Ministerial Services (M29)#

Scope of Appropriation#

Expenses and Revenue#

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation#

This appropriation is intended to provide support to Ministers, especially in relation to their accountability to Parliament and the public.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements#

Note 1 - Policy performance targets apply to all four Ministry for the Environment Departmental Multi-category Appropriations (MCAs) and therefore it is more meaningful to aggregate these targets across these appropriations. The full set of measures, including targets for 2014/15 and relevant notes are published under this appropriation. The MCAs are - Climate Change MCA, Environmental Management Obligations and Programmes MCA, Improving Resource Management MCA, Mitigating Environmental Hazards and Waste MCA.

Note 2 - The methodical robustness of the Ministry's assessment process takes into account a number of factors such as:

• the sample size of the assessment relative to the total population
• the composition of the review panel and the average number of years of policy advice experience of that panel
• how many of the five following policy attributes are reviewed - clarity, accuracy, analytical rigour, fitness for purpose and relevance to the wider context
• the method of selecting policy outputs for assessment.

The Ministry expects that all its policy advice and analysis:

• focuses on the needs of the audience and the decisions needed
• provides appropriate context to explain the big picture
• has a clear problem definition which indicates the size and scope of the problem, how current policy settings contribute and how changes can lead to better outcomes
• displays a robust approach to analysis, based on evidence and logic
• identifies the risks of the problem, risks of change options, delivery risks and mitigation strategies
• displays evidence of appropriate consultation and collaboration across government and with affected parties
• identifies and evaluates a range of practical options for meeting the policy objectives, and selects a preferred option
• provides action-oriented recommendations with realistic commitments
• is well-structured, presented in the correct format and is free of errors.

Refer to the Ministry's Statement of Intent for more information on the Ministry's approach to assessing its policy advice.

End of Year Performance Reporting#

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Current and Past Policy Initiatives#

Reasons for Change in Appropriation#

The increase in this appropriation for 2014/15 is due to the fact that the Ministry anticipates an increase in ministerial products and correspondence relating to the Resource Management and Water Management reforms.

Waste Minimisation Administration (M29)#

Scope of Appropriation#

Expenses and Revenue#

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation#

This appropriation is intended to achieve the effective and efficient administration of the functions required under the Waste Minimisation Act 2008. These functions are the collection of the Waste Disposal Levy from Disposal Facility Operators, the administration of the Waste Minimisation Fund, and the payment of Levy money to Territorial Authorities, on a per head of population basis, to assist them with minimising waste in their areas.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements#

Note 1 - Administration functions include project planning and deed negotiation, milestone assessment and payment, and responding to general enquiries. Upon completion of their project, applicants will be required to provide an assessment within their final report of whether these administration functions were carried out within timeframes they considered acceptable. The assessment will be based on a scale of one to five. A score of four or five will be taken as meaning that the timeframes were acceptable.

Note 2 - There was one contestable funding round in 2013/14. The round was progressed through Stage 1 in 86 working days. Work is currently underway to develop improved application and assessment processes which should reduce the Stage 1 timeframe for future funding rounds. A second round is expected to open before the end of 2013/14.

End of Year Performance Reporting#

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Reasons for Change in Appropriation#

The decrease in this appropriation for 2014/15 is primarily due to the completion of the TV TakeBack scheme.

2.3 - Departmental Capital Expenditure and Capital Injections#

Ministry for the Environment - Capital Expenditure PLA (M29)#

Scope of Appropriation

Capital Expenditure

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation

This appropriation is intended to achieve the renewal, upgrade and/or redesign of assets in support of the delivery of the Ministry's service.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements

End of Year Performance Reporting

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Reasons for Change in Appropriation

The decrease in this appropriation for 2014/15 is primarily due to the Ministry moving to Infrastructure as a Service. The funding is allocated to the purchase and development of upgrades to the Ministry's core systems such as Online Waste Levy System, Customer Relationship Management System and Document Record Management System to improve efficiency and effectiveness.

Capital Injections and Movements in Departmental Net Assets

Ministry for the Environment#

Part 3 - Details of Non-Departmental Appropriations#

3.1 - Non-Departmental Output Expenses#

Administration of New Zealand Units held on Trust (M12)

Scope of Appropriation

Expenses

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation

This appropriation is intended to fund the administration costs of the Forestry Emissions Unit Trust. This Trust was established to apply for and hold New Zealand Units on behalf of future owners of eligible pre-1990 Crown Forest Licence (CFL) land until ownership of CFL land is transferred to iwi under relevant Treaty of Waitangi settlement legislation.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements

End of Year Performance Reporting

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Current and Past Policy Initiatives

Community Environment Fund (M29)#

Scope of Appropriation#

Expenses#

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation#

This appropriation is intended to empower New Zealanders to achieve positive environmental change. The Fund supports partnerships to increase community-based advice, educational opportunities, and public awareness on environmental issues.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements#

Fund Criteria#

End of Year Performance Reporting#

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Service Providers#

Current and Past Policy Initiatives#

Reasons for Change in Appropriation#

The increase in this appropriation for 2014/15 is due to an expense transfer from 2013/14 for projects that represents existing projects deliverables and a funding round focused on community participation in collaborative planning and implementation of the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management to be undertaken in 2014/15.

Contaminated Sites Remediation Fund (M29)#

Scope of Appropriation#

Expenses#

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation#

This appropriation is intended to encourage and support regional councils and unitary authorities to investigate and remediate sites that pose a risk to human health and the environment.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements#

Fund Criteria#

End of Year Performance Reporting#

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Service Providers#

Current and Past Policy Initiatives#

Reasons for Change in Appropriation#

The increase in this appropriation for 2014/15 is primarily due to delays in timing of deliverables and project milestones. Funding has been committed to a multi-year Kopeopeo Canal project. The project has been further delayed by appeals in the Environment Court.

Contestable Waste Minimisation Fund (M29)#

Scope of Appropriation#

Expenses#

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation#

This appropriation is intended to increase resource efficiency use, reuse, recovery and recycling, and decrease waste to landfill by funding projects that promote or achieve waste minimisation.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements#

Fund Criteria#

End of Year Performance Reporting#

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Service Providers#

Reasons for Change in Appropriation#

The decrease in this appropriation for 2014/15 is primarily due to a change in forecast to match the amount of funding with the revised timing of deliverables.

The Contestable Waste Minimisation Fund is governed by the Waste Minimisation Act which limits how the waste levy can be spent. The timing of the introduction of the Waste Levy to the initial funding round of the fund meant that approximately one year's worth of levy has accumulated in the notional account. The Ministry is working through future funding rounds that could deliver high quality projects to reduce waste. The level of the notional account is expected to decrease over time.

Emissions Trading Scheme (M12)#

Scope of Appropriation#

Expenses#

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation#

This appropriation is intended to achieve the efficient and effective administration of the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme and the operation of the New Zealand Emission Unit Register to ensure that the allocation and trading of emission units are recorded accurately and in a timely manner.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements#

End of Year Performance Reporting#

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Environmental Protection Authority in its Annual Report.

Current and Past Policy Initiatives#

Environmental Training Programmes (M29)#

Scope of Appropriation#

Expenses#

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation#

The appropriation is intended to provide funding to the Enviroschools Foundation to support the development and delivery of its Enviroschools and Te Ahu Tu Roa Programmes. These Programmes provide support and opportunities for children and young people to work with their centres, schools, kura (Maori immersion schools) and communities to create healthy and sustainable communities.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements#

End of Year Performance Reporting#

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Current and Past Policy Initiatives#

Fresh Start for Fresh Water: New Initiatives (M29)#

Scope of Appropriation#

Expenses#

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation#

This appropriation is intended to help communities clean up waterways affected by historical water quality issues.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements#

Fund Criteria#

End of Year Performance Reporting#

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Service Providers#

Reasons for Change in Appropriation#

The decrease in this appropriation is due to an expense transfer of $1.700 million to 2014/15 from 2013/14.

Funding of $15 million was appropriated for the two financial years 2011/12 and 2012/13. The establishment period has taken longer than anticipated, particularly for the large projects such as Lake Te Waihora and the Manawatu River, resulting in timeframes for the projects being extended. The first of these projects are expected to be completed in 2013/14 and the last in 2015/16. The appropriation has now been rephased to match the actual and expected delivery of milestones.

Promotion of Sustainable Land Management (M29)#

Scope of Appropriation#

Expenses#

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation#

This appropriation is intended to provide funding for Landcare Trust's core services, including the national network of Regional Coordinators and the Trust's work in assisting and encouraging sustainable land management (through activities that include: supporting landcare and community based groups; dissemination of information and knowledge sharing activities; and holding master classes in integrated catchment management).

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements#

End of Year Performance Reporting#

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Current and Past Policy Initiatives#

Protecting Lake Taupo Programme (M29)#

Scope of Appropriation and Expenses#

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation#

This appropriation is intended to help improve the quality of water within Lake Taupo. The Crown is working with the Waikato Regional Council and Taupo District Council to reduce the amount of manageable nitrogen entering the lake by 20 per cent by 2020.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements#

End of Year Performance Reporting#

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Service Providers#

Current and Past Policy Initiatives#

Rena Long-term Environment Recovery (M29)#

Scope of Appropriation and Expenses#

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation#

This appropriation is intended to achieve the effective implementation of the Rena Long-term Environmental Recovery Plan. The Plan sets out the goal and objectives for the long-term environmental recovery following the grounding of the Rena on Otaiti (Astrolabe Reef).

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements#

End of Year Performance Reporting#

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Service Providers#

Current and Past Policy Initiatives#

Te Mana o Te Wai - restoring the life-giving capacity of fresh water (M29)#

Scope of Appropriation#

Expenses#

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation#

This appropriation is intended to help communities to restore the life-giving capacity of their local freshwater bodies through initiatives such as planting riparian buffers; use of nitrate inhibitors, and establishing artificial or constructed wetlands.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements#

End of Year Performance Reporting#

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Service Providers#

Current and Past Policy Initiatives#

Reasons for Change in Appropriation#

This is a new appropriation established through Budget 2014.

3.4 - Non-Departmental Other Expenses#

Allocation of New Zealand Units (M12)#

Scope of Appropriation

Expenses

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation

This appropriation provides for incurring the expense by the Crown in relation to the allocation of New Zealand Units (NZUs) to sectors of the New Zealand economy under the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements

End of Year Performance Reporting

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Service Providers

Current and Past Policy Initiatives

Reasons for Change in Appropriation

The increase in this appropriation for 2014/15 primarily reflects the difference in price per carbon unit adopted for appropriation purposes. The appropriation is based on $10 per carbon unit, while the estimated actual is based on the current market price per carbon unit at the time of the forecast.

Climate Change Development Fund (M12)#

Scope of Appropriation#

Expenses#

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation#

This appropriation is intended to provide contributions to projects that advance international action to address climate change but which fall outside the New Zealand Official Development Assistance (NZ ODA) mandate.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements#

End of Year Performance Reporting#

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Service Providers#

Environmental Legal Assistance (M29)#

Scope of Appropriation#

Expenses#

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation#

This appropriation is intended to help remove barriers to public participation in resource management processes by providing financial assistance to non-for-profit groups to advocate for an environmental issue of high public interest in resource management cases at the Environment Court, and at boards of inquiry constituted under the "Call in" provisions of the Resource Management Act 1991.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements#

Fund Criteria#

End of Year Performance Reporting#

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Service Providers#

Current and Past Policy Initiatives#

Reasons for Change in Appropriation#

The decrease in this appropriation for 2014/15 is in line with the established funding profile. This decrease is due to the fact that in 2013/14 there was a transfer of $325,000 from 2012/13 to provide assistance to fund appeals to the Environment Court and board of Inquiry proceedings.

Framework Convention on Climate Change (M12)#

Scope of Appropriation#

Expenses#

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation#

This appropriation is intended to ensure New Zealand meets its international financial obligations to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to ensure New Zealand's participation in international forums that aim to develop a global response to stabilising greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements#

End of Year Performance Reporting#

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Fresh Start for Fresh Water: Waikato River Clean-up Fund (M29)#

Scope of Appropriation#

Expenses#

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation#

This appropriation is intended to meet the Crown's obligation under the Deed of Settlement with Waikato-Tainui to provide funding for a contestable Clean-up Fund, administered by the Waikato River Clean-up Trust, to fund initiatives for the restoration and protection of the health and wellbeing of the Waikato River for present and future generations.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements#

Fund Criteria#

The Waikato River Clean-up Fund is administered by the Waikato River Clean-up Trust. For more information on the criteria for this Fund, please refer to the 'Waikato River Clean-up Trust Funding Strategy 2013' on the Waikato River Authority's (the sole Trustee of the Waikato River Clean-up Trust) website: www.waikatoriver.org.nz/key-documents/.

End of Year Performance Reporting#

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Service Providers#

Current and Past Policy Initiatives#

Reasons for Change in Appropriation#

In accordance with New Zealand Financial Reporting Standards, the Ministry recognised the payment of $210 million over 30 years to the Waikato River Clean-up Trust as an expense in 2009/10 in net present value terms and an additional $10 million payment for the Waipa River extension clean-up as an expense in 2011/12 in net present value terms. The expense recognised annually since, represents the unwinding of the discounts recognised in 2009/10 and 2011/12. It does not represent the cash payments made each financial year. These remain unchanged from what was agreed under the deeds of settlement. The cash payment profile as per the deeds of settlement is an annual payment of $7.333 million until 2036/37 and $7.342 million in 2037/38.

Impairment of Debt Relating to Climate Change Activities (M12)#

Scope of Appropriation#

Expenses#

Comparators for Restructured Appropriation#

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation#

This appropriation provides for incurring the expense involved in the impairment and write-down of Crown debt arising from climate change related activities. Examples of climate change related activities including the collection of the Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Levy and the surrendering of Emission Trading Units.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements#

End of Year Performance Reporting#

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Reasons for Change in Appropriation#

This appropriation was approved during the year to provide for the potential non-collectability of debts arising from Climate Change related activities.

Impairment of Debt Relating to Environment Activities (M29)#

Scope of Appropriation#

Expenses#

Comparators for Restructured Appropriation#

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation#

This appropriation provides for incurring the expense involved in the impairment and write-down of Crown debt arising from environment related activities (excluding climate change activities). An example of an environment related activity is the collection of the Waste Disposal Levy under the Waste Minimisation Act 2008.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements#

End of Year Performance Reporting#

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Reasons for Change in Appropriation#

This appropriation was approved during the year to provide for the potential non-collectability of debts arising from Environment related activities.

International Subscriptions (M29)#

Scope of Appropriation#

Expenses#

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation#

This appropriation provides for New Zealand's subscriptions to International Environmental Agreements it has ratified (for example, the Basel, Stockholm, Rotterdam and Montreal Protocols) to ensure New Zealand's participation in related international forums on global environmental issues.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements#

End of Year Performance Reporting#

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Service Providers#

Te Pou Tupua (M29)#

Scope of Appropriation#

Expenses#

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation#

This appropriation is intended to meet the Crown's obligation under the Tutohu Whakatapua agreement with Whanganui iwi to provide ongoing support to Te Pou Tupua Putea - guardians who act on behalf of Te Awa Tupua to protect its status and health and wellbeing.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements#

End of Year Performance Reporting#

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Current and Past Policy Initiatives#

Reasons for Change in Appropriation#

In accordance with New Zealand Financial Reporting Standards, the Ministry recognised the payment of $4 million over 20 years to the Te Pou Tupua as an expense in 2013/14 in net present value terms. The expense recognised annually since, represents the unwinding of the discounts recognised in 2013/14. It does not represent the cash payment made each financial year. This remains unchanged from what was agreed with Whanganui iwi under the agreement. The cash payment profile as per the agreement is an annual payment of $200,000 until 2033/34.

United Nations Environment Programme (M29)#

Scope of Appropriation#

Expenses#

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation#

This appropriation is intended to ensure New Zealand meets its financial obligations to the United Nations Environment Programme in order to protect and advance its interest in that organisation's work programme and processes.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements#

End of Year Performance Reporting#

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Waikato River Co-Governance (M29)#

Scope of Appropriation#

Expenses#

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation#

This appropriation is intended to meet the Crown's obligation under the Deed of Settlement with Waikato-Tainui to provide financial assistance to the Waikato River Authority ensuring Waikato-Tainui's participation in the co-governance processes under the settlement.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements#

End of Year Performance Reporting#

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Current and Past Policy Initiatives#

Waikato River Co-Management (M29)#

Scope of Appropriation#

Expenses#

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation#

This appropriation is intended to meet the Crown's obligation under the Deed of Settlement with Waikato-Tainui to provide funding for practical and efficient co-management arrangements for the Waikato River. The co-management agreements provide an integrated approach between Waikato-Tainui and central and local government to the management of the Waikato River.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements#

End of Year Performance Reporting#

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Service Providers#

Reasons for Change in Appropriation#

In accordance with New Zealand Financial Reporting Standards the Ministry recognised the payment of $150 million over 30 years to the Waikato River Iwi as an expense in 2009/10 in net present value terms. The expenses recognised annually since represent the unwinding of the discount recognised in 2009/10. It does not represent the cash payments made each financial year. These remain unchanged from what was agreed under the deeds of settlement. The cash payment profile as per the deeds of settlement is $5 million in 2014/15 and each year until 2027/28 and then $4 million in 2028/29 and 2029/30.

Waste Disposal Levy Disbursements to Territorial Local Authorities (M29)#

Scope of Appropriation#

Expenses#

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation#

This appropriation is intended to achieve more effective and efficient waste management and minimisation across the country through the distribution of 50 per cent of the Waste Disposal Levy (collected under the Waste Minimisation Act 2008) to Territorial Authorities, on a per head of population basis, to fund activities set out in their Waste Management and Minimisation Plans.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements#

End of Year Performance Reporting#

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Service Providers#

Part 4 - Details of Multi-Category Expenses and Capital Expenditure#

Multi-Category Expenses and Capital Expenditure#

Climate Change (M12)

Overarching Purpose Statement

Scope of Appropriation

Expenses, Revenue and Capital Expenditure

Comparators for Restructured Appropriation

The previous MCOA Climate Change has been converted to an MCA.

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation

This appropriation is intended to achieve policy advice and other support to Ministers focusing on reducing New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions in a cost-effective way; managing the risks posed by climate change impacts; and contributing to coordinated international action to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.

How Performance will be Assessed for this Appropriation

What is Intended to be Achieved with each Category and How Performance will be Assessed

Note 1 - Policy performance targets apply to all four Ministry for the Environment Departmental Multi-category Appropriations (MCAs) and therefore it is more meaningful to aggregate these targets across these output classes. The full set of measures, including targets for 2014/15 and relevant notes are published under the Ministerial Services appropriation.

Note 2 - Deliverables are agreed between the Minister and the Ministry and set out in the Output Plan.

End of Year Performance Reporting

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Reasons for Change in Appropriation

The increase in this multi-category appropriation for 2014/15 is primarily due to a reprioritisation of funding towards Environmental Reporting.

Environmental Management Obligations and Programmes (M29)#

Overarching Purpose Statement#

Scope of Appropriation#

Expenses, Revenue and Capital Expenditure#

Comparators for Restructured Appropriation#

The previous MCOA Environmental Management Obligations and Programmes has been converted to an MCA.

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation#

This appropriation is intended to achieve solutions to environmental problems through community involvement and international cooperation that are better than what the Ministry could achieve alone. The activities under this appropriation are mainly operational, with a focus on administering government funding, coordinating activities with partner countries, and involvement in projects with other organisations.

How Performance will be Assessed for this Appropriation#

What is Intended to be Achieved with each Category and How Performance will be Assessed#

Note 1 - Policy performance targets apply to all four Ministry for the Environment Departmental Multi-category Appropriations (MCAs) and therefore it is more meaningful to aggregate these targets across these output classes. The full set of measures, including targets for 2014/15 and relevant notes are published under the Ministerial Services appropriation.

Note 2 - Administration functions include project planning and deed negotiation, milestone assessment and payment, and responding to general enquiries. Upon completion of their project, applicants will be required to provide an assessment within their final report of whether these administration functions were carried out within timeframes they considered acceptable. The assessment will be based on a scale of one to five. A score of four or five will be taken as meaning that the timeframes were acceptable.

Note 3 - Deliverables are agreed between the Minister and the Ministry and set out in the Output Plan.

Note 4 - There is one contestable Community Environment Fund funding round currently open and a targeted round is expected to open before the end of the 2013/14 financial year. Specific circumstances, such as changes to the process and the requirement to appoint a new Panel, have increased the timeframe for the current funding round.

Note 5 - The Ministry has developed robust processes around funds management to ensure that funded projects are successful and that there is transparent accountability for public money. There are a range of activities undertaken before funding is guaranteed which include: due diligence; project planning; and, deed negotiation. The Ministry engages with the fund recipients during the project delivery (projects span between 1 and 3 years), providing advice when sought and undertaking a vigorous assessment of milestone deliverables. All recipients are visited by officials at least once during the project's lifetime. The Community Environment Fund grants are smaller in nature than many other funds that the Ministry administers, ranging from $10,000 to $300,000. There are also a higher number of projects than most other grants. All of these factors result in higher percentage administration costs.

End of Year Performance Reporting#

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Reasons for Change in Appropriation#

The decrease in this multi-category appropriation for 2014/15 is primarily due to a reprioritisation of funding towards Environmental Reporting.

Environmental Protection Authority: Regulatory Functions (M29)#

Overarching Purpose Statement#

Scope of Appropriation#

Expenses, Revenue and Capital Expenditure#

Comparators for Restructured Appropriation#

The previous MCOA Environmental Protection Authority: Regulatory Functions has been converted to an MCA.

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation#

This appropriation is intended to achieve policy advice and other support to Ministers focusing on the efficiency and effectiveness of the regulatory functions carried out by the Environmental Protection Authority.

How Performance will be Assessed for this Appropriation#

What is Intended to be Achieved with each Category and How Performance will be Assessed#

End of Year Performance Reporting#

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Environmental Protection Authority in its Annual Report.

Current and Past Policy Initiatives#

Reasons for Change in Appropriation#

The structure of this Multi category appropriation has been changed from three categories to two. The new structure reduces ambiguity between costs allocated to decision making process and supporting processes.

The increase in this Multi-category appropriation for 2014/15 is primarily due to:

• a transfer of $785,000 for 2014/15 from Vote Labour in relation to Improving Health and Safety at Work programme
• funding of $3.200 million to allow the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to implement the functions under the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Act 2012.

This increase is partially offset by an expense transfer of $1.500 million from 2012/13 to 2013/14.

Improving Resource Management (M29)#

Overarching Purpose Statement#

Scope of Appropriation#

Expenses, Revenue and Capital Expenditure#

Comparators for Restructured Appropriation#

The previous MCOA Improving Resource Management has been converted to an MCA.

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation#

This appropriation is intended to achieve policy advice and other support to Ministers with a focus on improving the resource management frameworks so that natural and built resources are allocated efficiently and used sustainably to achieve the greatest overall environmental, economic, social and cultural benefits now and for successive generations.

How Performance will be Assessed for this Appropriation#

What is Intended to be Achieved with each Category and How Performance will be Assessed#

Note 1 - Policy performance targets apply to all four Ministry for the Environment Departmental Multi-category Appropriations (MCAs) and therefore it is more meaningful to aggregate these targets across these output classes. The full set of measures, including targets for 2014/15 and relevant notes are published under the Ministerial Services appropriation.

End of Year Performance Reporting#

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Current and Past Policy Initiatives#

Reasons for Change in Appropriation#

The increase in this multi-category appropriation for 2014/15 is due to:

• $3 million to support improvements to the freshwater management framework through effective implementation, including the provision of tools, guidance, and support to councils to ensure high quality water plans
• $3 million for support and guidance for councils and practitioners as they implement the Resource Management Act reforms
• $2 million to build science and economics knowledge and capability through the development of the science underpinning the attributes for the National Objectives Framework, and understanding the environmental and economic impacts associated with these attributes.

Mitigating Environmental Hazards and Waste (M29)#

Overarching Purpose Statement#

Scope of Appropriation#

Expenses, Revenue and Capital Expenditure#

Comparators for Restructured Appropriation#

The previous MCOA Mitigating Environmental Hazards and Waste has been converted to an MCA.

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation#

This appropriation is intended to achieve policy advice and other support to Ministers with a focus on ensuring that the frameworks for the management of chemical and biological hazards and waste protect people and the environment, and are effective without unnecessarily constraining economic growth.

How Performance will be Assessed for this Appropriation#

What is Intended to be Achieved with each Category and How Performance will be Assessed#

Note 1 - Policy performance targets apply to all four Ministry for the Environment Departmental Multi-category Appropriations (MCAs) and therefore it is more meaningful to aggregate these targets across these output classes. The full set of measures, including targets for 2014/15 and relevant notes are published under the Ministerial Services appropriation.

Note 2 - Deliverables are agreed between the Minister and the Ministry and set out in the Output Plan.

End of Year Performance Reporting#

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry for the Environment in its Annual Report.

Reasons for Change in Appropriation#

The decrease in this multi-category appropriation for 2014/15 is primarily due to a reprioritisation of funding towards Environmental Reporting.