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This newsletter provides an update of the status of external policy and plans. It includes proposals for new policy direction and opportunities for public involvement. The newsletter is available for download in PDF format (582 kb, 83 seconds to download, 56k modem), and you can also sign up to receive notification of the policy update newsletter by email.
June 2008
Chair's welcome
Greetings.
With the Annual Plan process just completed it has been a busy month for councillors.
Council received over 808 submissions and heard 60 submitters in person. The Annual Plan is not a long view planning process but rather a review of annual budgets and priorities. However, key issues (with potential implications for this year’s budget) included the level of regional pest management and level of new passenger transport services particularly in Hamilton. Also, during deliberations the protection of biodiversity, natural heritage, warm homes and air quality issues were well discussed.
Decisions reached during this process were adopted by council on 26 June. This included the maintenance of the status quo service levels for pest management levels across the region (as opposed to proposed reductions) and a moderate level of improved service delivery for passenger transport in the upcoming financial year. The Passenger Transport Plan was adopted October 2007 and the Annual Plan decision enables aspects of that plan to be delivered in a timely fashion.
However, it is anticipated that these matters will be further reviewed through the Long Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP) process which begins mid August. The LTCCP is the appropriate place to review aspects of medium/long-term policies and strategies. This will ensure that Environment Waikato can meet community expectations, meet legislative requirements, respond to changing environments and times and strive for continuous improvement.
Other issues that have been of interest to council and will be considered over the upcoming months include: aquaculture (potential to include fin fish farming), outcomes from the Waikato Tainui River Claim process and the decisions in respect to Variation No: 6 (Water Allocation).
At the same time council is busy working with our city and district council partners on a variety of sub regional growth strategies such as the Coromandel Peninsula Blueprint and Future Proof for the Central Waikato.
The region is a dynamic place and council will have much to consider in the upcoming LTCCP process as these projects inform policies that will shape the future of the Waikato.
Cr Paula SouthgateChair, Policy and Strategy
Group Manager's comment
Welcome to the winter edition of our Policy Update newsletter. As you can see Environment Waikato continues to advance a broad range of policy initiatives under our various statutory mandates.
Critical amongst these initiatives are the preparation of our next Long Term Council Community Plan and the pending review of our Regional Policy Statement with the new mandates and functions created for the RPS by the amendments to the Act in 2006.
It is our expectation that the next RPS will truly be a document for the Region and will add value to the work not only of Environment Waikato but also of our territorial authorities.
We are looking forward to consulting with you, our stakeholders on these projects as well as our other projects over the coming months.
On a different note, this newsletter offers me the chance to update you on changes to our staff within the policy and strategy team at Environment Waikato. Last month we farewelled Megan Collins as she left for her overseas experience. Many of you will have encountered Megan in her role as our advocate on District Planning matters for the last three years. We wish her well and look forward to her return. Earlier in the year we farewelled Natasha Hayward as she returned to our resource use group in a management role. We have also, briefly, lost the services of Jenni Paul as she takes time out to be a mum. We are looking forward to Jenni returning to us in August.
To replace our losses and prepare ourselves for the coming avalanche of work associated with the RPS review and other urgent policy development matters we have been extraordinarily lucky in our recent recruitments. I take great pleasure in welcoming the following new staff:
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Phil Parkes
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Amanda Banks
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Ingrid Greenslade
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Karren Wagner.
No doubt you will encounter many of these staff over the next few months.
Best wishes,
Robert Brodnax
Group Manager, Policy and Strategy
Community planning and partnership programmes
2008/09 Annual Plan
Every three years, councils are required to produce a Long Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP) which sets out work programmes, funding policies and budgets for the next ten years. In non-LTCCP years, an Annual Plan must be produced. This focuses on the next financial year (1 July to 30 June) and outlines how rates will be used to fund council activities.
The 2008/09 Annual Plan is year three of the 2006-2016 LTCCP meaning that next year (2009) a new 2009-2019 LTCCP will be produced.
The 2008/09 Draft Annual Plan was released for public consultation on 31 March 2008. It reflected a middle ground that balanced concerns about the community’s ability to pay and the need to invest in efficient public transport services and activities that protect people, property and the environment. The draft also included the Draft Land Transport Programme and two proposed amendments to the LTCCP. The first amendment related to a change in the council’s pest management programme and the second to funding for Hamilton city bus services (therefore only affected Hamilton city ratepayers).
Submissions closed on 1 May and submissions were heard over the period of 26 to 28 May with deliberations on 9 and 10 June. The 2008/09 Annual Plan was adopted by council on the 26 June.
Integrated coastal plans – west coast of the Waikato region
Environment Waikato, Otorohanga, Waikato and Waitomo district councils, and the Department of Conservation are working together on an integrated (land and harbour) catchment planning project for the Kawhia and Aotea catchments.
Early 2007, a series of workshops were held with the public at various locations focusing on the issues of water quality, landscape and natural character, and subdivision and development. A report summarising the consultation undertaken has been prepared. The agencies have also been working with tangata whenua of the area to ensure that important cultural values and aspects are recognised and understood. This phase of the project is ongoing.
A Community Reference Group has been formed and the group has worked with members of the Iwi Liaison Group through the first section of the Draft Shore Futures Report, entitled ‘Natural Environment’. Environment Waikato is currently completing a second draft of the chapter which will be workshopped with these groups later this year.
Work is also continuing on other aspects of the Shore Futures project that address growth and development, heritage and community matters. It is expected that a draft Shore Futures report will be available for public comment next summer.
For more information, please visit www.ew.govt.nz/shorefutures or contact Katie Mayes.
Resource management plans and initiatives
Regional Policy Statement (RPS)
Project planning for the RPS review is continuing. As part of the process, the RPS review will be drawing on the work of a number of other Environment Waikato partnership projects, many of which are mentioned in this Policy Update. These include Shore Futures, Blueprint, Strategy for a Sustainable Environment and the Regional Energy Forum. An initial piece of work looking at how landscape and natural character issues could be addressed in the RPS has begun.
A consultation strategy is being developed for discussion and agreement with the region’s territorial authorities. This requirement was introduced as part of the recent amendments to the Resource Management Act, in recognition of the fact that second generation RPS’s will have a material effect on the content of district plans.
For more information, please contact Blair Dickie or Ondine Godtschalk.
Climate change
The council was recognised in April for achieving the International Council for Environmental Initiatives, Communities for Climate Protection – ANZ, Milestone 1 following completion of both a Corporate and Community wide Greenhouse gas emissions inventory.
Work is also progressing with the development of a background paper covering the regional council’s role with respect to climate change mitigation and adaptation for inclusion into the LTCCP review and the second generation RPS.
For more information, please contact Blair Dickie.
Policy effectiveness reporting
As pointed out in the last Policy Update, a report has been completed on the effectiveness of the current Regional Policy Statement (RPS) provisions. Note that this was a very broad-brush review, based on one Environment Waikato staff workshop for each main subject area. It does not take the place of the detailed policy effectiveness reports.
Environment Waikato produces individual detailed policy effectiveness reports for each RPS subject area on a rolling basis, such that every five years, reports are completed for all RPS subject areas. These reports provide a detailed analysis of each RPS issue, the methods designed to address the issue, the extent to which these methods are being implemented, pressures operating on the matter, and evidence of success with respect to the relevant objectives.
During the current year, detailed reports are being produced for the energy, infrastructure and natural hazards chapters of the RPS. To adequately assess some of the methods, we need to know what the territorial authorities (TAs) are doing in relation to these matters. Recently, questionnaires have been emailed to all the Waikato region TAs to collect this information. These are being followed up by phone calls.
For more information contact Urlwyn Trebilco.
Forum for Integrated Resource Management (FIRM)
A FIRM meeting focussing on historic heritage was held in March. The Forum is useful for territorial authority and Environment Waikato policy and planning staff to get together a few times a year to learn, hear each other’s views and experiences, and discuss ways that collectively we can improve the way we manage resource management issues.
FIRM meetings planned over the next two years focus on key Regional Policy Statement areas as part of the current review of the Regional Policy Statement.
For more information, please contact Katie Mayes.
Renewable energy and energy efficiency
Three further meetings of the multi-stakeholder advisory group have been held (February, March and June) to develop the draft into a non-statutory strategy that will support projects for energy efficiency, and the development of policy that affects energy resources in the Waikato region.
The draft strategy remains a working document and builds upon the directions in the NZ Energy Strategy and the NZ Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy. It will be reported back to the wider stakeholders group at a third Regional Energy Forum, later in the year.
For more information, please contact Blair Dickie.
Geothermal project
The Geothermal Policy/Plan review project is in its last stages with the RPS change being operative and replacement pages have been circulated. The consent order finalising the variation to the WRP is in the process of being signed by parties to the appeals. Once this administrative process is finished – it too will be made operative and incorporated into the WRP.
The Geothermal policy review project recently won the national award at the International Energy Globe Awards for 2007. The team that worked on this policy was small and extremely focused on getting the right outcome for the region. It was a long process that required commitment from elected representatives and staff with the final outcome benefiting from the quality of inputs from a wide range of stakeholders participating in the process. The recognition is testament to their dedication. The geothermal policy review is in its final stages.
For more information, please contact Blair Dickie or Nicola Rye.
Water allocation
A hearing committee of three commissioners and two Environment Waikato councillors have completed hearings for the submissions to PWRP: Proposed Variation No. 6 – Water Allocation in December 2007. The Committee is currently deliberating and decisions will be released in October 2008.
For more information, please contact David Speirs or Bruce McAuliffe.
Strategy for a Sustainable Environment (SSE)
We have changed the name of this project from the original Sustainable Development Strategy to a Strategy for a Sustainable Environment, because we wanted to make it clear that this project is really about sustainable development of natural and physical resources rather than seeking to achieve purely economic or social objectives.
Currently, we are preparing maps and reports which will be the basis for a series of workshops near the end of the calendar year. These workshops will seek to get a common view on a long term vision for the region, guiding principles to get us there, and further actions we need to take to achieve the vision. Workshop outcomes will also inform the review of the Regional Policy Statement.
The current work involves mapping resource constraints, thinking about the conflicts that might result between future regional development and these constraints, and thinking about potential development principles that may help us avoid these conflicts.
For more information, please contact Urlwyn Trebilco.
Variation 7
Variation 7 – is currently a work in progress.
For more information, please contact Nicola Rye.
Proposed Plan Change 1: Minor changes
The Proposed Plan Change 1: Minor changes, is currently a work in progress.
For more information, please contact Nicola Rye.
Regional integration
The regional integration team continues to respond to district plan changes and reviews and to applications for district council consents. The focus over the past six months has been on structure plan developments around the region as well as natural hazards, coastal erosion and biodiversity.
For more information, please contact Katie Mayes.
PM10 air quality
Air pollution affects a number of Waikato urban centres. According to a government report released last year air pollution causes almost 1100 premature deaths in New Zealand every year.
In 2004 the government set a national environmental standard (NES) that requires all areas to comply with ambient air quality standards by 2013. If an area does not comply with the NES by 2013, Environment Waikato will be unable to issue resource consents for particulate air discharges. There are five areas in the region that don’t currently meet the NES. They are the urban areas of Tokoroa, Putaruru, Te Kuiti and Hamilton City.
The main cause for the problem is smoke from domestic home heating. This smoke contains tiny particles (PM10) that are small enough to get into human lungs and worsen asthma, inflame throats and noses and contribute to serious health problems such as heart disease.
Council is currently investigating options, including a change to the Waikato Regional Plan to address the regions air quality problem. These options will be further developed over the next six months.
For more information, please contact Phil Parkes.
Protecting Lake Taupo
Council decisions on a variation to the Regional Plan to protect the high water quality of Lake Taupo were notified on 24 March 2007 (Variation 5 – Lake Taupo Catchment).
Environment Court hearings on the appeals lodged commenced on 5 May (in Taupo) and continue for five to seven weeks throughout May, June and July.
For more information, please contact Justine Young.
Experimental aquaculture plan change
Environment Waikato has been scoping out a potential plan change to allow new types of aquaculture such as Kingfish farming within the existing AMAs in the region. Currently the Regional Coastal Plan only allows shellfish farming in the 1500 hectares of water space allocated to aquaculture.
A number of technical reports investigating the potential impacts of fish farming have been prepared and consultation on the potential plan change is underway.
Note: This plan change will not create any new aquaculture management areas.
For more information, or if you’d like to be involved in the discussions, please contact Graeme Silver.
Marine Farming Variation and Wilson Bay Marine Farming Zone
In March 2008 the Minister of Conservation announced that the Wilson Bay Marine Farming Zone had been declared an interim aquaculture management area (AMA). This is the first step in making the Zone a fully fledged AMA. An application has been made to the Ministry of Fisheries for an ’aquaculture decision’ under the Fisheries Act. This will evaluate whether or not the AMA has an undue adverse effect on commercial, customary and recreational fishing. If it passes this test, the Zone will become an AMA.
Part of the Zone is already developed under consents issued in 2001 or earlier and these areas have deemed AMA status. Full AMA status for the Zone will allow the processing of consent applications over the Area B part of the Zone. These applications cover 520 hectares and are on hold due to the Aquaculture Moratorium that expired at the end of 2004. As Area B is considered to be ’new space’ under the reformed legislation, it is subject to a 20 per cent allocation of space to the Takutai Trust on behalf of local Maori.
For more information, please contact Graeme Silver.
Coastal occupation charges – deadline for a plan change
Coastal occupation charges are a rental for the private use of public space in the coastal marine area. They replaced the older coastal rental regime that was not implemented and the foreshore and seabed licences levied under the Harbour Act. Environment Waikato has resolved that coastal occupation charges are appropriate and should be levied on private occupation of public space, but council considers the current system of occupation charges to be unclear and subject to interpretation, and therefore should not be implemented as this would expose council to lengthy and expensive court processes.
However, the Resource Management Act contains a deadline for regional councils to address coastal occupation charges by amending their regional coastal plans. Failure to do so results in council being unable to make any changes to the Regional Coastal Plan (RCP), unless they first address coastal occupation charges. That deadline has passed, and as a result, council is preparing a plan change to the RCP to state that while we consider coastal occupation charges to be appropriate, we will not levy them at this time. This plan change will be notified in conjunction with the next change to the RCP.
For more information, please contact Graeme Silver.
Coromandel Peninsula Blueprint project
The Coromandel Peninsula Blueprint is now in its issues and options identification stage. Key issues and possible future options for the Peninsula have been identified and sent out to the Coromandel community for feedback. This will help to find out which key issues are the most important to the people of the Coromandel, and what options for the future they would prefer. In the process, the community also had the opportunity to raise any other related concerns, which provided complementary information. The responses have now been received and will be collated and analysed.
The results will be used to identify the priorities in the range of issues, and how these issues connect with the possible options for the future of the Coromandel. From there, a strategy for the whole district will be developed, telling where and where not, particular development can occur. This will form the basis on which then the Local Area Plans can be developed.
For more information, please contact Ursula Lehr.
Strategy and bylaw reviews
Navigation Safety Bylaw
In October and November of this year public meetings will be held to assist in the review of the Navigation Safety Bylaw 2006. The review is required in order to be consistent with the Maritime New Zealand Regulations (as our Bylaw is not to be inconsistent with the national directions such as Part 91 which have been amended since the 2006 Bylaw was reviewed), the Harbour Risk Management Plan as well as enabling account to be taken of changing use and pressures on surface waters around the Waikato region.
At this stage it is intended that there will be approximately 14 public meetings to be held around the region.
For more information, please contact Shelley Monrad.
Harbour Risk Management Plan (HRMP)
Environment Waikato was the third region to gain approval from Maritime New Zealand for their Harbour Risk Management Plan and Safety Management System. This document primarily identifies the risks in each of the region’s harbours and proposes actions to reduce the risk as much as possible.
This Plan was prepared in accordance with the NZ Port and Harbour Marine Safety Code. The code arose primarily from Maritime New Zealand concerns at the groundings of two vessels (Jody F Millennium at Gisborne and the Tai Ping at Bluff) and the lessons learnt from these events. It is a voluntary code which promotes good safety practices and provides a national standard against which performance can be measured.
Waikato’s Plan covers the region’s maritime harbours and Lake Karapiro. It is aimed at identifying risks and ensuring they are managed by reducing the level of risk to as low as is reasonably practicable. The plan describes primary accountability and procedures, communication and monitoring regimes, to ensure the effective facilitation of navigation safety. For example, the Plan includes policies and operating procedures for matters such as accidents, bar crossings, navigation aids, wrecks and harbour works. It also covers area specific information and contingency plans for the harbours and Lake Karapiro.
This Plan was audited by Maritime New Zealand in October 2007 and consequently signed off by the Director of Maritime New Zealand.
For more information, please contact Shelley Monrad.
Operative Waikato Regional Land Transport Strategy 2006-2016 (RLTS)
The RLTS became operative on 29 November 2006. The RLTS sets a direction to move the Waikato region away from a traditional road based transport system to a multi-modal integrated transport system based upon a set of priorities, decision making and focused investment on strategic goals over the next ten years.
The regional transport partners have been working collaboratively to implement the RLTS and the implementation progress has been documented in the 2006/07 Annual Report on the RLTS. Hard copies of the RLTS and 2006/07 Annual Report on the RLTS are available on request, or can be viewed online at www.ew.govt.nz/policy.
Environment Waikato is planning for the review of the RLTS in line with the work being undertaken for the development of the Regional Land Transport Programme. The review of the RLTS will be completed by June 2010.
For more information, please contact Bill McMaster or Vincent Kuo.
Waikato Regional Passenger Transport Plan (PTP)
In October 2007 Environment Waikato completed an update of the Regional Passenger Transport Plan (PTP) and alongside this update undertook a Regional Network Review. Both the PTP and the Regional Network review give strong direction for further improvements to the network, especially in the provision of access services for our rural communities. The plan has a forward view of up to 10 years, with specific activities to be implemented in the next three years. Hard copies of the PTP are available on request, or can be viewed online at www.ew.govt.nz/policy.
The improvements to Hamilton’s passenger transport network as envisaged in the PTP, involve significant investment in new and improved services over the next three years. Three options have been considered for the service improvements in Hamilton for the next three years. Environment Waikato consulted on the proposed options through the Draft Environment Waikato Annual Plan 2008/09 and the submissions closed on 1 May 2008.
For more information, please contact Vincent Kuo.
Regional transport strategies/studies
Environment Waikato will also be undertaking the following regional transport strategies/studies in 2008/09.
- Regional Travel Demand Management Strategy.
- Inter-regional Transportation Study.
- Regional Freight Study.
For further information please contact Vincent Kuo or Bill McMaster.
Regional Walking and Cycling Strategy
Environment Waikato is preparing a Regional Walking and Cycling Strategy this year. The Operative Regional Land Transport Strategy requires Environment Waikato, in conjunction with territorial authorities and other strategic transport partners, to prepare a Regional Cycling and Walking Strategy for the Waikato region. The strategy will outline actions to promote walking and cycling with separate implementation plans to be produced for the two transport modes. Environment Waikato will be consulting on the Draft Regional Walking and Cycling Strategy later in 2008.
For more information, please contact Isy Kennedy or Vincent Kuo.
Regional Rail Strategy
Environment Waikato is currently developing a Regional Rail Strategy. The Operative Regional Land Transport Strategy requires Environment Waikato, in conjunction with ONTRACK, Toll NZ and other strategic transport partners, to prepare a Rail Strategy for the Waikato region. The Strategy will be prepared in conjunction with the Update to the Waikato Regional Freight Study being undertaken in the first six months of 2008 and the National Freight Study being undertaken for the Ministry of Transport. The final strategy will be completed in August 2008.
For more information, please contact Bill McMaster or Vincent Kuo.
Regional Road Safety Strategy
Environment Waikato is developing a Regional Road Safety Strategy this year. Initial progress has been made on this piece of work with consultation carried out with Transit New Zealand, Land Transport New Zealand and ACC. It is anticipated that the scope of this work will also include the development of new reporting mechanisms to help with the co-ordination of delivery of road safety projects in the region.
For more information, please contact Jo Carling or Vincent Kuo
Upper Karapiro policy review
The Upper Karapiro policy review project is investigating issues in land use impacts in the Waikato River catchment upstream of Karaprio Dam and downstream of Taupo Gates. The project is identifying issues that need to be addressed as a result of past and current land use practices, intensification of pastoral agriculture and changes in land use such as exotic forestry to pasture. Information on environmental (water quality, hydrology, erosion), economic, social and cultural impacts is still being collated. Given the importance of the sub-catchment to the local districts, region and country, it is important to obtain information upon which informed decision making and consultation can be based. Recently announced national legislation developments such as climate change policies, crown settlements with iwi treaty claims and national policy standards for freshwater further cloud the issues that need to be addressed at a regional level. The 2008/09 annual plan indicates that the timing of the policy developments may need to be readdressed in the next LTCCP.
For more information, please contact Chris McLay.
River Flood Risk Management Strategy
The draft strategy seeks to develop a regional framework for flood risk management and provide guidance on how river systems and flood risks will be managed into the future.
The draft strategy has been developed due to the growing importance of flood hazard risks within the region, the central government review following recent flood events and the current trend of increasing levels of risk.
The fundamental philosophy and outcomes of the strategy are to develop a management approach that recognises and allows for rivers as natural systems, and puts in place a risk management framework that reduces river flood hazard risks over time. The strategy picks up on national directions and draws together all aspects of flood risk management work at national, regional and local levels. The philosophy and principles underlying the strategy will help guide both regional and local policy development – particularly district plans and the second generation Regional Policy Statement.
To date, the draft strategy has been distributed to key stakeholders including territorial authorities, regional councils, emergency managers, infrastructure providers, river liaison subcommittees and central government stakeholders. Informal communication and consultation has focused on individual territorial authorities, river managers and river liaison subcommittees and local authority policy planners within the region.
The final day for submissions was 30 May 2008, and it is anticipated that the strategy will be approved early in the new financial year. View the strategy here.
For more information, please contact Adam Munro.
Where our documents are in the statutory process
One of the most frequent questions we are asked is about the status of our documents. This table can give you the answer quickly.
| Document |
Status - June 2008 |
| 2006-2016 Long-Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP): Delivering a Sustainable Future |
Adopted by council on 29 June 2006. |
| 2008/09 Annual Plan |
The 2008/09 Annual Plan is year three of our LTCCP. Adopted 26 June. |
| Regional Policy Statement |
Operative. |
| Geothermal Change No. 1 |
Operative |
| Regional Coastal Plan |
Operative. |
| Change No. 1 - Minor Changes |
Submissions received. |
| Marine Farming Variation |
Operative in part. |
| Marinas Variation |
Operative. |
| Waikato Regional Plan |
Operative 28 September 2007. |
| Variation No. 2 – Geothermal |
An appeal has been made to the High Court on decisions released by the Environment Court in late 2006. All other appeals resolved. |
| Variation No. 4 - Minor Variations and Peat Lakes |
Incorporated into Proposed WRP, September 2005. |
| Variation No. 5 - Lake Taupo Catchment |
Decisions released 24 March 2007. Appeals received and currently in the Environment Court. |
| Variation No. 6 – Water Allocation |
Notified 20 October 2006. Hearings were held 4 December 2007 to 20 March 2008. Hearings Committee are deliberating. A decision is to be released in October 2008. |
| Variation No. 7 - Minor Changes |
Submissions received. |
| Dangerous Dams Policy |
Adopted by council, December 2006. |
| Navigation Safety Bylaw |
The bylaw came into effect on 1 July 2006 and is due to be reviewed in the 2008/09 financial year. Consultation is due to begin in October/November 2008 with the statutory process commencing in February 2009. |
| Regional Land Transport Strategy |
Operative. |
| Regional Passenger Transport Plan |
Operative. |
| Regional Road Safety Plan |
Operative. |
| Regional Pest Management Strategy |
Adopted in June. Challenged in the Environment Court. Existing RPMS remains in effect. |
Environment Waikato policy team
Contact us or call the team on Environment Waikato's freephone 0800 800 401.
Download in PDF format
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Policy update - June 2008
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Previous updates
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Policy update - December 2007
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Policy update - October 2006
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Policy update - April 2006
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Policy update - September 2005
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