29 November 2022
On the road with the Panel
At the beginning of November, we set off on our regional tour to discuss He mata whāriki, he matawhānui, our draft report and recommendations, with councils.

Starting the tour in Palmerston North, we met with members of Ruapehu District Council, Palmerston North City Council, Horizons Regional Council, and Manawatu District Council. We were met with a great amount of support for many of our recommendations and many questions around how these can be implemented locally.
We are using these kanohi-ki-te-kanohi (face to face) meetings to help councils delve deeper into the ideas, themes, recommendations and questions outlined in our draft report. It is important to us that councils have the opportunity to fully consider the draft report before submissions close on 28 February 2023.
We’re meeting with councils and their guests in:
- Palmerston North
- Napier
- West Coast
- Nelson
- Auckland
- Hamilton
- Wellington
- Christchurch
- Rotorua
- Whangarei
- Dunedin
- Tauranga
- Southland

Our engagement with iwi, hapū and Māori, as well as central government agencies, businesses, and the wider public is ongoing, and we look forward to seeing submissions from these groups and others.
If you have any questions about the draft report or want to discuss the recommendations with us before making a submission, please sign up to our public webinars, which will be held in early 2023.
We will not be holding hearings or taking verbal submissions on our draft report. We are accepting submissions through our online portal until 28 February 2023.
Watch a recording of the online regional tour event, held for local government members who were unable to join in person, here.