Submissions and Presentations

Nathan Surendran's attempts to communicate our energy reality

I've been actively writing and engaging with local and national government and other agencies and organisations on this issue for over a decade, and have created quite a few resources of my own, as submissions to various consultation processes. I focus on the "3 E's" - Economics, Energy and Ecosystems, and the fundamental limits these place on the solution spaces available to us going forwards.

Here's a selected bibliography to date:

Submissions (written and oral):

As part of the Wise Response committee:

I've collaborated in the research, production and delivery of a variety of content to inform government and agencies about the issues we face:

National:

Selected submissions, see link here for more.

• MBIE Energy Transition consultation: bit.ly/NS_MBIEET

• Terms of Reference Commentary for the 2023 Energy Strategy workstream: bit.ly/3KYfpiB

• Infrastructure Commission consultation: bit.ly/3yk7dmm

• Submission to the 2019 RMA Amendment Bill consultation

• ETS 2018 consultation: bit.ly/2Iz1htC

• Productivity Commission inquiry into the Transition to a Low Emissions Economy: 2017 submission and 2018 Submission

• Submission to the NZ government's 2015 consultation on our offer to the INDC's at COP21: bit.ly/1K8neeU

• My critique of the 2013 Finance and Expenditure Select Committee's official response to the Wise Response appeal: bit.ly/1YAmvtG

Regional:

• The Otago Regional Council's 'Regional Policy Statement': http://bit.ly/1UbQ2oT, my expert evidence: http://bit.ly/1jl7KtV and spoken presentation: http://bit.ly/1XYGlAN

• Otago Regional Council’s Regional Policy Statement (RPS) hearings: Initial Presentation to Committee and Brief of Evidence and Oral Submission on Energy, Infrastructure and Transport (EIT) of the Proposed Regional Policy Statement for Otago and

More about Wise Response’s work

As an individual citizen:

• MBIE’s Science System Advisory Group (SSAG) consultation on the future role of Science and Innovation: bit.ly/NS_SSAG May 2024

• Environment Select Committee hearing on the Fast Track Amendment Bill: bit.ly/NS_FATCAT May 2024

• MBIE’s Energy Transition Consultation (my individual submission was subsequently formally endorsed by the Sustainable Energy Forum’s Executive Committee): bit.ly/NS_MBIEET Nov 2023

• Murihiku Southland’s 2023 Draft Energy Strategy: bit.ly/NS_MESS Apr 2023

• Invercargill City Council Long Term Plan 2021: bit.ly/3eQ6EFk

• Long Term Plans 2018:

  • Environment Southland: bit.ly/2jSHXfw

  • Invercargill City Council: bit.ly/2raEPzC and spoken presentation:  bit.ly/2HCOjOl

  • Southland District Council: bit.ly/2H4oFlp and spoken presentation: bit.ly/2qKHG2f

  • Otago Regional Council: bit.ly/2KnQAds

• Southland’s Economic Development Agency (was Venture Southland, now Great South) consultations:

  • The 2014 version of the annual plan: bit.ly/2613cjj and spoken presentation bit.ly/1Xspcyk

  • The 2015 version of the annual plan: bit.ly/1Q9rOiK  bit.ly/1FVidRK and spoken presentation bit.ly/1FFZSbi

  • The 2016 version of the annual plan: bit.ly/1s4HpoQ and my spoken presentation http://bit.ly/1TQqgID

• Southland Regional Council - Environment Southland:

  • Submissions to the Otago / Southland regional 'Land Transport' plan consultation: written submission bit.ly/1YvyB7z and spoken presentation bit.ly/1N9BTUB

  • Submission to the the Environment Southland - Air Plan consultation: bit.ly/1WPnozn

  • Submission to the Environment Southland - Land and Water Plan consultation: bit.ly/2aIGtmF

• Earlier Long Term Planning Process submissions:

  • Regional - submission to the 2015 Environment Southland LTP consultation: bit.ly/1Pwxl1U and spoken presentation: bit.ly/1ZZ7XV5

  • City - submission to the 2015 Invercargill City Council LTP consultation: bit.ly/1BJBHqL

  • Submission to the Invercargill City Council 'Code of Practice' consultation: bit.ly/1Y2FxXG

• My 2016 Innov8 Invercargill talk was on the subject of the story we tell ourselves to achieve resilient, able to be sustained outcomes for our community, region, country and species. Here's my talk prezi: bit.ly/1pWlsXS and a voice recording: bit.ly/1MiV70h: We really need to replace our neo-liberal 'Sacred Money and Markets' story with something closer to a 'Sacred Life and Living Earth' story...

As co-founder of the Love Local Charitable Trust:

• For the Sustainable Southland blog: Love Local. Why, How and What: bit.ly/1TaCJnv

• For the Sustainable Southland blog: How sustainable are we, really? bit.ly/14oMDiO

• Presentation to the Innov8 evenings regarding Love Local's place in the big picture of resilient local food systems for Southland: bit.ly/ll_pk_innov8

Presentations:

2023:

In-house presentation to a large engineering consultancy: bit.ly/NS_NETEN

New Zealand Labour Environment Branch: bit.ly/NSNZL

Engineering NZ ‘Climate conversations series: bit.ly/NS_CCEF

Greater Wellington Regional Council: bit.ly/NS_EATF

Future Whenua conference: bit.ly/47BVXAT

2022:

Southland U3A branch: bit.ly/NSU3ADEG

Regenerate Southland: bit.ly/resoen