Jane Nees BOP Regional Councillor www.janenees.co.nz

Many trees are felled to generate the agendas and reports that are produced by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and sent out to councillors. In the past, my reading has been measured in inches, some agendas extending to hundreds of pages – weighty to read and bulky to store.

But all this is about to change. The regional council is trialing the use of iPads by councillors as part of a paperless pilot project. The aim is to enable councillors to access their agendas and reports electronically and read them directly on an iPad using software that enables highlighting of text, annotation and bookmarking of relevant sections, compact storage and easy searching of documents.

This week I received an iPad which should make me more productive as a councillor. Documents are easy to read on the iPad and I can access them on the fly without having to lug around heavy screeds of paper. At meetings, I can just pull up my comments for each report instead of bothering with all those sticky notes with which I adorn my hard copy agenda. I can send my annotated documents to others or just the annotated comments alone. I can email during downtime in meetings or even skype into meetings without travelling huge distances. I won't have to deal with the massive piles of paper which fill my office and spill off my shelves onto the floor. Here's hoping for large savings in cost and time for the regional council.

If you have any views on this or any other issue, please phone 07 579 5150, email neesj@xtra.co.nz or visit www.janenees.co.nz