Special legislation has been drafted by the government to replace Environment Canterbury's elected councillors by appointed commissioners until at least 2013.Although the threat of government appointed commissioners has been hanging over the regional coun
Special legislation has been drafted by the government to replace Environment Canterbury’s elected councillors by appointed commissioners until at least 2013.
Although the threat of government appointed commissioners has been hanging over the regional council for several weeks, today’s move came as a shock for staff and most of the councillors.
The move represents a victory for Irrigation NZ and rural interests seeking control of the region’s waterways for irrigation projects involving the Hurunui, Rakaia, Waimakariri and other main rivers. The controversial move should prove a boost to rural property values and sales in affected areas.
The Environment Canterbury councillors are not being replaced because of any dysfunction around the council table – the recent Wyatt Creech review report ruled that out.
But they are being sacked because of what Environment Minister Nick Smith and Local Government Minister Rodney Hide describe as “urgent problems with water management” and lack of an allocation plan.
The commissioners will have wider powers than councillors had. They will be given powers relating to conservation orders that are currently the preserve of the Environment Court.
This is aimed at facilitating irrigation from the Hurunui River where appeals are before the High Court over a recent Environment Court conservation order. The new powers may also have relevance for the Rakaia River where a conservation order obstructs plans to take water and raise Lake Coleridge.
The commissioners will also have the powers be able to impose moratoria on over-allocated ground water. This will mollify moderate groups like the Water Rights Trust, comprised of Christchurch businessmen, which supports the government moves.
Ministers Hide and Smith have appointed Dame Margaret Bazley as commission chair designate. Another four to six commissioners will appointed in coming weeks.
The current chairman of Environment Canterbury and a former national MP for Waitaki, Alec Neil, is also tipped as a possible appointee. He was voted in as chairman last year when the councillors with rural and district constituencies voted to replace Sir Kerry Burke (a former Labour MP).
Regional councillor Eugenie Sage said today it was a sad day for democracy:
“I didn’t think they’d go so far. The arrogance of power. This is a major change to policy making without any public consultation. The commissioners will do what business interests want.
“I can’t think what six or seven commissioners will be doing. The costs will be huge. They’ll be getting about $300,000 compared with the $50,000-odd paid to councillors,” Ms Sage said.
She has been part of a steering committee of the Canterbury Water Management Strategy that had obtained broad agreement from competing interests to undertake a programme of environmental mitigation ahead of allocating water for irrigation.
Ms Sage said it was unclear what would happen to the strategy now although it was likely the commissioners would pick up the irrigation aspects. She had fears the environmental mitigation would be ignored or significantly reduced even though rating money has already been allocated for it.
The Creech review that paved the way for Messrs Smith and Hide’s move concluded that while the governance of Environment Canterbury was functional, the council was not up to the job of managing the water resources of the region.
It recommended a new Canterbury Regional Water Authority be set up comprised of professional managers (the special rate for this work that has been adopted by the council means Canterbury citizens will now pay rates for activities over which they have no democratic voice).
The Creech review was sparked by the findings of a Ministry for the Environment biennial report in which Environment Canterbury scored poorly for resource consent processing.
Between July 2002 and June 2008, the number of applications increased from 2106 to 3763 per year – an increase of 79%. This was partly due a “gold rush” effect after Environment Canterbury warned in 2004 of limits to water abstraction in some catchments, prompting farmers to put in a flood of applications. It was also exacerbated by the boom in dairy farming and competing demands of energy generators.
Environment Canterbury was partly author of its own misfortune by accepting incomplete or poor quality applications in efforts to be more flexible. Other councils tended to reject such applications.
"Whilst laudable in attempting to work with applicants, Environment Canterbury should not have accepted the applications in the first instance or formally sought additional information,” the Creech report says.
A shortage of qualified staff meant the system became overloaded. The Creech review accepted that a shakeup of processes has now improved performance to 90% compliance.
