Media Release
19 December 2013

OOP Zone Committee appoints community members

Kylee Galbraith has been appointed to the Orari-Opihi-Pareora Zone Committee as part of a process to refresh its community membership.

Kylee has 11 years’ experience in environmental policy and transport planning in New Zealand and overseas. She has recently started work with Dairy Holdings monitoring consents.

Each of Canterbury’s ten zone committees have four to seven community members, an Environment Canterbury Commissioner, Councillors from the relevant district Council, and Rūnanga representatives.

There are seven community members on the OOP Zone Committee. Mark Webb and John Talbot were reappointed as community representatives, having put themselves forward for re-selection.

Christina Robb, Programme Manager Canterbury Water Management Strategy, said the selection process focussed on finding people who can see others’ points of views and who can work collaboratively to find solutions for water issues.

“The Canterbury Water Management Strategy is an innovative approach to managing fresh water. It’s about finding the best ways to restore our environment and provide for viable farming and communities throughout the region.

“It will help to ensure safe drinking water supplies, sustainable farming practices and clean rivers and streams, as well as enhancing recreational opportunities and protecting environment and cultural values.

“We are pleased with the quality of the applicants and we’re sure we have found good balance of community representatives who are passionate about making a positive difference in local water management,” she said.

The Canterbury Water Zone Committee refreshment process requires community members from six of the ten zone committees to put their names forward to be refreshed each year. The remaining four zone committees have already had recent community membership changes so are not part of the process this year.

This means community membership terms are staggered to ensure there is an opportunity for new perspectives on the water management committees. Existing members were able to put their names forward for re-selection.

Over the past year the OOP Zone Committee has been particularly focussed on establishing catchment groups for people to find the best ways to care for and improve their local waterways, and infrastructure initiatives to help meet the targets of the CWMS.

Developing infrastructure for bringing additional water in to the zone is a key priority outcomes in the committee’s Zone Implementation Programme (ZIP) for water management. Additional water will allow for enhanced environmental outcomes, and provide for an increase in irrigated land area.

The other community members on the OOP Zone Committee are Dermott O’Sullivan, Tony Howey, Ad Sintenie, and David Henshaw. John O’Neil did not put his name forward for re-selection.

Biographies for zone committee members can be found on the OOP page at www.ecan.govt.nz/canterburywater .

ENDS

© Scoop Media