Hon Dr Nick Smith
Minister for the Environment
Hon Louise Upston
Associate Minister of Local Government

18 October 2016

Environment Canterbury members appointed

Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith and Associate Minister of Local Government Louise Upston today announced the appointment of six members to Environment Canterbury, to complement the seven members elected in the recent local authority elections.

The appointed members are: David Bedford, Hon David Caygill CNZM, Iaean Cranwell, Elizabeth Cunningham JP, Thomas Lambie ONZM and Professor Peter Skelton CNZM.

“Today’s appointments will enable Environment Canterbury to maintain the momentum of its work in improving the management of freshwater in Canterbury while transitioning back to a fully elected council with standard powers by 2019,” Dr Smith says.

“We have deliberately chosen to re-appoint all of the commissioners who indicated they were available to continue. This is to maintain continuity and the specialist skills the council needs to complete water plans for the region. It also reflects the Government’s high level of confidence in the commissioners’ work during the past six years.

“Canterbury has moved from being a laggard on water management to being a leader during this time. Less than 20 per cent of water takes were metered then but now it is more than 80 percent. Five of the 10 zones have operative water plans and there are now more than 2000 Farm Environment Plans. The council has also dramatically improved its compliance with resource consenting timetables, going from 70 per cent late to less than 3 per cent.”

The transitional governance body of a mix of elected and appointed councillors operates until the next local elections, in October 2019, and retains its special powers to complete Canterbury’s water plans.

“The transitional legislation provides that the appointed and elected councillors have exactly the same role, powers and functions. Decisions over the chair, deputy chair and committee structure are entirely made by the new council. It is also required to consult in 2018 on the ward structure and councillor numbers for the fully elected council for the 2019 local elections,” Ms Upston says.

Two of the appointees, Mr Cranwell and Ms Cunningham, have been appointed on recommendation from Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu.

“The recommendations are in recognition of the strong and effective partnership between the rūnanga and the council during the past six years, and the iwi’s significant interests in the region,” Ms Upston says.

“We encourage the council to work collaboratively in the interests of the Canterbury region and its people, while setting up a good foundation for Environment Canterbury to transition to a standard regional council, with all councillors elected, in 2019.”

The Ministers also thanked retiring Environment Canterbury Commissioners Dame Margaret Bazley and Rex Williams for their work and service to the region during the past six years.

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