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Govt. accused of not trusting Cantabrians

Author
Tyler Adams, Jessica McCarthy ,
Publish Date
Thu, 9 Jul 2015, 7:27AM

Govt. accused of not trusting Cantabrians

Author
Tyler Adams, Jessica McCarthy ,
Publish Date
Thu, 9 Jul 2015, 7:27AM

The government is being accused of not trusting Cantabrians enough to be allowed democratic governance.

Environment Canterbury's 14 elected councillors were sacked in 2010 and replaced by Commissioners after concerns about resource consent processes and the reform of freshwater management.

The Commissioners' term was supposed to end in 2013, however it was extended until 2016.

Environment Minister Nick Smith announced yesterday that six appointed members will work alongside seven elected members after local body elections next October.

Smith said it "would be bad for Canterbury to have a clean slate" as installing a fully elected council had the potential to derail some critical projects, such as completing Canterbury’s water plan and work on earthquake recovery.

ECan will return to full democracy by 2019.

Former councillor Jo Kane insists the government's plan for a return to an elected ECan is a sham.

"They do not trust Cantabrians," Kane said. "That's quite damning and what is worse, they don't understand democracy. To do that continually to the Canterbury people...is to stamp on them with disregard."

"[The government] know this is just going to go through. A few people will yell out and they'll continue to do it. What about the community? What does the community need from it's regional council?"

Labour MP Megan Woods echoes Kane's sentiment. She believes that with such a sham of a process since the sacking of the original councillors, it could be hard to get people to want to sign on and run for election.

"We need really good people to stand for election and it is concerning to me that the government has undermined our regional council to such an extent that good people don't want to stand."

"You have to wonder why, if the government thinks this is such a good idea, they'd just stop at Canterbury."

Greens Christchurch spokesperson Eugenie Sage thinks the government is in favour of a council with weak water planning, and allow for more farming.

"We see no evidence that under commissioners water quality has improved. We've got weak plans, and the government wants to continue to be able to dominate the council and have it under its thumb."

The Greens are also scoffing at the government's consultation effort. Sage claims Smith's plan is identical to the discussion document released in March.

"It shows once again that the government regards the consultations as a bit of sham exercise. It had already made up its mind and it's gone ahead with what it announced in March."

However Waimakariri mayor David Ayers is backing Smith's proposals as those involved in big projects need to be able to finish the job.

"There's quite a lot of work going on in terms of management looking at it from both an economic and environmental perspective and I think Canterbury council's keen to see that work continue," Ayers said.

Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel, who called for full elections, said she had nothing further to add to the announcement.

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