Revelations on Thursday that the West Coast Regional Council has secretly invested $500,000 in a company looking to manufacture 1080 poison in Canterbury were yesterday met with howls of protest and accusations of conflicts of interest.
The council admitted to the investment only after inquiries by the Greymouth Star, and justified it by saying it had been looking for options to diversify its investment fund and saw an opportunity.
''Who approved this?'' Farmers Against Ten Eighty spokeswoman Mary Molloy, of Hari Hari, said yesterday.
''I don't pay rates to set up a poison factory in Canterbury. People are disgusted this has occurred.''
She said a 2010 survey of Westland residents showed most people were opposed to the poison.
The council had kept the 1080 investment quiet because ''it could not have got through if they had made it public''.
She said it also added to conflicts of interest - the council received 1080 applications, outsourced the paperwork, then signed off on the consents.
Its own company, VCS, was a 1080 contractor for pest control work.
''Now they are setting up a manufacturing plant. Local Government must recognise this is a conflict of interest.''
As news of the investment spread like wildfire, withholding rates had been mooted as a means of protesting the decision, but she said that would probably not work.
She intended to start by complaining to Local Government Minister Paula Bennett.
Buller activist Laurie Collins, fresh out the bush, was caught by surprise by the news.
''I'm sure if the West Coast Regional Council ever took the problem and asked their ratepayers what they want, this is the one thing they would never want,'' Mr Collins said.
''I would say it's similar to the DHB investing half a million in a factory that produces ammunition. I don't want my rates invested in something I'm totally opposed to.''
Hari Hari man Phil Paterson, who has been fighting 1080 drops in the courts since 2012, was surprised.
''I'm absolutely opposed. The council issues the consents, ensures compliance with the consents, they drop the poison, now they are going to manufacture it. Where's the accountability?''
Mr Paterson said the council's legal bill for the ongoing court case had now passed the $100,000 mark.
Council chief executive Chris Ingle responded to accusations of a conflict of interest.
He sent the Greymouth Star a conflict of interest policy that the council adopted at its meeting only this week.
''The council uses an independent consultant for processing aerial 1080 applications and has done so for a long time,'' Mr Ingle said.
