Southland Sustainable Resource Coalition spokeswoman Kelly Blomfield made the plea during the public forum of the council meeting on Tuesday.
Ms Blomfield said Southland faced development proposals in a way the region had never experienced before.
Projects, including the silica processing plant at Awarua, represented an “an industrial transformation for Southland”.
The group were concerned that during the consenting process, the effects of the developments would be considered separately.
“The environment does not experience them in isolation, our electricity network will not experience them in isolation, our water resources will not experience them in isolation and our communities certainly will not experience them in isolation.”
The important question to be considered was what Southland would look like as a whole when the projects went ahead, Ms Blomfield said.
It was the combined effects of development on infrastructure, housing, the environment and emergency services that should be investigated.
It was commendable companies wanted to reduce their environmental footprint and be sustainable, she said.
“True sustainability asks whether a region can support multiple large energy-intensive industries while still protecting the thing that makes Southland unique.”
The group were not against progress, technology or investment.
“What we are for, is making sure that when we make decisions that will shape our region for generations to come, that we do so with open eyes, complete information and the interests of our community placed above all else.”
The council had a responsibility to look at development from the “bigger picture” angle and be transparent.
“Residents deserve clear answers about water use, wastewater management, electricity supply and cumulative environmental impacts, both long-term and short.”
If Southland was going to be marketed as a destination for major industry, it should also be known as the region that asked the hardest questions and demanded the highest standards, she said.
“Being cautious is not anti-development, it’s good governance.
“Being thorough is not anti-business, it’s responsible leadership.”
Decisions made today could not easily be undone tomorrow, she said.
“Once industrial infrastructure is established, once our landscape has changed and once our resources are committed, those choices will shape Southland long after every single person in this chamber has left office.
“We’ve got one opportunity to get this right, so let’s make sure we do.”
During the question time, Cr Andrea de Vries asked how the group believed more transparency could be achieved.
Ms Blomfield said there should be “open consent processes”.
“A lot of people are feeling like a lot is happening really, really quickly and the public haven’t had any input or any say into what’s happening in our region.”
Mayor Tom Campbell said Ms Blomfield was asking for greater transparency in regard to water use and other services.
However, he had read the Datagrid NZ Partnership Ltd resource consent to establish and operate a data centre near Makarewa and it covered “all those things in enormous detail”.
