Council inaction on river channel clearance threat to safety

Gore and Mataura residents and their wider communities are deeply concerned due to the lethargic response of Environment Southland (ES) to clearing river-run gravel from the Mataura river that threatens the safety of people directly protected by stop-banks and compromises access and mobility of all Southlanders if stop-banks fail.

The Mataura Catchment Liaison Committee has repeatedly sought help from local MPs and councillors, encouraging and demanding action with no success.

If the recent rainfall and flooding affecting the upper and eastern North Island was received here it would be catastrophic were the stop-banks to breach due in part to lack of channel capacity.

We were promised work last year, with consenting to be completed in two months, yet ES councillors and staff demonstrate no urgency to remove and relocate gravel and maintain the river channel to cope with the inevitable next major event.

The task is simple but made difficult by staff paralysed by processes and councillors seemingly unwilling to demand they get motivated. The work requires ES issuing a consent to themselves. Why does that take over a year?

Ratepayers pay rates in good faith for channel maintenance and all residents should expect security for their properties and to be safe in their homes.