Speaking at an Environment Canterbury (ECan) workshop on Wednesday (May 13), South Canterbury councillor Peter Scott said local councils were not ready to take on the regional council’s functions.
"It is lazy thinking to say unitaries are the only option for us.’’
Regional council functions include administering the Resource Management Act or its replacement, pest control, emergency management, public transport, flood mitigation and river management.
Cr Scott said ‘‘institutional knowledge’’ on river catchment management had been established over decades of work back to the 1950s.
"We put that to the Timaru District Council yesterday and they didn’t have a clue.
"I think there’s some stuff we need to protect and we need to be asking, ‘do we still want to do that?’ And my suggestion is yes we do, because we know how to do it.’’
Deputy chairperson Iaean Cranwell said he backed Cr Scott’s sentiment.
"From the mountains to the sea, we’ve got to protect it.’’
Chairperson Dr Deon Swiggs said flood resilience work needed to be a priority.
"Success will be insurance companies still offering insurance to our people, so our productive economy can continue.’’
North Canterbury councillor John Faulkner said success would be ‘‘if people don’t notice we’ve gone’’.
ECan is working on a new strategic direction document, as it sets its priorities for the next two years and beyond, in the expectation its work will continue.
Ngāi Tahu councillor Megen McKay, who co-chaired the workshop with Cr Nettles Lamont, said the strategic direction was needed to set clear and achievable goals.
"If it’s too broad, everything can be in, and then we are not providing really clear direction as governors of what we want to see as the markers of success.’’
Cr McKay said the document will feed into the 2027/37 Long Term Plan.
Local Government Minister Simon Watts said the proposals should focus on unitary councils, which incorporate the functions of regional councils.
Timaru Mayor Nigel Bowen has already called for a South Canterbury unitary council.
"For too long, the urban voice of Christchurch has dominated regional policy, often failing to reflect the priorities and perspectives of South Canterbury urban and rural communities.’’
A Greater Christchurch unitary council has also been proposed, which could comprise only the urban parts of the Christchurch, Selwyn and Waimakariri districts.
North Canterbury mayors have also indicated a desire to work more closely together.
''Mr Watts said 78 local authorities was high compared to Ireland (31 councils) and Scotland (32 councils).
'‘It is the Government’s view that New Zealand has too many councils for the size of our population and that simplifying local government will improve its efficiency.’’
Other similar sized countries, including Norway and Finland, have considerably more councils than New Zealand.
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
