Southern Committee terms of reference agreed

Environment Canterbury’s Southern Committee, chaired by South Canterbury Cr Mark Oldfield, agreed upon its terms of reference at today’s inaugural meeting. These will be recommended to the full ECan Council for adoption at its February 27 meeting.
ECan chair Sir Kerry Burke said he welcomed the new terms of reference, and the work of the Southern Committee, which he hoped would strengthen relationships with the southern communities of Canterbury region.
“The new Southern Committee is a major step forward for the south. It will allow the flexibility within the framework of regional policies and plans for delivering ECan’s services in a way that best meets the needs of the south, while retaining the advantages and economies of being part of a larger and well-resourced organisation.”
The committee agreed that its purpose is to “facilitate extending delegated decision-making for the methods of service delivery to the southern area while strengthening the involvement of stakeholders in partnerships to achieve community outcomes.”
“All endeavours to achieve efficient and cost-effective service delivery for our constituents will be explored,” said committee chair Cr Mark Oldfield. “Local solutions are needed for local resource management issues.”
Cr Bronwen Murray, ECan South Canterbury councillor, was elected committee deputy chair. She said she was pleased with the outcome of today’s meeting. “I’m pleased that the Southern Committee’s terms of reference recognise the importance of the south and hopefully will address many of the issues that have been raised over the years. It indicates the level of work that is being done in the south to meet the requirements of the Resource Management Act.”
The committee will be comprised of five ECan councillors, including two South Canterbury representatives, one of whom will be chair, ECan’s chair and deputy chair and one other councillor. Any other ECan councillor may attend the meetings but will not have voting rights. The current members are Cr Oldfield (committee chair), Cr Bronwen Murray (committee deputy chair), Cr Kerry Burke, Cr Jo Kane, and Cr Alec Neill, who has previously represented South Canterbury at central government level as an MP.
The committee will meet once every two months at various venues in the southern area of Canterbury region, depending on the agenda. Its objectives and delegated powers were agreed as:
• To make decisions (aligned to the committee’s purpose) on matters relevant to the southern area within the overall framework of regional policies and plans;
• To act as a southern advisory body, involving regular engagement with the mayors, or their appointees, of the territorial authorities ie district councils;
• As the southern advisory body, to meet with a number of advisory groups comprising the territorial authorities and specialist representatives of the various southern stakeholders and non-governmental organisations. Also to link with existing networks and committees where possible for water, pest management, catchment work, air quality, public passenger transport and other relevant matters;
• To assist management with the development of enhanced operational/service delivery for the southern area.
ECan chief executive Dr Bryan Jenkins outlined some examples of ways the council was already tailoring service delivery to the particular communities in the southern area. These included work with the Opuha Dam Company irrigators as well as recreational and environmental groups to improve river water quality below the dam, work with the Orari River community and the Waitaki catchment communities. In each of these areas Dr Jenkins said, the way ECan was achieving its environmental mandate was done in conjunction with the local communities and with good communication and co-operation in both directions.
The southern area of Environment Canterbury is the area made up of Waimate, Waitaki (part), Mackenzie and Timaru districts.