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By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Ashburton may not have a Māori ward, but that hasn't stopped councillors weighing in on the national debate.
The Ashburton District Council plans to vote against a remit this week from Local Government NZ that would challenge the … View moreBy local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Ashburton may not have a Māori ward, but that hasn't stopped councillors weighing in on the national debate.
The Ashburton District Council plans to vote against a remit this week from Local Government NZ that would challenge the Government's new Māori ward polling rule.
The Ashburton District did not consider adding a Māori ward during its representation review as it is one of a dozen councils that did not have a sufficient Māori electoral population, less than 5% of the general voting population, to qualify for a Māori ward.
New legislation requires councils that established Māori wards without a referendum to now decide whether to keep their ward or get rid of it.
If they wish to keep their Māori ward, the council must hold a binding poll at the 2025 local body elections.
Minister of Local Government Simeon Brown said it put an end to the divisive changes under the previous Government and gave the choice back to communities.
However, the new policy has been met with opposition with local leaders set to debate the topic at the Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) conference in Wellington this week.
Two of the eight remits being considered by LGNZ members relate to Māori wards.
Members will vote on whether local government constituencies and wards should not be subject to referendum and the entrenchment of Māori wards seats for local government.
The remits were discussed at the Ashburton District Council meeting on Tuesday, with the councillors voting not to support either of the remits.
Councillor Richard Wilson said it should be “one person one vote”.
“I don’t support picking our democracy by race.
“Everybody in this room represents everybody in the district regardless of race, creed, social background, everything.”
Councillor Tony Todd said the Government is allowing communities to have a say on Māori wards.
“It was during the last government, where Minister [Nanaia] Mahuta changed the rules and in my mind she was the one who overreached and brought it on to councils only to make the decision.
“It should be a community decision whether we have Māori wards or not.”
A majority of the councillors voted not to support the Māori ward referendum remit.
There was a unanimous vote not to support the remit on the entrenchment of Māori wards.
Todd said a Government should not entrench anything into law.
Wilson agreed, saying it should be up to the Government of the day to make decisions because things can change over time.
Ashburton has also pushed a remit for ‘graduated driver licensing system’, which would provide greater testing capacity in key locations throughout New Zealand.
The council also voted to support three other remits: Giving local government greater power to stop the deterioration of empty buildings; appropriate funding models for central government initiatives; and GST revenue sharing with local government.
By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Ashburton’s bike skills park project has the wobbles, with a $400,000 hill to climb.
A funding grant application for the detailed design of the learn-to-ride cycling facility in the Ashburton Domain was denied and delayed the progress of the … View moreBy local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Ashburton’s bike skills park project has the wobbles, with a $400,000 hill to climb.
A funding grant application for the detailed design of the learn-to-ride cycling facility in the Ashburton Domain was denied and delayed the progress of the project.
Ashburton deputy mayor Liz McMillan is on the project’s working group that is looking at forming a trust so that the group can apply for its own funding.
“We applied for quite a bit of funding but we didn’t get it so now we are looking at options,” McMillan said.
The project needs $400,000 to push ahead.
“It’s not a small amount of money and the longer we wait the more it is going to go up probably,” McMillan said.
The Ashburton District Council approved the Ashburton Domain as the location last year and then approved the initial concept plans in May.
The design and construction of the bike skills park will be paid for by the local service clubs and community organisations driving the project.
A bike skills park working group, a combination of clubs, organisations, and council representatives, had produced the initial concept design.
They have already received resource consent and need to complete the detailed design – which will include a second cost estimate, before going out for tender.
“The next step is getting the funding for the detailed design and to get a project manager on board to steer the project.
“We have a good plan in place. It’s just the funding going forward,” McMillan said.
“It’s just how it is at the moment, there are a lot of people looking for funding and a lot of projects out there.”
The “group of groups” are going to form a trust to make it an easier process to apply for funding grants McMillan said.
Councillor Tony Todd is also on the working group and is helping start the process of forming a trust that he had estimated will take about two months and then they can start applying to the various charity grants.
There is no timeline attached to the project as yet while they look to secure funding McMillan said.
“We want to get all the funding before we start building it.”
The bike skills park in the Ashburton domain is for the community to learn cycling skills and road safety.
It will have a flat street circuit, a 3m wide asphalt ‘road’ with line marking to enable two-way traffic, that will feature a range of road signs and crossings reflecting common Ashburton traffic features – including a rail crossing.
The street circuit connects to the existing pump track that will be reformed, with, an elevated lookout and seating area.
There will also be an off-road woodland trail circuit, located around the existing trees, connecting to the street circuit over a cattlestop.
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By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Ashburton could be compelled to pick a neighbour under the Government’s new water reforms.
The Local Water Done Well bill, expected to pass in Parliament this month, replaces the scrapped Labour government’s Three Water reforms.
Councils will… View moreBy local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Ashburton could be compelled to pick a neighbour under the Government’s new water reforms.
The Local Water Done Well bill, expected to pass in Parliament this month, replaces the scrapped Labour government’s Three Water reforms.
Councils will then have a year to submit plans for funding and how they will ensure financial sustainability for water services into the future - Council-Controlled Organisations (CCOs) and joint-council arrangements.
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown said water CCOs would be able to borrow up to five times what they took in through water rates - about twice what councils can borrow on their own - subject to "prudent credit criteria".
Councils will likely need to amalgamate services to achieve scale and cost efficiency, or the Government could make them, Minister Brown said.
"My message to councils is clear. Get on board with these changes quickly.”
That could put Ashburton in the middle of its wider region.
To the north, Selwyn is part of the Greater Christchurch Partnership, while Timaru is aligned with the other South Canterbury councils - Mackenzie and Waimate.
Ashburton District Council chief executive Hamish Riach said the council is looking at its options.
"The work that we are doing at this stage sees all options being openly considered.”
That included South Canterbury, central Canterbury, “any other solution”, he said.
Mayor Neil Brown said the key aspect is that assets remain locally owned.
"There is an opportunity we could go on our own or something more Mid Canterbury orientated.
"We can set up a CCO or keep it in-house to keep it Ashburton orientated, or we could have some shared services with others.
More information was coming to the council to steer its decision-making, Mayor Brown said.
Councils will also be able to borrow up to 500% could be beneficial - "but it’s still borrowing and you have to pay for it – it’s not free.”
Rangitata MP James Meager said the new water policy maintains council ownership and control of water assets and provides flexibility rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
"Ashburton is considering how this might work for them, and I know the South Canterbury councils have been in discussion with Ashburton and Waitaki councils to see how a joined-up approach might work.
"There might also be room for other innovative, local Mid Canterbury-alone solutions which could work for Ashburton.
"Ultimately, the choice should be up to councils and communities as to what works best for them.”
Access to the new models means that Ashburton "could, in theory, better manage debt and make key investments in water infrastructure without drastically hiking rates”, he said.
Photo: The new reserviour tanks that were part of the Methven Water tretament upgrade by the Ashburton District Council last year. PHOTO JONATHAN LEASK/LDR
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By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Vanessa Wright is hoping the council listens to the pleas of the community to take action at Lake Camp before it’s too late.
Ashburton councillors will meet on Tuesday (August 20) to discuss the future of the shrinking Canterbury lake and whether … View moreBy local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Vanessa Wright is hoping the council listens to the pleas of the community to take action at Lake Camp before it’s too late.
Ashburton councillors will meet on Tuesday (August 20) to discuss the future of the shrinking Canterbury lake and whether any action will be taken.
Lake Camp’s water level has dropped considerably, sparking a community campaign to restore its historic water source – a diversion of the Balmacaan Stream, which had a resource consent up until 2020.
Wright, a hutholder at the Lake Clearwater Village, acknowledges the expert opinion of Environment Canterbury (ECan) and DOC that the Lake Camp’s lowering levels are due to the drought conditions - the same conditions affecting other local lakes.
However, unlike the other lakes, Wright said Lake Camp has a small catchment area and can’t fill back up without the Balmacaan Stream diversion.
“With spring just around the corner, something needs to happen to get the snow melt into the lake or it will just keep draining away.
“Without the water coming out of that diversion, the lake will not fill up – unless we have another flood event.”
The fear is that when there is no inflow, it will stagnate, she said.
Wright and other community members believe the district council should lead the action to restore the stream diversion – with almost 1900 people signing a petition to save Lake Camp.
Lake Camp is a recreation reserve owned by the Department of Conservation but vested in the Ashburton District Council to administer.
The council adopted a 30-year Lake Camp and Lake Clearwater plan in 2022, which discusses how it will protect the area’s environment.
The goals include avoiding further degradation and restoring the mauri (life force) of the natural environment, protecting the special character of the area, and valuing the social importance of the area.
According to the plan, the council will monitor the recreational use and “undertake action as necessary to ensure use is sustainable and values are protected”.
“The over-arching purpose of this plan is to ensure appropriate action is taken in a timely manner," the document says.
Wright said the council must take action in step with its plan.
The councillors will discuss what, if any, actions could be taken, at Tuesday's council meeting.
It comes on the back of a council workshop last week, where experts spoke about the natural fluctuations of the lake's levels over time.
The recommendation to be tabled is: “council, should it decide to pursue an application for consent to divert Balmacaan Stream into Lake Camp, call for an officer’s report to understand the costs and implications”.
If the council chose to act, Wright said the community had offered to donate time or money to help.
According to DOC and ECan reinstating a diversion will require a new resource consent, and Fish and Game advised it would most likely need to be for a new diversion at a different location on the stream.
In the workshop last week, ECan surface water science manager Elaine Moriarty said the region is dry, which was impacting the lake’s levels.
Even with a diversion in place, there wasn't sufficient water to flow down it, she said.
“It’s sad to see it but it’s not an unnatural event."
Meanwhile, Mt Somers farmer Duncan Humm continues to question the need for a resource consent to restore the diversion at Lake Camp.
Humm sat in public gallery at the Ashburton District Council’s workshop last week and feels the resource consent will to see people waste thousands of dollars.
“Imagine if everyone could just agree on a course of action and then the money could be better spent on actual conservation work.
“With the swipe of a pen and the will to be proactive, they could benefit the environment.
“It shouldn’t need a resource consent as the works required to reinstate the existing intake are minor, the water isn’t fundamentally taken – just diverted in the catchment.
“From what I could tell, there are no tangible negatives whatsoever only positive environmental benefits.”
The stream had been diverted for over 50 years, and should be allowed to be restored, quickly, without expensive and time-consuming red tape, he said.
ECan and DOC were adamant that under the RMA, reinstating a diversion would require a new resource consent.
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By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Extending livestreaming to more meetings is being considered by the Ashburton District Council in a bid to enhance public accessibility and transparency.
Environment Canterbury voted to make all of its briefings and workshops public by default at a … View moreBy local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Extending livestreaming to more meetings is being considered by the Ashburton District Council in a bid to enhance public accessibility and transparency.
Environment Canterbury voted to make all of its briefings and workshops public by default at a council meeting in July.
The regional council is rolling out plans to have all its meetings, and some briefings and workshops, livestreamed from September.
The decision followed recommendations from the Ombudsman’s 2023 report into the way councils conduct their business.
In that report, Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier said he was pleased that the majority of councils he investigated livestream meetings as it "greatly" improved transparency.
In Ashburton, the council has been livestreaming its meetings since 2019.
Democracy and engagement group manager Toni Durham said the Ombudsman's meeting recommendations relate mostly to full council and standing committee meetings, which the council already livestreams.
“His recommendations also apply to workshops and briefings, which we don’t currently livestream, but we are considering how we make more of them publicly accessible.”
The full council meetings, audit and risk, and public hearings are livestreamed.
The six-weekly activity briefing meetings, where each department provides an update on work programmes and budgets, are considered workshops where no decisions are made and are not livestreamed.
It’s unlikely the resources are available to livestream meetings for groups such as the Biodiversity Advisory Group and the Road Safety Co-ordinating Committee, Durham said.
The Ombudsman had investigated eight councils (Ashburton was not one of them) over concerns local government was using closed-door workshops to make decisions free from public scrutiny.
The findings, published at the end of October, confirmed that some councils had been closing all workshops to the public by default.
It highlighted Local Government Act requirements that councils should conduct business in an “open, transparent, and democratically accountable manner”.
Chief executive Hamish Riach had said this was the case in Ashburton.
The Ombudsman report made 25 recommendations that the council was reviewing, Durham said.
“To give effect to many of the recommendations there will be resourcing implications which we are working through,” Durham said.
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By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Any effort to replenish a shrinking Canterbury Lake would require a costly new resource consent - and there's no guarantee it be approved.
The Ashburton District Council heard expert advice at a workshop on Lake Camp on Wednesday.
Locals … View moreBy local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Any effort to replenish a shrinking Canterbury Lake would require a costly new resource consent - and there's no guarantee it be approved.
The Ashburton District Council heard expert advice at a workshop on Lake Camp on Wednesday.
Locals have been pleading for help to top up the lake with a diversion from the nearby Balmacaan Stream.
But this action requires a resource consent - which the council will discuss next week.
Speaking in front of a packed public gallery, Ashburton mayor Neil Brown described the workshop as a fact-finding mission for the council with different experts gathered.
Environment Canterbury surface water science manager Elaine Moriarty said the region is dry, which was impacting the lake’s levels.
Even with a diversion in place, there wasn't sufficient water to flow down it, she said.
“It’s sad to see it but it’s not an unnatural event”.
When asked if the lake could completely dry out, Moriarty said "it was not an imminent event” as the lake has a deep centre.
DOC’s Geraldine operations manager, Tony Preston, said the situation was just natural fluctuations and lake levels should eventually return to normal through natural processes, he said.
“Nature is taking its course."
The workshop covered the consenting requirements to reinstate a diversion – the cost of which was unknown.
It would require ecological, hydrology, wildlife and environmental impact reports, as well as a seperate process of getting apporval for an easement from DOC.
When Fish and Game surrendered the consent in 2020 it was facing a $50,000 cost to make the diversion compliant.
Fish & Game Central South Island chief executive Steve McKnight said restoring a diversion would require a new structure at a new location because of how the stream was scoured out after 2021 flooding.
“Don’t put it where the old one was.
"That diversion point is no longer fit for purpose."
After almost two hours, Brown said a report would come to the council meeting on Tuesday where the next steps would be discussed.
Brown had visited the site and said “it would take some engineering to get that water lifted back up again to flow [into the diversion]”.
The council have plenty to ponder from the workshop, and also the knowledge that the community is calling for action, ahead of their discussion on Tuesday.
A petition, calling for action ‘to save Lake Camp from draining away’, has received 1635 signatures.
The land around Lake Camp is a recreation reserve owned by the Department of Conservation but vested in the Ashburton District Council to administer.
The expert panel at the workshop included representatives from Environment Canterbury, the Department of Conservation and Fish and Game. ECan chairperson Peter Scott also attended.
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By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Cars could once again be able to drive up to a popular Canterbury picnic spot and lookout - at least for now.
Bollards will be removed from the upper Hakatere reserve on a trial basis in a compromise everyone “can live with”.
Hakatere Huts is… View moreBy local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Cars could once again be able to drive up to a popular Canterbury picnic spot and lookout - at least for now.
Bollards will be removed from the upper Hakatere reserve on a trial basis in a compromise everyone “can live with”.
Hakatere Huts is a coastal settlement at the Ashburton/Hakatere River mouth, which splits into two parts - upper and lower.
Locals were shocked when wooden bollards were installed in February 2023 to block vehicle access and the upper camping area was closed.
A working group - made up of three Ashburton councillors and three Hakatere Huts residents - reached an agreement last week to recommend the bollards be removed on a trial basis. The camping ban would remain.
Working group chairperson Russell Ellis said their recommendations would go to council, which would make a final decision on August 20.
“We reached a compromise that we think the Hakatere community and council can live with.
“We all agreed the bollards, that currently stop vehicles driving onto the upper picnic area, should be removed on a trial basis."
Ellis said while not everyone agreed that camping should be prohibited in the upper picnic reserve, there was a majority support for it to be banned.
Camping is available at Lower Hakatere.
One of the community representatives, Gary Clancy, said the recommendation was a step in the right direction.
“It’s not the preferred option, but we are someway to getting got one of the two things we had asked for,” he said.
It was the first meeting of the working group since a kerfuffle over the council releasing a working group decision in June, which hadn't actually been agreed on.
Council chief executive Hamish Riach issued an apology at the time, accepting a report to the council “contained a misstatement” and that the decision would be revoked with the working group to meet again.
Council representatives set to visit the reserve this week to mark which bollards are proposed to be removed.
If the working group’s recommendation is adopted by the council, the upper reserve would be monitored over the summer for illegal camping and the situation reviewed.
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