Time to restore democracy to Canterbury

People in Canterbury should not be second class citizens having to live with second class local body representation, the Green Party said today.

The Green Party is concerned at the prospect of the National Government failing to restore a fully elected Environment Canterbury Regional Council (ECan) in announcements later this week about the council’s future.

People in Canterbury should not be second class citizens having to live with second class local body representation, the Green Party said today.

The Green Party is concerned at the prospect of the National Government failing to restore a fully elected Environment Canterbury Regional Council (ECan) in announcements later this week about the council’s future.

“No other regional or local council in New Zealand has a mix of elected and appointed representatives,” said Green Party Canterbury spokesperson Eugenie Sage.

“It is high time for the return of a fully elected, democratic regional council in Canterbury.

“The fact the Government hasn’t restored regional democracy, as Nick Smith stated back in 2010, is a broken promise.

“Four or five elected regional councillors are too few to properly represent citizens in a city the size of Christchurch.

“Cantabrians are being denied their right to full democracy so that the National Government can continue to promote agricultural intensification and an irrigation agenda.

“Having appointed commissioners involved in making decisions on Council spending fails to honour the central democratic principle of no taxation without representation.

“When there was a fully elected regional council there was far more responsiveness to public concerns about the health and state of Canterbury’s waterways, biodiversity and natural environment.

“In 2009, a full state of the environment report was published addressing these concerns.

“The current commissioners have failed to publish any similar comprehensive region-wide state of the environment report so Cantabrians are left in the dark as to the extent of water quality decline.

“It is time for the National Government to trust the people of Canterbury to elect competent councillors and trust them to do their job and be accountable, not patronise Cantabrians by keeping ECan running under its appointed members,” said Ms Sage.

Latest Environment Announcements

Story

Greens welcome waste strategy release and work

The Green Party is today welcoming the release of the Government’s waste strategy, but says it has a big gap without action on the container return...
Read More

Story

NZ needs strong protection against water privatisation

New Zealanders deserve strong protection against the future privatisation of water assets, the Green Party says.
Read More

Story

Nature missing in RMA reform

The Government has missed a crucial opportunity to redesign the resource management system with climate and nature at its heart. 
Read More

Story

Report shows reducing actual farming emissions vital

Evidence shows that relying on offsets to reduce agriculture’s impact on the climate will not work, the Green Party says.
Read More

Story

Budget 2022: Greens call for urgency with nature-first climate investments

Budget 2022 shows progress on conservation commitments in the Green Party’s cooperation agreement Green Party achievements in the last Government ...
Read More

Story

Nature needs us to act right now

The Green Party welcomes the release of the implementation plan for Te Mana o te Taiao Aotearoa New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy and calls on the ...
Read More