ECan pulls rep review reversal
By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Environment Canterbury pulling a U-turn on its representation review has been hailed a victory for rural voice by Ashburton’s mayor.
The constituency boundaries outside of Christchurch will remain unchanged for the upcoming elections in 2025, but it has been recommended a full review take place before the 2028 elections.
Mayor Neil Brown had presented a submission on behalf of the district arguing ECan’s proposed changes would not provide effective representation for Ashburton District or the rural communities of Canterbury.
He was happy to see the proposed changes scrapped.
“We presented alternatives for the Ashburton District to consider if ECan didn’t stick with the status quo, but we are happy with the status quo.”
The representation review sparked a discussion of a breakaway from ECan, with the councils south of Christchurch coming under some form of unitary or southern regional council.
Those arguments had merit Brown said, acknowledging in his view ECan was “Christchurch City centric”.
“It would be nice to have something else that suits people from the Rakaia River, or even the Selwyn River, south.
“The city is different to the rural and provincial area so separating out that governance would be helpful.”
The initial proposal was to combine the Ashburton District with the current South Canterbury/Ōtuhituhi constituency, to form a larger Mid-South Canterbury/Ōtuhituhi constituency, leaving the Selwyn District as a standalone constituency.
It would have had only two councillors covering the area south of the Rakaia River – half of ECan’s total land area.
The proposal was initially supported 9-7 in July.
After hearing the submissions last week, the vote was to retain the status quo, passing 13-3 according to the unconfirmed minutes.
Christchurch Central/Ōhoko Greg Byrnes, Christchurch North East/Ōrei Joe Davies and Christchurch South/Ōwhanga Paul Dietsche were listed as voting against it, and it’s understood Christchurch Central/Ōhoko’s Genevieve Robinson had also voted against the motion.
The decision to change the Christchurch ward boundaries passed 8-4 with abstentions from Mid Canterbury/Ōpākihi’s Ian Mackenzie and John Sunckell, South Canterbury/Ōtuhituhi’s Nick Ward, and North Canterbury/Ōpukepuke’s Claire McKay.
The councillors also passed a recommendation to the incoming council, following the 2025 local body elections, to undertake a comprehensive representation review to apply for the 2028 elections.
There were 217 submissions received on the initial proposal - 96 of those from Mid-South Canterbury (46 from the Ashburton District compared to 101 from Christchurch City and 52 from the Selwyn District).
The council will adopt the final proposal in October.
After adoption, it would be open to appeals and if any were received the final decision would go to the Local Government Commission.
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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61.7% Summer
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36.6% Winter
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1.7% Other - I'll share below
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