Canterbury farmer joins push for council shakeup
By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
A prominent farmer is calling on the Ashburton District Council to breakaway from Canterbury's regional council.
Allan Andrews, who is among a growing chorus of people calling for shakeup of councils in the wider Canterbury region, presented his concerns to Ashburton councillors last week.
Originally from Glenavy, Andrews is a former Timaru District councillor and South Canterbury Federated Farmers president who has farmed just out of Ashburton for the past 10 years.
He said he worried about Environment Canterbury's (ECan) impact "on the whole of our province”. The community also couldn’t deal with continued heavy rate rises.
The solution was to shake up the existing three tiers of governance, Andrews told councillors.
Ashburton, Timaru, Oamaru, and Waimate rely on the farming industry and need better governance to allow the industry to operate, he said.
Andrews said his preferred model would be to retain the district councils and have a new regional council covering everything south of the Rakaia River to the Waitaki River.
There was a lot of nodding from councillors to some of what Andrews was saying, but there was little vocal support around the table.
During his presentation, he also has raised concerns about the future of irrigation for the region, which he believes a new regional council could help with.
If farmers don't get sufficient irrigation, the land will return to "broom, blackberry, gorse" and be at greater risk of fires, Andrews said.
It’s the second time in recent weeks the council has received a presentation calling for a new council arrangement.
A group presented a proposal to the councils from Selwyn down to Waitaki to break away from ECan and have some form of unitary council.
Ashburton mayor Neil Brown confirmed the proposal was discussed at the recent Canterbury Mayoral Forum without any real enthusiasm by the region's mayors to investigate forming an unitary authority.
“There was no clear directive from all the mayors, but they are aware of the concerns in the community about representation especially from Ashburton to the Waitaki.”
A unitary council – a combination of district and regional council - wasn’t what most councils were after as there is no appetite for council mergers, Brown said.
There remains concern from the southern councils about ECan’s representation review proposal.
An ECan spokesman said the regional council is aware of the discussions around forming a new unitary council, but it is not in scope for the representation review and would be a matter for central government to consider.
When it come sto irrigation, ECan, as the regulator, is responsible for making sure the community’s aspirations are implemented with regard to keeping a minimum flow in the natural waterways.
We're talking new year resolutions...
Tidying the house before going to bed each night, meditating upon waking or taking the stairs at work.
What’s something quick, or easy, that you started doing that made a major positive change in your life?
⚠️ 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 ❤️
What word sums up 2024, neighbours?
If 2020 was the year of lockdowns, banana bread, and WFH (work from home)....
In one word, how would you define 2024?
We're excited to see what you come up with!
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