Mackenzie Contender for Ecan

By KERR, Rob

Mackenzie basin farmer Bronwen Murray has stepped forward as an Environment Canterbury candidate.

She stood last election and her motivation to try again was to represent a large, diverse region.

Building bridges was her only option — confrontation would lead to isolation.

“Politics is a numbers game. You have to go there with a definite plan — respecting everyone else and their plan.”

As a Mackenzie farmer, raised in Timaru, who had served on the Mackenzie District Council, she was able to represent a constituency running from the coast to the alps, which included a diversity of agriculture and environments.

South Canterbury also had Timaru, a major regional centre with a harbour with potential as South Island’s prime port.

Mrs Murray saw a lack of direction and clarity in Environment Canterbury (Ecan) administration.

After the drama of the Waitaki Water Allocation Plan there were still inconsistencies and uncertainties in the information provided by staff.

At one meeting, in the lower Waitaki, she heard existing consents would have some form of priority listing. At another meeting it seemed they would not.

“Whether they are right or wrong I’d like them going out to public meetings with some consistency.”

The growth of bureaucracy within Environment Canterbury concerned her. Target Pest had collapsed, but no one was accountable.

If the staff took over and the business was successful why had it collapsed.

“Is it something about the way it is being run ?”

Mrs Murray opposed party politics, regional government must question any central government directives not in the region’s interest.

Objective peer-reviewed science should be the basis for decision making.

“Positions should be taken which count all people valid in the debate and are cognizant of all four aspects of the Resource Management Act, which are environmental, social, cultural and economic well-being. And the people of South Canterbury have to have all four. You won’t get it if you frighten people into positions of polarisation.”

Mrs Murray said the natural resources regional plans, which guide Ecan implementing the Resource Management Act, were contradictory. Guidelines for water quality suggested riparian plantings to slow down run off into rivers. At the same time water quantity guidelines advised against them. The structure of the plans created more work and interpretation. They weren’t easy for landowners or caretakers to use.

She said Ecan’s council was dominated by councillors from metropolitan Christchurch. Mrs Murray said another rural voice was good for South Canterbury.

“I’m not going there for a solo fight because I won’t win. If you play this correctly you can prove that an extremely viable South Canterbury adds value to Christchurch City.

“It deserves a well-staffed, funded and resourced office in Timaru.”

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(c) 2007 Timaru Herald. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.