Nick Smith, Rodney Hide22
April, 2010
Environment Minister Nick Smith and Local
Government Minister Rodney Hide today announced
the appointment of Commissioners and their
terms of reference to oversee Environment
Canterbury and fix Canterbury's significant
water issues.
"The Government
has selected experienced and capable commissioners
with first-class public service, governance,
judicial and business skills. We have ensured
a balance of agricultural, environmental
and electricity expertise to match the challenges
facing Environment Canterbury. We have endeavoured
to maximise the number of Commissioners
from Canterbury and ensured representation
from both North and South Canterbury communities,"
Dr Smith and Mr Hide said.
The Commissioners are:
Dame Margaret Bazley (Chair), Hon. David
Caygill (Deputy Chair), David Bedford, Donald
Couch, Tom Lambie, Professor Peter Skelton,
Rex Williams.
"A key concern
of Government has been the lack of a resource
management plan for water in Canterbury
and that is why completing a plan has been
made an urgent priority in the terms of
reference," Dr Smith said.
Mr Hide said: "The
Commissioners are also required to improve
relations with Canterbury's 10 territorial
councils, to build on the work of the Canterbury
Water Management Strategy and to meet all
the statutory obligations of the Resource
Management and Local Government Acts to
consult with the Canterbury community. These
measures will improve the performance of
Environment Canterbury leading in to the
2013 Local Government elections."
Dr Smith said: "The
Government's objective is to see an urgent
improvement in freshwater management around
water quality, water allocation and opportunities
for water storage."
For photos of the Commissioners
go to: http://www.beehive.govt.nz/webfm_send/9
Biographies of Commissioners (below)
Environment Canterbury Commissioners
Dame Margaret Bazley (Chair)
Dame Margaret is Chair
of the New Zealand Fire Services Commission
and Registrar of the Pecuniary Interests
of Members of Parliament.
Dame Margaret has a
long and distinguished career in public
service and held the positions of Secretary
for Transport and Director General of Social
Welfare. She has also been the Deputy Chair
of the State Services Commission and Chair
of the Foundation for Research Science and
Technology.
Dame Margaret has experience
as a commissioner, having headed the inquiry
into Police Conduct, the Review of Legal
Aid and as a member of the Royal Commission
on Auckland Governance.
Dame Margaret brings
a wealth of experience both in management
and governance of large organisations and
has specialist skills in organisational
structure and change management as well
as a long history in working with Maori
communities at whanau, hapu and iwi level.
Hon David Caygill (Deputy
Chair)
Mr Caygill is Chair
of the Electricity Commission, Chair of
the ACC Stocktake Group, Chair of the Education
New Zealand Trust, Chair of the Advisory
Committee on Official Statistics, Associate
Member of the Commerce Commission and a
Board member of the Energy Efficiency and
Conservation Authority.
Mr Caygill had three
terms as a Christchurch City Councillor
and six terms as a Member of Parliament
where he held Ministerial portfolios in
Trade and Industry, Health and Finance before
reverting to the law as a partner in Buddle
Findlay.
He brings a significant
background in politics at both local and
national level as well as strong management
and governance skills. His work in the electricity
sector will be valuable when working through
the issues of water allocation.
David Bedford
Mr Bedford owns a small
vineyard in North Canterbury which he manages
with his wife and son. He is the Chair of
Enterprise North Canterbury.
Mr Bedford has an extensive
history initially in human resources and
change management and latterly in senior
management of large enterprises. He was
Chief Operating Officer Australia for Telecom
before retiring in 2003. He had previously
held senior management roles in Telecom
New Zealand and, prior to that, the former
Electricity of New Zealand.
Mr Bedford's experience
in corporate management and his ability
to manage culture change programmes to improve
service delivery in large organisations
will be essential to the Commission.
Donald Couch
Mr Couch is Pro-Chancellor
of Lincoln University, a member of the Lincoln
University Council, a Trustee, Ngai Tahu
Ancillary Claims Trust and Rapaki Trustee
(appointed by the Maori Land Court).
He has a long history
in resource management both here and in
Canada and has held elected positions on
both regional and city councils in Canada
and was until recently Deputy Kaiwhakahaere,
Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu.
Mr Couch is the ideal
person to guide the Commission on any issues
concerning Ngai Tahu and has the support
of Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu in this capacity.
He also brings a wider experience of resource
management law from his time spent in Canada
in the 1970s and 1980s.
Tom Lambie
Mr Lambie owns a 415
hectare dairy farm at Pleasant Point South
Canterbury which is BioGro organic certified.
He is Chancellor of Lincoln University,
Chair of Opuha Water Limited, a trustee
of the Todd Foundation, Chair of the Hikurangai
Foundation and a trustee of Motu, Economic
and Public Policy Research Trust.
Mr Lambie has a long
history of farming politics and was National
President of Federated Farmers from 2002-2005.
His long involvement with the farming sector
and in particular his close association
with the development of the Opuha Water
Storage Dam makes him an ideal candidate
for the Commission as he has an in-depth
understanding of the economic and environmental
benefits of good water management.
Honorary Professor Peter
Skelton CNZM
Professor Skelton is
a former Environment Court Judge and Associate
Professor of Resource Management Law at
Lincoln University. He presided as an Independent
Commissioner over the hearings by Environment
Waikato into Variation 5 to the Waikato
Regional Plan concerning the control of
nitrates entering Lake Taupo and, as an
Independent Commissioner appointed by Environment
Canterbury, has been completing a series
of decisions on Lower Waitaki Catchment
water applications
With more than 20 years
as a Judge of the Environment Court and
having presided over the Lower Waitaki hearings,
Professor Skelton brings the depth of knowledge
and experience required for the Commission
to fulfil its role in Water Conservation
Order matters and the development of water
management plans for Canterbury.
Rex Williams
Mr Williams is the Chancellor
of Canterbury University, Chair of the West
Coast District Health Board, Chair of H
W Richardson Group and a trustee of the
Water Rights Trust.
Mr Williams was the
Managing Director of Holcim Cement and has
more than 30 years experience in senior
management positions. He has served on a
number of boards and is recognised for his
business acumen and governance skills.
Mr Williams was a key
founder of the Environmental lobby group
the Water Rights Trust formed in 2002 to
address increasing concern about poor water
management and deteriorating water quality
in Canterbury. He is a keen recreational
angler and enjoys a number of outdoor sports.
+ More
Improved Environment
Reporting critical to New Zealand's clean
green brand
Nick Smith22 April,
2010
Environment Minister
Nick Smith today welcomed the release of
the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment
(PCE) review of the way reporting is carried
out in New Zealand.
"National's 2008
election policy was to introduce a new Environment
Reporting Act requiring independent five
yearly State of the Environment Reports
for the very reasons articulated by the
Parliamentary Commissioner.
"It is telling
that New Zealand is the only OECD country
without a legislative basis for environment
reporting. This is inconsistent with our
clean green brand and is on the Government's
work programme to be rectified.
"There is also
a real problem with inconsistent datasets
around the country and this report rightly
acknowledges efforts by the Ministry and
the regions to address this problem. Over
half of the 66 national datasets have been
updated since the 2008 report and these
include more meaningful national-scale information
on freshwater, land and soils.
"Quality environmental
reporting is as important to New Zealand's
success as financial reporting. It assists
good decision making and helps build a reliable
picture of how we are managing our natural
capital. The Government will be carefully
considering the advice in this report in
advancing its policy forward."
+ More
New regulations to improve
water management
Nick Smith30 April,
2010
The Government this week approved regulations
requiring all significant water takes to
be metered as part of a wider programme
to improve fresh water management, Environment
Minister Nick Smith says.
"We can't even
begin to manage water properly in New Zealand
when we have so little information on how
much is extracted and when," Dr Smith
said. "It is estimated that only 31%
of water taken nationally is metered. These
regulations will ensure 92% by 2012, 96%
by 2014 and 98% by 2016."
Dr Smith made the announcement
at the Jenny Shipley Lecture in Christchurch
this evening. The Resource Management Act
(Water Metering) regulations will come into
effect on 1 July requiring all water takes
of more than 20 litres a second to be metered
within two years (2012), water takes of
more than 10 litres a second to be metered
within four years (2014) and water takes
of more than 5 litres a second to be metered
within six years (2016).
These regulations do
not cover small takes for domestic use -
5 litres per second is the amount of water
used by about 250 households.
"Water is a public
resource and it is quite reasonable for
Government to require those who use it to
pay for measuring and reporting how much
they take. Economic analysis shows that
water use is worth more than $5 billion
per year to the economy and only a small
improvement in efficiency makes this investment
in improved information well worth while.
"A national regulation
is a far more efficient way of getting water
measured rather than leaving the decision
and timing to each individual regional council.
Regional councils have only been able to
require metering for new consents or renewals
meaning it would take more than 25 years
to get accurate figures on water use. It
is also more efficient to have a consistent
national standard for water meter accuracy
and reporting systems.
"These regulations
are the result of thorough consultation
on a discussion document with irrigators,
industry, councils, iwi, and environmental
organisations. There is strong support among
sector organisations of the need for a national
approach and these regulations. The Government
has included pragmatic exemptions to ensure
the cost is only being incurred where there
are real benefits.
"These metering
regulations are the first step in the Government's
plans to improve New Zealand's fresh water
management. Wider issues covering improved
regulation on water quality, better systems
for water allocation, and simpler processes
for advancing sustainable storage schemes
will be undertaken after the Land and Water
Forum has reported to the Government in
July."
