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Why I think Plan Change 8 is a Step Backward for Canterbury
14 April 2026 Following on from the “Our Water 2026” theme last week, a major shift is occurring in how Canterbury manages its most precious resource. The Government’s decision to grant an exemption for Environment Canterbury’s (ECan) Plan Change 8 (PC8) to the Land and Water Regional Plan may look like a technical adjustment, but…
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Final Council meeting of the 22/25 triennium
Well that’s meeting #602 of the Canterbury Regional Council done and dusted along with the end of this triennium. (officially 22 days to go) The big talking point of course was the passing of the Notice of Motion by Councillor Vicky Southworth that Council Declares a ‘Nitrate Emergency’. There is a ton of information on…
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Notice of motion 30 July
Today at Canterbury Regional Councils 600th meeting, I presented a Notice of Motion to support The Unlawful Occupation of Palestine Sanctions Bill Here is my speechTena koutou katoa, As-salamu alaykum, Shalom, PeaceMy fellow councillors, almost three years ago when I made my inaugural speech in this chamber, I said that I am not here as…
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NZ First Minister Shane Jones, wants regional councils gone.
In The Press, Christchurch 27 June, Dr Greg Severinsen, the Environmental Defence Society’s RMA Reform Director, acknowledges the need for reform, but to paraphrase him, warns of the proverbial throwing the baby out with the bath water. It highlights too, for me, the importance of voting. These two following paragraphs from the article, reinforce that…
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If it doesn’t sicken you already, perhaps the impact upon the hip pocket might be the straw?
If one can possibly ignore the horror of the starvation and bombing of a confined population in Gaza, which in my mind represents a genocide, along with the escalation of conflict with the attack upon Iran, there are in fact both direct and indirect consequences upon the people of Canterbury Waitaha from the Israel regime…
Greg Byrnes 