-
First three months
The first three months as a regional Councillor have past by in a blur….. We have had a wide range of briefings from Te Tiriti, regional civil defence and legislation, to land, the work ahead in this trimester and the possible future of local government. I have loved every minute. We have established our Committees…
-
Coastal wetlands left high and dry under Ministry proposals
22 September 2022 The Environmental Defence Society has filed its submission on the Ministry for the Environment’s regulations on coastal wetlands and says that the Ministry’s approach undermines the original intent of the regulations and leaves coastal wetlands vulnerable to future degradation. “The Resource Management (National Environmental Standards for Freshwater) Regulations 2020 (NES-F) set national…
-
Priority One
INTEGRATED WATER & LAND, KI UTA KI TAI MOUNTAINS TO SEA PLANNING FRAMEWORK The most important priority for the next term is Environment Canterbury’s response to the Essential Freshwater programme introduced by central government in 2020, Te Mana o te Wai. Why is this exciting? New plans and regulations must put the environment first. This…
-
Priority Two
Urgent emissions reductions through public transport improvements Council have put in place the $1 and $2 flat fare trial (across all zones) from Feb 2023. However fares are only part of cracking the Public Transport nut. The other key parts are service and network improvements (i.e where the bus actually goes, how often does it…
-
Priority Three
Continue or grow? investment in biodiversity as a key tool in addressing the climate and ecological crisis. Environment Canterbury’s biodiversity expenditure has gone from $9.7M in yr1 of 2018-21 long term plan to $36M in year one of 2021-24 long term plan. (About half of this is thanks to government grants as part of their…
Greg Byrnes 