NETWORK
OTAUTAHI
We are grateful for the opportunity to contribute this Submission on the Draft Annual Plan
2010/11. We wish to speak to our Submission at the hearings on 24-26 May.
As laid out in the Draft Annual Plan document, we wish to address one of the four major
issues upon which submissions are invited, especially with respect to local accountability.
Accountability through elected representatives
We have serious concerns about the Government’s recent actions to replace the ECAN
elected Council by appointed Commissioners.
We are also disturbed by the associated legislative changes which have led to the control over
Canterbury’s water falling into the hands of these few appointed Commissioners. The
responsibility for managing Canterbury’s water resources lies with all the people of
Canterbury and it should be returned to them.
The Local Government Act 2002 (LGA) Part 1: 3 and 4 with Part 2: 10 and 14, requires
ECAN to take a sustainable development approach in relationship to Maori. The
Canterbury Water Management Strategy was beginning to have some "buy-in" in the wider
community. This engagement occurred alongside growing recognition of mana whenua
authority as set out Section 7 of the Resource Management Act (RMA) where the particular
regard to Kaitiakitanga is interpreted in Section 2:
Kaitiakitanga means the exercise of guardianship by the tangata whenua of an area in
accordance with tikanga Maori in relation to natural and physical resources; and
includes the ethic of stewardship:
Tangata whenua, in relation to a particular area, means the iwi, or hapu, that holds
mana whenua over that area:
This authority, recognised through ancestral rights and responsibilities - is particular to the
indigenous people of this country. We note here our support for the decision of the
Government to affirm the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which
 acknowledges that Mâori hold a special status as tangata whenua, the indigenous
people of New Zealand and have an interest in all policy and legislative matters;
 affirms New Zealand’s commitment to the common objectives of the Declaration and
the Treaty of Waitangi;
 reaffirms the legal and constitutional frameworks that underpin New Zealand’s legal
system, noting that those existing frameworks define the bounds of New Zealand’s
engagement with the Declaration.
We submit these all imply that
 retaining the engagement with the wider community
 building on the growing understanding of mana whenua authority entrenched in the
RMA (as outlined above)
 promoting social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being, taking a
sustainable development approach (Section 3 of the LGA)
 taking into account the reasonably foreseeable needs for future generations (Section
14(h)(iii) of the LGA)
c/- Christchurch Community House
Te Whakaruruhau ki Otautahi
141 Hereford Street, Otautahi (Christchurch)
Telephone (03) 365 5266 Fax (03) 366 8535
Email: organisers@nwo.org.nz Web: www.nwo.org.nz
are essential for alignment with Government conservation values.
This local engagement is also vital for maintaining the high quality of water we currently
enjoy and treasure. The ecosystem services that preserve and make life here pleasant and
possible are endangered. A vital part of the Canterbury Water Management Strategy is
halting the decline of biodiversity in Canterbury. Such a halt is essential. We also submit that
sufficient funding for that be allocated so that it is not just a token effort.
All this requires a return to local accountability. Water is essential for human life and must be
treated as a commons and not privatised or corporatised. Water users should have a water
privilege, not a water right. Given the increasing demand for irrigation water and the
decreasing supply due to climate change the allocation of water needs to be managed very
sensitively. Engagement with local people is vital if allocation criteria are to be effective they need to be involved in this process. If they have no genuine influence on the direction
through elected representatives their engagement is at risk.
ECAN needs to monitor closely the effects of agriculture on groundwater as mitigation of ill
effects is potentially impossible. No amount of economic activity can compensate residents
for the loss of safe drinking water. Local Treaty-based engagement associated with genuine
opportunity to influence the direction through elected representatives is vital for the success
of ECAN's Plan.
Katherine Peet
Network Waitangi Otautahi
<www.nwo.org.nz>
29 April 2010